"Somebody has to take out the trash, repair broken items, operate the assembly line, etc. Value is a relative concept within organizations," Great approach to life, and how fitting a game to use as a comparison. I could just be partial because I love chess. We haven't done it in a while, but we used to keep an ongoing game set up on the countertop between the kitchen and living room. Whoever was playing, would take weeks sometimes, to finish a game. The board might sit for days untouched, until the person whose turn it was, would make their move. It's a great game, for all the reasons you mention and more :-)