Game

A game is structured form of play, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements. However, the distinction is not clear-cut, and many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such as jigsaw puzzles or games involving an artistic layout such as Mahjong, solitaire, or some video games).

Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge, and interaction. Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both. Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of exercise, or otherwise perform an educational, simulational, or psychological role.

Attested as early as 2600 BC, games are a universal part of human experience and present in all cultures. The Royal Game of Ur, Senet, and Mancala are some of the oldest known games.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and released by Blizzard Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. A sequel to the award-winning 1998 video game StarCraft and its expansion set Brood War, the game was released worldwide on July 27, 2010. It is split into three installments: the base game with the subtitle Wings of Liberty, an expansion pack Heart of the Swarm, and a stand-alone expansion pack Legacy of the Void.

The game revolves around three species: the Terrans, human exiles from Earth; the Zerg, a super-species of assimilated life forms; and the Protoss, a technologically advanced species with vast mental powers. Wings of Liberty focuses on the Terrans, while the expansions Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void will focus on the Zerg and Protoss, respectively. The game is set four years after the events of 1998's StarCraft: Brood War, and follows the exploits of Jim Raynor as he leads an insurgent group against the autocratic Terran Dominion. The game includes both new and returning characters and locations from the original game.

Grand final

A Grand final is a game that decides a sports league's championship (or premiership) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North American sports, grand finals have become a significant part of Australian culture. The earliest competitions to feature a Grand final were Australia's AFL (Australian rules football) and NRL (rugby league football). They influenced other competitions such as soccer's A-League, the National Basketball League, netball's ANZ Championship and European rugby league's Super League to adopt grand finals as well. Most grand finals involve a prestigious award for the player voted best on field.

History

The Anglo-Norman term "grand" to describe a sporting event, documented in England as "grand match" in 1836, was used in Australia from the 1850s. A steeplechase in England has been called the "Grand National Steeple Chase" ("Grand National" alone for short) since at least 1839.

Use of the term in Australian Football dates back to the first organised and widely publicised match between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College on August 7, 1858 at Yarra Park, Melbourne (formerly Richmond Park). The game was advertised as the "grand football match" in the Melbourne Morning Herald and several other local newspapers.

Marugame Castle

Marugame Castle (丸亀城, Marugame-jō), also known as Kameyama Castle and Horai Castle, is a hirayama shiro (castle situated on a hill surrounded by a plain) located in Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan.

History

The first fortifications built on the site that would later become Marugame castle were erected by the Nara clan led by Nara Motoyasu, who in turn were retainers of the Hosokawa clan during the Muromachi Period. Little evidence of this exists today, however.

The roots of the current castle lie in 1587, when Marugame Castle was the residence of the lord of the Sanuki Province, Ikoma Chikamasa. In 1597, Chikamasa constructed Takamatsu Castle as his new location from which to rule from and turned Marugame Castle over to his son, Ikoma Kazumasa. Kazumasa immediately began renovating the castle, and made it into a formidable fortification. In 1615, however, due to a shogunal decree that each province could have but one castle, Marugame Castle was dismantled.

In 1641, a small section of western Sanuki (including what was left of Marugame Castle) was granted, as a fief, to Yamazaki Ieharu for his valor in the 1638 Shimabara Rebellion. Ieharu re-built the castle on the ruins of the original and most of what stands today dates from his reconstruction, which he completed in 1644. However, in 1658, the castle was turned over to the Kyōgoku clan. They further improved the castle by rebuilding the Otemmon complex in 1670. The Kyōgoku managed to retain control of the castle until the Imperial Government seized control of it during the Meiji Restoration.

Half marathon

A half marathon is a road running event of 21.0975 kilometres (13.1094 mi). It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a marathon does. In 2008, Running USA reported that the half marathon is the fastest growing type of race. A 2010 article by Universal Sports echoed the growing popularity of the distance. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcuts. The half marathon is also known as a 21K, 21.1K or 13.1 miles, although these values are rounded and not formally correct.

World record progression

World records in the half marathon are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations, the international governing body for the sport of athletics.

The official IAAF world record for men is 58:23, set by Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea on March 21, 2010 at the Lisbon half marathon in Portugal, and for women is 1:05:09, set by Florence Kiplagat of Kenya on February 15, 2015, in Barcelona, Spain.