@anneperaltanovels Jousting was a pretty popular one among knights. Extra tension if they're from opposite noble houses. Knight's were usually representative of their house's political reach and power and although jousting was really a game, it was a super dangerous one too, the two leads very well could seriously injure one another in their "game."
Another one could be gladiators, which I feel is a lot more straightforward. Contrary to popular belief not all gladiators fought to the death, they were valuable assets for either the empire or the one's who owned them (many were slaves, some were also free men looking for money and fame).
There were a lot of mesoamerican sports historically.
