On a more physical level, Superdisktoteka 90-x had a short photo essay on playground games in the 90's.
I found it interesting that dodgeball, Вышибалы, and four-square, Квадрат, were some of the top choices in their survey.
Neither seem particularly useful for language acquisition on their own, but I must admit the sort of french I've learned over baby-foot games has been in a register I'd be unlikely to encounter in more pedagogically oriented contexts.
Maybe we can talk someone into setting up an international 4-square veterans' league?