Hmm, sounds like you've been playing Runescape recently 0_o

But really, I'm all for having extra activities and whatnot. This game is pretty darn well done all things considered, but it doesn't have enough to keep me interested for long periods of time at once.

This is a good idea and probably something which can add a lot more depth to the game. Almost every other game I've played had minigames and so on that players can mess around with for no real reason other than to mess around. However, rather than things like boxing or card games which have been done before and will invariably draw comparisons with other games (potentially unfavourable ones if they get it wrong), I suggest making use of something that has been lurking in the game for a while.

Thieves trophies.

There is a fairly large list of "game" related objects you can pickpocket which suggests a rich trove of potential games that the dev team could flesh out into actual minigames. Instead of boxing, we could have "kick the khajiit". Instead of poker, we could have "sheep, sheep, goat". There is a list of all the "game" trophies here:

http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Contraband/Games

How should it work?

Well, one suggestion I have would be a collections tab for games. First, you have to steal the "game" via pickpocketing, and it can be added to your collections in the same way as momentos are. Then you can quickslot the game from your collections tab (again, in the same way as momentos). Then when you're in an appropriate location, i.e., not in combat or within a certain radius of where mobs spawn, you can "use" the game and spawn the game board or whatever is being used to play on, then other players can "use" that board (starting at 2 but up to however many the game itself allows) and choose to either play or observe. You might then get the same sort of view as you do with the Clown crates, i.e, that the background sort of goes fuzzy and the players sit around the game board. Perhaps players could also wager on the outcomes.

Another alternative would be to have certain games operating in certain places. For instance, a tavern in Skyrim might have a simple dice game going, where the game is already set up and (again) players can choose to either play or watch a game in progress.

The local outlaws' refuge might have some khajiit playing a knife game with a Baan Dar Whittling Knife, where the object is to stab as quickly as possible between your fingers without stabbing yourself (for instance).

In Auridon, at the Thalmor place, you could have a game of "Kick the Khajiit" going!

In Wayrest, you could have river races up and down the Bjoulsae as suggested by Bjoulsae Racing Oar.

In the Mage's Guild you could have some sort of scrabble-esque game using Bag of Letter Tiles.

For board games you could have "Battle on the High Seas" Game which I imagine would be some sort of cross between solitaire (the one with pegs) and battleships.

There are way too many possible games for me to even go through and list the possibilities, but this is what I would like to see. They have put so much effort into making all these little trinkets with their descriptions that it would be a crying shame not to actually see them come to life.

Yes please. Minigames and D&Ds and things to explore and little pocket activities that are just fun. This game is way too goal-oriented for me.

(But I will get a character to max alliance rank! Someday! Possibly!)