Chess as an exemplary game.  The game is constituted by acting in conformance with its rules.  The rules of chess have changed markedly over time.  I offered a quick look at (one account of) a Central Asian version played in the time of Timur Lenk (Tamerlane).  Its roots were much older, possibly in the Vedic game of Chaturanga, which became Chatranj in Persian civilization.  Chaula Kothari adds this information in 2003:

"Shatranj was developed in the middle of the seventh century after the
Arab conquest of Persia. The game quickly spread to many Islamic lands
and is considered the first truly international chess game.

Shatranj was almost identical to the original Indian game of Chaturanga.

Apparently it is claimed that the name Shatranj was derived from
Chaturanga which scientists consider to be the oldest known form of
chess. A document, Chatrang-namak by Pahlavi describes the arrival of
Chaturanga to the court of Persia with an Indian embassy.

The Sanskrit name Chaturanga means 'quadripartite' (divided into four
parts) and was also used to describe the Indian army of Vedic times in
which a platoon had four parts: one elephant, one chariot, three
soldiers on horseback, and five foot-soldiers. The board was known as
the 'ashtapada' (eight-square)"

But the fact that I found most interesting is that both Chaturanga and
Shatranj did not have any player designated as the Queen. So typical
of the male chauvinist societies of yore! I wonder who came up with
the concept of adding the Queen to modern chess and also equipping her
with the maximum power on board.

Regards,

Chaula Kothari.

[In response to my request, she answers,]
...
I got the information from the following site...
http://www.chessvariants.com and of course it may be passed on to other
members of the course.
 

In rough analogy, perhaps we should think of some "games" of international politics, e.g., collective security or balance of power, as changing with changes in their "rules."  Instead of positing "a game" of balance of power and seeking historical instances (etic: we use our definition of what it means to play balance of power), we treat it as a developmental construct, asking how "the set of games" which are commonly labeled balance of power are related to one another, and how they evolve.  Consider (again, I hope) the chapter on "language games" in H&S.