You do realise that the inventor of the ouija board made it as a toy / game, right?
He made it to make money, which he knew he could because there was a big push in the late 19th century to want to talk to the dead. Not as a game, but because the people really wanted to talk to the dead. I wouldn't say the board began as just a game because that was never it's purpose, whether for fun or in all seriousness.
