Entertainment for colonists in the far future.

[kerbiloid]

Meditation.
While they are going there, they eat less, need no room except a sitting carpet. Dust and asteroids do not appear on their way.
When they arrive, they get able to move the ship with a will effort, communicate telepatically without a delay, and maybe even jump through the space. Need no fuel to return. (Maybe even need no return)
So, this is a cheap way to build long-range ships.

[wumpus]

I'd have to question the assumption that future space life would be on automatic... I'd assume that it would be at least if not more busy than life on Earth (although if you can't meaningfully trade with Earth or another colony, that would remove much incentive for non sustenance work).

As far as I know, there are issues with the number of astronauts/cosmonauts on the ISS and how much time can be devoted to experiments vs. maintenance.  The minimum number of workers on board (the completed thing) is pretty close to the number on board (I think they are one or two over the minimum).  Certainly, much of the "experiments" are likely busy work ("we paid billions for you to be up there and want something to see for it") leading to things like the Skylab mutiny, but that doesn't mean that otherwise the astronauts would have much time for themselves.

But to answer the question, it would look a lot like indoor Earth entertainment (and as usual, consider submarine life as an example of space life).  A handful of people are unlikely to come up with a breakthrough that billions of people haven't thought of over a thousand years or so (null gravity sports would be an exception).

[Just Jim]

I would like to think folks will still be playing classics like chess... I mean, it's already nearly 1,500 years old... more or less... what's to stop it from being played 1,500 years from now?

I've been toying with writing something (not Emiko) that includes this issue, and while I was thinking more along the lines of cargo, merchant and trading ships, my idea was each ship, and/or colony, only has a limited collection of ancient movies from way back in the 20th century, or whenever. And when 2 ships meet up, or a cargo ship arrives at a colony, or something along these lines, one thing that always happens, besides their actually mission, is members of the crew trading DVD's, or whatever media they'd be using, between ships before going their separate ways.

As for conventional sports, I think that would depend more than anything on the gravity, or lack thereof, on a colony or ship. If they had gravity, and a ball, someone would eventually fashion a hoop of some sort in a cargo hold..... 

Edited April 17, 2017 by Just Jim

[ARS]

Play dead space and do zero g basketball:)

[kerbiloid]

Play Dead Space ... and don't forget to fix your hands before going to bed.