I'm writing a bit of a story ^^^disclaimer: ^^^it's ^^^a ^^^Dungeons ^^^& ^^^Dragons ^^^adventure that features a May Day celebration in 1000 AD. I'd like to include some examples of games and contests (both of the skill and chance variety) that might have been common in France (or elsewhere; I'm not picky) about that time.
So far, all I have are tropes: jousting would be in its infancy, but it's still restricted to the relatively wealthy. Other ideas I had were footraces, horse races, darts, wrestling, perhaps a melee with mock weapons.
What other sorts of entertainment would be available for the crowd (and the 1st level protagonists) to participate in?
From 1000 AD, I'm not to sure. Chess and parchessi/parchisi is probably not that old. The best way to research games that old is to look at what the Romans played. http://www.mariamilani.com/ancient_rome/ancient_roman_games_entertainment.htm should get you started.