By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
If you were watching Jeopardy! on June 23, you saw a game that ended with a strange coincidence. The Final Jeopardy! clue:
In 1896, the Vassar-educated wife of this man wrote, ‘Thousands of dollars may be paid for a copy of Shakespeare’
Contestant Emily Croke was the only one who wrote the correct question: “Who is Folger?”
After being declared the winner, Croke revealed to host Ken Jennings, “That was my […]
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Infinity Arcade Exhibit Explores the History and Impact of Coin-Operated Games
Back in 2010, The Strong opened eGameRevolution, the museum’s first permanent exhibit to focus on the history of video games. For more than a decade, that exhibit informed and delighted millions of museum guests. We recognized early on that the exhibit’s arcade was a hit with guests who loved playing and learning more about coin-operated video games. So, when the museum opened its ESL Digital Worlds: High Score and Level Up exhibits as part of its 90,000-sq. ft. expansion in […]
The Great Old One: Call of Cthulhu’s Rise and Influence in Games.
Within the last few years, tabletop roleplay games (TTRPGS) have seen a boost in popularity. And while Dungeons & Dragons has become the name synonymous with the game genre in the United States, many other games deserve attention. One game has exerted a great deal of influence over how we play these games today, and has expanded into board games, card games, and video games over the decades. I am talking about Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu TTRPG. Using the Cthulhu […]
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We Have Escape Rooms at Home
Escape rooms are a massive commercial industry. In 2024, the Escape Room Industry Report counted approximately 2,000 facilities in the United States alone. They’re also massive physically—these in-person experiences are room-scale. As The Strong begins an initiative to preserve escape room materials, we’re starting small. Many creators have attempted to capture the magic of the escape room in a packaged product. These games show that escape rooms, and games based on them, do not fit neatly into a box.
As I […]
Apple II Powered Game Show
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
After its founding on April 1, 1976, Apple Computer Company had one of the fastest rises ever for an upstart company. Their first computer was named, simply, Apple I, but in June 1977, the company changed the world with the Apple II. With an external shell for containing the components, a built-in keyboard, game paddles, cassettes for saving data, and glorious full-color graphics, the Apple II was credited […]
Losing at Checkers: A Learning Experience
How to Win at Checkers, How to Beat Grandad at Checkers, Play Winning Checkers. These are the titles of just a few of the books from Alfred C. Darrow’s checkers library, which recently found a new home at The Strong Museum. The literature covers every aspect of playing a winning game, even How to Lose at Checkers, as it turned out. In my survey of Mr. Darrow’s vast collection, I discovered that I knew nothing about how to win—or lose—at […]
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Chores Are More Fun When They’re Fake
As I begin a new decade of my life, I’ve become more aware of the toys that model real-world “adulting.” Pretend play is a childhood staple, and often it involves kids performing what they see adults do. I’ve also realized, with a bit of my now developed adult cynicism, that it was a lot more fun to pretend to be an adult. The real thing doesn’t always measure up.
Take chores for example. Sweeping up with a fake broom or running […]
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How Play Is Preserved
How do you use objects to capture and preserve a concept as abstract as play? For although play stands as a universal phenomenon, it is also a deeply subjective experience, which can look and feel completely different depending on the time, place and people engaging in it. How can anyone, much less an entire museum, adequately convey such a personal and imaginative experience through artifacts in a way that does play justice? In my time as an intern with The […]
Pee-Wee Herman…the Game Show Star?
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
The two-part documentary Pee-Wee as Himself, now available for streaming on HBO Max, chronicles actor Paul Reubens’ unexpected rise to fame as the character Pee-Wee Herman. As the documentary explains, game shows had a small role in the rise of Reubens and his bizarre alter ego.
Reubens’ earliest shots at the big time came from The Gong Show. He and actress Charlotte McGinnis appeared on the daytime show as […]