When the film adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s hit book Crazy Rich Asians came out in 2018, I knew I’d have to watch it on the big screen. (A charming romantic comedy starring several of my favorite actors in beautiful Singapore? Yes, please!) Of course, I loved the movie, and—no spoilers—I was totally awestruck by the third act’s mahjong scene. The airy, bright mahjong parlor where the film’s protagonist, Rachel, meets her boyfriend’s imposing mother is peaceful and quiet, with only […]
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Heroines Just as Interesting as Heroes
The video game company Her Interactive adopted the slogan “For Girls Who Aren’t Afraid of a Mouse.” The firm’s fan letters and focus group collections informed my research on how video games are a technological construction of human expression. Her Interactive was a company focused on creating games based on the reception they received from their audience—girl gamers. They wanted to make video games based on the Nancy Drew series of novels more story driven so that girls would be […]
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Keeping the Adventure Fun for Everyone: Safety tools for Tabletop Roleplay Games
In a 2020 blog, I discussed how during the pandemic many players of Tabletop Roleplay Games (TTRPGs) turned to platforms online to continue their adventures. I wasn’t alone in turning to TTRPGs for entertainment while stuck at home because that year, National Toy Hall of Fame inductee Dungeons & Dragons saw sales jump 33%! That jump doesn’t even touch on the hundreds of indie TTRPGs that have been released through various crowdfunding sites in the last few years. With more […]
Let Me In!
Every year, The Strong receives thousands of nominations for toys that people believe—or, more accurately, KNOW—should be inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Most years, the number of nominations hovers in the 4,000–6,000 range. But in 2021, more than 55,000 nominations poured into the museum. Was it just that people working from home with fewer outlets for their attention found themselves with more time to advocate for their favorite toys and games? Maybe. But ever since The Strong […]
Pinball Playfields: A Flippin’ Fun Time, Part II
Pinball Playfields has a machine for everyone, and there’s always fun to be had. Part I highlighted a number of older machines, classics in their own rite. Part II contains a series of more modern machines, many of them from the exhibit’s generous sponsor, the Stern Pinball Company.
The Lord of the Rings
One Ring to rule them all, one Ring to find them, one Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness, bind them. The epic fantasy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s […]
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The Laserdisc Playland: Atari’s Lost Arcade Game
By Andrew Borman
When Ars Technica journalist Matt Paprocki discovered a lost Atari laserdisc title Playland, I decided to dive into the Atari Coin-Op Division corporate records at The Strong to see if we could learn more about the game, and who worked on it.
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Pinball Playfields: A Flippin’ Good Time
Pinball is a game that dates back nearly a century, with many companies in the industry rising and falling and designers creating icons of the ever-evolving superstar of non-digital gaming. The Strong museum’s Pinball Playfields exhibit showcases some of the finest machines that the industry has ever seen and, while this is by no means a complete collection, there’s no doubt that these machines are icons in their own right.
Dancing Dolls
Take a step back in time to the oft romanticized […]
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The First Female Video Game Designer
How did you spend the summer after your high school graduation? Though that was a few more years ago than I care to enumerate, some memories spring to the forefront of my mind: feeling anxious and excited about starting college in the fall; working long hours at a family entertainment center (where I was occasionally costumed as a giant mouse…); and spending those last, warm evenings having fun with my hometown friends. I was certainly not doing anything groundbreaking—pretty much […]
What’s in a Bag?
One of my favorite recent museum acquisitions is a package of 1990s Pink Panther lunch bags. The infamous animated character is playing Panther, an adorable, make-believe arcade game starring himself. At The Strong, we preserve obvious commercial playthings like arcade cabinets and game cartridges, but we also acquire playful artifacts and play-related materials that can assist in contextualizing play in a specific period. As the research historian, I think the artifact helps us capture how video games permeate everyday spaces […]