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Sometimes we play to compete, to engage in what the play scholar Johan Huizinga termed agon, or competition. That is why we love athletic contests. And yet many other types of play don’t prioritize competition. Instead they reward the silly and the nonsensical. Recently, watching two of my sons tussling reminded me that tickling contests, humorous ripostes, pun-making….all look for the reward of a smile rather than the thrill of victory.
 Clever video game design often evokes laughter in players. Infocom […]

Continue Reading about The Smile that Wins: From Infocom to Portal Published on:
July 27, 2012

Summer seemed endless when I was a kid. After school let out, the days passed slowly and the month of September felt like a long, long distance away. Now, as an adult, summer days feel short and precious, slipping through my fingers like sand until suddenly it’s autumn. And the sands of time aren’t the only things slipping out of my grasp. As a curator at the National Museum of Play at The Strong, sometimes it’s actual sand that slips […]

Continue Reading about Sandcastles Published on:
July 25, 2012

Museum guests and donors often inquire about what exactly happens to materials that ICHEG acquires for its collections. As ICHEG’s Acquisitions Cataloger, I handle and research electronic game-related artifacts, and I’m always pleased to answer that question.
Before an artifact becomes an official part of The Strong’s collections, it must be researched thoroughly and entered into our database system, known as Argus. Take for example, Myst III: Exile, one of the many games recently donated by 1Up. I begin with the […]

Continue Reading about Cataloging ICHEG’s Collections Published on:
July 20, 2012

I love to throw things and always have. Softballs, paper airplanes, Frisbees, water balloons, you name it—if it can be thrown, tossed, or side-armed, I’m there. Sometimes I like to throw for distance and speed, other times for accuracy. Trajectory, body mechanics, kinetic energy, and velocity are part of the formula. Those factors (combined with other variables) determine how far you can throw something, what direction it will take, and how fast it will go. Sometimes I just like to […]

Continue Reading about Outdoor Fun: Toys You Throw Published on:
July 17, 2012

Modern Americans are constantly bombarded with choices—local markets sell up to 25 different brands of water, media sources overload us with reports from the campaign trail, and college freshman opening a course catalog can be overwhelmed with options. Some people believe that choice rationally reflects desires, traits, and situations, and if we’re grounded in our beliefs and values, then making a decision should prove relatively easy. Recently, I played a game—Shadow of the Colossus—that caused me to question both my […]

Continue Reading about A Video Game I Quit Playing Published on:
July 13, 2012

I gave Droopy his name when he first appeared outside my office window at the National Institute for Play headquarters nearly ten years ago. He’s old for a wild crow. An injured wing made him easy to pick out as a youngster but has not seemed to hinder him since. He’s raised a brood each year with a crow version of aggressive mentoring and attentive tough love. Crows brood cooperatively and for long periods, and so crow young get plenty […]

Continue Reading about Droopy the Crow, the Surprising Bird Brain, and Play Published on:
July 12, 2012

As kids, we would sometimes say, as a mean joke, “He’s so dumb, he forgot how to play!” We thought it was funny then—as 10 year olds. But it’s hardly a laughing matter, then or now. The worry today comes with the knowledge that more and more kids aren’t learning how to appreciate free play—the type without rules or structure.

In the 1990s, researchers began to investigate Nature Deficit Disorder—the pattern of children becoming disconnected from the natural world by indoor […]

Continue Reading about Free Play, Back in the Day Published on:
July 10, 2012

Chuck E. Cheese’s is updating its mascot in an effort to reach a new generation of people who love pizza, video games, and the combination of the two. As a parent whose children have attended many functions at Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurants, I wish them the best of success in their new branding efforts. As a video game historian I can’t resist thinking about the origins of the chain.
As many video game fans know, Nolan Bushnell, who founded Atari, also […]

Continue Reading about Pizza + Video Games = Fun Published on:
July 9, 2012

Looking for a safe place for your savings? With today’s tumultuous stock market (even Mark Zuckerberg is losing money) and bank bailouts of the recent past, it’s no wonder that most of us feel a bit uncertain about the best place to store our money. How about a mechanical bank? For years these cast-iron collectibles proved a suitable spot for stashing cash, not only because they offered lock and key security, but because they made putting money away fun, encouraging […]

Continue Reading about Modern vs. Mechanical: The Best Bank for Your Buck Published on:
July 2, 2012