Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
Why trying not to laugh makes everything funnier
Players stare at one another with straight faces while others try to provoke them; once laughter is forbidden, even a tiny twitch can seem hilarious.
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Why bands sue over similar-sounding chords
A freelance composer’s battle track allegedly echoed a famous rock hit so closely that the studio faced an expensive legal fight and settlement.
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Why bingo balls bounce so chaotically
Forced air creates localized turbulence that tosses bingo balls around unpredictably inside the chamber.
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Rubik's cube white faces rest opposite yellow faces
On a standard Rubik's Cube, the white face is opposite the yellow one, regardless of how the cube is scrambled.
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Katamari makes you clean up your father's cosmic mess
In Katamari Damacy, the King of All Cosmos destroys the stars, leaving his tiny son to replace them. You roll objects into an ever-growing ball until the…
Discover moreGeralt's beard keeps growing while you travel
The Witcher 3 advances his beard through several lengths as time passes and he moves between locations. It is a small visual reminder that the journey is…
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The cake in Portal was inspired by a real dessert
A Black Forest cake the writers had bought from a local bakery gave them the idea: GLaDOS could tempt the test subject with dessert.
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Why PlayStation discs were dyed black
Sony gave PlayStation discs a black look for style and hoped it would make people think they couldn't copy them onto clear CD-Rs. The color offered no…
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En passant allows a chess pawn to capture adjacent targets
If an opposing pawn advances two squares and lands beside yours, you can take it diagonally as though it moved only one—but only on your next turn.
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Mario's invisible floors repeat far outside the level
Super Mario 64 converts coordinates for collision checks in a way that can wrap large values back into the normal range. Far outside the visible level, Mario…
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Rocket League's predecessor had a mouthful of a title
Psyonix released Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars in 2008. Its later successor kept the cars-playing-soccer idea but used the much shorter name…
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Chain Chomps mimic a dog chained to a post
The design was inspired by a neighborhood dog that chased the game's lead creator as a child before its leash yanked it back. That sudden restraint became the…
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Portal makes you care about a box before teaching you to burn it
The Companion Cube's heart symbols and GLaDOS's instructions encourage attachment to an otherwise ordinary puzzle object. Its incineration then makes the AI…
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Mancala involves sowing seeds into consecutive board pits
Players distribute stones one at a time into consecutive pits, planning where the last stone will land to build their own stash and limit what the opponent…
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Edith Finch gives your hands two different lives to lead
In Lewis's story, one control keeps his hand chopping fish at a cannery while the other guides a hero through his imagination. The fantasy grows until it…
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The original Nokia N-Gage hid its game card behind the battery
Switching games meant shutting the phone down, removing the back cover and battery, replacing the card, and rebuilding the stack before restarting. The 2003…
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The chaotic war game played with ping-pong balls
Everyone throws at once, with no turns, so ping-pong balls ricochet around the table and drinks spill. The result is far less orderly than a standard…
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Spades was invented by Ohio college students
Ohio college students created Spades as a faster, more aggressive version of Bridge that required less thinking.
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Why three strikes are called a turkey
The nickname has no obvious connection to bowling: three consecutive strikes earn the odd title of “turkey.”
Discover moreSymphony of the Night hides a second, upside-down castle
Reaching Castlevania: Symphony of the Night's inverted castle turns familiar architecture into unfamiliar routes, with different enemies and challenges. A…
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Team Fortress 2 lets you fight fires with a jar of urine
The Sniper's Jarate soaks enemies, making them take mini-crit damage from attacks. It can also extinguish burning teammates. The same ridiculous support…
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A floating apple keeps escaping your bite
Biting pushes the apple down or sideways while buoyancy keeps bringing it back up. Without hands to steady it, the target moves just as your teeth reach it.…
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Color grading coats digital worlds in specific color tints
A lookup table can tint shadows blue and highlights orange, giving a rendered scene a chosen mood consistently across frames.
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Madden's cover became a spotlight for the players inside the game
As NFL athletes replaced John Madden as the regular cover attraction, the annual selection became its own event. Injuries and disappointing seasons then fed…
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