Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
Warhammer 40,000 began as a parody
The ultimate irony of creating a brutally oppressive, xenophobic galactic empire is that your fanbase will eventually start unironically worshipping it. The…
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When slot machines paid out in cigars
The origins of mechanical gambling were heavily restricted by anti-vice laws. Because dispensing cash was wildly illegal, early automated spinning machines…
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Yakuza 0 lets players buy a solid gold statue of themselves
If you accumulate enough wealth in the booming economy of the 1980s, the only logical investment is a massive, shiny monument to your own ego. It serves zero…
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Why Sims characters ignore dirty plates
A single empty dish is an impenetrable roadblock for simulated humans. They will proudly cook a gourmet meal, eat it standing up, and then scream in sheer…
Discover moreBill Clinton is a playable character in NBA Jam
Who needs professional athletes when you have the Leader of the Free World sinking three-pointers? In the classic arcade basketball title NBA Jam, entering a…
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Directional dodging creates sliding speeds
Why sprint when you can exploit friction? By perfectly timing a mid-air dodge into the ground, players force the physics engine to transfer aerial momentum…
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Standard pool balls are cast from dense phenolic resin
To endure constant, violent blunt-force trauma without shattering, these spheres are molded from hardened synthetic resin. They are miniature, brightly…
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First generation PlayStation 3 weighs eleven pounds
A physical footprint that aggressively dominated fragile living room shelves. The launch model was so shockingly dense it could genuinely double as a blunt…
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A game where you just walk and listen
Sometimes gameplay just means aggressively holding the 'W' key for an hour. Dear Esther popularized the 'walking simulator' genre by completely removing all…
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How a keg stand makes liquid defy gravity
Human anatomy specifically designed the esophagus to push food downward with the help of gravity, but weekend warriors decided to casually defy biology. By…
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The children's game played in over 50 countries
Creeping up on an authority figure before they turn around is an international pastime. While the terminology shifts drastically depending on the country, the…
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Persona characters attend high school classes daily
Saving the world from apocalyptic shadows does not excuse you from pop quizzes. No matter how many demons you defeated the night before, you still have to sit…
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The Etch A Sketch was sold for almost nothing
Drawing highly rigid stairs on a gray screen was shockingly unprofitable for its creator. Invented by a French electrician in his dark basement, he tragically…
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Why stunt performers wear ridiculous padded suits
Nothing sells the impact of a brutal martial arts showdown quite like wearing unflattering sleepwear. Elite stunt performers brought in to choreograph heavy…
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Some engineers use Factorio to test logic
When relaxation feels too unproductive, you can always simulate a grueling supply chain gig. Titles like Factorio allow users to construct logistical networks…
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Mashing action buttons skips dialogue much faster
Because reading text boxes is for nerds, and we genuinely just want to get back to swinging a sword. Treating a rich conversation like an obstacle course by…
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Why speedrunners switch games to Japanese
When milliseconds matter, linguistics is just another hurdle to exploit. Players attempting to finish titles as fast as possible will regularly switch their…
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Flop rounds reveal three community cards at once
The dealer drops three cards simultaneously purely to maximize emotional damage. It is the exact moment where your smug pre-flop confidence is mathematically…
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Micah Bell inherited more than his name
Being utterly detestable is apparently a genetic trait passed down through generations. The most universally hated character in the Red Dead universe is…
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Why bridge players bid without speaking
Apparently, competitive players are too expressive for their own good. Enclosed bidding boxes are required at professional tables so players do not…
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Primary playing marbles contain significantly heavier mass
The main projectile must outweigh the targets to effectively transfer kinetic energy and push them out of a defined boundary. It is a microscopic lesson in…
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Standard bingo B-columns feature numbers one to fifteen
Bingo isn't entirely random chaos; it follows rigid columns. The B column strictly holds numbers one through fifteen, so aggressively scanning your board for…
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Completely abandoning heavily publicized multi year roadmaps
A digital roadmap is mostly just corporate fan-fiction. Anthem was heavily touted as a ten-year interactive experience, featuring extensive charts outlining…
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Dodging electric zappers while riding a mechanical dragon
Breaking out of a secret laboratory is tough, but doing it with a jetpack made of machine guns is just good fun. Jetpack Joyride perfectly nailed the endless…
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