Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
The children’s game that turns a handkerchief into a chase
The player who’s “it” walks around the circle and drops a handkerchief behind someone. If that person doesn’t notice in time, they must chase the player…
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Scientists studied drinking games without the alcohol
Researchers used water in simulated drinking games to measure how play affected consumption. Removing intoxication let them examine the rules themselves: who…
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The Victorian game where wrong rhymes get you hissed
Players silently act out words that rhyme with a secret answer. Guess the wrong rhyme and the audience hisses.
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A Dark Souls elevator makes hours of travel suddenly fit together
The lift from the Undead Parish returns to Firelink Shrine, revealing that the dangerous route you climbed loops back near your starting hub. No…
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Why the back-right bowling pin is so difficult
A right-handed hook can curve away from the back-right corner pin, leaving it standing even after the rest of the rack falls.
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Barbie has starred in more video games than you think
Since her 1984 debut on the Commodore 64, Barbie has appeared in more than 80 video games, spanning genres from extreme sports to secret-agent adventures.
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Xbox One Kinect requires a massive proprietary thick cable
Its thick proprietary cable carried the tracking data, making the Kinect awkward to route or conceal.
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Domino blank tiles connect to other blanks in most rulesets
In many domino games, a blank half can match another blank, so a tile with no pips can still extend a chain—or block an opponent.
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On a seesaw, a lighter child can balance a heavier one by sitting farther out
The farther child sits from the pivot, the more leverage their weight provides, balancing a heavier child closer in.
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Skyrim can turn a plain sword into something more valuable at a grindstone
Weapon improvement uses crafting materials and smithing skill to raise a weapon's performance. Enchanting adds another route to making an ordinary piece of…
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How four-sided graphics hurt the Sega Saturn
The Saturn's hardware was built around four-sided polygons, unlike the triangle-based graphics common on other consoles. That made adapting games between…
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Why the N-Gage looked ridiculous at your ear
Its speakers sat on the device’s narrow edge, so users had to hold it sideways against their ear—a pose that made the gaming phone look ridiculous and became…
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Why video game armor always fits perfectly
A defeated giant's armor can drop as a pristine chest plate sized perfectly for your character, with no tailoring required.
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Chess has more possible games than atoms in the universe
Shannon estimated about 10^120 possible chess games, compared with roughly 10^80 atoms in the observable universe.
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Metal jacks have six points so they land with a spike facing upward
The six-pronged shape makes it likely that at least one point will face up when a jack lands, which is why stepping on one can hurt.
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Repeated thumb pressing can build muscular thumbs while leaving the rest of you neglected
Repeated thumb presses can strengthen the small muscles of the hand, but they won’t give the rest of your body much of a workout.
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Final Fantasy heroes ride giant yellow birds
The oversized birds sprint across vast landscapes, carrying sword-wielding heroes where horseback travel would feel far less adventurous.
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Ticket to Ride awards bonus points for the longest route
Players can earn bonus points by building the longest continuous route, even if that means taking a winding detour instead of a logical shortcut.
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Why a game's easy-mode prompt feels like an insult
A prompt to lower the difficulty after three deaths may feel like a taunt, but it can also undermine a player's sense of competence.
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A blackjack ancestor appears in a Cervantes story
Rinconete and Cortadillo, published in 1613, describes cardsharp characters familiar with twenty-one. The goal was already recognizable: get close to 21…
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Kratos was almost blue
During early development, Kratos had blue war paint, but the team changed it to red after noticing it made him resemble a Smurf or a Diablo II barbarian.
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Ouija boards were once wholesome family entertainment
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Ouija boards were marketed as parlor games for families and courting couples. The Exorcist (1973) later helped…
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The puzzle supposedly born from a broken square
The tangram’s origin is uncertain, but a popular legend says it began when a scholar dropped a square glass tile and broke it into seven pieces.
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Magic the Gathering decks require a minimum of sixty cards
A 59-card deck breaks the rule, while adding cards can make any particular spell less likely to show up in a draw.
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