Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
One book can teach you to forge a legendary sword
In fantasy games, a quick read can apparently replace years of swordsmithing: one book grants the skill to forge a legendary blade from magical energy.
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Fallout's two-headed deer can gore you twice
In Fallout, the two-headed deer are usually peaceful, but startle one and both heads may lunge to gore you.
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Removing objects from piles relies on binary logic
In Nim, writing each pile size in binary reveals which objects to remove to leave the opponent without a winning move.
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Skyward Sword hid an old Zelda melody by reversing it
The Ballad of the Goddess theme uses the melody of Zelda's Lullaby backward. The result sounds like a new adventure while retaining a structural link to a…
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Hangman rewards guessing vowels before consonants
Guessing common vowels early can reveal a word’s shape and help narrow down the remaining letters.
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BioShock dressed its protectors like walking diving equipment
Big Daddies combine the bulky silhouette of old diving gear with tools such as the Bouncer's drill. Their enclosed helmets make a human figure feel…
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Cyberpunk 2077's teaser arrived years before the game
The 2013 teaser appeared while CD Projekt Red was still heavily occupied with The Witcher 3. Cyberpunk existed as a developing project, but its production…
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The Triforce was almost a collection of microchips
Miyamoto originally imagined the hero traveling between the past and future to collect computer chips. He eventually chose a straightforward fantasy setting…
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Lara Croft was once Laura Cruz
She was first conceived as Laura Cruz, a Latina tomb raider, but Eidos executives thought the name wouldn’t connect with UK audiences. They settled on Lara…
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Guilty Gear Strive features a man carrying a massive anchor
It’s a chunk of solid steel sized for the front of a battleship, yet he swings it around like ordinary gear—an absurd flex against gravity.
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Official Uno rules ban stacking Draw Twos
Under official rules, you can’t answer a Draw Two with another Draw Two to pass the penalty along; stacking is a house rule.
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Assassin’s Creed’s horses began as human models
Because of engine limitations, developers repurposed a humanoid rig for the horses, twisting its spine and limbs into a rough quadruped shape. The result was…
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Rubik's cube corners display exactly three colors
Each corner is a single piece with three colors, so those colors stay together no matter how you twist the cube.
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Table tennis once came in a box labeled Gossima
Jaques marketed Gossima in 1891, among the early attempts to bring lawn tennis indoors. Early sets used equipment such as drumlike rackets and cork balls;…
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Epic Games was once called Potomac Computer Systems
Tim Sweeney started the company from his parents’ Maryland home and renamed it Epic MegaGames because “Potomac Computer Systems” sounded too small for an…
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Ape Escape made the old PlayStation controller useless
The 1999 game required a DualShock: one analog stick moved the character, while the other operated gadgets such as the monkey-catching net. A D-pad could not…
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Street Fighter profiles include fighters’ blood types
The profiles reflect a popular Japanese belief that blood type is linked to personality, so even fictional fighters get one.
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Modern Warfare 2 spent four times more on marketing
Infinity Ward developed the game for $50 million, while Activision spent $200 million on marketing—four times the development budget.
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In games, even basic moves can require unlocking
A seasoned warrior may be unable to do a simple forward roll until they spend a point on it in a specialized menu.
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Euchre trump jacks outrank every single other played card
The jack of the other suit sharing trump’s color is the left bower, ranking just below the right bower—so a jack can outrank even the trump ace.
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Mahjong tiles are stacked entirely to be knocked down
Mahjong players shuffle thick tiles across the table, enjoying their tactile feel and loud clack—even when the rules leave them confused.
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Shrink wrap on packaging is environmentally catastrophic
Some shrink-wrap packaging is made from PVC, which can be difficult to recycle and can release toxic dioxins if burned.
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When foreign game cartridges literally wouldn’t fit
Different regional cartridge casings meant a foreign game cartridge might not fit the console slot unless its shell was cut.
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Yakuza games put gangsters on the disco floor
In the games, sharply dressed gangsters trade street fights for dance battles, hitting disco moves in time with the music.
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