Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
Overwatch turned an aimbot into a character ability
Soldier: 76's Tactical Visor automatically targets enemies in view, turning a feature associated with aimbots into an official character ability.
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Pong began as an assignment for a new Atari engineer
Nolan Bushnell asked Al Alcorn to build a simple electronic table-tennis game. Alcorn turned the exercise into a playable machine, adding details that made a…
Discover moreSephiroth's name has a Kabbalistic origin
Sephiroth’s name comes from the Kabbalistic Sefirot, the ten attributes through which the infinite is said to reveal itself.
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Spyro glides across gaps but cannot actually freely fly
His wings let him glide over gaps, but he can't launch into flight from the ground.
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The Australian drinking game played on a clothesline
Players hang bags of wine from a rotary clothesline and spin it; whoever the line stops in front of has to drink.
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Super Mario Galaxy was recorded with a live orchestra
A live orchestra recorded soaring strings and brass, giving the platforming an unusually cinematic sound.
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Proximity blocking forces you to defend near an enemy
In some games, holding back to retreat after an attack misses can trigger a defensive animation instead, locking your character in place.
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Theme Hospital treats giant heads with a pin
In the game, “Bloaty Head” makes a patient’s skull swell like a balloon; a doctor pops it with a pin, then pumps it back to normal size.
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One player in bridge sits out entirely as the dummy
After bidding, dummy's partner plays the hand using the exposed cards while dummy stays silent.
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Abercrombie & Fitch helped sell America on mahjong
In the 1920s, the retailer stocked imported sets during a nationwide mahjong craze. Tiles, racks, and instructions turned a game into a fashionable product…
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A dart aimed at 20 can land next door and score just one
On the standard board, 20 sits between 1 and 5. Similar contrasts elsewhere make small aiming errors expensive, rather than letting high-value targets form…
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Why gamers put weights in their mice
Some gamers believe extra weight makes a mouse easier to control, though it also takes more effort to move.
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The heart suit once meant religious devotion
It was meant to represent religious devotion, not romance—a striking contrast with its later association with high-stakes illicit gambling.
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Bingo uses exactly seventy-five numbered balls in America
The 75 numbers are split into ranges assigned to B, I, N, G, and O, so each letter points players to a specific set of balls.
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The cake that lured Portal’s test subjects
A murderous AI keeps test subjects moving through fatal traps by promising a cake that doesn't exist.
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Donkey Kong collects hoards of tiny yellow bananas
Donkey Kong's adventures often center on recovering his stolen stash of bananas, sending him leaping across dangerous ravines.
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How Dungeons & Dragons brought XP to games
D&D introduced persistent character growth: completing tasks earned experience points, or XP, that made characters stronger. That system became a model for…
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Microsoft heavily pushed high definition graphics early
Because most buyers still had bulky CRT televisions, many saw the games' detailed graphics on blurry screens instead of the high-resolution displays the…
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Sleeping one hour cures mortal flesh wounds
In fantasy games, a one-hour nap in a tavern bed can erase injuries that would be serious medical emergencies in real life.
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Why gamers shoot their teammates first
At the start of a co-op game, players may shoot a teammate to find out whether friendly fire is enabled.
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Catan makes your opponents your trading partners
Klaus Teuber built Catan around scarce resources and dice-driven production, so players often have to negotiate—and bargain hard—with one another to get what…
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Original Xbox features a massive prominent green top jewel
The large green jewel was purely decorative. Embedding it deeply in the casing required special manufacturing and gave the console its distinctive glow.
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Why the craps stickman keeps chanting
The stickman’s rhythmic, auctioneer-like calls keep the game moving, but they can also make it harder for newcomers to follow the action and place their bets.
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The trick behind lifting someone with two fingers
The trick works by spreading the person's weight across several lifters, who raise them at the same time.
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