Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
The original G-Man's briefcase has hidden contents
Inspecting Half-Life's original model reveals a texture showing items including pencils, a handgun, and an identification card. Normal play keeps the case…
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Mass Effect traded driving across planets for scanning them
The first game let players explore many planetary surfaces in the Mako vehicle. Mass Effect 2 shifted resource gathering toward orbital scanning and probes,…
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Why casino chips are made to weigh 11.5 grams
That weight helps chips stack reliably and gives them a substantial feel, making bets more tangible.
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Jack of Clubs holds an object resembling a leaf
The Jack of Clubs’ hand-held object can look more like a leaf than a weapon or scepter.
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Lightning's actual birth name is Claire Farron
After her parents died, she took the name Lightning to seem tougher and protect her younger sister.
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Xbox Live once came in a box
Before online signup, joining Xbox Live meant buying a retail starter kit with a headset and subscription voucher.
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Gordon Freeman's crowbar was a deliberate anti-action-hero choice
Gabe Newell described liking it as a workman's tool rather than a display of macho power. It suited a scientist caught in a disaster, and players could also…
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American roulette wheels feature an extra double zero
Compared with a single-zero wheel, the extra pocket raises the house edge, giving the casino a better chance over time.
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Resident Evil 4 bells trigger instant mob retreats
In the opening village fight, surviving long enough triggers a distant bell; the attackers stop and leave to pray.
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In Cribbage, an early win is called skunking
In cribbage, skunking means winning before your opponent reaches the 91st hole on the pegboard.
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Burnout Paradise fills its roads but leaves out pedestrians
Traffic supplies targets and obstacles, while the sidewalks stay empty. That design lets spectacular crashes remain about vehicles rather than hitting people…
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The green billiards table remembers an outdoor game
Billiards developed from earlier lawn games, with green cloth representing grass when play moved indoors. Players originally pushed balls with mace-like…
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Zelda Breath of the Wild stasis heavily multiplies force
Striking a frozen object stores kinetic energy; when time resumes, that energy sends it flying across the map.
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John Carmack built Mario 3 for Nintendo—and got rejected
Before Doom, Carmack recreated Super Mario Bros. 3’s smooth side-scrolling on DOS PCs to pitch Nintendo. The company praised the technology but kept its games…
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BioShock makes its political argument part of the place you explore
Rapture was built as a city where exceptional people could escape outside control. You arrive after that promise has collapsed, reading its ideals on posters…
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When boxing was illegal across most of America
Prizefighting was associated with gambling, mob violence and debauchery, so matches moved to secret locations, riverboats and remote woods. Only after decades…
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In Super Meat Boy, your deaths stain the saws
After each respawn, the blood remains on the spinning blades, marking where previous attempts went wrong.
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In Paperboy, newspapers go through windows
The game's most effective strategy is to hurl rolled newspapers through the windows of non-subscribers while dodging runaway lawnmowers and breakdancers.
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Scrabble tile Q is the only letter worth ten whole points
Many familiar Q words use a U, which can make the 10-point tile tricky to play—but it isn't unusable without one.
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Halo 2's sniper Jackals made players memorize danger
On Legendary, the enemies punish exposure so quickly that learning where each sniper waits becomes part of surviving the level. A shot can arrive before…
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The Atari Lynx put color in your hands—and drained six batteries
Released in 1989, the Lynx offered a backlit color screen while Nintendo's Game Boy used a simpler display. That technical luxury demanded more power and a…
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Why tug of war depends on your shoes
The team that grips the ground better can brace and put more force into the rope. Strong arms won’t help much if your feet slide on wet grass.
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A game's bloody screen replaces a glance at the health bar
Red edges and blurred vision put damage directly in your field of view. You don't need to stop aiming to notice that you're in trouble; the picture itself…
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The famous nuclear Gandhi glitch never existed
Players attributed the legend to a supposed bug that made Gandhi’s aggression stat drop below zero and turn him into a nuclear warmonger. Sid Meier later…
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