Play Beyond Play

Games, Sweden 2 Minutes

Play Beyond Play is an exhibition at the Technical Museum in Stockholm. It takes you on a journey through the history of games. Play games, create games, and even enter a game.

I re-visited the exhibition yesterday as my companions wrapped up their creations in the map making workshop at Slay Beyond Slay, a recurring tabletop role-playing gaming event at the museum. The theme yesterday was trees, chosen no doubt to emphasise the museum’s latest addition, a 360 degree 3D movie theatre built in wood. We will try that next time.

The Commodore 64. My best friend had the later model, the Commodore 128. I recall waiting for games to load from the tape cassette while the screen lit up with colourful lines. I like the prominent display, like an altar to the tech gods.

More than just play

The presentation is excellent and invites you to immerse yourself in the history of computer games. Play Donkey Kong on an arcade machine, drool over historical consoles and home computers, and try out Sweden’s very first computer game. 

As many of my generation, I recall with vivid memories the very first computer games I played on the Amstrads, Commodores, and Ataris of my neighbourhood friends. I played Pac Man and Castle on the Olivetti pc that my father bought for his home office for text processing. He sent floppy discs with mail to his editors in Copenhagen together with needle-printed copies on endless paper. He wasn’t happy with how enthusiastically I hammered the keyboard of his very expensive work device.

The Amiga 500. I convinced my parents that I would not only use it for gaming. Well, I did write my first computer program on it so it wasn't just play.

My own very first computer was an Amiga 500 that I bought with money from my confirmation. We went through piles of floppies with pirated games each month to keep up with latest development. Pirated games was the life and death of Commodore. I fondly remember solving Zac McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, sharing progress with my best friend next day in school.

Little did our parents know how computers and computer games would take over the world. Seeing how my kids take to new technology, I’m sure that play is more than just play. From playing games on the iPad, exploring caves and building worlds in Minecraft on the Xbox, to creating their own artwork in Blender and ibisPaint. Our kids will create a future beyond what I can imagine today.

Slay Beyond Slay, a series of tabletop roleplaying game events at the Technical Museum in Stockholm. Yesterday's event took place in the open area next to the new 3D movie theatre.

With 1,000 square meters, there is plenty to see and do. Enjoy a walk down memory lane while your kids put on a VR headset and jump off a ledge. Highly recommended.

Published