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Stockholms Spelmuseum - Pong, Pac-man, Pokémon

The Stockholm Game Museum is a small museum in a basement that tells the story of video games. Here you can see and try everything from early arcade games like Pac-Man to today's modern video games.

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Stockholm Game Museum

The Stockholm Game Museum is located on Markvardsgatan, right next to the Norra Real secondary school in Vasastan. We got here with our electric bikes, but of course it's also easy to get here by bus or metro. When you arrive, you find a small sign that says "Spelmuseum" and leads down into a basement ...

Stockholms spelmuseum

History of video games

The Stockholm Game Museum is an unusual museum that tells the history of video games. You can read that the first experiments with electronic games on screens were carried out in the 1940s.

In the early 1970s, the Atari company was founded and in 1972 it launched the game 'Pong', which was exhibited in a pub in California. As visitors gathered around the machine, they realised that this was a hit.

Soon many different games were launched, all resembling each other, with a single pixel jumping around the screen. But was Pong first? No, it turned out after a while that even Pong was a copy ...

TV-spel

Video game nostalgia at the Stockholm Game Museum

If you've ever played video games, it's easy to get nostalgic when looking around the museum. For example, have you played games on the Commodore 64, from 1982? Or do you have memories of the Amiga 500 or early versions of Nintendo, Xbox or Playstation? Do you remember games like The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Pokémon or Tetris? Then you will definitely get nostalgic when you look around the Stockholm Game Museum.

Commodore 64 på Stockholms spelmuseum

Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Wii Sports were special when they arrived, with their moving hand controls. I (Helena) actually tested the activating TV game Nintendo Wii in group homes for people with LSS input quite a few years ago, and wrote a report on the. The idea was that the game would encourage both physical activity and socialising, and the results were positive in many ways.

Nintendo Wii

Peter also found a Sony games console that he recognised well. Both he and his sons had these for a while, and the sons in particular played a lot during our various trips.

Stockholms spelmuseum

Super Mario

We also learnt a bit more about the video game character Mario, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. At the time when Mario was created, the technical limitations were quite high, and it was largely these limitations that determined the appearance of the character.

Mario på Stockholms spelmuseum
Shigeru Miamoto

Play at the Stockholm Game Museum

The Stockholm Game Museum is not very big, and it is quite easy to look around the exhibition. However, if you like to play nostalgic games, you can enjoy yourself a little longer. There are a bunch of different games to try, and for smaller children there is also a craft room.

Peter spelar

The future

At the far end of the premises is a small exhibition about the future. It talks about augmented reality, and how the boundaries between human and artificial are blurring.

Framtiden på Stockholms spelmuseum

Visiting the Stockholm Game Museum

We made our way through the Stockholm Gaming Museum pretty quickly. It was fun to look around but for us, who are only moderately amused by games, the short tour was almost worth the money. For those who are amused by video games, or who might want to bring along children or grandchildren who are addicted to video games, this might be just the right place.

Have you been to the museum and what did you think? Do you have memories of any of these video games?

Facts about the Stockholm Game Museum

  • Address: Markvardsgatan 2, 113 53 Stockholm
  • Find here: Subway to Rådmansgatan station (entrance to Handelshögskolan), subway to Tekniska högskolan station (entrance to Odengatan) or bus (no. 2, 4, 6, 50, 67 or 72) to Roslagsgatan stop.
  • More info: You can find more information at the museum's website.

Opening hours and prices

  • Opening hours: Thursday-Friday 12-17 and Saturday-Sunday 10-15 (2020)
  • Entry: 80 SEK and free for children 0-5 years (2020)
  • Payment: Only card payments are accepted, no cash is handled.

Services and rules

  • Food: There is no food service or café. Bringing in food or drink is not allowed.
  • Bags: Larger bags are not allowed on the premises, and can be left in the cloakroom behind the cash desk.
  • Pets: Pets are not allowed on the premises.
  • Shop: There is a small museum shop with game-related gadgets.
  • Craft room: Small craft room for children.

Accessibility

  • Local: Stockholms Spelmuseum is located in a basement room downstairs, with no lift, ramp or handrail.
  • Toilet: Accessible toilets are available.
  • Companions: Companions with a companion certificate enter free of charge.

Visits and events

  • Guided tours: Tours of 30-40 minutes for groups of up to 30 people. Booked via the website.
  • bachelor party/children's party: Private groups of up to 15 people can book the museum between 15:15 and 16:45 on Saturdays and Sundays.
  • Corporate events: The Stockholm Game Museum can be hired for various activities, such as a book release, departmental mingle or AW. A guided tour or tug of war can be included. Contact the museum for info.

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