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 ...
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 ...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
You might also like:
Prince Eugens Waldemarsudde - art in beautiful surroundings
The Historical Museum in Stockholm - from ancient to modern times
ArkDes - museum of architecture and design
East Asian Museum in Stockholm - Japan, China, Korea
Museums in Stockholm - guide to the city's best museums
Nordiska museet 150 years - Jubilee bridge and new exhibitions
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Emma, sun like sun? says:
That sounds like a place for my husband, he's a games fanatic! But of course, the computers that started to find their way into households in the early 80s were also the foundation of his programming skills.
I myself would be moderately amused. I was playing Shamus with my little brother, but the most fun part was getting to the next room so I could map the room! Soooo typical of me, it should be mapped and documented in a clear way. Have some screws that are probably tightened a little too hard.
The Mario character. Imagine how much you can do with 16×16 px! I sometimes make icons for programmes and it's really a challenge to get it right!
06 February 2020 - 8:36
Helena says:
Many people certainly learnt a lot through the games! ? And haha, I'm probably also a bit of an organiser ?
06 February 2020 - 18:37
Ama de casa says:
I remember that we brought a video game with us to Norrköping in 1978. A thing with two "rackets" (oblong square things), one on each end that you could move up and down on the screen. In between, a square ball "bounced" that you had to hit off. Really high-tech! 😀
Then I have had a tendency to get stuck in those games. First it was something "half-animated" on a Commondor Vic64 (the games were loaded via old-fashioned cassette tape), then tetris and finally (?) Wordfeud. There was a long time between games, but they were all uninstalled so I could use my time for something more sensible. I tend to suffer from the gaming devil, so it's just as well that I don't have access to any games 😀.
06 February 2020 - 11:42
Helena says:
Haha, isn't it strange that you get stuck in certain games? ?
06 February 2020 - 18:39
JoY says:
What fun places you find in "our" city. No, I have never been a computer/TV player, not even tried. Tried with some game on my mobile phone but no it was not my thing.
06 February 2020 - 12:21
Helena says:
There are all sorts of things to discover when looking, fun! ??
06 February 2020 - 18:39
BP says:
Cool! Nostalgia! Recognise the games, but was/is hopeless with games. Our first "computer" was a Sinclair ZX81 and then a Sinclair Spectrum, both imported from England, where they came out long before Sweden. It was so heavenly "high-tech" at that time. We had a Commodore Vic 64 at work and I tried to learn the programming language Basic, without success of course.
06 February 2020 - 16:39
Helena says:
I haven't even heard of Sinclair! Computers are fun to use, but programming, no it's not my thing either ... ?
06 February 2020 - 18:41
Maria / Magnolia Magis says:
That's so cool! I am sitting next to my 25 year old son and showing your post. We remember together... When he sat on his grandfather's lap and played tetris. First Game Boy and the little boy says to his father who is playing in frustration: "next time stay dad, I'll help you"... ? I've played some weird worm on a floppy disc that was new in the 80's... Nice tip!
06 February 2020 - 18:35
Ann-Louise Paulsson says:
I've thought about going here, mainly because William (and his partner) love games. We might have to plan a visit there soon.
06 February 2020 - 21:15