What do Han Solo, Batman, Ms. Pac-Man and Jack Torrance from The Shining have in common? That’s right: they were all big in the 80s and are still popular today. But more than that, they’ve all existed in some form or another as toys, and…
The 70s, 80s and 90s were a time of great innovation. If we think that today we’ve progressed so far, if we had to think about it, it’s only because of the discoveries that our forefathers made. So in spirit of gratitude, here are four…
I’ve got a bit of a love / hate relationship with Fruit Machines (or ‘Puggies’ as we call them in Scotland). I guess they’re called Slot Machines or One Armed Bandits in America, but that’s a slightly different kind of game I think. More of…
This is the second post in my series where I answer some of the Fourth Chair Carryover Questions from the Nerd Lunch Podcast. See my first blog post in this series to read about what exactly that is. This question is from Jay from the…
I’ve been lucky enough to visit Las Vegas three times so far in my life. Once on a Uni field trip, once on a friend’s stag party and then also once with my wife on our honeymoon, nearly 8 years ago, when we drove Route…
Many of you reading this in the UK will likely remember the great work done in the 90s by Paul Rose, aka Mr Biffo. He was the editor of the unique Teletext-based video games magazine Digitiser which pushed the boundaries in many ways in terms…
A couple of days ago there was a documentary on ITV4 about Panini sticker albums. And I have to say, it was fantastic. From the time of writing it’s still available to watch online for about 28 days and it’s also being shown again next…
I’m a big fan of Future Publishing and Imagine Publishing’s magazines and bookazines (Future recently acquired Imagine, so it’s now all under the Future umbrella). So I was very proud to be asked to contribute to Future’s latest bookazine “The Ultimate Retro Collection”. This bookazine…
It is hard to deny that card games and their many intriguing variations have been a classic way to while away dull hours now for a very long time. While it is hard to pinpoint the exact origins of just when the use of cards in…
Whether it’s a scene in the latest blockbuster or an episode of the Simpsons, Poker seems to have infiltrated itself into every aspect of our everyday culture. We borrow poker’s lingo in daily conversation and artists are inspired by the game in both music and…