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Pink Panther lunch bags, 2021, courtesy of the author.

One of my favorite recent museum acquisitions is a package of 1990s Pink Panther lunch bags. The infamous animated character is playing Panther, an adorable, […]

Continue Reading about What’s in a Bag? Published on:
December 9, 2021

While two versions of Police Academy are known to have been created at Atari, no playable versions had yet to be found. Within the Atari Coin-Op Division Corporate Records at The Strong, more than just […]

Continue Reading about Game Saves: Police Academy for NES Published on:
December 2, 2021

Skyline Climb. The Strong, Rochester, New York.

We’ve recently opened Skyline Climb, a high adventure ropes course that soars high in our cathedral-like glass atrium. Physical play like this is important, not only as […]

Continue Reading about The Benefits of Risky Play Published on:
November 23, 2021

Digital photograph of John Crocker and his Gulf War Air Force Squad, about 2019, The Strong,
Rochester, New York. Gift of John Crocker. Their “official” Risk insignia patch is seen on their hats.

On […]

Continue Reading about Risk: Playing War with Family and Friends Published on:
November 18, 2021

Photo of children building a sandcastle, about 1980. The Strong, Rochester, New York.

Sand may not be running through my veins, but it’s definitely been a significant part of my life for decades. One […]

Continue Reading about True Grit Published on:
November 11, 2021

American Girl Holiday 2021 Catalog, Courtesy of Creative Commons Attribution.

Following a visit to historic Williamsburg, Virginia, and a Christmas shopping trip for her nieces, educator and newscaster Pleasant Rowland pondered, “Here I am, […]

Continue Reading about American Girl Dolls Inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame Published on:
November 4, 2021

Walking around in The Sims. Maxis, 2000. Screen shot courtesy of the author.

The once pejorative term “walking simulator” was often deployed to single out video games that bucked the trend of delivering […]

Continue Reading about Simulation, Photography, and Flâneurie In Video Games Published on:
October 28, 2021

Ralphie: “No, no! I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!”

Santa Claus: “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.”

This iconic scene from A Christmas Story—Ralphie blurting out to the department […]

Continue Reading about Elevators and Electricity: The Toys I Always Wanted Published on:
October 21, 2021

Sid Sackson, 1969. Author photo from book jacket of A Gamut of Games.
The Strong, Rochester, New York.

Have you ever wondered how some of your favorite board games were developed? Did the idea […]

Continue Reading about A Gamut of Games: The Sid Sackson Portal Published on:
October 11, 2021