196 Items Tagged

Games

Delray Beach, Florida

Silverball Retro Arcade

Decades of pinball and arcade classics line this South Florida outpost of a popular Northeast arcade.

Macomb, Illinois

Birthplace of Monopoly

Over 120 years ago, the original boardgame that inspired Monopoly was invented in this small Illinois town.

At India's oldest and largest chess manufacturing company, master craftsman Surinder Pal holds the exclusive title of knight carver. Known as the most tedious chess piece to work on, they must be done entirely by hand. Today, knight carvers are well respected and increasingly hard to come by.

Masters of the Knight: The Art of Chess Carving in India

In Amritsar, artisans have hand-carved the most complicated pieces in the game for generations.

Roxanne Hoorn January 23, 2025

Salem, Massachusetts

The Parker Brothers’ Grave

They founded the game company that made Clue, Monopoly, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, and Sorry!

Gifting animals, games, and cakes.

5 Tales of Bizarre Holiday Gift-Giving

From elephants and hippos to fanfiction and sheep-shearing cake—what are you gifting this year?

Roxanne Hoorn December 5, 2024

The Video Game 'Black Myth: Wukong' Has Ancient Roots

A trickster monkey hero, a complex pantheon, and more than a millennium of storytelling are behind the hit.

Michael Naparstek October 1, 2024

McLean, Illinois

Arcadia

Just off I-55 in McLean, Illinois, is a place where you can play over 100 arcade and pinball machines for 25-75 cents a pop.

Shandur, Pakistan

Shandur Polo Field

At an altitude of 3,700 meters, this is the highest polo field in the world.

Park Ridge, Illinois

Scrabble Grave

A board game enthusiast's love for the game, memorialized forever.

‘The Travellers’ Tour Through the United States’ is the earliest known board game to depict a map of the U.S.

America's First Board Game Was an Idealized 'Travellers' Tour' Through a Young Nation

The 1822 board game, the first to feature a map of the United States, was forgotten for nearly a century.

Matthew Wynn Sivils July 29, 2024

The first ever crossword puzzle was published in December 1913 on the 'Fun' page of <em>The New York World</em>. Since then, millions more have been published around the world.

How Crossword Creators Make our Favorite Word Games

We sat down with crossword editors to talk Viking words, pizza rat, and the joy of wordplay.

Adrienne Raphel May 30, 2024

Discover the mad science of a mad-scientist escape room.

World-Competitive Escape Rooms Are Darker, Scarier, and More Scientific

Are you an explorer or a killer?

Jennifer Billock April 25, 2024

Podcast: Two Places And A Lie (Live)

We play two truths and a lie—Atlas Obscura style.

The Podcast Team April 12, 2024

Nevada’s Basque community began with sheepherders, who settled here in the late 19th century.

Searching for Nevada’s Most Off-Beat Places and People

You haven’t really explored the Silver State until you’ve gone off the Las Vegas Strip.

Sponsored by Travel Nevada

Balderdash takes on Mad Libs in our contest of word game supremacy.

Atlas Obscura’s Ultimate Word Game Tournament

From Password to Mad Libs to Wordle, we pit our favorite lexical pastimes head to head.

Adrienne Raphel March 29, 2024

One Gary Con vendor was selling these dragon dice holders. Also known as dice jails, these holders "detain" unlucky dice.

Dungeons & Dragons All Started In This Tiny Wisconsin Town

Since 2008, Lake Geneva has hosted Gary Con, a convention honoring the hometown hero who created the beloved game.

Tea Krulos March 28, 2024

The Easter egg tree custom, pictured here in Saalfeld, Germany, has gained some ground in the United States.

7 Unexpected Easter Traditions

Why hide eggs when you can hang them on a tree?

April White March 22, 2024

The latest version of clue includes a more diverse cast that some observers have noted codes as queer.

From Family Game to Cult Film to 'Thirst Trap,' Clue Has Been Through It

The latest glow-up of the iconic board game draws on a wealth of cultural touchstones.

Adrienne Raphel March 5, 2024