In ‘Play!’, we invite you to come and play with us. From the King’s Game of Ur to Tetris, and from Mahjong to Mario. In this pop-up, you’ll learn more about the stories behind well-known games. But above all, you can play for yourself! Compete against each other and try out new or familiar games.
So come along and play!
Why do we actually play? And how is it that a game originates somewhere in the world, only to be played all over the world years later?
Playing brings people together. We play for fun, to challenge one another, to learn something new or to escape reality for a while.
Games don’t stay in one place; they travel with people via trade routes, colonisation and migration, and change along the way. Rules are adapted, names change or a completely new version emerges. This is how chess originated in India in the 6th century and travelled via Persia to Europe. Mahjong grew into a world-famous game, whilst dominoes found their way to the Caribbean through European colonisation.
The boards of The Royal Game of Ur date from around 2600 BC. This makes the game one of the oldest board games for which we know the rules. In Play!, you can experience for yourself what it’s like to play this ancient board game.
Even games we know from the past have a surprising history. Mens erger je niet! (Don't get angry), Rummikub, Mikado and Tic-Tac-Toe may seem familiar, but their origins tell stories that go further back than you might think.
The rise of computers has changed the way we play. Where as people used to play in arcades, games moved to home consoles and later to our smartphones, which we always carry with us. Although playing on your smartphone cuts you off from your immediate surroundings on the one hand, on the other hand it connects you to the whole world. Never before have so many people worldwide been able to game together.
Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Tetris and Flappy Bird became global hits. But how did these games become so popular? Behind their success lie stories of creative developers, technological innovations and, sometimes, pure luck.
Many games are designed to be played together. That’s why there are plenty of opportunities to join in yourself. Game on!