Tampere game museum draws 5,000 visitors after expansion

Finland’s Game Museum in Tampere has welcomed 5,000 visitors in its first four days after reopening, Yle reports. The museum has expanded its exhibition space and added 32 games, including a playable version of Nokia’s classic Snake.

The museum, which opened in 2017, gained 100 square metres in a recent renovation. Its collection now includes 110 games, most of which visitors can play. Some are not available to play anywhere else.

Among the most popular choices are Hugo, a call-in television game from the early 1990s; Nokia’s Snake; and Uuno Turhapuro muuttaa maalle, a 1986 game for the Commodore 64 based on a film of the same name.

Visitors played Hugo by calling the live TV programme and steering the character with their phone keypad. The museum now offers a keypad phone so people who could not take part at home can try it. Snake has also drawn strong interest: the game was so heavily played in the museum before the renovation that the mobile phone used for it broke. The new display uses a large Nokia 3310, though researcher Asla Heikkari says it has the original Snake rather than the Snake 2 that came on the 3310.

Uuno Turhapuro muuttaa maalle remains popular despite its difficulty. Players guide Uuno around obstacles, and Heikkari says visitors keep trying. Another draw is Nopeustesti, a reaction-time game launched on the television programme Speden spelit in the 1980s.

The collection ranges from 19th-century board games to video games released this year, as well as role-playing games, card games and live-action role-playing games. Newer titles include Unemployment Simulator 2018, in which players experience life as an unemployed person in a small flat. Heikkari says the game touches on serious themes, including mental health and social exclusion. The museum’s exhibition also addresses racism and the male-dominated history of the gaming industry.

The museum reopened on Saturday after being closed for a couple of months during the renovation. Its games reflect different eras, from the call-in television entertainment of Hugo to mobile games that many parents now show their children as a reminder of what they used to play.