Power UP and Pub Quiz
May. 12th, 2022 06:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crystalcazzieI went up to London yesterday to go to the Science Museum with a couple of friends from my pub quiz team. We went to the Power UP exhibit, which promised a "hands-on, fully interactive gaming event" that turned out to be a whole load of computers set up in a big room to play games on. At the back wall there was a timeline of computers/consoles from 1976 to 2006, including the BBC Micro that I have very fond memories of. I played Repton and Chuckie Egg on their original platform for the first time in decades! I also played Pac Man on an Atari 2600, which was pretty cool.
I wandered around some of the other areas to investigate what else they had. I tried to avoid things I could easily play at home, but still ended up playing Theme Hospital for quite a while! I decided to give Minecraft a go cos I've heard so much about it, but I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing or how to control anything. I think that was one of my main issues with the event; if you hadn't played the game already it was a bit difficult to get into it. A basic information sheet next to each game would have been helpful.
I also wish there had been more old school games. Things I remember from the past but aren't readily available now. They had DuckTales, which I tried but couldn't remember how to play, but no QuackShot. I'd have loved to have played that again!
I played Sonic on the XBox 360, which I didn't even realise was a thing. I love Sonic, but have only played the traditional Mega Drive style, so the 3Dness was a bit weird. I did enjoy it though.
Annoyingly they closed the museum at 4, so we were kicked out at 3:30. We all agreed we would have liked to stay longer. And the gift shop was shut, which disappointed me. You know how much I love a gift shop!
We headed straight to the Victoria, where we were joined later by the rest of our quiz team. It was great having the whole team back together again. I think this is our first proper quiz in over two years. Shame we didn't win, but then some of the questions were pretty tricky. I held my own though, providing answers to questions that no one else got, such as "Who has just been announced as the next Doctor Who?" Ncuti Gatwa, and "In which British city was the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest held?" Brighton. I was also pleased with myself for being able to instantly say that the Premier League began in 1992. I have no interest in football, but that's a useful fact I know for situations just like this!
All in all it was a good day. Wonderful to see people again, and I must admit that things did feel very close to being back to normal. The main thing that seems to have stuck around after the pandemic is the QR codes, which I do actually love. Being able to order my next drink at the table and have it appear without ever having to leave my seat is rather magical!
Also, because I was going to the Science Museum I felt it appropriate to wear my space dress:
I do love this dress!
I wandered around some of the other areas to investigate what else they had. I tried to avoid things I could easily play at home, but still ended up playing Theme Hospital for quite a while! I decided to give Minecraft a go cos I've heard so much about it, but I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing or how to control anything. I think that was one of my main issues with the event; if you hadn't played the game already it was a bit difficult to get into it. A basic information sheet next to each game would have been helpful.
I also wish there had been more old school games. Things I remember from the past but aren't readily available now. They had DuckTales, which I tried but couldn't remember how to play, but no QuackShot. I'd have loved to have played that again!
I played Sonic on the XBox 360, which I didn't even realise was a thing. I love Sonic, but have only played the traditional Mega Drive style, so the 3Dness was a bit weird. I did enjoy it though.
Annoyingly they closed the museum at 4, so we were kicked out at 3:30. We all agreed we would have liked to stay longer. And the gift shop was shut, which disappointed me. You know how much I love a gift shop!
We headed straight to the Victoria, where we were joined later by the rest of our quiz team. It was great having the whole team back together again. I think this is our first proper quiz in over two years. Shame we didn't win, but then some of the questions were pretty tricky. I held my own though, providing answers to questions that no one else got, such as "Who has just been announced as the next Doctor Who?" Ncuti Gatwa, and "In which British city was the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest held?" Brighton. I was also pleased with myself for being able to instantly say that the Premier League began in 1992. I have no interest in football, but that's a useful fact I know for situations just like this!
All in all it was a good day. Wonderful to see people again, and I must admit that things did feel very close to being back to normal. The main thing that seems to have stuck around after the pandemic is the QR codes, which I do actually love. Being able to order my next drink at the table and have it appear without ever having to leave my seat is rather magical!
Also, because I was going to the Science Museum I felt it appropriate to wear my space dress:
I do love this dress!
