Games & Humor

National

In The World Of Pinball, An Underdog Takes On The Giant

6:53pm December 22, 2013

by Francesca Fenzi

For more than a decade, Stern Pinball was the only company manufacturing pinball machines. A New Jersey startup company is trying to shake up that monopoly. But with decreased demand for the games, it's unclear whether the pinball industry is big enough for two.

Queue Listen Now

Video For Canadian Beer Pong Goes Viral

7:35am December 16, 2013

Picture an air hockey table and at each end, holes for cups of beer. Shoot the puck into one of your opponent's cups, and he has to drink the contents. The guys who invented the game posted an image of their table over the weekend and it went viral.

Queue Listen Now

World News

The New And The Next: Punk Rock Love, A Sensible Scary Movie

10:30pm October 19, 2013

by NPR Staff

As Halloween approaches, Ozy co-founder Carlos Watson tells NPR's Arun Rath about a a viral video that pokes fun at everything we've come to expect from horror films.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Melinda Gates Plays Not My Job

12:56am October 19, 2013

The co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plays a game called "But I meant well, your Majesty." Three questions about gifts given to Queen Elizabeth II.

Queue Listen Now

A close view of the packaging of Grand Theft Auto V at the midnight opening at the HMV music store in London on Tuesday. It made history with a record $800 million in sales on its first day. This version continues to generate controversy over its glorific

Female Fans Love New Grand Theft Auto Despite Demeaning Content

2:02pm September 20, 2013

by Laura Sydell

Grand Theft Auto V took in more than $800 million in sales on its first day in stores. The edgy and violent adventure game series isn't just a hit with young men: A significant number of women play, though some of them are disappointed the new release doesn't feature prominent female characters.

Queue Listen Now

Carlos Mesquita (left) and Filipe Preto invented Vem aí a Troika (Here Comes the Troika), a satirical card game that pokes fun at Portugal's economic crisis and its creditors.

World News

With A Card Game, The Portuguese Get Back At Their Creditors

1:39pm September 16, 2013

by Lauren Frayer

Here Comes the Troika is a satirical card game where players can stash away savings in Swiss bank accounts or fund useless airports or high-speed trains to nowhere. The winner is the one who can hide the most money in offshore accounts, win elections — and avoid the dreaded troika card.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

'Bummers, Blisters And Boondoggles': A Jokester Joins The Army

2:59pm August 27, 2013

by NPR Staff

Humorist and late-night radio voice Jean Shepherd spent time in the U.S. Army during World War II. He never made it overseas, but the stories he mined from that experience have now been collected in a new volume, Shep's Army.

Queue Listen Now

Fantasy sports attract an estimated 36+ million players in the U.S. and Canada.

Quitting Your Job For Fantasy Football

6:04pm August 25, 2013

Drew Dinkmeyer was an investment analyst. Pretty steady job, right? He left that job - in this economic climate - to become a full-time fantasy sports player.

Queue Listen Now

Artists Hope Aliens Have A Sense Of Humor

8:53am August 12, 2013

Two artists helped design a satellite to look like a giant gadget charger. There's an inscription: "Greetings Beleaguered Space Traveler. Welcome to the Universe's First Celestial Charging Station."

Queue Listen Now

Tim Curry as Pennywise in a 1990 TV adaptation of Stephen King's It. Come on, tell us you aren't just a little creeped out.

Arts

Fear Of Clowns: Yes, It's Real

12:53am August 09, 2013

by NPR Staff

Clowns are terrifying — that's pretty much a given. Even children, to whom they're supposed to appeal, are said to dislike them instinctively. Writer Linda McRobbie says darkness has always been a part of clowning.

Queue Listen Now