Embark on an unforgettable adventure with the National Videogame Museum this February half term in an epic quest that combines history, creativity and gaming.
Open every day 15th – 23rd February, journey to the realm of The National Videogame Museum to experience how games and history can come together to inspire and entertain.
Book TicketsExplore the virtual world of classic and contemporary castle-themed games introduced to the Museum gallery igniting the imagination for both parents and children alike. Featuring retro classics like Mickey Mouse’s Castle of Illusion (1990), Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (1990) and Crystal Castles (1983) there’ll also be some extremely fun modern indie titles introduced.
Castle Crashers (2008) is a beat ’em up set in a fictional medieval where knights are charged by the king to rescue kidnapped princesses. Tiny Glade (2024) on the other hand is a building game where players can create whimsical castles, cozy cottages & romantic ruins.
Visitors can also take on the role of Legend of Zelda hero Link and feel the thrill of virtual archery in a Nintendo Wii Crossbow Training experience. Perfect your skills in a series of fun tests or take on friends and family to see who has the best archery skills to achieve the high score.
Trading gamepads for crafting tools, creative hands-on activities will spark the imagination of visitors to construct their own castle strongholds and craft enchanting castle environments based on Sheffield’s local heritage or videogame favourites.
Pop Up Card Castles: Create a simple pop-up card inspired by classic videogame castles. Recreate a scene from your favourite castle featuring videogames or create your own castle!
Isometric Castle Doodles: Inspired by the classic arcade game Crystal Castles (playable in the Arcade throughout half term), have a go at designing your own Isometric castles.
Castle Building: Have fun building your own mini castles the with wooden
blocks and shapes.
There will even be the chance to learn more about our close neighbour – Sheffield Castle.
Dive into the fascinating excavation work being conducted by Wessex Archaeology, through insightful materials and engaging activities as visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the remarkable findings from the largest excavation project of Sheffield Castle to date.
Alongside a chance to speak to one of the excavation team, we will also have several objects and a detailed model replica of how Sheffield Castle once looked circa 400 years ago on display.
The model, kindly on loan for the half term holidays, is a product of a Festival of the Mind collaboration between Lucas Bax and the University of Sheffield, and is copyright University of Sheffield.
A Sheffield Castle expert from Wessex Archaeology will be on hand to provide insightful details into the history of Sheffield’s long lost castle. There will even be the chance to handle objects and bones from the site itself!
Available 10am-1pm on the following dates:
All inclusive of tickets to the NVM for those sessions!
