The Computer Spiele Museum

Here is our first ever post from a guest writer. James Kelly, a friend of mine, came to visit us in Berlin earlier in the year. James is an extremely talented musician, video producer and designer. You should check out his fantastic acoustic guitar music at James Kelly Music and his music production company at Eskimotion. Also, here is a link to one of my favourite acoustic tracks, Lost.    

This is his review of the Computer Spiele Museum (Computer Games Museum) on Karl-Marx-Allee. It definitely sounds like it's worth a visit if you enjoy gaming and have a few hours to spare in Berlin. Thanks James!

During my very brief, 36 hour whirlwind tour of Berlin I managed to head down to the Computer Spiele Museum on Karl-Marx-Allee. I’d heard about this place through a friend who thought it would be right up my street and he wasn’t wrong! 

The museum was extremely easy to get to. I took the walk from Frankfurter Tor which was about 10-15 minutes but if you’re lazy or short of time then you can get off at U-Bahn at Weberwiese and you’re about 1 minute away. 

On arrival, the staff were very pleasant and did speak English but by then I’d become fluent in sheepishly saying “Eins bitte. Dankeschön” so it was all good. 

From the moment I arrived I knew I was going to have a good time. The museum captures the first 60 years of gaming history. From the mythically-claimed first ever computer game The Nimrod to present day 3D gaming and everything interesting in between (including all the obvious ones you would expect to see such as Pong, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and many more).



Classic Pong

It was brilliantly interactive with many exhibits allowing you to play on very wide variety of historical games and installations. All the videos within the museum were controlled by these retro joysticks, which was a good idea but the system was a bit temperamental at times. The gaming milestones wall was very cleverly put together and navigated through a joystick that controlled a lazer crosshair on the wall. Very cool in a geeky sort of way and another example that this museum hadn’t just been thrown together at the last minute as a lot of creative thought had gone into its presentation. 

The Gaming Milestone Wall



I was genuinely interested in everything there as both a gaming geek and on a professional level as part of my work too. I could have spent another few hours watching all the videos and playing games but time was against me. I unfortunately didn’t get chance to see and play everything there including having a go on the infamous Painstation device which looked very intriguing. 



Overall it was an excellent 2-3 hours spent, which could have easily been 3-4 if time allowed. Satisfyingly interactive, educational on a number of levels and very well presented. It's pretty cheap at 8€ per ticket too (15€ for a family ticket). If you’re into games on any sort of level it’s well worth a visit. 


More information about the museum: 


Location: Karl-Marx Allee, 93a 10243, Berlin


Opening Times: Every day (except Tuesdays) from 10am - 8pm

Ticket Prices:
Regular - 8€  
Reduced - 5€
Family - 15
Book tickets and tours via their hotline: +49 30 6098 8577

Closest Transport links:
U-Bahn - (U5) Weberwiese
S-Bahn - Ostbahnhof
Bus - 350, 240 (Weberwiese)


For more details about the museum visit their website.