Ken Newquist 
Parker Bros.’s The Empire Strikes Back Atari 2600 game is – according to Wikipedia – the first-ever Star Wars licensed video game. It takes place on the ice planet of Hoth, with the player on a doomed mission to destroy imperial AT-ATs (aka imperial walkers) before they can reach the rebel base. It plays a minor role … Read more
As our kids get older, finding Christmas presents for them gets more challenging. At 19 and 16, there are fewer and few toys that they want, so it’s more a question of gift cards and clothes. That said, this year, we surprised them when a PlayStation 5 appeared under the Geek Tree. We talked about … Read more
Activision’s bomb-dropping Kaboom! plays a minor role in the Ready Player One novel, appearing on a single line with classic Atari 2600 games like Combat, Space Invaders, and Yar’s Revenge. In the real world, it was released in 1982 and sold over a million cartridges by 1983. Me? Despite its documented fame, I didn’t play Kaboom until I started the Ready Player One … Read more
Behold the firepower of this fully armed and operational Geek Tree! Continuing Nuketown’s new tradition of themed Geek Trees (because I have way too many geeky ornaments), this year, I went with a Star Wars theme. It features 48 ornaments ranging from Luke Skywalker (1997) to Obi-Wan Kenobi (2021). The geek tree itself is a 9-foot tall narrow artificial tree … Read more
My family started raising Seeing Eye puppies in 2014. We get the pups when they’re seven weeks old and then spend a year teaching them basic obedience and socialization. They go back to the Seeing Eye at around 14-16 months old, where they get a physical and (hopefully) complete their training to become guide dogs … Read more
Released in 1982 by Activation, Pitfall features the adventures of Pitfall Harry as he runs, jumps, and swings his way through an alligator and scorpion-filled jungle in order to recover a variety of treasures. Pitfall sold over four million copies. It plays a minor role in Ready Player One as one of the Atori 2600 games found … Read more
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a growing desire to take a day and futz about with my various RPG projects. I mentioned this to a few of my friends, who looked at me quizzically. They were unfamiliar with the term “futz about” (or the alternative usage, “futz around”). The Free Dictionary gives two definitions: … Read more
We’re approaching the New Year, a traditional time for resolutions. But frak that – December is my birthday month, and I’ve got some goals for my 51st year. One of them is to play four new games, some of which have been on my gaming bookshelves for years because of the pandemic. Now that the … Read more
Developed by Tomohiro Nishikado and released in 1978 by Taito in Japan and Bally (via their Midway division) in the US, Space Invaders is one of the quintessential 1980s video games. And, if I’m being honest, a little misunderstood (at least by me). I rarely played the game in the arcade; my exposure was always through the … Read more
I started publishing Nuketown in 1996. I started using Google Analytics with Nuketown in 2006. In those early days of the site, Nuketown would get hundreds of page views a day, sometimes hitting a thousand. Over time, traffic declined significantly, partly because I posted less (ok, a lot less), and partly because the rules of … Read more