Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play at The Strong Archive

When I was an undergraduate, I was obsessed with the television program E! True Hollywood Story. Each week, I took a salacious rollercoaster ride through the ups and downs of a celebrity’s life. Right before each commercial break, the narrator assured me that either the star was about to be saved from his downward spiral or that her glory days were going to come to a screeching halt. I loved the drama and the “truth is stranger than fiction” element […]

Continue Reading about “True Hollywood” Toy Stories: Tales of the Games and Toys We Love Published on:
February 24, 2017

Here’s a fun experiment: suggest playing a game of Monopoly and predict the responses you’ll receive. More often than not, you’ll be hit with an audible groan and the familiar refrain of “Has anyone ever actually finished a game of Monopoly?” Admittedly, I used to be anti-Monopoly myself. (During high school, my friend Meg and I maintained an in-progress game of Monopoly in her mom’s basement for more than two years before finally giving up.) Then, while processing the Philip […]

Continue Reading about But We Play It Like This: House Rules for Games Published on:
January 23, 2017

I first encountered troll dolls in the mid-1970s. My younger sister had one that she loved greatly and played with all the time. In fact, she played with her troll doll (named “Sloppy Joe Head”) so much that eventually all of his hair fell out and his felt clothes were torn to shreds. When we moved to a larger house in 1976, somehow Sloppy Joe Head was lost forever. Forty years later, my sister still mourns his loss. But when […]

Continue Reading about Have You Hugged a Troll Doll Lately? Published on:
January 13, 2017

Chances are if you mention Play-Doh, your listener will know exactly to what you mean. Not only does the name elicit a mental image of the product in a small yellow can with a colorful lid, but it also evokes sensory memories: bold and vibrant colors; soft, pliable textures; an unmistakable aromatic scent; the soft “pop” sound of the can being opened; and yes, even taste—the distinct salty flavor that almost every child has certainly sampled at one time or […]

Continue Reading about The History of Play-Doh: Good, Clean Fun! Published on:
November 3, 2016

In October 2015, I was awarded a Research Fellowship from The Strong. I had access to the library, the archives, the museum itself, and the seemingly endless rows of shelves full of playthings of the past. Both my 14-year-old self and my current 30-something researcher self were in a happy place. My job is to study video games and teach about them—not a bad gig at all, I must admit—and I have been interested in the history and theory of […]

Continue Reading about A History of Film-to-Game Adaptations: Why I Play, Study, and (Sometimes) Like Bad Games Published on:
October 24, 2016

Barbie has raised eyebrows since her debut at the 1959 Toy Fair. Modeled after the German Bild Lilli novelty doll, Barbie provided girls a playroom outlet for their dreams and aspirations. Inventor Ruth Handler knew that girls wanted to play at more than being a mother to life-sized baby dolls, but Mattel executives were skeptical. In the end, Handler was right and had the sales numbers to prove it. Little girls all over the country wanted to play at being […]

Continue Reading about Barbie Hacks and Mods: On Swapping Voices, Removing Makeup, and Fighting Prejudice Published on:
October 14, 2016

Last year, I began processing the Atari Coin-Op Division records, a massive collection The Strong acquired in June 2014. These materials were previously held by a collector who purchased them in 2003 through a sealed-bid auction as Atari Games was liquidating its assets. Housed in four different storage facilities for 11 years, the materials arrived at the museum in boxes that filled 23 wooden pallets. Unloaded from a semi, the pallets went to the climate-controlled storage facility on the museum’s […]

Continue Reading about My Year with Atari Published on:
August 17, 2016

My love of movable books and of antique toys and games containing the richly colored chromolithographs of the last half of the 1800s brought me to The Strong’s Online Collections. I spent four days “oohing” and “ahhing” over the vast archive of images in the museum’s database before I discovered it was possible to view the actual objects by arranging an appointment or, better yet, applying for a fellowship for an in-depth immersion. Although I learned I was the first […]

Continue Reading about Through the Artist’s Eyes Published on:
July 26, 2016

Domestic hobbies scratch the play itch—the need for creative expression and for losing yourself in the flow of an activity. In my previous blog, I addressed the therapeutic nature of crafting and the calm that it brings to its practitioners. Creative pursuits can also meet the need for community, for comfort and companionship for the individual and also for the comfort of the greater good, through social causes and charities.
Limited in the roles they could play outside of the home, […]

Continue Reading about Domestic Hobbies: The Fight for Community in the Face of Isolation and Injustice Published on:
July 15, 2016