Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Summer Game Fest
  • New games for 2025
  • Upcoming Switch 2 games
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Mario Kart World screenshot Switch 2
Action RPGs Nintendo Switch 2's kickflipping cow, 50-ft woman, and steampunk t-rex showed there's still great power in absurdity
A screenshot shows Hello Kitty staring off into the distance.
Xbox The $10,000 Hello Kitty Xbox Crystal is one of the rarest consoles in the world, and my search to find it 20 years later ended in complete disaster for video game preservation
Best video game movies: Milla Jovovich as Alice in the first Resident Evil movie.
Movies The 10 best video game movies of all time, ranked
Atari 400 Mini on woodgrain desk connected to Dough Spectrum Black OLED monitor and Pac-Man on screen.
Hardware This tiny Atari console is naturally great for Pac-Man, but I use it to play one of the most cursed retro games from the '80s
Hades 2 protagonist Melinoe, a woman with pale grey skin, short blonde hair, and red/green eyes
PC Gaming The best games to play on a laptop right now
The Last of Us 2
Games The 25 best video game soundtracks of all time
Michi, Pinky, and the rest of the Promise Mascot Agency standing in front of Kaso-Machi in key art for the game
Simulation Games There are dozens of us: Paradise Killer's new open-world management sim aimed straight at Yakuza sickos is off to a great start on Steam with 98% positive reviews
  1. Games

The 7 weirdest places video games have ever been played

News
By GamesRadar published 1 May 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

New horizons

New horizons

Gaming on the move is no longer the novelty it once was. Where the handhelds of the 80s and 90s paved the way with iffy screens and monumental battery consumption, gamings modern ubiquity much like with TV and internet use sees a high-quality do it anywhere approach as being borderline expected. We even have the full power of home console gaming to play with, with Remote Play on Xperia Z3 paired with the PS4 opening up the full sized experience to any location you can connect from in the home. And beyond that, home-made solutions are getting even more creative. Simply, gaming locations are getting weirder.

So lets look into that, shall we? Lets investigate some of the oddest, most off-kilter, and most technically creative places people have been playing. Because it turns out there are rather a lot, indoors, outdoors, and even off the planet.

Page 1 of 9
Page 1 of 9
In the shower

In the shower

You know what its like. Youre in the midst of a committed, day-long gaming session. Youre in the zone. Youre making progress in leaps and bounds. Youre utterly locked in, and nothing can stop you. Well, nearly nothing. A few hours in, you uncomfortably remember all the general real-life housekeeping stuff you were supposed to do today, before you accidentally got sucked in. You need to hoover. You need to do some washing. You need to have a shower.

Well now, that latter task need not get in the way. With the water proof Xperia Z2 or Xperia Z3 series from Sony you can carry on playing with only a brief pause to warm up some towels along the way. The result? Almost uninterrupted, full-sized AAA gaming, unimpeded by the demands of daily life, or even the very elements themselves. And it's not just about saving time. Playing in the shower could actually be great for immersion in certain circumstances. Seriously. Start drafting those e-mails for a BioShock remaster right now. Heavy Rain and Silent Hill: Downpour, too.

Page 2 of 9
Page 2 of 9
On the International Space Station

On the International Space Station

Games and space have been synonymous for as long as theyve both existed. Lets not forget, the game often cited as kicking off the whole medium is 1962s Spacewar, coded by Steve Russell on MITs PDP-1 computer. So it makes sense that games would eventually make their way up above the stratosphere, right?

While the first game to physically make it into space was StarCraft, transported as a physical copy by astronaut Daniel J. Barry on the first docking mission with the International Space Station in 1999 (you might question the wisdom of taking an interstellar war simulator up there, but it seems no alien observers were offended), we know that games are now actually played on the station as well. In a 2009 White House video-conference with the ISS, a Washington school kid asked the crew if video games were a space-bound pastime and got an answer in the affirmative. There was a more ambitious attempt a year earlier, when Ultima creator Richard Garriott finally realised his dream of space travel, but his plans of playing his MMO Tabula Rasa from the station were scuppered . NASA feared that someone on Earth might tunnel backward along the net connection and take control of the ISS systems. To be fair, there's little doubt that such an attack would have ended badly.

Page 3 of 9
Page 3 of 9
On a mountain

On a mountain

When British mountaineer George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Everest, he famously (and with no small amount of applause-worthy badassery) replied Because its there. In 2014, when website Tek Syndicate pledged to break the (probably) hotly contested world record for highest altitude LAN party with a session of iDs most famous game on a mountain top, their reasoning was quite possibly Because its Doom. Because as we all know, nothing is truly benchmarked until someone has hacked it to run Doom. Not even a mountain.

Lugging a bunch of laptops and a modded router system up Mount Elbert, the second highest in the USA, the team braved altitude sickness, exhaustion, and the potential for fatally broken equipment in order to pay tribute to the granddaddy of FPS (Wolfenstein is the great granddaddy). And they nailed it. Taking a game from the bowels of Hell up to the cloud-draped (almost) top of the world? Theres something nicely poetic about that.

Page 4 of 9
Page 4 of 9
On a river in Prague

On a river in Prague

We dont know much about this one, but it happened, and really, thats all that matters. Late in 2014, Imgur user MyAbility caught this floating LAN party in the middle of a river in the Czech capital. Much respect to those involved for both getting this thing together in the first place, and then using it to proudly show off their hobby to such great effect. But it doesnt look like the clearest day. Heres hoping they had enough tarpaulins on board to avoid the tragic death of their whole set-up.

Page 5 of 9
Page 5 of 9
On the side of a building

On the side of a building

Now this one is a stunning feat of engineering. As part of the Royal Institutions 2014 Christmas Lectures series, the University of Manchesters Professor Danielle George headed up a project to turn a whole building into a Tetris console, wiring up one side of it with WiFi-controlled lighting and effectively turning its windows into pixels.

With a custom controller hooked up to a remote laptop, 14 year-old Harrison Wood turned Alexey Pajitnovs greatest creation into a temporary part of Londons South Bank skyline. And all it took was a pile of desk lamps and a few sheets of baking paper. Months of hard work too, of course, but mainly lamps and paper.

Page 6 of 9
Page 6 of 9
In a fountain

In a fountain

Who says video games even need video, anyway? At the Granary Square fountains near Kings Cross, you can now control the aquatic action with a freely downloadable, official smartphone app and the locally available WiFi. But, believe it or not, theres an even better use for that power than shutting down all the jets and ambushing unsuspecting tourists.

Included with the Granary Squirt (ho ho!) app is a set of controls for Snake, that crowning glory of the 90s mobile market. Up to eight players can get involved, with the fountains jets standing in for those blocky serpent segments. Okay, so youre still going to drench tourists, but at least now you have the excuse that you were playing a game.

Page 7 of 9
Page 7 of 9
On Air Force One

On Air Force One

And just because this photo turned up recently, and is brilliant, heres presidential candidate and former First Lady Hilary Clinton, playing on a Game Boy, on Air Force One. And its definitely Air Force One rather than just a generic plane. You can tell from the napkins. Seriously. Have a closer look.

Page 8 of 9
Page 8 of 9
Truly mobile gaming

Truly mobile gaming

So thats our run-down of the weirdest places currently on record for gaming. And its only going to grow in the future, with things like the advent of Remote Play blowing the options wide open (check out our recent Remote Play Bloodborne tournament to see how far into the future we're currently living).

But do you know of any more? Any crazy feats of gaming versatility that weve missed? Let us know in the comments.

Page 9 of 9
Page 9 of 9
GamesRadar
See more Games News
Read more
Mario Kart World screenshot Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2's kickflipping cow, 50-ft woman, and steampunk t-rex showed there's still great power in absurdity
A screenshot shows Hello Kitty staring off into the distance.
The $10,000 Hello Kitty Xbox Crystal is one of the rarest consoles in the world, and my search to find it 20 years later ended in complete disaster for video game preservation
Best video game movies: Milla Jovovich as Alice in the first Resident Evil movie.
The 10 best video game movies of all time, ranked
Atari 400 Mini on woodgrain desk connected to Dough Spectrum Black OLED monitor and Pac-Man on screen.
This tiny Atari console is naturally great for Pac-Man, but I use it to play one of the most cursed retro games from the '80s
Hades 2 protagonist Melinoe, a woman with pale grey skin, short blonde hair, and red/green eyes
The best games to play on a laptop right now
The Last of Us 2
The 25 best video game soundtracks of all time
Latest in Games
Diablo 2
25 years later, Diablo 2 director still hasn't gotten over how much the stamina bar sucks: "It's like a newbie tax almost"
A woman in an underwater suit receiving a danger warning during the trailer for Subnautica 2.
In a massive shakeup, Subnautica creators and Unknown Worlds co-founders have been replaced by The Callisto Protocol studio CEO months before Subnautica 2's early access launch
Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 promo art
25 years after launch and 15 years after its last Evo appearance, the legendary Marvel vs Capcom 2 is back on the big stage and we're set for "the largest MvC2 tournament of all time"
Diablo 4 Berserk cosmetics
Hey Blizzard, the best part of Diablo 4 Season 9 isn't even in the patch notes: a new wardrobe quality-of-life feature that changes the true endgame – fashion
Minecraft's copper golem reaches inside a copper chest
Minecraft is finally making copper useful with a new tier of tools bridging the gap from stone to iron, and a long-lost mob returning as the automatic item sorter fans have wanted for years
Elden Ring: Nightreign launch trailer
Elden Ring Nightreign players are using an extremely rare Legendary sword to juice their stats to the moon, stacking thousands of HP and even one-hitting final bosses
Latest in News
Diablo 2
25 years later, Diablo 2 director still hasn't gotten over how much the stamina bar sucks: "It's like a newbie tax almost"
A woman in an underwater suit receiving a danger warning during the trailer for Subnautica 2.
In a massive shakeup, Subnautica creators and Unknown Worlds co-founders have been replaced by The Callisto Protocol studio CEO months before Subnautica 2's early access launch
Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 promo art
25 years after launch and 15 years after its last Evo appearance, the legendary Marvel vs Capcom 2 is back on the big stage and we're set for "the largest MvC2 tournament of all time"
Diablo 4 Berserk cosmetics
Hey Blizzard, the best part of Diablo 4 Season 9 isn't even in the patch notes: a new wardrobe quality-of-life feature that changes the true endgame – fashion
Minecraft's copper golem reaches inside a copper chest
Minecraft is finally making copper useful with a new tier of tools bridging the gap from stone to iron, and a long-lost mob returning as the automatic item sorter fans have wanted for years
Elden Ring: Nightreign launch trailer
Elden Ring Nightreign players are using an extremely rare Legendary sword to juice their stats to the moon, stacking thousands of HP and even one-hitting final bosses
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...