The Hungarian Fascination With Games
Hungarian culture and its people are brimming with fun, and that is evident in the games it has produced. These games can be based around any number of things such as logic, experimentation, random chance, and mental and physical skill. Below, we look at the Hungarian fascination with games and some of the best ones it has produced.
The Escape Room Phenomenon
The first escape room was built in Tokyo, Japan, in 2007. Yet around 2011, Parapark opened in a small cellar in Budapest. It became the first escape room in the city, and pretty soon over 60 of them started popping up in and around the city center. Budapest became the escape room capital of Europe.
One could easily put this down to the growing tourism sector, and this is certainly a factor. However, other elements were at play. Firstly, Budapest has a network of cellars built under apartment blocks. With rent low and many being disused, they became the perfect place to set up these rooms. Secondary to this was that Hungarian citizens themselves have an observably voracious appetite for play.
Hungarians themselves have now begun to take part in games that were previously only known to Western nations. Much of this has been bolstered by the greater ability to travel, but also a general relaxation of online gaming laws in the country. One industry that is flourishing is the live bingo sector, where people can log on and play the number-based game that was once almost unknown in the country. This has created a flourishing online community that is attracted to casual games and potential to win cash prizes. Hungary is now unique in that it could stand to be one country that actually needs to create new bingo halls in the future, where most other countries have moved largely online.
The Rubik’s Cube
Source: Unsplash
Ultimately, the nation’s love of play can be summed up in one device: the Rubik’s Cube. It was invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik, a Hungarian architect and sculptor. Licensed to various companies, by 1980 it had become one of the most popular toys on the planet. Its design was an icon of popular culture, and any visitor to the country will see its familiar face in gift shops everywhere.
A cube is composed of smaller blocks, giving each of its six sides nine subdivided square sections. Every side has its own color which is shared across its nine squares. Sections rotate, and the cube is jumbled up by the player so that any number of colors now appear on each side. The object for players is then to meticulously realign the faces of the cube so that only one color is represented on each side once again. This puzzle is infamously frustrating for many; for others, they are a tantalizing code that is waiting to be cracked. Apparently, you are never more than 20 moves away from completing a cube.
There are plenty more games that have been created throughout Hungarian history. Its love for games is also evident in sports, where the country consistently performs above its small nation status. For those who live here, it is apparent, but for visitors, you may need to stay a little longer and delve into Hungary’s love for play.