Over a hundred games you actually play
Original arcade cabinets and modern consoles, open with no coins and no timer.
Frombowen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Evan-Amos — Public domain · Nelo Hotsuma — CC BY 2.0 · 308 Bees — CC BY-SA 4.0
This is a museum where you pick up the controller instead of reading the label: more than a hundred games are genuinely playable, from original arcade cabinets with worn-down buttons to current-generation consoles, all open to you with no timer and no coins. It is Britain's national museum of video games, run by the BGI charity, born in Nottingham in 2015 and moved in 2018 onto a single floor of Castle House, the former Co-op department store in the middle of Sheffield. The idea is smarter than a games hall. The 'Together We Play' gallery tells players' own stories through newly commissioned artwork, personal collections and interactives; 'The Arcade' traces how arcades became social spaces from the 1970s to the 2010s; 'Made in Sheffield' reveals that this old steel city produced studios whole generations grew up on; and the current 'Monument Valley' exhibition gives the quiet, painterly trilogy an artful showcase. In truth, most visitors abandon the panels after ten minutes and simply play, and children between about seven and fourteen leave happiest of all. Everything is on one step-free floor, so a pushchair is no trouble, and free ear defenders are handed out at reception because the room is loud by nature. The hours are the biggest trap. Outside school holidays the museum is closed Monday to Wednesday, opens Thursday and Friday only from 13:00 to 16:00, and runs Saturday and Sunday in two sessions, 10:00-13:00 and 14:00-17:00. During Sheffield school holidays and bank holidays it opens every day. Tickets are timed: GBP 14 adult, GBP 11 child, GBP 12 concession, GBP 45 for a family of two adults and two children, GBP 35 for one adult with up to three children, and under-fives free with a ticket. Booking online in advance is close to essential in summer and on Saturdays, and a ticket covers the booked session only, though you may step out and back in during it. Is it worth the trip from Manchester or Leeds? For a family with a teenager or a games-mad child, yes, especially on one of the long wet northern days; ninety minutes to two hours is plenty. An adult with no interest in games will find it more crowded hall than museum, and Saturday is the busiest day. There is no cafe inside, only soft drinks at the desk, so eat before or after in the restaurants nearby. Castle Square tram stop is at the door, the railway station is an eight-minute walk, and the museum has no parking of its own.
Original arcade cabinets and modern consoles, open with no coins and no timer.
A gallery showing how the steel city produced studios that whole generations grew up on.
Pushchairs roll straight in, and free ear defenders are at reception.
Castle House, Angel Street, Sheffield S3 8LN
Sheffield CathedralThe oldest building in Sheffield still in daily use, as the cathedral itself put3 minutes walk4.6
National Emergency Services MuseumFrom 1900 the Victorian station at West Bar, ten minutes' walk north of Sheffiel5 minutes walk4.8
Sheffield Winter GardenSheffield's answer to a wet Yorkshire afternoon is a glasshouse 70 metres long a6 minutes walk4.5
Millennium GalleryAround eight hundred knives, forks, teapots and silver salvers, lit and cased li6 minutes walk4.4
Peace GardensEighty-nine jets of water shoot straight out of the paving, with no basin and no6 minutes walk4.7Honestly, no; without a child or teenager who loves games it feels like a loud, crowded hall, and the explanatory galleries alone do not justify the journey. With a seven-to-fourteen-year-old, though, it is among the best two hours in Sheffield on a rainy day.
In practice, yes. Tickets are timed and sold online, and buying at the door is possible but not guaranteed in the holidays or on Saturdays. Check the calendar too: outside school holidays the museum is shut Monday to Wednesday, which catches many visitors out.