Aurora History Museum

In just more than forty years, video games have evolved from technological novelty to cultural staple. That transformation is chronicled in the Aurora History Museum's "Growing Up Gamer", a look back at the history of video games as home entertainment that documents not just gaming's origins but its impact on our culture. "Last year the Smithsonian American Art Museum did an exhibit about video game art, and the graphics treated as artwork," explains MaryJane Valade, curator of exhibits for the museum. "But nothing we could see as an actual history of video games."

See also:
- 10 video games set in Colorado
- 10 video games set in Colorado: part two
- Coverville Records successfully funds jazz renditions of video game tunes

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All photos by Danielle Lirette.

The 2013 Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown took over the Sheraton Hotel in the Denver Tech Center from April 26-28, as arcade gaming fans and collectors converged for the three-day festival. Westword photographer Danielle Lirette stopped by to capture the lights and music of the region's pinball wizards in action. Continue reading for the highlights, or visit our full slide show for more photos.

See also:
- Slide show: Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown 2013
- Photos: 22 examples of colorful pinball machine backglass
- Pinball Wizards: Become part of the machine at Lyons Classic Pinball

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Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains

Planned Parenthood promotes its annual Get Yourself Tested campaign.

In what U.S. state is it illegal for a man to have sex with a fish? If you want to know the answer -- and are looking for something both fun and educational to do Thursday night -- Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains has you covered. It's hosting a sex-trivia night at Hamburger Mary's Club M as part of PP's annual Get Yourself Tested national campaign.

The event will feature trivia questions both humorous and informational on topics ranging from anatomy to pop culture, and proceeds will go to support the GYT low-cost testing days coming soon to a PPRM center near you.

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- Miss Queen of Aces pageant will choose the next ambassador of glam and good works
- 10 things to do for $10 in Denver this weekend (8 free!), February 8-10
- Lesbian Inspired Poetry is taking poems out of the drawers and onto the streets

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All photos by Danielle Lirette.

On April 4, 2013, Connect 4 Kids attempted to break its own world record of 104 players to create the world's largest Connect Four tournament at Stoney's Full Team Tavern. Danielle Lirette captured these photos of the event, which raised money for a toddler suffering from Microglossia and Duane's Syndrome. Continue reading for a few of the highlights, and visit our slide show for more photos of the attempt.

See also:
- Slide show: World's Largest Connect Four Tournament Attempt
- Jones on Fire, by a Denver games developer, sets mobile gaming aflame
- Photos: Melissa "the Viper" Little puts a spin on billiards for Big Brothers Big Sisters

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Endless runners -- if you've played Temple Run or Jetpack Joyride, you know the routine: Collect coins, jump over stuff, die, rinse and repeat.

Jones on Fire, made by Denver-based developer Glass Bottom Games for iOS and Android, is a little different. Its low-fi graphics and little blocky kittens scream "casual time-waster," but as you control Emma Jones, fierce firefighter and defender of cats everywhere, you realize that Jones on Fire is tough -- and engrossing. Appropriate, really, for a game that was inspired partially by the wildfires that ravaged our state last summer.

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- Inside the Insane Clown Posse iPhone App
- The Stick of Truth hopes to be the first great South Park game
- Waldo Canyon fire update: Nearly out and investigators find the origin

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All photos by Danielle Lirette.

Melissa "The Viper" Little at Wynkoop Brewing Company.

The Wynkoop Brewing Company has been home to great beer since 1994, but the brewpub is also the stomping grounds for one of the nation's top female pool players. Melissa "The Viper" Little, who was Boulder bred, has won more than fifty billiards tournaments across the country since 1988 when she took up her cue.

Ranked 12th in the world at one point, Little also likes teaching the game to kids, especially the geometry, physics and even calculus behind the ways the balls bank, bounce and spin. On Saturday, Little and the Wynkoop, which sponsors her, hosted fifty kids from the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado organization, along with fifty adults in a single-elimination nine-ball tournament. "I'm not a mathematician, but I can play," Little says. "And whatever they are working on, I can apply it to pool."

Check out all of our photos from Danielle Lirette on the following pages.

See more:
- Melissa Little plays a deadly game of pool
- The Stick of Truth hopes to be the first great South Park game
- 10 video games set in Colorado

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Drink to Honest Abe at Drinkin' with Lincoln.

Folks don't usually think of turning Presidents' Day into a party with drinking games. This most humble of three-day weekends is often associated with mattress sales and sanctioned hooky-playing, not necessarily the beloved national heroes it was meant to honor.

But KGNU Community Radio is out to combine both the honoring and the swilling parts at tonight's Drinkin' with Lincoln event, an evening devoted to Lincolnian facts and trivia...and a bit of silly quaffing in the name of Honest Abe.

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- Drinkin' with Lincoln
- Happy Birthday Abraham! Five Songs that mention Abraham Lincoln
- Read an excerpt from Noah Van Sciver's The Hypo; get the book at Kilgore tomorrow night

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As if South Park, Colorado, doesn't have enough problems (Canadians, Gingers and the fearsome Jewpacabra among them), Cartman, Stan, Kyle, Kenny and the whole South Park gang will soon lay waste to the hapless burg in the upcoming video game South Park: The Stick of Truth.

See also:
- 10 video games set in Colorado
- Xbox's Forza Horizon makes Colorado the racetrack
- Souvenirs of South Park

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Who would have thought that our humble state of Colorado could have hosted so many video games? While for many developers Colorado seems to be synonymous with little more than "snow," these games will take you everywhere from explosive recreations of '90s blockbusters to wholesome educational programs. Although few of these games will teach you about Coloradan geography, if you've ever been under attack by a North Korean army or driven through Commerce City, you'll want to keep reading...

See also:
- 10 video games set in Colorado
- Rocky Mountain ride: Forza Horizon understands why we love Colorado
- Indie Game: The Movie explores the underground art form of brand-free video games

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I haven't played enough of the first three Forza Motorsport games to tell you if their car-worshipping DNA is well-represented in Forza Horizon, their stepchild. But I can tell you that not only is Horizon a truly stellar game in its own right, it understands why we love Colorado.

See also:
- 10 video games set in Colorado
- Xbox's Forza Horizon makes Colorado the racetrack
- Indie Game: The Movie explores the underground art form of brand-free video games

More »