Computer Games Museum

★ 4.5 (10,851)$$ · Mid-range

The Computer Games Museum turns the history of interactive entertainment into a hands-on experience, letting visitors actually play through decades of consoles and arcade cabinets rather than just look at them behind glass. Its location on the monumental Karl-Marx-Allee is a bonus for architecture fans, and its high trendy score and enormous review count — over 10,000 — reflect broad, cross-generational appeal, especially for families and gaming enthusiasts. Reviewers note the museum isn't air-conditioned, which can make a summer visit warmer than expected, but the hands-on exhibits keep it consistently rated at 4.5. It leans toward fun and nostalgia rather than deep cultural history, making it a lighter counterpoint to Berlin's more solemn museums.

✨ Reasons to go

1Guinness World Records recognizes it as the first permanent videogame museum in the world, founded in 1997 before opening its current Karl-Marx-Allee location in 2011.
2Exhibits include unusual interactive pieces like a giant joystick and the "Painstation," an arcade machine that punishes losing players with real physical jolts.
3Visitors can actually play the consoles and arcade cabinets on display across roughly 300 exhibits spanning six decades of gaming history, rather than viewing them behind glass.

💡 Good to know

1No booking is required
2visit in cooler months or early in the day, since the building isn't air-conditioned
3a good pick for kids and gaming fans looking for a hands-on break from history-heavy sightseeing

⏱️ Typical visit

1h15

🕰️ Best time

morning, lunchtime, afternoon, early evening or evening

🚶 Walking intensity

Moderate walking

📍

Address

Karl-Marx-Allee 93a, 10243 Berlin, Germany · BerlinGoogle Apple

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Booking

Walk-in

What people say

"I stumbled across the Computer Games museum when looking for activities to do in Berlin. The museum is easy to get to using the metro. There is a stop less than 200 yards away. The museum itself is great, it has playable machines of the following games:- Outrun, Crazy Taxi, Sega Rally, Paperboy, Pong, Donkey Kong, Missle Command, Asteroids, Pac Man, Centipede, and many others. There is also rooms set up from the 70s, 80s and 90s, with Commodore 64, Atari 2600, NES and PS1 games. The museum part itself has a very good history of gaming, with many videos too. There is also Wii and PS4 locations. The museum can get busy though, with kids staying on particular machines for a good while. The only other thing to mention. You cannot take any drink into the museum, presumably so no machines are damaged. Its fair, but the museum can get warm. Overall I loved my visit, so much so that we went back again before we left Berlin. If you are interested in games, especially those pre 2000, I would highly recommend it"

— Jim Booth

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