>  About Us

Founded in 2002, the RetroGames e.V. aims to preserve and promote the culture of electronic video games in Germany and make it accessible to a wider public. To this end, we run a museum in Karlsruhe on a voluntary basis, which offers an overview of 50 years of video game history in a curated permanent exhibition. We also present changing special exhibitions. Every Tuesday from 7 p.m. there is a members' evening where exhibits are restored and professional exchange takes place.

Who We Are

We are enthusiasts and collectors of classic electronic entertainment devices such as video game machines, pinball machines, home computers and video game consoles. We have made it our mission to save old entertainment devices from being scrapped, restore them to their original condition and preserve them for posterity in our public museum. Through regular public events organized by our association, we aim to provide information about the culture and history of video games and save their historical beginnings from oblivion.

Our Collection

The entire collection of RetroGames e.V. currently comprises around 200 original video game machines, various pinball machines and represents a cross-section of 50 years of video game history. The collection is constantly being expanded and restored machines are exhibited in our interactive museum in rotation with explanatory background information. The museum also presents exhibits such as classic video game consoles and home computers as well as various print, audio and film materials.

In contrast to traditional museums, at RetroGames e.V. touching is expressly permitted: the vast majority of the exhibits in our museum can be experienced interactively. The main benchmark of the museum's work is fidelity to the original: it is not playability alone that is decisive, but the exhibits are preserved in the most original technology possible and deliberately presented in an environment that corresponds to the collection era, which is explicitly taken into account in the atmospheric design of our museum. All exhibits can be used without inserting a coin.