Exhibiting The Hobbit

A tale of memories and microcomputers

Abstract

The challenge of collecting and exhibiting videogames is a significant issue for contemporary museums. This paper provides a case study of Beam Software’s successful text adventure of the 1980s, The Hobbit, which offers some insight to the challenge of videogames for museums.  The Hobbit is an exemplary text in this regard because it exists in so many variant forms, which raises questions about what/where/ and which one is the game.