🎮 September 12 – Video Game Day: Press Start to Celebrate Like a Boss 🕹️
Gamers, grab your headsets, warm up those thumbs, and stockpile snacks—because September 12 is Video Game Day, and it’s time to level up your celebration! Whether you're an old-school joystick junkie, a casual Candy Crusher, or a speedrunning savant who dreams in pixels, this is your official excuse to game guilt-free. (You're not being antisocial—you’re observing a holiday. Duh.)
Affiliate Disclosure
Just so you know, this post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click through and buy something, I might earn a tiny commission—enough to keep the lights on and maybe snag a celebratory cupcake. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, pinky promise.
👾 Wait… There’s Another Video Game Day?
Yep. Don't get your wires crossed—National Video Game Day is celebrated on July 8, while Video Game Day (the one we’re talking about today) falls on September 12. Confusing? A bit. But double the days = double the power-ups. No one's complaining.
As for who started this glorious holiday? The pixelated origins are a bit fuzzy—like playing GoldenEye on a scratched N64 cartridge—but many believe it was created by fans to honor the legacy of gaming and how far it’s come since Pong first pinged its way into our hearts. 🏓❤️
🎮 Fun Facts That’ll Earn You Extra XP
🧠 The first home video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey, released in 1972. It came with plastic overlays for your TV screen. Like window clings. Primitive? Yes. Iconic? Also yes.
💰 The video game industry is now bigger than the movie and music industries combined. (So yes, your Fortnite obsession might be more “culturally significant” than you thought.)
🦔 Mario made his debut not in Super Mario Bros., but in Donkey Kong (1981). Back then, he was called “Jumpman.” Which, frankly, sounds like a budget shoe brand.
👀 The longest video game marathon on a single game is over 35 hours of World of Warcraft. That’s almost a workweek. Respect.
🕹️ 12 Ways to Celebrate Video Game Day Like a Legend
Host a mini gaming tournament 🎯 – Whether it’s Mario Kart mayhem or a Mortal Kombat showdown, bring the squad over for a good old-fashioned controller-throwing competition.
Play a classic 👾 – Dust off that retro console or fire up an emulator and relive the magic of Pac-Man, Zelda, or Sonic. Bonus points for 8-bit soundtracks and snack breaks.
Dress the part 🧢 – Cosplay your favorite character for the day. Even if it’s just wearing a Luigi hat to your Zoom meeting. You’re a professional. A professional plumber.
Try a new genre 🧩 – Always play shooters? Give cozy farming sims a shot. Never touched a rhythm game? Time to learn the moves. Expand those horizons, Player One.
Create your own character IRL 🎨 – Draw, write, or even build your dream avatar. What’s their power? What snacks do they carry? Do they look suspiciously like you in elf ears?
Game and give back 💖 – Stream for charity or donate to gaming-related nonprofits like Child’s Play or Extra Life. Do good and get loot? Yes please.
Go screen-free and board game-y 🎲 – Video Game Day, meet your analog cousin. Try a board game inspired by digital classics. Or better yet—make one!
Make game-themed snacks 🍕 – Triforce-shaped quesadillas? Mushroom cupcakes? Creeper cookies? Pinterest is your playground.
Visit a retro arcade 🏁 – If there’s one near you, relive the glory of sticky buttons and high score bragging rights. Quarters in your pocket, heart full of joy.
Craft your own side quest 🗺️ – Plan a scavenger hunt, geocaching adventure, or city walk with clues and power-ups. Life is the game today.
Decorate your gaming setup ✨ – Fairy lights, new wallpaper, fresh controller skins—make your space worthy of a Twitch stream, or at least a solid selfie.
Write a love letter to your favorite game 💌 – Seriously. Write a cheesy fan letter to Animal Crossing, Mass Effect, or Tetris. Then post it. Or don’t. (But definitely do.)
🎮 Dinner Theme: “Level Up Your Tastebuds!”
🍝 Main Dish: “Mushroom Kingdom Carbonara”
Inspired by: Super Mario Bros.
Ingredients:
12 oz spaghetti or bucatini
4 oz pancetta or thick-cut bacon, diced
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan
Fresh cracked pepper
1 cup sautéed mushrooms (go wild with cremini, shiitake, or oyster)
Optional: fresh parsley + truffle oil for bonus points
Instructions:
Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water.
In a skillet, crisp pancetta. Add mushrooms and sauté until golden.
Whisk eggs, yolk, cheese, and pepper in a bowl.
Toss hot pasta with pancetta/mushrooms. Remove from heat, stir in egg mixture quickly (no scrambling!), and splash in pasta water as needed to make it creamy.
Garnish with parsley, more cheese, and a truffle oil drizzle for a high-score finish.
🎩 Power-Up Tip: Serve it in a shallow bowl labeled “1-Up Carbonara.” Bonus points for placing a tiny mushroom figure on the side.
🥗 Side: “Animal Crossing Orchard Salad”
Inspired by: Animal Crossing
Ingredients:
Mixed greens
Sliced apples, pears, or peaches (whatever your local Nook’s Cranny has)
Crumbled goat cheese or blue cheese
Candied walnuts or pecans
Dried cherries or cranberries
Apple cider vinaigrette
Instructions:
Toss all ingredients in a big wooden bowl. Serve with a tiny wooden spoon like you're sitting outside your cozy island home.
🍹 Drink: “Mana Potion Mocktail” (or Cocktail)
Inspired by: Zelda, Final Fantasy, literally any RPG
Ingredients:
1/2 cup white grape juice
1 tbsp butterfly pea flower tea (for magic color)
1 tbsp lemon juice
Sparkling water
Optional: splash of vodka or elderflower liqueur
Ice + blueberries for “mana orbs”
Instructions:
Brew butterfly pea tea, cool completely.
Fill glass with ice + blueberries.
Mix grape juice and lemon juice; pour over ice.
Top with sparkling water.
Slowly pour tea over top for a color-changing potion effect.
✨ Serve in a little glass bottle with a tag that says “+50 Mana.”
🍫🎂 Dessert: “The Cake Is Not a Lie” Chocolate Lava Cakes
Inspired by: Portal (obviously)
🧪 Ingredients:
4 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa or higher), chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Optional: a splash of coffee or orange liqueur for extra depth
Garnish: whipped cream, raspberries, or edible gold stars for flair
🧁 Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Butter and flour 4 ramekins.
Melt butter and chocolate together (double boiler or microwave in 30-second bursts).
Stir in powdered sugar until smooth.
Whisk in eggs + yolks until glossy.
Fold in flour and salt until just combined.
Divide batter into ramekins and bake 12–14 minutes—edges should be set, centers soft.
Let sit for 1 minute, then invert onto plates (carefully!).
Garnish with whipped cream and raspberries—or go full Portal and draw a red dot of raspberry coulis in the center for that lab-core aesthetic.
🎮 Level-Up Option:
Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side with a chocolate shard stuck in it—label it "Achievement Unlocked: Dessert Hero."
🕹 Bonus Quest Ideas:
Serve dinner on pixelated coasters or plates with your favorite game characters.
Add background music from your favorite game OST (Zelda’s “Lost Woods” or Stardew Valley’s spring theme = elite vibes).
Use cookie cutters to make “coin” shaped cookies or “heart container” brownies.
Flower crowns replaced with headsets? Acceptable. Respect the lore.
🟡 ELEMENTARY IDEA: “Design-a-Game: Story Adventures Unlocked!”
📚🎮 Perfect for grades 2–5 | ELA + Art + SEL combo mission
🎯 Objective:
Students will design their own video game character and map out a narrative adventure using story elements (character, setting, problem, solution). This builds ELA skills in narrative writing while sparking creativity.
👾 Materials:
“Game Designer’s Notebook” printable
Colored pencils/crayons
Chart paper or whiteboard
Optional: Blank folded index cards for “power-ups” or “bosses”
🕹️ How to Play:
Mini-lesson: “What Makes a Game Story Great?”
Show a short clip or stills from age-appropriate games (e.g., Super Mario, Minecraft Story Mode, Animal Crossing) and discuss:Who is the main character?
What is their goal?
What challenges do they face?
Game Designer Challenge:
Students create:🎮 A main character (hero)
🌎 A setting (world or level)
💥 A problem (what’s gone wrong?)
🧠 A solution (how does the hero solve it?)
“Game Designer’s Notebook” Pages:
Page 1: Character + Setting Sketch
Page 2: Story Map (Beginning, Middle, End)
Page 3: Power-Up Cards — students design 3 power-ups that help the hero!
Optional: Gallery Walk
Let students display their Game Notebooks and walk around with “Player Tokens” (stickers or paper coins) to “vote” on their favorite power-ups or levels.
💡 Teacher Tip:
Strapped for time? Do this as a partner project or skip the Gallery Walk and have students do quick pair shares of their games.
🔵 SECONDARY IDEA: “Boss Battles & Bias: Ethics in Game Design”
🧠🎮 Perfect for grades 7–12 | ELA, Social Studies, or Media Literacy
🎯 Objective:
Students will analyze the ethical decisions behind game design, explore representation in media, and create a “Pitch Deck” for a game that promotes inclusivity and thoughtful storytelling.
👾 Materials:
Slides or chart paper for brainstorming
Handout: “Video Game Ethics & Representation” (brief info sheet + discussion prompts)
Student devices (optional but ideal for research)
Paper or Google Slides for pitch decks
🕹️ How to Play:
Warm-Up Discussion:
Show clips or images from various games (e.g., Fortnite, The Last of Us, Celeste, Assassin’s Creed). Ask:Who gets to be the hero?
How are different identities (race, gender, culture) portrayed?
Are there stereotypes? Biases?
Mini Reading: “Ethics in Gaming”
Provide a 1-page info sheet on ethical dilemmas in video games (violence, gender representation, pay-to-win models, etc.)Team Challenge: Build a Game Pitch!
In small groups, students create a 3-slide pitch for an original video game that:Features inclusive characters or storylines
Includes a moral or ethical choice system
Tackles a real-world issue (climate change, empathy, teamwork, etc.)
Present + Reflect:
Groups present their pitch decks. Class votes on:“Most Thought-Provoking”
“Most Likely to Go Viral”
“Best Ethics Integration”
💡 Teacher Tip:
Short on time? Do this in one class period by simplifying the pitch deck to a quick poster or verbal pitch.
🎮 Quirky in the Workplace
A.K.A. “Leveling up productivity? Sure. But have you tried challenging Steve from IT to Mario Kart at lunch?”
Video Game Day is technically about appreciating the history, artistry, and fun of video games. But here at Celebrate Quirky HQ, we say: let’s pixelate the workplace, spawn in some team spirit, and throw a few power-ups into our 9-to-5 grind. No consoles? No problem. We're talking lo-fi, lo-tech, and low-key chaotic fun—because not all heroes wear headsets (some wear business casual).
"NPC for a Day" Challenge
Today, everyone picks (or is assigned) a classic video game non-playable character (NPC) archetype—and commits to staying in character during casual interactions. Think less “productive employee,” more “unhelpful villager with oddly specific dialogue.”
Ideas:
The Tutorial Guy: Only speaks in vague, repetitive instructions. (“You can press ‘E’ to interact with the coffee machine!”)
The Side Quest Giver: Randomly hands out small office tasks with dramatic flair. (“Please deliver this stapler to Janet in Accounting. It is... crucial.”)
The Merchant: Sits at their desk offering items (Post-its, pens, gum) for “gold” (aka snacks or office gossip).
The Glitchy One: Occasionally walks into walls or gets “stuck” in doorways. Reboot not required.
Reward: Whoever stays in character the longest (or gets the most laughs) wins a handmade “Pixel Crown” made of sticky notes, and the ceremonial title of “Employee of the Respawn.”
🧠 Tagline for the day:
“Video Game Day: Because if we can’t rage-quit meetings, we can at least pretend we’re side quests in someone else’s storyline.”
🎬 Movie Pick: Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Why it fits:
This animated gem is a love letter to classic arcade games. Wreck-It Ralph dives into the lives of video game characters behind the screen, featuring cameos from real-life games like Street Fighter, Pac-Man, and Sonic. It's emotionally rich, wildly imaginative, and full of Easter eggs for gamers.
👾 Perfect for celebrating the nostalgia and community of video games.
📺 TV Episode Pick: Black Mirror – "Playtest" (Season 3, Episode 2)
Why it fits:
A psychological tech-horror story about a man who tests an experimental AR video game that becomes terrifyingly real. It's a gripping critique of immersive gaming and the fear of losing control to technology.
🎮 Highlights the darker, thought-provoking side of video game evolution.
🎉 TL;DR: Today’s All About the Pixels
Whether you're playing solo, button-mashing with friends, or just reminiscing about the time you beat Dark Souls without crying (allegedly), Video Game Day is the perfect excuse to press pause on real life—and hit start on the fun. 🕹️
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