The FUZE Computer and Video Game Museum opens at Bradmoor Farm, Haddenham on Saturday 22 August, 2pm to 6pm. Free entry, an original Enigma machine and the creators of Dizzy.

A museum of home computers and video games opens at Bradmoor Farm in Haddenham this weekend. The FUZE Computer and Video Game Museum holds its official open day on Saturday 22 August from 2pm to 6pm, and entry is free. (FUZE Museum)

After the launch it will open on Saturdays, 11am to 4pm. Entry is free at those times too, with donations invited. (Museum flyer, FUZE)

The practical details

  • Where: The FUZE Centre, Unit 5, Bradmoor Farm, Stanbridge Road, Haddenham, Aylesbury, HP17 8JX
  • Open day: Saturday 22 August, 2pm to 6pm
  • Regular hours from then on: Saturdays, 11am to 4pm
  • Cost: free. Donations are “very warmly received”, and the museum also accepts donations of hardware relevant to the collection
  • On site: a retro gaming shop selling merchandise and gadgets

What is in it

The museum says it holds over 100 hands-on, working exhibits. Not behind glass: its own description is that the machines can be used. The collection covers consoles and handhelds, early desktop workstations, laptops and home computers from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

The brands the museum lists run to 29 names. They are Binatone, Fairchild, Grandstand, Atari, NEC, Neo Geo, Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Xbox, Hewlett Packard, Apple, IBM, Toshiba, Sharp, ASUS, Amstrad, Acorn, Sinclair, Commodore, Tatung, Oric, Camputers, Enterprise, Sam Coupe, Aquarius, Micro Professor, Texas Instruments and Dragon. The museum adds that there are “quite a few more”.

There are also playable arcade cabinets and pinball tables, developer kits from Nintendo, Sony and Xbox, and two Sinclair C5 electric vehicles.

Who is appearing on the open day

The museum’s flyer bills the following for Saturday:

  • The Oliver Twins, described on the flyer as the creators of Dizzy
  • John Alexander, an Enigma expert, bringing an original Enigma cipher machine
  • further guests and speakers, not yet named

Who runs it

The museum is run by FUZE Technologies Limited, a Buckinghamshire company incorporated on 8 January 2014 with its registered office at Oakley, near Thame. Companies House records it as active, with its business classified as internet retail and the publishing of computer games. (Companies House, company 08837428)

The wider FUZE operation is a coding education business rather than a shop. It runs school workshops, holiday workshops and after-school clubs, and it makes hardware and software for teaching programming. Founder Jon Silvera sets out the aim on the company’s own site. “Learning to code with FUZE can empower people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities with comprehension of a subject often perceived as complicated and just for ‘geeks’ and ‘mathmagicians’,” he writes. (FUZE)

What it means for you

  • Saturday’s session runs 2pm to 6pm and costs nothing, so it is a straightforward afternoon out for families over the school holidays. There is no need to book on the information the museum has published.
  • Bradmoor Farm is on Stanbridge Road on the edge of Haddenham, about five and a half miles south west of Aylesbury. The nearest station is Haddenham and Thame Parkway.
  • If you go, take cash or a card for a donation. The museum is free but says it needs support.
  • Our business directory also lists a cafe at Bradmoor Farm if you want to make a morning of it. Check with the venue before travelling, as listed hours can change.
  • Have a machine in the loft? The museum accepts hardware donations where they fit the collection. Contact details are on the FUZE site.

More ideas for the rest of the summer are on our things to do in Aylesbury page, and if you are driving over, check our Aylesbury roadworks and travel page first.

Sources