TFD:SB - EP6 | The Polybius Arcade Theory | The Men in Black & Addictive Video Game Experiments

Welcome back to TFD Summer Break! In today's episode, we welcome Christian back in Studio to share the story of Polybius, an alleged arcade game placed in Portland back in the 80's. Hailed as the first "internet urban legend" by skeptics everywhere, the legend describes the game as part of a government-run crowdsourced psychology experiment based in Portland, Oregon during 1981. Gameplay supposedly produced intense psychoactive and addictive effects in the player. These few publicly staged arcade machines were said to have been visited periodically by men in black for the purpose of data-mining the machines and analyzing these effects. Allegedly, all of these Polybius arcade machines disappeared from the arcade market. Polybius has persisted as a topic of interest for video games journalism and through continued interest, it has served as inspiration for free and commercial video games by the same name. If you're enjoying the show, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts. We know it can be an inconvenience, but it truly is the only way to help our show beat those pesky algorithms, and it really does go a long way in helping us continue to grow the show. If you're new to the show, welcome to TFD Summer Break! Season 1 has ended, and while the gang recharges their batteries, and gears up for Season 2 of The Freaky Deaky later this Fall, we'll be releasing shorter weekly episodes across all your favorite pod catchers. It's gonna be a good time. Special Guests, Guest Hosts, Heather will debut some True Crime, and we'll also be uploading video shorts, and behind the scenes footage on our YouTube Channel & TikTok Page, so make sure you're following along across our social media pages! Submit Your Paranormal Experience to be Featured in Our Listener Stories Episodes! Use the email below to submit paranormal experiences, episode suggestions, or general feedback on ways we can improve the quality of the show: [email protected] Follow Us on Social Media For Photos, Video Shorts & Behind The Scenes Looks From Each Episode:   Website: The Freaky Deaky Podcast Instagram: https://bit.ly/2HOdleo Facebook: https://bit.ly/3ebSde6 TikTok: https://bit.ly/35lNOlu YouTube: https://bit.ly/3goj7SP Twitter: https://bit.ly/3mJ8Ron Merch: TFD Merch