10 Nerdy Video Games From The Big Bang Theory You Can Still Play Today
Fan-favorite TV show about a bunch of geeks living and working together often gets flack for how it paints nerds and nerd culture with its cartoony characters, but if there’s one thing it nails, it’s their love for gaming. Comics, science, and video games play a huge role in the show. One would even say they’re two of its biggest crutches, but that’s fine.
The boys (and sometimes girls, too) dive into MMORPGs, Rock Band, and even some toxic online FPS goodness. Out of all the games they play, a few stand out as really making an impact on the story and the characters or creating some of the funniest scenes.
1. Red Dead Redemption
Sadly, we don’t see Sheldon play Red Dead Redemption all that much. He’s just wandering around in the game world, doing nothing really. When someone asks him why, he says he wanted to take a walk to “clear his head” after a fight with Amy. Crazy, we know! But this funny moment highlights just how vast and awesome the open world of RDR is. It’s still hilarious that he didn’t just go outside and instead “went for a walk” inside a game.
2. Assassin’s Creed
Want to know more about Howard’s video game priorities? Well, this is the episode for you then. This time around, he’s older, married, and surprisingly, picking Assassin’s Creed over spending time with his girlfriend. It really comes to a head during a dinner, where Bernadette gets super pissy about Howard neglecting the chores, so she hides his console. Poor Howard ended up marrying his mom, figuratively speaking.
3. Rock Band
We see the gang play Rock Band in multiple episodes. But the best one is in season 2 when Leonard’s mom, Beverly, visits. There’s a hilarious moment between her and Sheldon when she says they’d “be good together” but isn’t sure if it’s “appropriate.” Of course, neither of them means anything weird at all. Later, they really get into playing Rock Band, and it’s a classic comedy bait-and-switch that’s done perfectly.
4. Words With Friends
Who doesn’t like playing Words With Friends to show off their superior vocab? In this episode, we find out that Sheldon has been playing WWF with Stephen Hawking and is super excited that they’re now officially “friends.” Things get a bit messy when our boy starts winning, and Hawking decides to quit, which makes Sheldon throw the game. One of the funniest parts is when Hawking calls Sheldon to tease him about being a loser.
5. Dance Dance Revolution
In the second episode of The Big Bang Theory, there’s a moment where Howard is playing DDR in the living room, and he’s going all out, super intense, and in the end, does a big finishing move. After that, he says, “Grab a napkin, homie, you just got served” with so much confidence and swagger that you start to wonder if it’s even the same Howard!
6. Wii Bowling
The crew takes their gaming pretty seriously, even when it comes to casual stuff like Wii Bowling. Leonard is the team captain, Sheldon chalks up his hands before “throwing,” and of course, they all wear matching shirts. And then Leonard ruins it by going out with his new, cooler friends.
7. Zork
Zork is less popular than the other games the guys usually play on the show, but that’s why it’s so good. In this episode, Sheldon’s super pumped to play Zork, even though it’s the inferior beta version. He’d rather tackle a rougher, less fun version of the game just to get the true experience than play a “normie” rendition.
8. Age of Conan
Usually, Penny tries to keep her distance when it comes to all the nerdy stuff the boys do, including gaming. But this episode really shows she has more in common with them than you’d think. She gets super frustrated about not having real-life success and then becomes obsessed with Age of Conan because of the in-game rewards and the sense of achievement it gives her. If you’re a gamer, you definitely know how that feels.
9. World of Warcraft
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but Sheldon and the gang really love WOW. Or, at least, they used to love playing it. We see how their behavior changes, like, for example, Leonard completely loses interest in the game when he sees Penny is around, and Howard ends up practically cheating on Bernadette in the game. On the bright side, there’s another part where Sheldon gets hacked and has all his stuff stolen!
10. Halo
And lastly, there’s the classic FPS gem—Halo 3. In the episode, Sheldon is absolutely furious about Howard skipping their traditional Halo Night event. Then again, Howie has a date, and for him, that’s worth like 10 Halo Nights. But then Penny enters the picture and, because she has nothing better to do, decides to give it a try. Shortly after, she blows everyone away with her incredible 360-no-scope headshot multikills! That’s our gamer girl.