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12 May 1951Reputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Nimrod plays Nim at the Festival of Britain

A twelve-foot cabinet of vacuum tubes built to show off a computer, not to be fun

On the timeline · around 12 May 1951 · Before the IndustryBefore the IndustryNimrod plays Nim at the Festival of Britain1950195519601965

Quick facts

Builder
Ferranti
Designer
Raymond Stuart-Williams (concept by John Bennett)
Debut
Festival of Britain, 12 May 1951
Game played
Nim

What happened

For the Festival of Britain's Exhibition of Science in South Kensington, London, the computer maker Ferranti built a special-purpose machine to play Nim, an ancient game where players remove matches from piles trying to force the other player to take the last one. Australian engineer John Bennett suggested the project, and Raymond Stuart-Williams built the machine, which debuted on 12 May 1951. Nimrod was enormous, mostly filled with vacuum tubes and the light bulbs that displayed the game state, with the actual logic circuitry taking up only a small fraction of its volume. Ferranti later took it to the Berlin International Show before dismantling it.

Why it matters

Nimrod was built to demonstrate that a digital computer could reason through a game, not to entertain, but visitors cared more about playing Nim than about the engineering lecture Ferranti intended. It is the earliest known case of the public treating a computer as a game machine, foreshadowing what companies would later sell on purpose.

How we know

The Computer History Museum's dated timeline entry for 1951, drawn from its own artifact and photo collection, records the Festival debut date, the builders, and Ferranti's stated intent.

Sources

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