Here's how to solve the mystery: Create a company called Seneslochen, release a game called Polybius, and see who sues you.

POLYBIUS: *doesn’t exist* Petscop: _Are you challenging me?_

I saw a Tumblr post not too long ago that talked about why this urban legend caught so much traction. To paraphrase, every individual element of Polybius is true to some extent: 1) The symptoms described (headaches, nausea, nightmares, mild memory loss and trauma) fit what someone going through an epileptic seizure might experience. Back in the early 80's, epilepsy awareness was near to non-existent, and for a lot of epileptic people, their first seizures were probably triggered by arcade games. 2) Men in black frequenting arcades were a common sight in some places. This isn't due to them gathering info from a creepy game, but rather, because they suspected an arcade was a front for an illegal gambling ring. It wasn't an unfounded fear, as many early arcades did indeed turn out to be just that. 3) A poor neighborhood like that described as the origin of Polybius would absolutely set up bootleg arcade machines. These would be frankensteined from various cabinets, and the games would suffer from visual glitches due to the poor construction.

Not only was Polybius born in Arcadia and his name literally means "many lives" one of his most famous quotes is " historians should never report what they cannot verify through eyewitnesses". Whoever came up with all the details for this story is a straight-up thematic genius. Hope they found their true calling as a writer or director.

"There's also a user named polybius who was quite active in alt.mag.playboy between 1997 and 1998." Local man incidentally kinkshsmed by digital archaeologist from twenty years into the future

Geez this dude could probably track down a killer if he wanted to

The funny thing about Polybius is that while its existence is false, the various rumors associated with it (government spying, seizures, etc) do have some grounding in reality: prototype game cabinets would frequently come and go from arcades for market testing, government agents did hang around arcades sometimes (though it was actually because some arcades were suspected fronts for organized crime), and kids did experience seizures, headaches, and other health problems from arcade games. But there was no sinister MK-ULTRA type experiment behind them: it’s just something that happens when you get a bunch of kids together in a big dark room full of flashing lights and loud noises while feeding them loads of pizza, candy, and caffeine. That kind of sensory overload wasn’t exactly common before arcades were a thing.

As a Czech citizen, the story of the alleged Welsh developer who moved to Czechoslovakia because of his parents' business affairs really cracked me up. As a communist country, there were no private businesses, they were all owned by the government. There was little to no trade with the west. Getting hired by a South American company to make a game for the US market is a darn wild fantasy. Also, the eastern bloc (or most of it) was pretty much behind in computer technologies - I suspect scientists backed by the government would be lucky to work with such computers here around 1980. People fabricating these grand stories set in foreign countries should really do some research of those countries beforehand :D

"History isn't necessarily what happened... it's what people say happened"

This isn't a UKposts video, it's a goddamn documentary.

It's funny, I've watched this probably 4 times now, over 5 years, fully knowing the conclusion of the video. Still, it is so well made and so perfectly narrated, I keep coming back.

Mojang use to play into the myth, where in the update notes of each new version of the game they'd include "- Removed Herobrine." They haven't done this for years. Maybe it's simply because patch notes and changes are no longer put at the forefront of the launcher anymore, perhaps it could be that more people don't know what Herobrine is compared to those who do. In any plugin or mods' patch notes I've written I always include "- Removed Herobrine," because Mojang won't anymore. Granted, the Minecraft community who still remembers, may not care much anymore, too.

"This game makes people vomit, get sick, and it hurts their eyes a lot." 3DS on 3D mode: *allow my to introduce myself*

Me and the boys pulling out of area 51 with the original polybius ROM

I grew up in the 70's and 80's and the arcade explosion at the start of the 80's was unreal. Your average arcade had dim or even black lighting, all the games had their volume set to maximum and most arcades had jukeboxes as well, blaring heavy metal and rock at almost concert decibels. It was an assault on the senses that's hard to describe unless you were there. New games were coming out almost daily sometimes, and you never knew what would show up next. Every movie theater had an arcade too, and half the fun of going to the movies was hitting up the arcade while you waited for the movie to start. It was a crazy time. The idea that a game could pop up somewhere as an experiment in mind control is entirely plausible. New machines were so common and they generated such a huge buzz when the showed up you could have to wait hours to play a popular game, lining your quarters/tokens up on the machine to save your place in line. Every new game had some new gimmick or twist to set it apart, and the fight over floor space in an arcade was brutal, with distributors bribing and threatening arcade owners to get their machines installed. There was intense competition behind the scenes and at video game conventions- originally not for the fans, but for the distributors and developers, with a sales driven convention floor that wouldn't have been out of place at a 60's car dealership convention. I had a good friend who worked at an arcade and would tell stories of distributors shoving competitor's machine out of the way to install theirs or even outright stealing machines to get floor space for their own. Most arcades did not own the machines they had- they leased them. When a machine was old or unpopular, they'd have the distributor come pick it up, but other companies would offer to remove the machines for them. You can guess that a lot of these machines did NOT end up where they were supposed to go. There was a really Wild West lawlessness about early arcades that made them that much more fun to go to.

I have the REAL polybius game.

Games being addictive was truly a horror story back when you needed to put 25 cents in each time just to play

The real Polybius was the friends we made along the way

The most important thing I've learned from this video is that somehow there is still records of the most hidden conversations and information from the earliest stages of the internet which to me is just fascinating.

Despite this being such a incredible documentary, i have to say, the soundtrack slaps so hard on the key parts, the build up are just SOO GREAT

26:45 "I had the prankster's full name, and an approximate location; so I drove there and personally beat him to death with a crowbar."

There was another potential source to disprove the myth. As an 80s arcade adult (I used to visit multiple arcades every week) I knew several of the arcade owners. It was a fairly small scene and I think if you find any 80s Portland area arcade owner they can probably tell you the other owners of the era. Video Games and pinball machines were a significant capital investment, and the glossy single-sheet brochures from the arcade companies were what arcade owners had to make a big purchase decision on. So they all regularly visited each others arcades and played the new games, scoped out how many people were waiting to play and estimated the hourly income from machines at their competitors arcades. I remember talking to arcade owners in line playing Dragon's Lair for instance. I wasn't in Portland in that era but in New Orleans which was a big test market for arcades. Any game that had rumors of long lines would have attracted immediate interest by other arcade owners.

It just dawned on me that Stuart's origin point of this myth (April 2000) was barely 6 months after the theatrical release of The Blair Witch Project, a film that owed its (frankly undeserved) success to what would now be called viral marketing. Kurt Koller, enterprising individual that he is, attempted to duplicate that success and crafted something that is the Blair Witch game in all but name. Gotta give him credit for sticking to his guns two decades later.

Fun fact: I live in a town that could be considered a small suburb of Portland. This video is making me really tempted to ask around at old arcades and see if anyone remembers seeing a video game like this!

One of the biggest missed opportunities ever is the fact that Polybius didn’t show up in the background of a Gravity Falls episode.

Fun fact: This video is mentioned on the Polybius Wikipedia page.

My best guess is that the myth existed before the internet on Kurt's town/city/whatever between arcade enjoyers and then Kurt immortalized it on his webpage. Countless other myths must have started and then died on countless towns around the world but only this received enough attention.

Polybius was an urban legend that became real

Polybius may never have existed in 1981... but it does now with all the fan-made games. An urban legend came to life.

Ahoy: Polybius doesn't exist UKposts Gaming: Polybius - Browse Game

Each year when October comes, I MUST watch this video again, it just fits so well with the Halloween theme and is such an excellent example of good journalism, even if it's a subject that doesn't actually matter in the grand scheme of things.

5 years later, what a freaking golden video. Truly a remarkable Gem, from the pacing of the story telling, the slow unveiling of more information to the mountains of word play.

In the comments of another UKposts video I saw someone insisting that he'd seen Polybius (replete with the usual Men in Black fiddling with it, etc.) in an arcade at the Mall at Rockingham Park in Salem, NH in the early 1980s. Mentioned it to a friend, and he immediately pointed out that the mall didn't exist until 1991.

The amount of research you've done for this video game is astonishing which video game journalists these days don't even bother doing. Mad respect to you sir.

Me at the start of the video: No way I’m watching an hour long video on an urban legend. Me half way through: omg this guy is actually diligent and great at what he is doing. Subscribed! These channels are what the UKposts Join function was created for.

At first, I thought this was something adding onto the original legend, but it was actually a really good and serious deep dive into it's history instead. Wow! I'm honestly impressed.

German is my first language. "Sinneslöschen" is not a commonly used word (and I'd definitely do a double take if someone used it in conversation), but it's a perfectly valid and grammatically correct compound noun. Quick rundown: "der Sinn" means "sense" in this context (though it could also mean "mind", which I think is a more interesting interpretation). "löschen" is a verb that means "to erase". However, pretty much any verb can also be used as a noun. "das Löschen" is the noun counterpart of "löschen" and it means exactly what you think, "the act of erasing". So, "das Löschen" can be used to form a compound noun just fine. To form a compound noun, you sometimes have to change the ending of one of the words. "Sinn" is one of those. Essentially, the long version of the word "Sinneslöschen" would be "das Löschen des Sinnes", which translates to "the erasing of the sense/mind". "Sinn" is in the genitive case here, so when you shorten it, you keep the genitive ending. Therefore, you get "das Sinneslöschen". So, yeah. Weird, but grammatically correct, and given that German is such a finicky language and the person made all the right decisions when forming this compound word, I believe that they're a native speaker or have been living in Germany for a while. A non-native speaker would have probably called it "Sinnlöschen".

It isn't even funny how good this documentary is.

i love rewatching this video once in a while. the ending just feels so satisfying and the fact that this guy straight up found the source of the urban legend is impressive

I still come back to this video every so often just because of how damn good it is.

One hour? I'm not going to watch a video that long. *one hour later* Dude you gotta watch this.

Fantastic video, the background music and delivery really sets an eerie mood.

This is so incredibly well produced. The sound, the visuals, the research, the writing. I know it’s years later, but well done. You knocked it out of the park.

There's a semi-local arcade near me that has a "Polybius" cabinet (obv not the "original" if that even exists, it's a fan-made version from early 2010s). I laughed out loud when I saw it. Made me come re-watch this.

That's the bravest pronunciation of Galaga I have ever heard.

Theory: *"polybius is just geometry dash"*

this is one of the best video essays out there. great music, incredible amounts of research, cool animations, this has it all. not to mention that ahoy's voice is so soothing that i regularly put this on to go to sleep 12/10, would learn about an urban legend from an era i didnt live through again

I think I've watched this video 20 times, it's definitely one of my all time favorites. I think Koller is the culprit...not the least because Polybius is listed as the most popular game ever on coinop, and is actually the most popular this week. If driving traffic to the site was the goal, it's definitely worked.

You: polybius doesn't exist Me: sounds like something polybius would say...

An hour long video and it still had less ads than a morgz video

you forgot one thing; evidence suggests the legend actually originated with tempest as that's the game two kids were playing before they collapsed. apart from that, though, this was very thorough

"I know you won't believe me, but I need to tell my story anyways." Is the most cliche creepypasta intro ever

You put modern journalism to shame

“If they really wanted to make kids feel sick all they’d need to do is wait ten years for Nintendo to invent the Virtual Boy!” Smooth.

33:57 check the bottom of the page. “we’ve recently received some new information about the game (today’s may 16th 2009) and yes one of us will be flying to the Kyiv, Ukraine area tomorrow and yes the trip is related to this information.” holy shit the reason putin invaded ukraine was to steal the last polybius cabinet

For me one of the BEST videos on UKposts ever! I came back to it time and time again. Great visuals, climatic audio, interesting topic. Thank you for creating one of the crown jewels of UKposts. ❤

People can’t go on the internet and LIE. That’s ILLEGAL.

The amount of research that went into making this is incredible, very well made and entertaining video, good job!

There's an 80's book simply called "Arcade", by Robert Maxxe, that I always get reminded of every time I hear about Polybius. Mind control, influencing the local teenagers and very strange machine internals.

as a portland resident it's cute to see the semi accurate depiction of our skyline at the start of the video. Thanks for taking the time!

I love how the internet is like a living timeline. everything on the internet leaves a trace, like fossils of an infinite world.

"the game that doesn't exist" My brain: *Petscop*

Couple of years later, still my favorite Ahoy Video. Great Job. I keep coming back to watch this one again, Usually around my B-Day.

I find it fascinating the amount of detailed investigation and thought goes into these. Specifically, the use of the sound of the bell when The Division Bell is mentioned, specifically High Hopes. As always, keep up the fantastic work, and I cannot wait to see your next video!

Someone played this over their mic on a X10 tf2 higher tower server, and we all were hooked. Half the time all of our team went friendly to just listen. So very nice video

1:04:12 That's very much how some of these legends begin. I recall seeing an arcade cabinet around 1983 which seemed "impossible". I was a kid, on a family holiday. The arcade would've been in Swanage, UK, by the sea-front. Amongst all of the regular coin-ops you'd expect to see in that time and place (Battlezone, etc.) was one that blew me away: the visuals and audio were like nothing I'd ever seen. If you'd told me it had dropped out of the future, I would've believed you. It was a futuristic racer, with amazing full-colour 3D environments. My memory of it was incredibly clear, because it made such an impression on me. I recall a part where the track suddenly went vertical, straight up, like something out of F-Zero. I also recall the amazing sound when you passed through the start/finish stadium building, and could hear the crowd. It was jaw-dropping. For literally decades I wondered what the heck I'd seen that day. I never saw the game again anywhere else, not in arcades, not in magazines, nowhere. Eventually I began to doubt my own memory of it, reasoning that the game I recalled seeing had surely been impossible in that era. Then, poking around the internet one day, I found it: "Star Rider", by Williams. Turns out it was a Laserdisc game, which explains the audio-visual experience apparently being on another level. I was aware of Laserdisc games at the time (Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, etc.) but it didn't occur to me that this might also be a Laserdisc game because it seemed too interactive, with your racer moving around the track, not just some pre-rendered cartoon. Looking back, of course it was just a vehicle graphic slapped on top of pre-rendered track visuals that were being streamed from Laserdisc. Anyway, showing that other Laserdisc game in your video reminded me of that "impossible" game I saw one time as a kid, back in 1983, and how easy it would've been to believe that something like that, glimpsed once and seemingly remembered by no-one else, had to come from some mysterious source :)

I've already watched this video twice and I can't resist returning to it. It's just really neat. Good voice, interesting story, pleasing graphics. Every time I wanna put on a long video while I do something, I think about this one. This is just THE video for me.

I've watched this video probably half a dozen times or more, and I just don't get tired of it. One of my favorite urban myths, handled by a master content creator.

How is this not an officially recognised Polybuis documentary? This was unbelievable from the narration to the sound effects, giving it that spooky yet trance like feel and the research putting in must of took years. This is up there with some of the very best video game documentaries. Although it's all just urban myth and legend and there really is no proof that this mysterious game had ever existed other than hear say and 2nd and 3rd party accounts, I found it really interesting how you mentioned the US government program MK Ultra. This is something could've happened as they experimented with drugs such as LSD and what effect it had on the mind to then enable them to program Manchurian candidates. So with all the flashing strobe light effects and colours along with their history of subliminal messages around the time it is possible although unlikely as it may seem.

FBI: Winners dont use drugs! CIA: *allow us to introduce ourselves*

I heard this whole story at ten years old but about Pokémon and i buried my cartridge in the woods lol😅

Anyone still watch this for pleasure ? Amazing production and soundtrack! Don’t currr it’s been 6 yrs, I still watch this

the most famous quote of the greek philosipher polybius is ' do not write in the history books what is not confirmed as real '. The rumour of polybius literally tells you not to believe it.

-Brilliant script -Engaging music -Excellent research -Great narrating you sir, deserve a box of cookies.

I love the amount of time and effort put into the video, from the pixel art of the arcades to the amount of time and dedication spent into researching everything about the source of the information! My only complaint would be about the possibility of the puzzle on that website it originated from however that might have been a sidetrack anyway. Maybe someone solved the puzzle considering that this video is somewhat older now

Idk how many time this has been said, but Sinneslöschen is not actually a butchered German Word. I am a native German speaker and while yes, the grammar is a little weird and sounds more like ancient German, it is still correct and not butchered at all. Furthermore you could argue that because it is written in this more medieval kind of German it makes the whole name all the more intruiging than before. Just thought i should mention it, but im probably not the first person to say it,

This was dope dude, GJ.

I've played Polybius. I was drunk though and it turns out it was just Puzzle Bobble.

No matter how many times I watch this documentary I always find it enthralling. Excellent production.

I fucking love how this guy says bright flashing images can cause seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy while showing a barrage of bright flashing images

Excellent documentary, this should be on Netflix. Expertly researched, and some first-rate investigative journalism here.

SOMEONE GIVE THIS GUY A *GODDAMN EMMY*

Usually not interested in retro gaming or it's history, or just stuff like this, but about half way through this video and cannot stop listening! Very interesting story so far :)

This was probably the most random/coolest video I’ve ever stumbled upon. So well put together, with knowledge, illustration, and delivery. I’d love to just have a conversation with you one day.

the quality of the videos are...highly professional to say the least...It never ceases to amaze me what one guy and time can do.

Now THIS is a Game Theory. Honestly how do you not have your own UKposts red or Netflix show ?

I just wanna mention that this is my go-to video if I wanna go to sleep... I tried watching it 3 times by now, and it didn't work even once. Such a calming voice

I am still in awe at your ability to create videos of such high quality and wonderful graphic design. The ambient electro and the total attention to detail its inspiring to watch thanks for your videos ahoy/Stuart

imagine we all think it's fake, and it's actually real and they just did a VERY good cover up

31:29 "You can launch missiles with a Playstation 2" *INCONCLUSIVE*

Anyone else ever get the sudden urge to become incredibly skilled at a forgotten, no longer popular or obscure game? Nice ending too :) Also this guy sounds like my uncle.

This is awesome. Love the voice acting for the interview recordings

I like this dude because he doesn't play any annoying scary music lol.

This is so good that I'm almost feeling guilty watching this for free.

Amazing video! Incredible amount of work you put in this videos!

It exist, but I used the last machine's spare parts to fix my truck.

It doesn’t exist so much that people were able to talk about its non existence for an hour long

We all want to believe the Polybius legend but Ahoy broke it down so surgical and beautifully that it's impossible to say he's wrong. The research is impeccable and the entire documentary is extremely well-made for a game that doesn't exist and has no evidence of existing.

I've NEVER in all my years heard some pronounce "Galaga" the way you did in the beginning man lol. Fantastic vid. I can't imagine the amount of hours you wasted on research for this! Extremely fascinating... Your voice also is awesome. I remember you from back in the old COD videos you made that I stumbled across.

I loooooove the videos you make! so much detail and great narration. Thank you! Also the soundtrack is amazing too! Cathode Rays is so sick!