Tetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown

In the late 1980s/early 1990s, I too played Tetris! I remember becoming addicted to this video game. So when I discovered a graphic novel titled, Tetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown, I couldn't resist buying and reading this book about the history of Tetris.

I enjoyed the artwork in Tetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown. All the artwork images are done in yellow, black, and white throughout this graphic novel and the text size was perfect; not too small, nor too large. I enjoyed the storyline for Tetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown as well. I learned  the pertinent points about the life of Alexey Pajitnov's life and how he came to create Tetris. 

I also learned how Tetris became so popular worldwide, which was not such a straight forward story as one would imagine it to be. As readers, we learn how Tetris made its way out of the Soviet Union and who had the rights to sell the game in which markets and in which formats. But, there are many entanglements and mishaps along the way, which made it difficult at times to keep track of all the players out to make money from the sale of Tetris in the retail arena. But don't let this minor detail deter you from reading this graphic novel if you are a Tetris fan. Tetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown gives readers a glimpse into the history of Tetris. 

The following is a summary of Tetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown from Amazon:

It is, perhaps, the perfect video game. Simple yet addictive, Tetris delivers an irresistible, unending puzzle that has players hooked. Play it long enough and you’ll see those brightly colored geometric shapes everywhere. You’ll see them in your dreams.

Alexey Pajitnov had big ideas about games. In 1984, he created Tetris in his spare time while developing software for the Soviet government. Once Tetris emerged from behind the Iron Curtain, it was an instant hit. Nintendo, Atari, Sega―game developers big and small all wanted Tetris. A bidding war was sparked, followed by clandestine trips to Moscow, backroom deals, innumerable miscommunications, and outright theft.

In this graphic novel,New York Times–bestselling author Box Brown untangles this complex history and delves deep into the role games play in art, culture, and commerce. For the first time and in unparalleled detail, Tetris: The Games People Play tells the true story of the world’s most popular video game.

I enjoyed reading all 253 pages of Tetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown in a couple of hours. So, it's definitely a fast read. I am giving Tetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!