I originally posted a review of this fabulous book back in the summer time, but I am excited to share it again, this time as part of a book tour with Katie and Bray PA! I am so happy to see lots of people posting and sharing about this great book. If you haven't had a chance to grab a copy, the amazon link is at the bottom of the post. It would make an awesome Christmas present for a game lover on your list this year!
A Game Maker's Life by Jeffrey Breslow is a memoir that follows Jeff's career as a game designer working for Marvin Glass. While he does give some contextual information about his childhood and beginning university, as well as a chapter or so on his life in retirement, the bulk of the memoir focuses on his career designing some of the games that are historic parts of childhood memories for generations of people. Breslow and his colleagues were a group of very intelligent and creative people who needs to problem solve, invent and market thousands of new ideas. He talks about rejection, about trial and error, and about believing in yourself and your ideas. But most of all, he sheds light on an industry that we all know very well, but that we probably know very little about. You've probably played Operation, Mouse Trap or Uno. You may have grown up playing with Polly Pockets, Hot Wheels or Barbie Dolls. But do you know anything about their history? You may not even know which company sold them and you most likely do not know who came up with the idea and how it came to be. Breslow does a fantastic job chronicling his time working as a game designer as well as the many games he worked on and sold to companies like Mattel or Fisher Price. He sheds new light on the games we are familiar with and the many (many, many, many) games that never made it into living rooms.
This memoir is for the most part very light hearted (though there were some murders and people were spied on by the KGB) and a lot of fun to read. It is mainly told in a fairly linear manner, with some jumping around, only really when necessary. His descriptions are detailed enough to create imagery and help the reader truly picture these unfamiliar places, people and ideas, without getting bogged down with unnecessary information. I found it a fairly quick read, but also it contained a really great amount of information. As I finished I felt like I had gained a new perspective on the world of my childhood and also learned all I really felt I needed to know about a field I knew almost nothing about. It takes a special kind of creativity to design toys that will sell to millions of children, and luckily that creativity can clearly also be applied to writing a memoir. Breslow is entertaining and interesting and has a beautiful outlook on life. I'm really glad I got the chance to read this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about game design and the history of the games we grew up with. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book! Also thanks to Katie and Brey PA for putting on this tour!
Order it now on Amazon!
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