Tetris GB
Image: Damien McFerran / Time Extension

A new book charting the 40-plus-year history of Tetris is set for release this August, from Irish video games journalist Anthony McGlynn (Variety, IGN, Ars Technica...) and Pen & Sword Books' White Owl publishing imprint.

The Tetris Story is McGlynn's debut book and is being described online by its publisher as the story of "the circumstances leading to a digital toy made by two people in a computer lab in Moscow in the early ‘80s being beaten by a young teenager on a Nintendo Entertainment System", highlighting "every incredible coincidence, piece of luck and happenstance which led to that miraculous moment."

This, of course, refers to the game's creation by Alexey Pajitnov and Vladimir Pokhilko in the early '80s, and the history-making event that took place in 2023, when Tetris player Willis "Blue Scuti" Gibson effectively "beat" the game by reaching Tetris's "kill screen" — a feat no one had ever achieved before.

The Tetris Story is said to feature "over two dozen interviews with developers, organisers, professional players, historians and more," with McGlynn teasing on a LinkedIn post about the announcement that there are several people he has spoken to in preparation for writing it that "have either never gone on the record before, or rarely speak publicly."

As he went on to state, those who happen to pick up a copy of the book will be able to find out more about the history of "one of the most influential and popular games ever... that connects The Crow and Jackie Chan with Call of Duty and the Scottish cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen" This includes "anecdotes on the founding of Xbox, Roger Dean creating the game's logo, and how Tetris helped bridge language barriers."

Admittedly, this isn't the first book to be released about the Tetris phenomenon. Over the last decade, for instance, we've already seen The Tetris Effect: The Cold War Battle for the World's Most Addictive Game from Dan Ackerman, Henk Rogers' memoir The Perfect Game: Tetris: From Russia With Love, and Box Brown's Tetris: The Games People Play. But given how long Tetris has been around, McGlynn's coverage of Tetris in the past, and the promise of some exclusive interviews, I'm definitely curious enough to give it a shot.

If you feel the same, you can pre-order your copy of the book from Waterstones, Amazon, and other online stores now for £22.

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