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How to Master the Video Games

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How to Master the Video Games is a paperback book written by Tom Hirschfeld and published by Bantam Books in 1981. It is a guidebook exploring 30 of the most popular arcade games of its time.[1] Grame Mason writing for Eurogamer described it as "one of the first tips books"[2] while Scott Stilphen identified it as one of "the first 2 'how to' video game books" alongside Ken Uston's Mastering Pac-Man which came out the same year.[3][4]

Hirschfeld divides the included games into broad categories in the table of contents: Space Invaders-type, Asteroids-type, maze, reflex, and miscellaneous.[5] Space Invaders-type corresponds to the modern genre of fixed shooter, while Asteroids-type is now called multidirectional shooter.

The book was followed by How to Master Home Video Games in 1982 by the same author.[6] In 1982 Michael Blanchet released two competing books, How to Beat the Video Games[7] and How to Beat Atari, Intellivision, and Other Home Video Games.[8][3]

Reception

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How to Master the Video Games sold about 650,000 copies, appearing on The New York Times mass-market paperback list.[9]

Stanley Greenlaw reviewed the book for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "The book is just the ticket for the game player who wants to be more than a novice. If you really want to enjoy the coin-operated arcades take a few of those spare quarters and pick up How to Master the Video Games, you'll come out ahead in the long run."[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Greenlaw, Stanley (January–February 1982). "Micro - Reviews". Computer Gaming World. 1 (2): 26–27.
  2. ^ Mason, Grame (3 Dec 2023). "The history of game hints pages, before the internet took over". Eurogamer.
  3. ^ a b Stilphen, Scott (2013). "Michael Blanchet". Atari Compendium. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  4. ^ Uston, Ken (1981). Mastering Pac-Man. New York: Signet. ISBN 0451118995.
  5. ^ Hirschfeld, Tom (November 1981). How to Master the Video Games. Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0553201642.
  6. ^ Hirschfeld, Tom (March 1982). How to Master Home Video Games. Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0553201956.
  7. ^ Blanchet, Michael (1982). How to Beat the Video Games. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671453750.
  8. ^ Blanchet, Michael (1982). How to Beat Atari, Intellivision, and Other Home Video Games. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671459090.
  9. ^ "Learn The Code Book And Beat Video Games". Ludington Daily News. March 1, 1982. p. 25.
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