40 years ago, Trivial Pursuit was H-U-G-E. A real cultural phenomenon that seemed to be everywhere. There was even excellent home computer versions (complete with an amazing 3000 questions) created under auspices of Domark. I had tons of fun playing it with the ZZAP! team.

40 years ago, Amstrad's profits were the equivalent of £232m in today's money. Meanwhile, the C64c wasn't exactly wowing retailers, nor anyone else for that matter 'cos the old breadbin design was perfectly fine thanks. Man, what a boring week it was back then.

Here's the distinctive and memorable ad for this game. Its featured sports really did feel very different and highly interesting - and were all super-fun to play.

40 years ago I was being blown away by C64 World Games, yet another stellar entry in Epyx' benchmark Games series. This was the pinnacle of multi-event sports games, featuring top-of-the-line audiovisuals and superbly tuned, extremely fun gameplay. A massive all-time classic.

My book's back in stock and starts shipping tomorrow. If you haven't heard about it, check out the reviews. Many readers have really enjoyed this very personal odyssey through video gaming history - as well as its behind-the-scenes anecdotes, stories, and personal experiences.

35 years ago, if you had a Game Boy, you could pimp it out with all manner of peripherals. Nuby had one of the biggest ranges of stuff, including lights, screen magnifiers, sound boosters, and carrying cases. Were there any Game Boy extras that you felt were indispensable?

Still waiting for the bastards to make me poet laureate.

Yeah, text adventure developed on The Quill, other stuff added using actual programming.

Here's a game I don't remember ever seeing. Dodgy Geezers was a graphic adventure developed using The Quill, a text adventure creation system, and published by Melbourne House. Just a really weird and obscure video game oddity from 40 years ago.

35 years ago, Toys "R" Us was a very fast-growing biz. Already huge in the states, this toy store chain was rapidly spreading to the four corners of the UK - and with it came shelves and shelves full of the latest consoles and games. Which one of these was your local store?

40 years ago, Amstrad's new PC/Speccy +2 were delayed, more ST models were touted, and Boots were being dicks. That Pergamon story is interesting tho'. An inaugural CD-ROM transfer service that helped pave the way for what would become the most successful media format of the 90s.

Enjoy!

Well, at least it's better than queue-wicks, as my idiot friend used to call it.

Taito's weird and wonderful Golden Age of Arcades classic Qix (pronounced kicks) is celebrating its 45th anniversary. This highly original playfield-filling game was and still is an extremely unusual and interesting concept. Super-tense and tricky to play, but also very fun!

That’s the thing. The games industry doesn’t value its media. It loves its influencers and their echo chamber positivity, but the actual media with their awkward questions and counterpoints are often seen more as a pain in the ass than an asset.

Here’s where you can buy my book if you’re down under.

They really should be. Used them for 30 years in California: a really cheap and effective way of keeping a room cool.

Sold it in early 84 to fund my first computer (second hand Atari 400). At that point could already clock the game so a computer seemed like a better idea (and was because it was a stepping stone to a full time job in the games industry).

Iceland? Looks like Virginia.

Shamchester City, innit?