Kyle Orland

(I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for this review.)

Minesweeper is a history of the titular game, using it to examine, in microcosm, the evolution of video games in general over the last several decades. It began as (ostensibly) a tool designed to teach players how to use a mouse, back at the dawn of home computing; it then sparked a moral panic over lost productivity, developed a contentious competitive scene, spawned a number of imitators, and finally came to exist as just another ad-filled casual game among many (though you can remove the ads for a subscription fee).

The book is fairly short, not outstaying its welcome on a narrow topic, and the writing style is engaging, making this a quick, fun read for those interested in the history of video games. A "Notes" section at the end documents the writer's extensive research, laying out sources (including his interviews of key figures in the history of Minesweeper) chapter by chapter.… (més)

I have never considered myself a gamer, but that doesn't mean I never played Minesweeper. Everybody played Minesweeper, or so it seemed in the 90s. I got pretty good at it, if not as good as J.K. Rowling. I also don't usually read books about software, but this was fascinating, not just for the history of the game and its fanbase, but also for what it revealed about the corporate vision of Microsoft and where games came to fit in a company that had always regarded itself as serious and business-oriented. I see that Boss Fight Books also has one on Warcraft; that may be next.… (més)