How to Master the Video Games

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

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]