Following the release of our first two books — Soviet Arcade Machines and Game Consoles in the USSR — we are continuing work on the next volumes in our series dedicated to the history of gaming in the Soviet Union.
We are currently preparing three new books:
- Soviet Personal Computers of the 1980s
- IBM PC-Compatible Computers
- ZX Spectrum Clones
Today we’d like to share the preliminary table of contents for Computers of the 1980s.
The Soviet electronic handheld game Ocean Secrets (Elektronika brand) was virtually an exact copy of Nintendo’s Japanese Game & Watch: Octopus.
I remember very well how I got this game. I was about ten years old (around 1988) and was lying at home with a high fever. That evening my mother came back from work carrying an orange box with the promising Elektronika logo printed on it. Before that, I had seen the famous Nu, Pogodi! game a couple of times at my classmates’ homes, but I had no idea that a similar game featuring an octopus even existed.
Njoll has released two books dedicated to the history of video gaming in the USSR — one covering arcade machines and the other video game consoles.
These books are the result of more than ten years of research. The texts are based primarily on interviews with developers and the memories of gamers from that era. Both volumes are illustrated with original studio photographs of the machines and consoles, and many images reveal their internal hardware and construction.
The books explore the development of the video game industry behind the Iron Curtain, from the first electromechanical arcade machines to home gaming systems that became familiar to millions of users across the USSR and Eastern Europe.
Attention is given not only to the machines and the games themselves, but also to everyday life in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Detailed information about the books, sample photographs, tables of contents, and ordering options can be found in the Shop section.
Customers who order both volumes will receive a complimentary poster featuring 15 of the most popular gaming platforms in the USSR and the post-Soviet region. Be quick — the poster is limited to just 50 copies.
Dear friends! Many years ago, in 2009, when Njoll did not yet exist but our Kyiv-based publishing house Sky Horse was already operating, we released a CD with the computer simulator Soviet Game Machines. Today, this game can be downloaded for free here: https://bit.ly/SovietGameMachines