The definitive story of a game so great, even the Cold War couldn't stop it Tetris is perhaps the most instantly recognizable, popular video game ever made. But how did an obscure Soviet programmer, working on frail, antiquated computers, create a product which has now earned nearly 1 billion in sales? How did a makeshift game turn into a worldwide sensation, which has been displayed at the Museum of Modern Art, inspired a big-budget sci-fi movie, and been played in outer space? A quiet but brilliant young man, Alexey Pajitnov had long nurtured a love for the obscure puzzle game pentominoes, and became obsessed with turning it into a computer game. Little did he know that the project that he labored on alone, hour after hour, would soon become the most addictive game ever made. In this fast-paced business story, reporter Dan Ackerman reveals how Tetris became one of the world's first viral hits, passed from player to player, eventually breaking through the Iron Curtain into the West. British, American, and Japanese moguls waged a bitter fight over the rights, sending their fixers racing around the globe to secure backroom deals, while a secretive Soviet organization named ELORG chased down the game's growing global profits. The Tetris Effect is an homage to both creator and creation, and a must-read for anyone who's ever played the game-which is to say everyone.

21 February 1989. Three men fly into Moscow, representing software giants from Britain, America, and Japan. Each of them is determined to undercut the others in order to secure a technology so powerfully addictive it has brought the government department that created it to a standstill. In a country on the brink of seismic change, where spycraft is about to give way to cut-throat capitalism, Tetris has become the grand prize. Featuring corporate espionage, unmarked government organizations, courtroom drama and international conspiracies, the origin of the world’s most popular video game is a gripping, fast-paced thriller of the highest order. Not only this, but it is also the tale of a one-in-a-million software start-up – a unique example of an idea, a product, and an era coming together at exactly the right moment. Tetris was perfectly (if accidentally) crafted to hit primal triggers in our minds and in Ackerman’s hands its story is unputdownable.

Most people want to be successful in life. And of course, everyone wants to be happy. When it comes to the pursuit of success and happiness, most people assume the same formula: if you work hard, you will become successful, and once you become successful, then you'll be happy. The only problem is that a decade of cutting-edge research in the field of positive psychology has proven that this formula is backwards. Success does not beget happiness. Based on the largest study ever conducted on happiness and human potential (a survey conducted by the author of more than 1,600 students), Harvard lecturer Shawn Achor shares seven core principles of positive psychology that each one of us can use to improve our performance, grow our careers, and gain a competitive edge at work. He reveals how happiness actually fuels success and performance, not the other way around. Why? Because when we are happier and more positive we are more engaged, creative, resilient to stress, and productive. The Happiness Advantage will appeal to anyone who wants practical advice on how to become happier and also more successful.

Immortal gods, online gaming, and a reincarnating goldfish ... Lars Nilsson's life is about to level up. Button pusher, office worker, up-all-night gamer, Lars Nilsson has just been booted from the top of the league in his latest high-stakes obsession. The arrival of a mysterious spirit animal and a sequence of cryptic in-game messages send Lars on a journey of cosmic self-discovery more challenging than any game. ** Las Vegas, 1983, and an on-stage regression experiment tears open a passage to another dimension where a young assistant makes a deal with a mischievous supernatural being. The ancient immortal guardians of the afterlife have been lured from their position of authority after being tempted by the spoils of modern life. The land of the dead rots in their absence. An online gamer's life is shattered when a Future Tech company sends him on a hyper-real quest to a land where magical creatures command the purple skies and shadow animals patrol the streets like deadly sentinels. But what do the familiar challenges of this otherworld have to do with a reclusive gamer, and can the ancient immortals take back control of the afterlife before the land of the dead is lost to a powerful primordial force?

Documents the history of the video game Tetris and looks at the role games play in art, culture, and commerce.

How filling life with play-whether soccer or lawn mowing, counting sheep or tossing Angry Birds -- forges a new path for creativity and joy in our impatient age Life is boring: filled with meetings and traffic, errands and emails. Nothing we'd ever call fun. But what if we've gotten fun wrong? In Play Anything, visionary game designer and philosopher Ian Bogost shows how we can overcome our daily anxiety; transforming the boring, ordinary world around us into one of endless, playful possibilities. The key to this playful mindset lies in discovering the secret truth of fun and games. Play Anything, reveals that games appeal to us not because they are fun, but because they set limitations. Soccer wouldn't be soccer if it wasn't composed of two teams of eleven players using only their feet, heads, and torsos to get a ball into a goal; Tetris wouldn't be Tetris without falling pieces in characteristic shapes. Such rules seem needless, arbitrary, and difficult. Yet it is the limitations that make games enjoyable, just like it's the hard things in life that give it meaning. Play is what happens when we accept these limitations, narrow our focus, and, consequently, have fun. Which is also how to live a good life. Manipulating a soccer ball into a goal is no different than treating ordinary circumstances- like grocery shopping, lawn mowing, and making PowerPoints-as sources for meaning and joy. We can "play anything" by filling our days with attention and discipline, devotion and love for the world as it really is, beyond our desires and fears. Ranging from Internet culture to moral philosophy, ancient poetry to modern consumerism, Bogost shows us how today's chaotic world can only be tamed-and enjoyed-when we first impose boundaries on ourselves.

The internet is so central to everyday life, that it is impossible to contemplate life without it. From finding romance, to conducting business, receiving health advice, shopping, banking, and gaming, the internet opens up a world of possibilities to people across the globe. Yet for all its positive attributes, it is also an environment where we witness the very worst of human behaviour - cybercrime, election interference, fake news, and trolling being just a few examples. What is it about this unique environment that can make people behave in ways they wouldn't contemplate in real life. Understanding the psychological processes underlying and influencing the thinking, interpretation and behaviour associated with this online interconnectivity is the core premise of Cyberpsychology. The Oxford Handbook of Cyberpsychology explores a wide range of cyberpsychological processes and activities through the research and writings of some of the world's leading cyberpsychology experts. The book is divided into eight sections covering topics as varied as online research methods, self-presentation and impression management, technology across the lifespan, interaction and interactivity, online groups and communities, social media, health and technology, video gaming and cybercrime and cybersecurity. The Oxford Handbook of Cyberpsychology will be important reading for those who have only recently discovered the discipline as well as more seasoned cyberpsychology researchers and teachers.