Fun read for a video game enthusiast. Having played the Civilization series on and off for years, this was fascinating and informative.

Meier is a familiar figure in game design circles and is also a rare designer whose name gets above the title for many games (in this respect, he is comparable to Fellini, whose name is often the attraction for audiences). I was happy to learn through reading his memoir that this was not the result of some ruthless sense of self-promotion, but was the coincidence of working in a small company for a small community of users/gamers, and then later a business decision for MicroProse once he personally became synonymous with a kind of game (usually strategy, usually worlds removed from the mayhem and violence and hyperkinenticism of other popular franchises and figures). Even with later Civilization titles were not mainly designed by him (and when the franchise moved further away from his original conceits in III and IV), his name remained above the title, though in the book he gives ample credit to the main minds behind those later games. While all of Meier's career gets worked through, I found the chapters on the Civ games to be the most engaging, both in terms of how Meier came to process how much the games meant to others (players, academics, hobbyists) and how reactive the fanbase has been to the games, taking hemin all sorts of new directions in ways that seem appreciated by its creator.

There are plenty of lived insights in the book with regards to the creative process; some fun "behind the scenes" anecdotes of working for MicroProse and Firaxis, and of encounters with a commercial gaming ecosystem which was never quite on the same page; a cool structuring device that ties stories of his life to the development of specific games; and, to gamify things further, "achievements" that unlock as you read. I could not help but thinking as I read that Meier and his games are something of the vanishing "middle" of the games world: the scope and scale of his more recent titles are far bigger than indie, but seem a bit removed from the dictates of many AAA titles. We're lucky that Meier seems as grounded as he is (no megalomaniac he, as might befall other critically acclaimed creative types), and that he still seems to have some ideas left in him.

Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Companies for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was honestly such an interesting read for a fan of video games. I absolutely love the Civilization franchise by Sid Meier and it was so incredibly intriguing to hear these little anecdotes and fun stories that were born with the creation of my favourite games. As well as learning so much more about the game industry and other games created by Sid Meier and studios associated with him, I would definitely recommend this as a must read for fans of the strategy genre.

What a fun memoir from the greatest game designer of all time. I loved the inside stories and how the games came about.

The first time I played a Sib Meier game it was the day after my last final in my first semester of my freshman year of college, My neighbor, an engineering student, had the still relatively rare luxury of a personal computer, and showed me his new computer game: "Civilzation" a game where you explore, build cities, research science and technology, trade, and negotiate and fight other civilizations. I played it for the next 12 hours straight.

This is an breezy personal history of the video game industry, told by the man who has made some of the most fun and addicting games out there. It's most interesting for its look into his general design philosophy ("find the fun"), his discussion of game prototypes, the way he approached different genres, and his candidness in describing both his successes and the sheer number of things he got wrong about game trends and technology ("3D and multiplayer are a flash in the pan"). I liked how the book was structured by game rather than by year, but I would have loved to learn more about the design choices and processes he and his teams went through to make the games. While he does include some high level insights ("find the fun" & "good games are a series of interesting choices") he doesn't go very deep into specific games, the industry, or frankly himself. It was a fun memoir, but it was more like reminiscing with an old friend over a beer about good times past. I'm not sure that those who haven't invested countless hours in his games will enjoy it as much as I did.

Sid Meier is a video game legend and a hero, and this unique perspective on his amazing life was a fun read.

Very interesting look at the early days of computer game design, from the creator of one of my all-time favorite series. We get to see how attitudes towards personal computers and gaming in general have changed over the years, along with insight into the inner workings of some of the most storied studios out there. The book is light on personal details and histories, and heavy on the game design aspects.

This book will only be of interest to those who are interested in computer games. And when I say computer games, I mean strategy and simulation games. And when I say strategy and simulation games, I mean OLD strat & sim games. The audience is narrow, but if you took one look at the cover and felt a wave of nostalgia (like I did) then you will love this book.

"TOM CLANCY HAD WARNED ME..."
- Sid Meier, on getting life advice from Tom Clancy

This was fun! Coming to this book solely as a Civ fan, there's less detail about the making of later installments than I would have liked. But it's Sid Meier's Memoir! It's right there in the title. So if he wants to write about other accomplishments in his life, like making a golf sim or a son... FINE.

Also, after a certain point, what's left to say? "And then we made five more Civilizations."

For the most part, each chapter covers a game or two from Meier's career in chronological order. So given the niche, nerdy nature of the various projects he's worked on, your mileage per chapter is going to vary. Meier is less explicit about what players do in each of his games than how they were made, and while this is probably the right decision, it can be a bit confusing if you weren't aware of each game at the time of its release.

For example, I somehow never played Sid Meier's Pirates! as a kid. But I remember seeing ads for it in Computer Gaming World. I probably played similar games from that same generation. So I can wrap my head around what Meier is talking about when he describes how they subverted technical limitations to make some of the fancier graphics work. On the other hand, I still don't understand what kind of game Covert Action is, so his description of how they developed the story randomizer might as well exist in a void.

But there's always the next chapter, and there's always the next fun anecdote. I was particularly taken with his description of why the classic exploration game Seven Cities Of Gold works, as he sums up something I still p[ay games for today. And while experienced Civ players may already know about the warmongering Gandhi legend, Meier's explanation of how they had to continually revise the success percentages in Civilization Revolution to satisfy players' sense of fairness was new to me, and it speaks to something people are still arguing about in strategy games today. ("What do you mean I missed? I had a 97% chance to hit!")

Skimming through the book again in preparation for this review, I was struck by just how many cool little stories there are throughout. It's also almost relentlessly optimistic in tone, which, while not normally my thing, was certainly a nice change of pace this summer. The lightly deprecating inclusion of classic ads throughout, presented without comment, was also a nice touch.

"Sid Meier's Latest Memoir Is Just Like All His Others... Terrific!"

Sid Meier's has always come across as a genuinely decent guy, and if anything, his career-spanning memoir has helped solidify that opinion.

It's one of the most illuminating books regarding the games industry that I've ever read, with plenty of interesting facts, stories and all the behind-the-scenes tidbits you could want, without spending too much time dwelling on the mundane sorcery of the development world.

It shouldn't come as a shock, but Sid is a fantastic writer, able to craft an interesting narrative no matter the subject. More than anything, it's an honest portayal of his career, as well as those he's come across in his years in the industry.

A fascinating, engrossing real-life adventure from a true pioneer of gaming.

I fondly remember playing Civilization (not sure which one) and listening to the Labyrinth soundtrack on repeat when I was younger. I hadn’t played many other Sid Meier games but that memory made the Sid Meier’s Memoir jump out at me while I logged into NetGalley. I’m glad I saw this book and read it. Even though I hadn’t played many of the games I found the book interesting and, in spots, funny. An entertaining, informative, and thoughtful read.

As a fan of history and memoirs, I found this book interesting. As a hobby reader, I found this book a bit dry and tedious. For anyone who is a big fan of Sid Meier and any of his many video games, this is a great book to pick up.

Achievement Unlocked: Write book review!

Wow, I was not expecting to love this memoir as much as I did. I went in with reasonably positive expectations, and came away knowing that this is a memoir I'll definitely reread many times—it's just that good.

With charming wit and good-natured humour, Sid Meier—a name famous to any gamer—shares a chronological stream of anecdotes of his years making games. It's impossible to ignore how much he clearly loves the industry and his work, and that positivity made this memoir a joy to read.

Throughout the book, Meier shares a ton of his creative philosophies, e.g., his diverse sources of inspiration; his approach of not getting bogged down with the possibility of mistakes, but to simply constantly experiment with everything in iterations until he narrows in on the right idea; his humble, self-aware take on his popularity and the impermanent nature of it; his ambition to always find the fun not just in reference to games, but in life in general. I found myself highlighting passage after passage of his thoughts, wanting to revisit them in the future. His insights can apply to anyone in any creative industry, not just game design.

Besides that, Meier is also candid about his failures in this book, whether it be his struggles to make certain concepts work, or the negative aspects of the gaming industry he had to brush up against, yet there remains this unwavering optimism and wholesomeness to his approach.

Plus, one thing that absolutely shocked me is that the well-known Nuclear Gandhi overflow bug is a complete lie made up by some anonymous Internet user editing TVTropes. It was never an error! It was intentional! Mindblown. Never trust the Internet!

I'd highly recommend this book not just to anyone interested in Sid Meier and his games, but also anyone in need of inspiration. Meier's creative philosophies might just help you figure out a few things you've been stuck on—and if not, you've still read a very entertaining memoir. Win-win!

A pleasant surprise. For a man who has name above titles of many games, he comes across as humble and mainly interested in the games he has designed. Personal details are kept to a minimum. I've spent quite a few hours pleasurably with the games.

What an absolutely remarkable memoir. If you game, you've heard of Sid Meier. In fact, you may have heard of him even if you don't.
I was so enthralled with this book. It was amazing to hear how one of the world's most well known video game developers has developed his long history of games. He gives advice that would honestly work in any sort of creative career. Along with talking about his own life, it was interesting to see how gaming developed as a whole. He speaks of the beginnings of conferences like E3 and companies growing and changing throughout the years, although through the perspective of his own games.
I also found the achievements found throughout the book hilarious. Making the reading like a game itself. I highly recommend this book for any fellow gamers out there.

Hands down the best memoir I've ever read. Sid Meier is a household name in video games, and I always thought of him as this amorphous persona that may or may not have been actually involved in creating games like Civilization. But he is real, and down-to-earth, and optimistic, and absolutely hilarious as he tells story after story about each game he has lovingly (or not) worked on since the 1970s.

I was only three pages into the memoir and I already had three quotes highlighted on my kindle. (There should be an achievement for something like that.) My husband got very little sleep because I kept poking him and saying, "Oh my gosh, listen to this!" and reading him excerpts. When this book comes out I'll be buying a copy and leaving it on his nightstand, pointedly demonstrating that he should read it too.

If you love video games, this will probably be the best book you read this year. If you don't love video games, you will love his insights into "making interesting decisions" and "finding the fun." And if you think you know all there is to know about Civilization, you'll still be surprised by some information about "nuclear Gandhi!"

Sid Meier has had an undeniable impact on video games for four decades and his memoir traces an easy-to-follow line between each game he worked on, giving us an understanding of how they shaped his career. He is most known for his Civilization games.

One of my niche interests is video game history and I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir. It will make sense to a layperson (no complex discussion of coding) and will intrigue someone who hasn't even played Meier's games (guilty - but I have played a LOT of games that I now realise were inspired by him in some way). Meier, unlike some memoirists I've encountered, takes ownership of his mistakes and is very frank - there are no fireworks here, only facts. I also think this is essential reading for devs who already know the "how" but need to know more about the "why" in creating video games.

This was so entertaining and informative even if you aren't a huge Civ fan (like I am). It is an important entry into the history books of videogames to know the life and times of videogames' most important creators. I would recommend it to those who are familiar with the franchise, videogames in general, or just curious about Sid Meier.