Jeffrey Breslow's A Game Maker's Life is a story worth telling. The prologue hooks you into the story of his life and makes you want to know more about his life as one of the leading toy designers of the 20th century. The most interesting parts of the book are when he gets into the details about how some of his famous toys were made (e.g. Ants in the Pants, Evel Knievel Toys, and Trump: The Board Game). After reading this book, I had a profound appreciation for Jeffrey Breslow and all the employees at MGA. These people unbeknownst had influenced my childhood with the passion to bring happiness to others through toys.

Unfortunately, though, the book felt like it was lacking a perspective. While reading this book, I often questioned who the audience of this book is supposed to be. Was it meant to show the brilliance behind MGA? Was it supposed to give us glimpses of Jeffery Breslow's life? Was it supposed to give us a warning about how Marvin Glass lived his life? Was this supposed to be a book to inspire design? I wasn't sure since it seemed to jump around a lot and did not have a cohesive theme.

Overall, it was an interesting glimpse into the life of Jeffrey Breslow. The author seems like a genuinely nice guy in the cutthroat world of toys. All I can say is thank you for having a hand in designing some of my favorite childhood toys they brought me much joy growing up.

It is hard to go wrong with this enjoyable biography of a game designer who began in 1967 and woked through the great years of physical toys (leading up to the electronic games that emerged in the 1980s). The writing is engaging and the writer amiable/very relatable and likable. The book starts with a bang, literally, and rarely slows down from there.

The story is fairly chronological though it begins with a tragic event midway through the author's career (one that set him on a high trajectory in the game industry through a quirk of fate). From lowly beginnings in Chicago to recognizing that he wanted to design games and how he made it happen. We get the impression of a decent person who was good to others and made lifelong friendships because of that amiability.

Along the way, we get the behind-the-scenes story of how many famous games were designed: from Ants in the Pants to Operation, Simon to Masterpiece. The author is generous with his praise but also willing to admit when he overlooked potentially lucrative opportunities (such as turning down Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a franchise). He was a part of a changing game industry that was just getting into game companies buying licenses for new games and then eventually transitioning to the electronic age of the 1980s. Stories of Evel Knievel and the licensing of his brand on the stunt cycle are just as fascinating as the wild parties his playboy boss would throw with the millions he made from designing games. Eventually, the author became the boss and steered a different course for the company.

The writing flows nicely and is easy to read - makes for a great beach or afternoon diversion when you don't want to concentrate too much but also desire an interesting story. Especially for Generation X, it is a fun read about the games with which we grew up and how they were created.

In all, I greatly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

This is a well-written and interesting memoir about the toy industry from a famous game designer. There is a shocking prologue, and then we learn about the life of Jeffrey Breslow and the sparks of imagination that lead to some of the most popular games in history. It is a compelling read.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

Wow this was such an amazing read. It was so interesting that I had to read it all in one sitting. Which ment another late night but it was definitely worth it. The author has lead such an amazing and very interesting life that kept me engrossed throughout. It was a fascinating insight into the secret world of toy and game creation. I couldn't believe how secretive it was. Especially where the designers couldn't take there made toys out of the room and how they were never discussed with familys or tested on children. It was so interesting learning about the whole process. 

I especially found it very learning how the trump game was made. And all about the toys made for evil knievel. The author has definitely worked with some amazing people and the stories he tells us about them were brilliant. There is also some shocking events especially the one with the shooting but I will not give anything aways other than it was so shocking. The author wrote this autobiography so well as it flowed flawlessly. It was definitely a roller coaster ride of a career that im positive you will love it just as much as I did. I really can't recommend this book enough. If you want to learn what it's like to develop games and toy then look no further this book is definitely for you. I always find learning about different careers fascinating and this one is definitely one of the best. I was actually gutted when it finished as I could of read it for alot longer.

Only the highest of praise goes out to the author and publishers for bringing us this magnificent insight into such a wonderful life. I only hope there is more stories to come.
The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog today https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/a-game-maker-s-life-by-jeffrey-breslow-meryl-moss-media-group-5-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to design toys and games for a living? Look no further than this fascinating book, in which "A Hall of Fame Game Inventor and Executive Tells the Inside Story of the Toy Industry." The author's career in toy and game design is the stuff of dreams, involving highs and lows, world travel, celebrity encounters, and even workplace tragedy.

If you are of a certain age, like I am (cough cough), you have most likely played with many, if not all, of the toys and games the author worked on in his time in the toy industry. Or maybe you have kids that play with these games and toys now - Ants in the Pants, Mouse Trap, Simon, Guesstures, UNO Attack, and many more. Now you can read about how these games were invented straight from the source. The author's voice is very conversational, and the book reads like an enjoyable dinner with an old friend. I'm seriously sad that I will never be a member of the Brez Birthday Club!

This was a fun, fast read and would make a great gift for any game and toy enthusiast!

Very enjoyable memoir about someone involved in the toy industry during my childhood . So interesting to read about what makes a good game and the creative process . The author has had a wide range of experiences both very happy and some tragic .
This book really appeals to us GenXers who miss the toys they loved. The author and I both went to the same college and art and design area . Neat to see how others lives transgress as a creative person through life . Thank you NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for my review .

A Game Maker's Life by Jeffrey Breslow is a memoir that follows Jeff's career as a game designer working for Marvin Glass. While he does give some contextual information about his childhood and beginning university, as well as a chapter or so on his life in retirement, the bulk of the memoir focuses on his career designing some of the games that are historic parts of childhood memories for generations of people. Breslow and his colleagues were a group of very intelligent and creative people who needs to problem solve, invent and market thousands of new ideas. He talks about rejection, about trial and error, and about believing in yourself and your ideas. But most of all, he sheds light on an industry that we all know very well, but that we probably know very little about. You've probably played Operation, Mouse Trap or Uno. You may have grown up playing with Polly Pockets, Hot Wheels or Barbie Dolls. But do you know anything about their history? You may not even know which company sold them and you most likely do not know who came up with the idea and how it came to be. Breslow does a fantastic job chronicling his time working as a game designer as well as the many games he worked on and sold to companies like Mattel or Fisher Price. He sheds new light on the games we are familiar with and the many (many, many, many) games that never made it into living rooms.

This memoir is for the most part very light hearted (though there were some murders and people were spied on by the KGB) and a lot of fun to read. It is mainly told in a fairly linear manner, with some jumping around, only really when necessary. His descriptions are detailed enough to create imagery and help the reader truly picture these unfamiliar places, people and ideas, without getting bogged down with unnecessary information. I found it a fairly quick read, but also it contained a really great amount of information. As I finished I felt like I had gained a new perspective on the world of my childhood and also learned all I really felt I needed to know about a field I knew almost nothing about. It takes a special kind of creativity to design toys that will sell to millions of children, and luckily that creativity can clearly also be applied to writing a memoir. Breslow is entertaining and interesting and has a beautiful outlook on life. I'm really glad I got the chance to read this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about game design and the history of the games we grew up with. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

This book has one of the most shocking beginnings I’ve read in a biography and I carried on reading with an admiration for the resilience of Mr Breslow. His story is fascinating. Who knew there was a job where you could design prototype toys, think through the manufacturing process, then sell on to an actual toy manufacturing company. Mr Breslow invented some really well known games and his creative process is riveting including looking at well known sayings - ants in your pants - or existing popular games and reinventing them. One game came about because he thought monopoly took too long to play.

Along the way, we meet Marvin Glass who owns the company Mr Breslow works for and has an interesting life, friends who design electronic games, or different types of product. They all seem such decent people (one man gets a $50,000 bonus for a best selling game, banks the cheque and takes thousands of dollars in $100 bills back into the company and distributes them to the people doing the physical work of producing the prototypes) and I’d love to work there.

Loads to learn and really interesting insights. An unusual and excellent book.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

A Game Maker's Life
by Jeffrey Breslow
Pub Date: August 30, 2022
Post Hill Press
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
This was an enjoyable read for me. It shared the stories behind game development and also the dark side too.
I am purchasing it for our library.
4 stars

Hello, thank you for the ARC of this eBook. Unfortunately, the watermark was too dark and covered too much of the page for me to be able to read the book clearly. It seems interesting.

Thanks so much to Meryl Moss Media Group, Post Hill Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Well this is one highly enjoyable read!! The author is one of the most successful independent game manufacturers and in this book he shares with us his story and takes us behind the scenes on the development of many familiar toys and games his company made. But there is a horrible tragedy along the way when a toy developer has a mental issue and comes to work with 2 handguns and kills and wounds many people at the office. But I truly loved all the toy stories. You may have heard of them "Buckets of Fun", "Ants in Your Pants", "Simon", "Guesstures" and a whole lot more.

Honestly I expected light and fun stories about game maker to read together with my son. But this book give me more, a journey of a hardworker boy to become a famous toymaker in the world. Is it full inspiring moment ? yes, but this book share dark reality and sad times too.

Thank you Netgalley and Meryl Moss Media Publisher for providing me this copy.

When I asked to see this book, I was looking forward to something light that was fun to read. I was not disappointed. This book was a fun ride through childhood.