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Speccy Nation: A tribute to the golden age of British gaming
Thirty years ago, a little computer with rubber keys, a handful of colours and a squawking soundbox changed the world.
The ZX Spectrum inspired a generation not only to play games, but to create them.
Free from the pressure of today's global markets and blockbuster budgets, eager young coders gathered in bedrooms and offices above shops to see what these "computer games" could do.
The result was a flood of games with a unique British flavour that has never been equalled. The British games industry would go on to create such hits as Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto, our innovation and imagination the envy of the world, our programmers the most sought after talent in the fastest growing entertainment medium in history.
And it all started here.
Welcome to the Speccy Nation.
Join veteran games journalist and author Dan Whitehead on a journey through fifty games that helped to define the golden age of British gaming. From the timeless classics to unlikely cult favourites, and even the games so eccentric they could only have come from Britain in the 1980s.
Part nostalgic look at the past, and part critical eye on the present and future, Speccy Nation is essential reading for all retro gaming enthusiasts.
Includes a foreword by Your Sinclair's Phil "Snouty" South.
The ZX Spectrum inspired a generation not only to play games, but to create them.
Free from the pressure of today's global markets and blockbuster budgets, eager young coders gathered in bedrooms and offices above shops to see what these "computer games" could do.
The result was a flood of games with a unique British flavour that has never been equalled. The British games industry would go on to create such hits as Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto, our innovation and imagination the envy of the world, our programmers the most sought after talent in the fastest growing entertainment medium in history.
And it all started here.
Welcome to the Speccy Nation.
Join veteran games journalist and author Dan Whitehead on a journey through fifty games that helped to define the golden age of British gaming. From the timeless classics to unlikely cult favourites, and even the games so eccentric they could only have come from Britain in the 1980s.
Part nostalgic look at the past, and part critical eye on the present and future, Speccy Nation is essential reading for all retro gaming enthusiasts.
Includes a foreword by Your Sinclair's Phil "Snouty" South.
124 pages, Paperback
First published September 4, 2012
37 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
November 4, 2012
A nice idea but really oddly ordered (there's a pretence at sections but they're very inconsistent and it's clearly just a list of games he remembers) and crying out for screenshots. The Kindle version is poorly formatted and the humour is at best off-target and occasionally cringeworthy.
Two stars for provoking some fond memories but not much else.
Two stars for provoking some fond memories but not much else.
September 17, 2012
Worthwhile reading for any gamer interested in the history of the medium. As someone who's never played anything older than the AMIGA, I get the feeling that the author does get a bit starry-eyed at times, but his acerbic wit and encyclopedic knowledge more than make up for it. And really, where else will you read about a time where mainstream game studios released games where babies die by the hundreds in an ill-staffed Thatcher era NHS nursery, or you're an alcoholic cleaning lady sippin' on the cooking sherry? It must have been a wild time to be a gamer in 80s Britain, and SPECCY NATION is a sugar rush style whirl through that crazy era. Or maybe it's just the cooking sherry I've been nipping.
January 22, 2018
The ZX Spectrum is before my time, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating the prog rock to my pop in my world of gaming, with it's crappy rubber keys and mysteriously beautiful rainbow stripe.
Dan Whitehead however, is definitely a retro gaming origins expert having been into video games since 1982 and writing for a variety of gaming publications and getting stuck in with many gaming related endeavours.
Speccy Nation is a collection of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the downright horrendous from the history of the Spectrum, include entries about popular releases and obscurities.
What is excellent about this book is the ability for Dan to understand the positive elements about all games, talking about all of their qualities without simply residing to the fact that a game is rubbish, instead discussing the merits or at least the interesting features a game has to offer, from social nuances to the soundtrack to simply the concept in it's own right.
Dan Whitehead clearly has a massive love for the Spectrum, and it's a joy to read about all these different titles from somebody who appreciates them for what they really are, and who understands how they paved the way for modern gaming. Retro gamers, go forth and buy this book!
Dan Whitehead however, is definitely a retro gaming origins expert having been into video games since 1982 and writing for a variety of gaming publications and getting stuck in with many gaming related endeavours.
Speccy Nation is a collection of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the downright horrendous from the history of the Spectrum, include entries about popular releases and obscurities.
What is excellent about this book is the ability for Dan to understand the positive elements about all games, talking about all of their qualities without simply residing to the fact that a game is rubbish, instead discussing the merits or at least the interesting features a game has to offer, from social nuances to the soundtrack to simply the concept in it's own right.
Dan Whitehead clearly has a massive love for the Spectrum, and it's a joy to read about all these different titles from somebody who appreciates them for what they really are, and who understands how they paved the way for modern gaming. Retro gamers, go forth and buy this book!
August 17, 2017
From the title I was expecting more of a history of the Spectrum / celebration of Spectrum users, rather than merely a collection of brief reviews / synopses of notable Spectrum games (for better or worse!) - but I'm not sure I can criticise an author for writing a book that wasn't what I expected from my impulse buy.
Reading the Kindle edition, however, did feel rather lonely: this feels like it should be a glossy coffee table book, something you can dip in and out of and admire/chuckle at the games within, screenshots and all. The Kindle version, however, has neither colour nor screenshots - and thus feels like a rather lonely experience.
That in mind, I did enjoy the writing and the fact that Dan tried to include lesser-known titles that were either ahead of their time or just featured design aspects that, to be kind, we would not expect to be replicated anytime soon.
All in all, though fairly limited in scope, I did enjoy reading through this book - and as I expected, it's provided me with a list of great (and less great!) games and inspired me to explore the ZX Spectrum anew.
Reading the Kindle edition, however, did feel rather lonely: this feels like it should be a glossy coffee table book, something you can dip in and out of and admire/chuckle at the games within, screenshots and all. The Kindle version, however, has neither colour nor screenshots - and thus feels like a rather lonely experience.
That in mind, I did enjoy the writing and the fact that Dan tried to include lesser-known titles that were either ahead of their time or just featured design aspects that, to be kind, we would not expect to be replicated anytime soon.
All in all, though fairly limited in scope, I did enjoy reading through this book - and as I expected, it's provided me with a list of great (and less great!) games and inspired me to explore the ZX Spectrum anew.
December 30, 2020
Speccy Nation is a coffee table book with a lot of charm. Spectrum games from 1980s aren't exactly something that's written about all that often, with most instead choosing to write about the NES for example.
Dan Whitehead does a great job at writing here, with just the right mix of humour and knowledge. Anyone with even a passing interest in retro gaming would enjoy going through the games listed within.
There are some mild gripes however. Most games are limited to only having one screenshot to demonstrate their gameplay, with some not really showing much at all (the entry for ALIEN for example, is literally just a picture of the xenomorph). It also wouldn't have hurt to also include the cover art for each game, a few have them, most don't. Compare it to books like Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of, and the slight missteps become more apparent.
For the price however, this is worth giving a go
4/5
Overall a decene read, but
Dan Whitehead does a great job at writing here, with just the right mix of humour and knowledge. Anyone with even a passing interest in retro gaming would enjoy going through the games listed within.
There are some mild gripes however. Most games are limited to only having one screenshot to demonstrate their gameplay, with some not really showing much at all (the entry for ALIEN for example, is literally just a picture of the xenomorph). It also wouldn't have hurt to also include the cover art for each game, a few have them, most don't. Compare it to books like Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of, and the slight missteps become more apparent.
For the price however, this is worth giving a go
4/5
Overall a decene read, but
December 9, 2017
It's over 30 years since I got a little black box with silly rubber keys for Christmas. And I've never forgot it.
Speccy Nation is a 120 page love letter to the greatest computer of all time. While the ZX Spectrum never had the best technical specification or hardware, it did cause people to write uniquely British games. Free from the pressure of today’s blockbuster budgets, eager young coders gathered in bedrooms to see what these new-fangled “computer games” could do. Some may question the need to publish a book of reviews for games no longer available. After all, they're not going to aid consumer decisions. But that's missing the real strength of the Speccy Nation. This is Whitehead's interpretation of Speccy games and how they entwined with British culture of the time.
The games in this book are:
- The Classics (Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Jetpac, Atic Atac, Ant Attack, Horace Goes Skiing, Wheelie, Alchemist, Chaos, Everyone's a Wally, Deathchase, Head Over Heels)
- The Pioneers (Games that were groundbreaking at the time: Skool Daze, Feud, The Hobbit, All or Nothing, Dark Sceptre, Redhawks, The Wild Bunch, Deus Ex Machina, iD, Slaine, Driller)
- The Greats (Games that are still worth playing, even now: Where Time Stood Still, Cybernoid, Nodes of Yesod, Knight Tyme, Jack the Nipper, Zoids, Firefly, Thanatos, Turbo Esprit, Daley Thompson's Decathalon, They Stole A Million)
- The Dark Horses (Games I'd never heard of: Flunky, Survival, Agent X, Friday the 13th, Alien, Death Wish 3, How to be a complete B*stard)
- Never Again (Games that would never be made today: Trashman, Mrs Mopp, Mad Nurse, Death Star Interceptor, Starring Charlie Chaplin, Cannibal Island, The Rocky Horror Show, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Give my regards to Broad Street)
The British games industry would go on to create such massive hits. Take Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto as examples, which made our programmers some of the most sought after talent. And it all started here. Welcome to the Speccy Nation.
Check out my YouTube playlist of the games featured.
Speccy Nation is a 120 page love letter to the greatest computer of all time. While the ZX Spectrum never had the best technical specification or hardware, it did cause people to write uniquely British games. Free from the pressure of today’s blockbuster budgets, eager young coders gathered in bedrooms to see what these new-fangled “computer games” could do. Some may question the need to publish a book of reviews for games no longer available. After all, they're not going to aid consumer decisions. But that's missing the real strength of the Speccy Nation. This is Whitehead's interpretation of Speccy games and how they entwined with British culture of the time.
The games in this book are:
- The Classics (Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Jetpac, Atic Atac, Ant Attack, Horace Goes Skiing, Wheelie, Alchemist, Chaos, Everyone's a Wally, Deathchase, Head Over Heels)
- The Pioneers (Games that were groundbreaking at the time: Skool Daze, Feud, The Hobbit, All or Nothing, Dark Sceptre, Redhawks, The Wild Bunch, Deus Ex Machina, iD, Slaine, Driller)
- The Greats (Games that are still worth playing, even now: Where Time Stood Still, Cybernoid, Nodes of Yesod, Knight Tyme, Jack the Nipper, Zoids, Firefly, Thanatos, Turbo Esprit, Daley Thompson's Decathalon, They Stole A Million)
- The Dark Horses (Games I'd never heard of: Flunky, Survival, Agent X, Friday the 13th, Alien, Death Wish 3, How to be a complete B*stard)
- Never Again (Games that would never be made today: Trashman, Mrs Mopp, Mad Nurse, Death Star Interceptor, Starring Charlie Chaplin, Cannibal Island, The Rocky Horror Show, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Give my regards to Broad Street)
The British games industry would go on to create such massive hits. Take Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto as examples, which made our programmers some of the most sought after talent. And it all started here. Welcome to the Speccy Nation.
Check out my YouTube playlist of the games featured.
August 8, 2025
I'm the same age as the author and have fond memory's of the Sinclair Spectrum.
Whilst this book was a mildly interesting read my main gripe is that it does not add anything new. Most of the games I was aware of, a few I was not, but I think this would have been a much better read if the author interviewed the programmers of the games to get more insight into them, or maybe referred to magazine reviews of the time to get additional perspective.
Whilst this book was a mildly interesting read my main gripe is that it does not add anything new. Most of the games I was aware of, a few I was not, but I think this would have been a much better read if the author interviewed the programmers of the games to get more insight into them, or maybe referred to magazine reviews of the time to get additional perspective.
December 25, 2017
Effectively a listing of a bunch of Spectrum games with commentary on each one. Nothing particularly exciting, but a trip down nostalgia lane for those who remember the games first time round and a history lesson for those of us too young to have owned a Spectrum.
August 18, 2018
A good collection of commentary on ZX Spectrum games that are notable for one reason or another. The author does a great job at not being too long-winded with the commentary, while also keeping it short enough to retain your attention.
April 27, 2020
Fun writing but does end up being a game by game review.
I've been taking long walks through nostalgia and revisiting my childhood days with the Spectrum, so this book looked fun.
It's well written and Dan Whitehead has a fun way of writing - very much in the ilk of the spectrum games of the day. There's a briefish introduction to the history of the spectrum that I had wished there was more and then the book goes through some of the poignant games from the 80s that ran on the speccy.
The game chapters weren't so much as reviews but a dig into what made the games interesting either from the player's perspective or a technical achievement for the day.
I would have preferred more stories from the history of the speccy, but that I guess is an entirely different book.
Still, a fun read, some bookmark worthy game titles with some useful web resources at the end.
I've been taking long walks through nostalgia and revisiting my childhood days with the Spectrum, so this book looked fun.
It's well written and Dan Whitehead has a fun way of writing - very much in the ilk of the spectrum games of the day. There's a briefish introduction to the history of the spectrum that I had wished there was more and then the book goes through some of the poignant games from the 80s that ran on the speccy.
The game chapters weren't so much as reviews but a dig into what made the games interesting either from the player's perspective or a technical achievement for the day.
I would have preferred more stories from the history of the speccy, but that I guess is an entirely different book.
Still, a fun read, some bookmark worthy game titles with some useful web resources at the end.
March 11, 2017
The Kindle version would probably be improved with the addition of screenshots.
March 5, 2017
Enjoyable, if slight, trip down memory lane, but with the odd glaring omission. No mention of Elite? Surely an oversight. Nonetheless, you can't beat a bit of 80s gaming nostalgia, and Speccy Nation had me reliving those gaming glory days when just getting the game to actually work felt like a huge fist-pumping victory.
December 18, 2018
Not quite what I expected. The book doesn't really cover the role of the ZX Spectrum in 1980s UK culture. Instead, it quickly becomes a list of classic games with an underlying message of 'only in Britain'. Nevertheless, it brought back a few nostalgic memories (though I was more of a Commodore kid) as well as a reminder that good games are more than just fancy graphics.
September 26, 2012
30 years. 30! Good grief. The time is certainly ripe for people to start writing about the history of the little black box with the silly rubber keys. The humble ZX Spectrum has a lot to answer for in my life. It is directly responsible for the fact that I now work in IT. Responsible for my life long love of computer games. And through the existence of the wonderful magazine Your Sinclair, responsible for shaping my sense of humour and expectations of what computer game journalism should be like. Speccy Nation seems to be coming from a similar background, being a 120 page love letter to the greatest computer of all times. It was never the best computer in terms of technical specification or hardware, yet there was something about it that caused people to write these bizarre, brilliant, and uniquely British games. Speccy Nation emphasises this perfectly. The book may be a little sloppily written, and at times it tends to just review games (I don't need a review of a game from 1985 that I played for hours and hours once upon a time), when the real strength of the book is Whitehead's interpretation of Speccy games and how they entwined with British culture of the time. It doesn't just pick the big names, but goes delving into the creativity, looking for those that inspired games that were to come 15+ years later on more modern formats. There are some fascinating thoughts on some very odd games that I never played, and some eulogies to other games that absorbed days of my youth, once upon a time.
Look, this isn't a work of art, much like the Speccy itself, but it is the work of someone who the Spectrum means an awful lot to. And for other people who are in that same boat, this is a brief read that you will very much appreciate. If you were some kind of loser who owned a Commodore 64 though, I am sincerely sorry that your childhood gaming experience was merely a vacuous waste of time instead of being part of a delightfully mad movement that most people will never really understand.
Look, this isn't a work of art, much like the Speccy itself, but it is the work of someone who the Spectrum means an awful lot to. And for other people who are in that same boat, this is a brief read that you will very much appreciate. If you were some kind of loser who owned a Commodore 64 though, I am sincerely sorry that your childhood gaming experience was merely a vacuous waste of time instead of being part of a delightfully mad movement that most people will never really understand.
February 5, 2017
I was a big fan of the ZX Spectrum back in the day and this, a birthday present from my brother, was an entertaining little read that took me back and reminded me of all those great games I wasted hours playing. Lovely to reminisce about such greats as Manic Miner, Bak to Skool, Jet Set Willy and Atic Atac. I was more of a text adventure player and there were several omissions for me, Iike Eureka and Sherlock, and no mention of the mighty Football Manager either. However, it inspired me enough to download a few games onto an emulator and I had some Bering just how bizarre and naive the games were. Definitely worth a read for any Speccy fan!
May 24, 2014
I was not in the UK or gaming at all when the ZX Spectrum was a factor in the gaming industry, so I was not this book's target audience. That being said, I really enjoyed Speccy Nation. It was written with such enthusiasm for the subject matter that, even if it was just descriptions of games I've never played, it was very entertaining. Plus, in the U.S., almost nothing is written of the place that British games have in gaming history, so the perspective of this book was not only unique, but, aside a few fun facts I'd read in Retro Gamer magazine, was full of information that was totally new to me. I had a good time reading this book and was intrigued enough by some of the very 80s and very British sounding games in it that I'd love to someday play them.
November 17, 2015
Speccy Nation is a collection of reviews of historically significant (some for good reasons, others not so much...) ZX Spectrum games typically released in the 1980's. It's a interesting and often times downright hilarious walk down memory lane for any fan of 8-bit computing.
Each review is between a page and 3 pages long and written from a present day perspective, often referencing modern computing when offering reverent (or scathing) looks at the old games.
Author Dan Whitehead is an experienced computing journalist and his reviews left me laughing out loud at times, and desperate to revisit some old (and often forgotten) games at other times.
For anyone who owned a ZX Spectrum and looks back at the time fondly, or is a general fan of retro computing, this book is a must read!
Each review is between a page and 3 pages long and written from a present day perspective, often referencing modern computing when offering reverent (or scathing) looks at the old games.
Author Dan Whitehead is an experienced computing journalist and his reviews left me laughing out loud at times, and desperate to revisit some old (and often forgotten) games at other times.
For anyone who owned a ZX Spectrum and looks back at the time fondly, or is a general fan of retro computing, this book is a must read!
June 18, 2015
Great memories from the glorious 8-bit era of the 1980s. Amusing summaries of some of the classic games and why some would never get made in any other decade. Missed several of my personal favs and would also have liked some screen shots, still a splendid flashback though to a period in time that I've not accepted is really over. Unfortunately, reading this has made me even more likely to purchase the Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega. Oops!!
November 8, 2012
I wanted to love this book. I ordered it with trepidation, but when it arrived, I was left feeling short changed. A short book, with B&W images and single, perhaps double page reviews of games from the early 80s. I was expecting so much more - perhaps more like The Rise of Sinclair. Still, it was a good retro read.
January 5, 2013
Very amusing, reviews are nicely written, but as a book it leaves much to be desired. It's just a collection of some speccy reviews, put together in Word (seriously!) and with very few, B&W screenshots. I bet the price (about 5 euros) makes up for it, but I'd gladly pay double that for a more coherent, better put together book.
Still, very entertaining :)
Still, very entertaining :)
February 2, 2017
A brief collection of interesting games that shaped the ZX Spectrum's life.
The writing is light and breezy but each game is only touched upon and mostly self-contained. As such it is a disjointed read with very little depth. What does come through is the author's love of the computer and it's quirky joys and I wish it came across in a more satisfying whole.
The writing is light and breezy but each game is only touched upon and mostly self-contained. As such it is a disjointed read with very little depth. What does come through is the author's love of the computer and it's quirky joys and I wish it came across in a more satisfying whole.
October 10, 2014
An enjoyable trip down memory lane, covering the greats, the groundbreakers and a good selection of oddities that you've probably never played! A few extra screenshots would have been nice, but the reviews are well written by someone who obviously remembers it all from the first time round.
January 17, 2015
a good toilet book :)
the book features some of the best games, those who maybe offered more than we thought and those which were utter garbage.
the book has actually inspired me to go through some of the games I didn't rate to give them another go
the book features some of the best games, those who maybe offered more than we thought and those which were utter garbage.
the book has actually inspired me to go through some of the games I didn't rate to give them another go
May 12, 2015
My first computer was a Speccy and this book reviews the best games available on that computer. Some great games are reviewed and there are some hidden gems that make me want to reboot the computer up again and play! Read it and relive your childhood!
June 1, 2013
A simple but synapse-sparking jaunt through the games - good, bad and plain ridiculous - that made the Spectrum such a wonderfully oddball British invention.
January 20, 2014
A collection of reviews of Spectrm games, great, good and odd, written with the power of hindsight and the fuzzy glow of nostalgia.
A fun read but short read.
A fun read but short read.
December 30, 2014
Really needs some screenshots for this to make more sense for the games I have never seen. Skimmed this and only read about the games I knew.
October 27, 2015
I was expecting more information and this book should have screenshots of the games to help the reader remember them.
December 11, 2016
Way too brief and could do with more screenshots for additional nostalgia value. Apart from that, great, a real blast from the past!
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews