Powered chiefly by enthusiasm and primitive publishing tech, these publications shaped the future of video games media

In the summer of 1985, I made the long pilgrimage from my home in Cheadle Hulme to London’s glamorous Hammersmith Novotel for the Commodore computer show. As a 14-year-old gamer, this was a chance to play the latest titles and see some cool new joysticks, but I was also desperate to visit one particular exhibitor: the publisher Newsfield, home of the wildly popular games mags Crash and Zzap!64. By the time I arrived there was already a long queue of kids at the small stand and most of them were waiting to have their show programmes signed by reigning arcade game champion and Zzap reviewer, Julian Rignall. As an ardent subscriber, I can still remember the thrill of standing in that line, the latest copy of the mag clutched in my sweaty hands. I wouldn’t feel this starstruck again until I met Sigourney Weaver a quarter of a century later.

It turns out I’m not the only one who remembers that day. In his wonderful new book, The Games of a Lifetime, Rignall himself recalls the shock of being swamped by fans. “We just didn’t expect anything like that,” he writes. “I had no idea readers would be so interested in us. But I loved it.”

Powered chiefly by enthusiasm and primitive publishing tech, these publications shaped the future of video games media

In the summer of 1985, I made the long pilgrimage from my home in Cheadle Hulme to London’s glamorous Hammersmith Novotel for the Commodore computer show. As a 14-year-old gamer, this was a chance to play the latest titles and see some cool new joysticks, but I was also desperate to visit one particular exhibitor: the publisher Newsfield, home of the wildly popular games mags Crash and Zzap!64. By the time I arrived there was already a long queue of kids at the small stand and most of them were waiting to have their show programmes signed by reigning arcade game champion and Zzap reviewer, Julian Rignall. As an ardent subscriber, I can still remember the thrill of standing in that line, the latest copy of the mag clutched in my sweaty hands. I wouldn’t feel this starstruck again until I met Sigourney Weaver a quarter of a century later.

It turns out I’m not the only one who remembers that day. In his wonderful new book, The Games of a Lifetime, Rignall himself recalls the shock of being swamped by fans. “We just didn’t expect anything like that,” he writes. “I had no idea readers would be so interested in us. But I loved it.”

Berating our president, and now pausing arms – the US has shown itself to be an unreliable partner. But it still has a role to play

A few days before the Munich Security Conference, one of the Ukrainian military officers fighting on the eastern Ukrainian border told me about intercepts of the Russian army talks their unit had obtained. Russian middle-level commanders were instructing their subordinates to hold on for a bit as “with Donald Trump in the office”, their “goals would finally be met, and the fight would be over soon”. The Ukrainians pointed out that it was not a unique intercept, and the idea that the new American president was good for Moscow troops was being widely expressed by the Russians.

Recently, I asked Ukrainian frontline soldiers what they thought about the negotiations. Those in action are too busy fighting to follow everyday news from Munich, Riyadh, Washington and Kyiv. Yet they generally feel that “Donald Trump is heading in the wrong direction”. Today, as Trump “pauses” all military aid, they will know those instincts were right.

Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian journalist and CEO of the Public Interest Journalism Lab

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Berating our president, and now pausing arms – the US has shown itself to be an unreliable partner. But it still has a role to play

A few days before the Munich Security Conference, one of the Ukrainian military officers fighting on the eastern Ukrainian border told me about intercepts of the Russian army talks their unit had obtained. Russian middle-level commanders were instructing their subordinates to hold on for a bit as “with Donald Trump in the office”, their “goals would finally be met, and the fight would be over soon”. The Ukrainians pointed out that it was not a unique intercept, and the idea that the new American president was good for Moscow troops was being widely expressed by the Russians.

Recently, I asked Ukrainian frontline soldiers what they thought about the negotiations. Those in action are too busy fighting to follow everyday news from Munich, Riyadh, Washington and Kyiv. Yet they generally feel that “Donald Trump is heading in the wrong direction”. Today, as Trump “pauses” all military aid, they will know those instincts were right.

Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian journalist and CEO of the Public Interest Journalism Lab

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Bakery chain’s shares fall after slowdown at start of year, when it also increased price of its sausage rolls

• Business live – latest updates

Greggs has recorded its worst sales growth since the pandemic, when it was forced to shut stores, amid poor weather at the start of 2025 and evidence shoppers are cutting back on snacks.

Shares in Greggs slid nearly 12% on Tuesday as the company reported that sales growth at established stores had softened to 1.7% in the nine weeks since late December. The figure represents a further slowdown after the pace of growth more than halved to 2.5% in the previous quarter.

White House’s latest punitive move against Kyiv will lead to ‘joy in Moscow’, Ukrainian commentators say

Ukraine has reacted with defiance and anger to Donald Trump’s suspension of US military aid, saying the decision amounted to betrayal by an ally and would help Russia to bomb and kill more civilians.

Deliveries of ammunition and vehicles have ceased, including shipments agreed when Joe Biden was president. Some Ukrainians said the biggest impact was likely to be on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself from Russian air attacks, which have escalated in recent weeks.