Press Start to Play

Sam Gayton’s Press Start to Play is an inventive attempt to bridge the gap between gaming and poetry, inviting readers aged eight to ten to ‘press start on poetry’ and treat language as a kind of playground. The book’s concept is clear from the outset: to speak directly to young gamers in a familiar visual and linguistic world, using the style, rhythm, and energy of video games to spark an interest in words.

Across its pages, Gayton translates the mechanics of gaming (levels, missions, and challenges) into a framework for exploring poetry. The collection’s layout and design echo a game interface: computer type fonts, screen-like pages, and playful graphic details make the book feel immersive. Jack Noel’s illustrations enhance this effect, creating a sense of constant movement and activity. There is even a small flipbook animation running along the corner of the pages, a clever touch that underlines the book’s interactive intent.

The poems themselves vary in tone and form. Some are witty and well observed, cleverly capturing the pace and tension of gaming life; others are looser or feel more like concept pieces than finished poems. At times, the busy visual design and abundance of ideas threaten to overwhelm the language, leaving the meaning less clear. Yet this restlessness is part of the book’s character; it’s a world of constant motion, mirroring the digital spaces it draws from.

At the end of the book, readers are offered a set of creative ‘challenges’ or prompts, encouraging them to write their own poems in response. These exercises are well-judged and give young readers an accessible entry point into thinking about poetry as something they can make and play with themselves.

While not every poem fully lands, Press Start to Play succeeds in its larger ambition: to reframe poetry as something interactive, energetic, and contemporary. For young readers who might think poetry has little to do with their world, this collection could offer a surprising and engaging new way in.