When I first read Ready Player One, I absolutely loved it! However, it was full of so many references, that I found myself missing some things. Though I consider myself pretty nerdy, this book had tons of 1980s trivia that went way over my head.
A while back I read another book called Gravity’s Rainbow which was a difficult read for me. I found a fantastic reading guide online that helped me understand what was going on. I thought, “wow, I wish there was a guide like that for Ready Player One”. I couldn’t find one, so I started making it. You’ll find that below.
Note that this is a work in progress. To date, it’s completed through the Prologue and Chapter one. Notice any errors or want to contribute? Feel free to drop me a line or leave a comment below. Hope you find this helpful!
Lastly, before diving in, note that the references below don’t contain any plot spoilers. They only explain the specific reference, or things that you would have already read up to the point that you find that reference. References are listed in the order that they are found in the book (though you can resort the table) and only listed once, even if they appear several times in the book.
| Chapter | Page | Category | Reference | Explanation | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prologue | 1 | Character | James Halliday | Eccentric billionaire, video game designer, and creator or the OASIS. Halliday's name in the OASIS is Anorak. Anorak's Invitation is the challenge that Wade and other Gunters are trying to complete. | |
| Prologue | 1 | Important Quote | "dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!" | ||
| Prologue | 2 | Character | Anorak | James Halliday's name inside OASIS. | |
| Prologue | 2 | Movie | Zapruder | A home video made by Abraham Zapruder which unexpectedly captures JFK's assassination. | Wikipedia Entry |
| Prologue | 2 | Music | Dead Man's Party | A song released in 1985 by artist Oingo Boingo. | Listen on YouTube |
| Prologue | 2 | Game | Space Invaders | An arcade came released 1978. | Wikipedia Entry  From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bagogames/14750012323 |
| Prologue | 3 | Important Quote | "He opens it with a flourish and it unfurls to the floor, unraveling down the aisle in front of him. He breaks the fourth wall, addressing the viewer, and begins to read." | From Anorak's Invitation. | |
| Prologue | 3 | Important Term | Gregarious Simulation Systems | The name of the software company founded by James Halliday and Ogden Morrow. The winner of the challenge takes ownership of the company, including control of OASIS. | |
| Prologue | 4 | TV | The Muppet Show | A children's show which ran from 1976 - 1981. | Wikipedia Entry From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jacobwhittaker/2609539115 |
| Prologue | 4 | Technology | Zenith Television | An old television from Zenith which was founded in 1918. Halliday has one of these televisions along with an Atari 2600. | Zenith History From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ellenm1/4280476270 |
| Prologue | 4 | Technology | Atari 2600 Game Console | One of the first video game consoles ever released. It came out in 1977. Adventure was one of the games that played on it. | Atari 2600 History From: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atari-2600-Console.jpg |
| Prologue | 4 | Game | Adventure | The first game to include an "Easter Egg", a hidden piece of content. Programmer Warren Robinett was annoyed that his name wasn't listed anywhere on the game so he hid it in a secret area of the game. | Play The Game! Wikipedia Article |
| Prologue | 5 | Game | Warren Robinett | The programmer of the game Adventure and creator of the first known Easter Egg in a game. |  From: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Classic_Game_Postmortem-_Adventure_(16119757653).jpg |
| Prologue | 7 | Important Term | Anorak's Almanak | A collection of journal entries left behind by Halliday. | |
| Prologue | 7 | Important Term | Gunters | Short for "Egg Hunters". It's what those searching for Halliday's Egg are called. | |
| Prologue | 12 | Literary Style | Dozens of books, cartoon moview, and miniseries have attempted to tell the story of everything that happened next, but every single one of them got it wrong. So I want to set the record straight, once and for all. | This is one of the only places where Wade directly addresses the reader and lets them know the purpose of the book. This isn't really referenced again. | |
| Prologue | 12 | Movie | John Hughes teen films | The filmmaker who made movies like The Breakfast Club, Home Alone, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. | Wikipedia Entry |
| Prologue | 12 | Movie | Heathers | A film by Daniel Waters that was released in 1988. It was adapted into a musical and show. | Wikipedia Entry From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heathers_(1989).png |
| Prologue | 12 | Book | 1984 | Coins in Anorak's Invitation were minted 1984. This is a possible reference to George Orwell's 1984. | |
| Prologue | 12 | Game | Dungeon Master's Guide | A guide to the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons. |  From: https://sites.google.com/site/ymreadyplayerone/ |
| Chapter 1 | 13 | Game | Galaga | An arcade game from 1981. It's one of the most successful arcade games around and is still readily available in arcades and on consoles today. | Play The Game! Wikipedia Article |
| Chapter 1 | 13 | Game | Defender | Side scrolling arcade game from 1981. | Play The Game! Wikipedia Article |
| Chapter 1 | 13 | Game | Asteroids | An arcade game released in 1979. The player spins a ship around and destroys asteroids by shooting at them. | Play The Game! Wikipedia Article |
| Chapter 1 | 14 | Technology | Emulator | Software that allows you to play a game on your computer which was originally intended for some other system. | |
| Chapter 1 | 14 | Game | Robotron: 2084 | An arcade game released in 1982. It's a two dimensional shoot 'em up game. | Play The Game! Wikipedia Article |
| Chapter 1 | 14 | Important Quote | Move with your left hand, shoot with your right, and try to stay alive as long as possible. | ||
| Chapter 1 | 14 | TV | Family Ties | American Sitcom which ran from 1982-1989. | Wikipedia Article From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Ties#/media/File:Family_Ties_cast.jpg |
| Chapter 1 | 15 | Comic | The Amazing Spider-Man | Just your friendly neighborhood super hero. | Wikipedia Article From: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Faux-Retro_Amazing_Spider-Man_Comic_Cover_.png |
| Chapter 1 | 15 | Comic | The X-Men | A team of mutant super heroes. | Wikipedia Article From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/19354469@N00/15447124411 |
| Chapter 1 | 15 | Comic | Green Lantern | A group of super heroes that use rings which give them various powers. | Wikipedia Article From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kndynt2099/37595099312/ |
| Chapter 1 | 15 | Comic | Peter Parker | Spider Man's secret identity. | |
| Chapter 1 | 15 | Comic | Clark Kent | Superman's secret identity. | |
| Chapter 1 | 15 | TV | Sesame Street | An educational children's TV show. Versions of it have run from 1969 until the present (2019 at time of writing). | Wikipedia Article From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/randar/34251728972 |
| Chapter 1 | 22 | TV | Cosmos | A educational science show that ran in 1980. It was hosted by Carl Sagan. | Wikipedia Article |
| Chapter 1 | 22 | Game | Donkey Kong | This started as an arcade game but eventually became a series of games. Initially released in 1981, this is the first appearance of the character Mario and Donkey Kong. | Play The Game! Wikipedia Article |
| Chapter 1 | 22 | Game | BurgerTime | An arcade game released in 1982. The player navigates a burger themed maze. | Play The Game! Wikipedia Article |
| Chapter 1 | 22 | Game | Pitfall | An Atari 2600 game released in 1982. The player avoids obstacles and collects treasure. | Play The Game! Wikipedia Article |
| Chapter 1 | 25 | TV | Star Trek | A science fiction show which aired in 1966 and has since turned into several series, movies, and books. | Wikipedia Article From: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plik:Star_Trek_Spock.jpg |
| Chapter 1 | 25 | Game | Star League, Xur, Ko-Dan Armada | Characters and references from the 1984 film The Last Starfighter. | Wikipedia Article |
| Chapter 1 | 26 | Character | Parzival | Wade's name in OASIS. Named after the knight who found the holy grail. |
There are a few other resources online that you might want to check out. Here are a few I’ve found helpful.
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