Bootblock Rebels - The Hidden Stars of the Amiga Underground

I just launched a Kickstarter for a book about the Commodore Amiga cracking scene - from the early days (1985), the peak years (1990-1993), and the fade-out around 1996.

It’s story-driven, based on interviews and original scene material - groups, suppliers, BBS life, zero-day races, rivalries, nukes, cracktros, and the hidden economy behind it all.

I’m still collecting content. If you were part of the scene (any role - cracker, sysop, supplier, swapper, coder, trader, courier, magazine reviewer, publisher side, whatever), I would love to hear your story. Old photos, scans, screenshots, logs, disks, letters - anything from that period is welcome.

Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitman/bootblock-rebels

Launch video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkb0jH6dTOY

_________________
Maintainer of www.bigbookofamigahardware.com

Status:

Already 170+ backers in 4 days, great.

@Amigawolrd MOD - I submitted a news item about the book 4 days ago - can you approve the news item?

_________________
Maintainer of www.bigbookofamigahardware.com

Now just a couple of days later, there are close to 230 backers on board!

Hope more of you jump in. Here's extra information from the campaign page to pique your interest...


Author: Steen Jessen.

Pages: 200+

Physical Format:
- Hardcover.
- A4 size (210mm x 297mm).
- Offset color print on 115g G-Print paper.

Digital version available: Yes.


Key Topics Covered:

- The origins of Amiga cracking: First pioneers and groups.

- The rise of elite groups and zero-day releases.

- Major cracking groups, their members and how they worked.

- Hierarchy of a cracking group: Suppliers, Crackers, BBS Operators, Swappers.

- How original games were acquired and leaked.

- The BBS underground: modem-based distribution.

- Race to release: Get your crack out first or get nuked.

- Interviews with legendary crackers and sysops.

- The hidden economy of cracking: funding, calling cards, and BBS profits.

- Rivalries and wars between major groups.

- The evolution of crack intros.

- Cracking tools, methods, and techniques.

- The biggest cracks and infamous game releases.

- Copy protections and how they were defeated.

- Busting operations: police raids, F.A.S.T., and legal consequences.

- Game publishers’ response: Their view on the Amiga scene.

- Games modified by crackers: Fixes, built-in errors, and hidden messages.

- Almost everything there is to know about Amiga cracking.


More Information:

- 70% of the manuscript is already complete - only final details and layout remain.

- Steen is an experienced IT project manager; he has successfully run numerous complex projects.

- Steen has been the maintainer of www.BigBookOfAmigaHardware.com since 2013, demonstrating his dedication to the Amiga community.

- Steen is a scene member, not a journalist. This will be reflected in the book's authentic, insider perspective.


View book images on the following page:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitman/bootblock-rebels

Amiga Bill recommends Bootblock Rebels:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKsqHjSRzyk


Bootblock Rebels has been selected by Kickstarter as a Project We Love.


Support the campaign:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitman/bootblock-rebels

The campaign has reached 100% funding based on €22,000 pledged! Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen.

New pledges are being accepted until March 15, 2026 so please contribute to get your own copy of the book:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitman/bootblock-rebels


The author has introduced two stretch goals:

€24,000 - Galahad chapter
The planned section on tools, methods, and copy protections will be expanded into a full extra chapter added to the book. It will be written by Galahad, a long-time Amiga programmer known for game enhancements and deep technical insight - and it will include screenshots and real examples.

€30,000 - Amiga intro
When the book is ready, an Amiga “game intro� will be released. The intro is built from an original intro source most sceners will recognize, a classic used in many "game intros". It will include a greetings scroller with backer names. It will be added to YouTube & uploaded to the major demoscene repositories.

The two stretch goals mentioned in the prior post have been reached!

The author has now introduced two additional stretch goals.

€35,000 - Cover design by J.O.E.
The cover for Bootblock Rebels will be created by the renowned Amiga scene artist J.O.E. Known for classic graphics for Scoopex, TRSI, and many legendary cracktros and demos, J.O.E. has also returned in recent years creating new graphics for C64 demos. Professionally, J.O.E. works as a visual effects specialist on major movies including Avatar, King Kong, Titanic, Fantastic Four, Apollo 13, X-Men, The Lord of the Rings, and many more.

€37,000 - J.O.E. poster
A poster featuring elements from the cover design will be included with the hardback edition of the book.


Back the campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitman/bootblock-rebels

Last edited by MarcioD on 28-Feb-2026 at 07:40 AM.

The cover for Bootblock Rebels will be created by J.O.E. the legendary Amiga scene artist known from Scoopex, TRSI, WOW and many more classic intros, cracktros, and demo releases.

In recent years J.O.E has returned to the scene, creating new graphics for C64 demo productions - so it’s a truly active scener bringing real scene DNA into the book.

Outside the scene, J.O.E works professionally as a visual effects artist, credited on major productions including Avatar, King Kong, Titanic, Apollo 13, X-Men, and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, among many others.

The Kickstarter ends March 15, the biggest help is still simple: share the campaign link in a relevant group or DM it to an Amiga friend.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitman/bootblock-rebels/

_________________
Maintainer of www.bigbookofamigahardware.com

All four stretch goals have been reached!

1 - Galahad chapter

2 - Amiga cracktro

3 - Cover design by J.O.E.

4 - J.O.E. poster


Late pledging will be available after the official campaign ends on March 15, 2026, and there may be an additional surprise in the works if new backer momentum remains strong.


Back the campaign:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitman/bootblock-rebels