"The modern master of the gamebook format" (Rob Sanders)... "Can do dark very well" (Jonathan Oliver)... "Green gets mileage out of his monsters" (SFX Magazine)... "It takes a firm editorial hand and a keen understanding of the tone of each piece to make a collection this diverse work, and Green makes it look effortless" (Starburst Magazine)... "A charming blend of camp creatures, humour, and genuine horror" (Set the Tape)
A rules-lite RPG for 2-6 Players, plus a Gamesmaster, inspired by John Masefield's Christmas classic.
Designed to be picked up and played with minimal preparation, it nonetheless includes a well-developed character creation system, as well as rules for combat and magic. It is ideal for a festive gaming session with an established group, or as an alternative to the family games usually played at Christmastime.
A rules-lite RPG for 2-7 Players, inspired by the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, Viking legends, Norse mythology, and the Icelandic sagas. Players take on the role of noble heroes and their brave companions, who are guided through their adventure by the Skald.
There are three different ways to enjoy the game, but all involve an element of storytelling, for it is through telling tall tales of their heroic deeds that players increase their Wyrd, which in turn gives them the ability to perform heroic feats during their adventures that would otherwise be beyond the capabilities of mortal men.
Designed to be picked up and played with minimal preparation, Heorot nonetheless includes a well-developed character creation system, as well as rules for combat, and a random adventure generator. It is ideal for both an established gaming group and as a way of introducing new players to the fantastical world of roleplaying games.
A rules-lite RPG for 2-7 Players, inspired by the legends and literature of Christmas.
Designed to be picked up and played with minimal preparation, it nonetheless includes a well-developed character creation system, as well as rules for combat and magic. It is ideal for a festive gaming session with an established group, or as an alternative to the games usually played on Christmas Day.
Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Alice hadn’t drunk from the bottle labelled ‘Drink Me’, or if she hadn’t joined the Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse for tea? Well now you can find out.
In Alice’s Nightmare in Wonderland, YOU decide which route Alice should take, which perils to risk, and which of Wonderland’s strange denizens to fight. But be warned – whether Alice succeeds in her quest or meets a dire end as the nightmare escalates will be down to the choices YOU make.
Are you ready to go back down the rabbit-hole?
Part history, part celebration, YOU ARE THE HERO chronicles four decades of the Fighting Fantasy phenomenon, written by Yours Truly (author of eight Fighting Fantasy gamebooks), this revised, updated, and lavishly illustrated tome will appeal to anyone who ever whiled away a washed-out summer holiday with only two dice and a pencil for company.
The new edition of La Nuit du Loup-Garou, the French language edition of Howl of the Werewolf, is out now from Gallimard Jeunesse
Here's the translated blurb from the back of the book:
You would have to be crazy to cross the borders of the windswept, fog-shrouded, and soul-haunted principality of Lupravia. And yet, that is what YOU must do. A monstrous wolf has cruelly bitten you and you are now struck by a terrible curse. Fail in this new adventure and the beast that now lies dormant within you will not be able to resist the call of the Werewolf. You have until the next full moon!
Bonus: The Archives of the Old World will reveal to you everything a hero worthy of the name must know!
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser: embark on the adventure! YOU alone will decide the route to follow, the risks to take and the creatures to fight. GOOD LUCK...
This is the fourth of my FF gamebooks to appear in this new edition, although all eight have been published in French at one time or another.
It's Valentine's Day and nothing says "I love you" like buying your sweetheart an ACE Gamebook. With that in mind, there is currently a sale running over on the ACE Gamebooks Roleplay page on DriveThruRPG this weekend.
This week, I was excited to receive an advanced reader copy of Antony Johnston's new interactive crime novel Can You Solve the Murder?
I was fortunate enough to be a beta reader for this last year. Since then a few changes have been made to the story, including the gender of one of the main characters, so it will be interesting to give it another read now.
Here's the publisher's blurb...
There’s been a murder at Elysium, a wellness retreat set in an English country manor. You arrive to find the body of a local businessman on the lawn – with a rose placed in his mouth. It appears he was stabbed with a gardening fork and fell to his death from the balcony above. But that balcony can only be accessed through a locked door, the key is missing, and everyone in Elysium is now a suspect…
Gather the evidence and examine the clues. Choose who to interview next, and who to accuse as your prime suspect. But remember that every decision you make has consequences – and some of them will prove fatal…
Do you have what it takes? Can YOU solve the murder?
There are clues to be collected and a puzzle to be solved. At the end, in classic murder mystery style, you have to declare who you think the murderer is. But you can't just guess who it might be - you have to have the evidence to back up your suspicions.
I met Antony Johnston for the first time last year after Fighting Fantasy Fest, despite having both worked for Abaddon Books when the imprint started out, and he is a huge gamebook fan. In fact, he wrote a glowing review of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire.
Six weeks today, I will be attending AireCon in Harrogate for the first time. It's actually on from Thursday 13th - Sunday 16th March 2025, but Hall M won't be open on the Thursday.
Talking of which, you will find ACE Gamebooks at Booth A11 in Hall M. From the plan, it looks like there are two main thoroughfares through the hall, one of which goes straight past my stand, which will be sandwiched between Mantic on one side and Red Mug Crafts on the other.
So, if you're in the North Yorkshire area and fancy popping along to AireCon over the course of the weekend, do stop by Booth A11 and say hello.
I have two pieces of gamebook news for you this week. The first is that Sound Realms' audio adaptation of the sixth ACE GamebookDracula: Curse of the Vampire is coming to Backerkit on 1May 2025. You can check out a sample of the audio below, and register your interest in the crowdfunding campaign here.
At the weekend I went to see Robert Eggers' Nosferatu. I had been looking forward to this ever since I first saw the trailer and went to see it as soon as I could so as not to have the film ruined by spoilers on social media.
Now, be warned, this post contains a few spoilers about the film. So, if you have yet to see it but you want to see it, do not read on any further.
Still here? On your head be it, then.
For those who don't know, Eggers' Nosferatu was inspired by the original Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, from 1922, as well as Bram Stoker's gothic horror novel Dracula*. Eggers' film looks stunning - the locations, sets, and cinematography are incredible - but it isn't actually scary. The jump scares are too obvious and well signposted. On top of that, the story is just too well known to terrify. There's some gross stuff but, knowing it's not real, means none of it will actually make you jump out of your skin.
I don't mind that, but I'm still not entirely sure what I think of the film. It's good, but not amazing. That said, I have found myself pondering it over and over this last week, so it has definitely made an impression on me. There are some fantastic images in the film, and probably the most disturbing elements involve what the mere mortals do when their minds cannot cope with the horror they have been subjected to.
It seems the most contentious things about the film involve Count Orlok's appearance, specifically his moustache and the fact that he is naked at pivotal moments in the film. I don't see what all the fuss is about. Dracula had a moustache in Stoker's novel and the undead Strigoi in my Dracula-inspired gamebook haven't bothered to get dressed either.
But it is the look of the film that has really stuck with me, so much so that I am considering publishing a new edition of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire next year, with darker and grittier artwork, and a more gothic look altogether.
For now, if you have yet to check out my own take on Stoker's classic, you can order a copy of the sixth ACE Gamebookhere.
* The original Nosferatu was effectively a rip-off of Dracula, and Stoker's widow won a copyright case against the filmmakers. All copies of the film were supposed to have been destroyed but, just like the vampiric Count Orlok, it rose again from the dead.
