Fighting Fantasy Quest Live Preview - Friday 12th September!

This Friday, 12th September 2025, Paul Grogan of Ulisses Spiele will be doing the first live play preview of Fighting Fantasy Quest: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain online at 8:00pm UK time.

Paul previewed the game at the UK Games Expo earlier this year, but now everyone, all over the world, can see what it's all about.

Paul Grogan and Sir Ian Livingstone at the UK Games Expo with
Fighting Fantasy Quest: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

So, make sure you put 8:00pm Friday 12th September in your diary and join the livestream here.

International Gamebook Day 2025

27 August 2025 marks 43 years since the publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, which means it is also International Gamebook Day.

International Gamebook Day began in 2020 but went on hiatus in 2024. However, it is back for 2025.

While 27 August is nominally International Gamebook Day, when the formal celebrations take place can vary. In 2023, the celebrations took place on 14 October, and had a horror theme.

This year, the International Gamebook Day celebrations will take place in November, so keep your eyes peeled for more news soon.

Gamebook Friday: Dracula - Curse of the Vampire reviewed in Fighting Fantazine #17

After a hiatus of half a decade, Fighting Fantazine is back with Issue #17, which was actually published on 27th August 2022 - the 40th anniversary of the publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

It has much to recommend it, including a cover by m'colleague Tony Hough, an interview with Dave Morris and an epic adventure by Andrew Wright called Barbarian Warlord. However, when my print copy was delivered, I was surprised and delighted to find that the magazine includes a detailed review of Dracula - Curse of the Vampire, by Paul Partington.

You can pick up Dracula - Curse of the Vampire from Amazon, and in PDF form from DriveThruRPG. The PDF of RONIN 47 is now available on DriveThruRPG as well, if that's how you best like to consume your interactive fiction.

Fighting Fantasy Fest 4 - Tickets on sale now!

 Tickets are on sale now for Fighting Fantasy Fest 4, and are strictly limited to 400* in total.

The Convention of Firetop Mountain is returning to the University of West London, three years since FFF3, on Saturday 3rd September 2022, to celebrate 40 years of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain and the Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks series co-created by Steve Jackson and Sir Ian Livingstone.

Everyone who purchases an adult ticket will receive:

• A uniquely numbered 40th anniversary ticket (strictly limited to 400 in total)
• A souvenier programme and autograph book
• A pair of Fighting Fantasy dice
• Access to the event, including the Traders' Hall and Artists' Alley, and all signing opportunities
• Access to all talks and panels
• Access to a special screening of Martin Gooch's new film Argh and the Quest for the Golden Dragon Skull, featuring Sir Ian Livingstone!

Attendees may also pre-order an exclusive Fighting Fantasy 40th anniversary T-shirt and enamel pin badge, ready for collection at the event.

There are also a limited number of Young Adult and Children tickets. (Please note that anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult ticket holder.)

Steve Jackson and Sir Ian Livingstone will be attending as Guests of Honour, and other guests include authors Rhianna Pratchett, Jamie Thomson, Peter Darvill-Evans, and Jonathan Green, artists John Sibbick, Malcolm Barter, Tony Hough, Mel Grant, and Rob Ball, and original commissioning editor Geraldine Cooke.

Fighting Fantasy Fest 4 is likely to be a very popular event and entry is by pre-paid ticket only*.

If you've been before, you will know what to expect and will doubtless be keen to attend again. If you've not been before, then this is the year to attend your first Fighting Fantasy convention!

So, don't delay and make sure you secure your place at Fighting Fantasy Fest 4 now!

* Tickets are limited to 400 adult tickets, plus 50 Young Adult tickets, and 50 Children tickets.

Gamebook Friday: International Gamebook Day

I recently learned that 1st August is International Childfree Day, which drove it home to me that you really can have a day for anything.

So I am proposing that 27th August be designated as International Gamebook Day, when people around the world can celebrate their love of interactive fiction.

Why 27th August? Because it was on that day in 1982 that the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, was first published.

So who's with me?

   

Beowulf Beastslayer - Publication Day!

Hwaet! Beowulf Beastslayer is published today by Snowbooks.

A brand new adventure gamebook by Jonathan Green, based on the ancient epic. A tale of heroes... A tale of monsters... A legend reborn. 

King Hrothgar's great golden mead-hall, Heorot, lies under a curse; after sunset, the mirth-hating night-stalker Grendel comes to the hall to maim and murder! None are capable of killing the monster, though many have tried, until one day Beowulf and his company of Geatish warriors cross the sail-road and land on Danish shores...

The Old English poem Beowulf is a story that has fascinated people throughout the ages inspiring the likes of J. R. R. Tolkien, Seamus Heaney and Neil Gaiman. Beowulf Beastslayer is a brand new take on the Anglo-Saxon epic, re-imagining the events described in the poem as an adventure gamebook.

Will you follow the course of events as laid down by the scops and skalds of old, or will you choose a different path and forge your own legend?

Beowulf Beastslayer is illustrated by none other than Russ Nicholson, who provided the internal artwork for the Fighting Fantasy gamebook The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (among others), which set me on the path to becoming an author, and features a cover quote by none other than BBC Four's Dr Janina Ramirez.

As backers of the original Kickstarter will already know, Paul Muller sculpted Grendel and Beowulf in three dimensions, using Russ Nicholson's interpretations of the characters as his guide, and the miniatures were produced by Otherworld Miniatures. Well, here they are, painted by the very talented Andy Taylor.

Grendel and Beowulf, sculpted by Paul Muller, produced by Otherworld Miniatures, and painted by Andy Taylor.

If you would like to buy a pair of miniatures, simply click the button below, having selected whereabouts in the world you would like them sent.

Beowulf and Grendel miniatures

UK signed for £29.00 GBP Europe signed for £34.00 GBP Rest of World signed for £35.00 GBP

And if you have read the book, please post a review on Amazon.

Tie-in Tuesday: Tin Man Games Steam Sale!

Tin Man Games are having another sale of their games on Steam, and among the titles on offer at a knockdown price are The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, which I worked on, and my Warhammer 40,000 gamebook Herald of Oblivion.

Gamebook Friday: ACE Gamebooks Abroad

Four weeks from today I will be attending the Frankfurt Book Fair for the first time. I will be a guest of Mantikore-Verlag who are launching the German language edition of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland at the event.

In fact, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland is becoming a rather well-travelled book. Long time readers of this blog will remember that The Wicked Wizard of Oz is already on display in the All Things Oz Museum in the United States, but in July I was contacted by Vladimir Dorda, from the Russian Federation, asking if I would be willing to donate copies of some of my books to the department of the international literature at the library where he works. And yesterday he sent me this photograph.

Vladimir with copies of The Wicked Wizard of Oz and Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland in the Anton Chekhov Library in the Russian city of Taganrog.

In other gamebook news, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain: Goblin Scourge Edition is now available to buy from the Nintendo eShop, which means that you can now play a game I worked on on your Nintendo Switch console.

I also sent NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! to the publisher this week, ready to be laid out, which means that I've been able to spend some time working on my next ACE Gamebook, Beowulf Beastslayer.

The Kickstarter to fund Beowulf Beastslayer will launch on Monday 1st October 2018. Join the Beowulf Beastslayer Facebook group to be kept up to date with developments.

Gamebook Friday: Herald of Oblivion at 70% off!

Tin Man Games are holding a Lunar New Year Sale, in honour of the Year of the Dog, and my Warhammer 40,000 gamebook app, Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion is available at a whopping 70% off!

There are also other gamebook apps available with massive reductions, including The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, which I also worked on.

So don't delay - get over to the Tin Man Games Steam store sale now!

Gamebook Friday: Tin Man Games Sale on Now!

Tin Man Games have a sale on at the moment, with many of their gamebook apps reduced by 50% or 60%!

So, if you've yet to pick up Bloodbones, Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion, Temple of the Spider God, or even The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (which I also worked on) now would seem to be the perfect time!

Gamebook Friday: Celebrate 35 years of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks this September

This September, two events in particular are taking place to mark the 35th anniversary of the publication of the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

If you are in or around Ealing on the night of Friday 1st September, why not come around to You Are The Beer-O: Stout of the Pit, the regular meet-up for FF fans hosted by James Aukett?

On this occasion, You Are The Beer-O is teaming up with Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 to put on the world's first Fighting Fantasy pub quiz and raise money for the men's health charity Prostate Cancer UK, in memory of artist Kevin Bulmer, who illustrated Freeway Fighter, and who sadly succumbed to the disease in 2011.

You can find out more about the event here, on the event's Facebook page, and you can buy your ticket for the pub quiz here, through Eventbrite.

Please note that spaces are limited and this event is for over 18s only.

And then on Saturday 2nd September, at 9:00am sharp, the doors will be opening on Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 at the University of West London in Ealing, at which point attendees will be able to register, collect their backpacks, and enter the venue.

Following a welcome talk in a lecture theatre (that seats 300 people) the day will be filled with all manner of FF-related activities. There will be two separate strands of talks, featuring the creators of the original gamebook series as well as new companies taking Fighting Fantasy in new and interesting directions, and one of these is FoxYason Music Productions.

FoxYason Music Productions will be presenting the launch of the a new, exciting range of full-cast, original audio dramas, beginning in September, with the release of the first story in the series, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Members of the production team, plus cast, will be at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 to officially launch the range featuring interviews, clips, a Q&A and the plans for the future range.

Other highlights of the day will be Nomad Games showcase of Fighting Fantasy Legends, and inkle Studios taking attendees back to the world of Steve Jackson's Sorcery!, while the creative team behind Ian Livingstone's FREEWAY FIGHTER will be there to talk about the gestation of the very first Fighting Fantasy comic.

There will also be guest signings (and we do not charge for signatures at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2, in case you were wondering), role-playing game sessions, cosplay, an FF exhibition, numerous traders, a cafe and bar on site, and the opportunity to hang-out with fellow gamebook fans, as well as an auction of rare FF items!

With only seven weeks to go until the big day, make sure you don't delay and grab your tickets today!

Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks set to return and YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 will chronicle it all!

Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks are re-launching this summer with Scholastic, the largest children's publisher in the world, in time for the series' 35th anniversary!

In August 2017, Scholastic UK will publish The Port of Peril, the new gamebook by Ian Livingstone, along with five classic titles, including The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. A further tranche of titles will publish in spring 2018.

YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 will chronicle the story of the move to a new publisher and the development of Ian Livingstone's first new gamebook in five years, so make sure you don't miss out - back the Kickstarter today!

Celebrate World Book Day by booking your ticket to Fighting Fantasy Fest 2

While school children up and down the country are marking 20 years of World Book Day, six months from today, on Saturday 2nd September 2017, a host of dedicated Fighting Fantasy fans will gather at the University of West London, in Ealing, to mark the 35th anniversary of the publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and the subsequent series of adventure gamebooks it spawned. And you could be there too!

Tickets are now on sale for Fighting Fantasy Fest 2, via the official Fighting Fantasy website here.

We are working very hard to make sure that FFF2 is similar enough to FFF1 that those who didn't manage to go last time (back in 2014) get to experience something of the same vibe, whilst also making sure that it is different enough that those who did go last time don't find themselves sitting in on talks they have heard before.

So expect new talks, new guests, new game demos, new traders, and new friends to be made, on Saturday 2nd September 2017, at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2!

Gamebook Friday: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

It's some time since I worked with Neil Rennison to re-imagine Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's classic Fighting Fantasy adventure gamebook The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, so it is very satisfying to actually have a moment to sit down and play the game, and discover screens like this...

Or this...

The game looks great! Russ Nicholson's original artwork has been given a touch of colour...

And the whole experience of exploring Firetop Mountain is now enjoyed in three dimensions...

Even the combat system has been given an overhaul...

If you've yet to experience the wonders of Tin Man Games' adaptation of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, you can pick up a copy here (with the game coming to iOS platforms next year).

Dragonmeet 2016

I had a great time yesterday at Dragonmeet. This year, as well as selling my own books - with both Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland and Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu proving popular - I was also manning the Fighting Fantasy stand, at which Steve Jackson did a couple of signings during the day.

Books, beautiful books.

Steve Jackson signing for fans.

It's always good to catch up with friends like James Wallis (who had just delivered the PDF of Alas Vegas to the Kickstarter backers in the early hours of the morning), Tony Hough (who presented me with a print of his artwork for Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu), and Graham Bottley (with whom I discussed plans for Advanced Fighting Fantasy at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2).

Tony Hough, Laylah, and Stuart Lloyd.

And it's always a pleasure to meet my readers, who ranged from ten to three-score years and ten.

This finely-mustachioed gentleman was asking if there were plans for a ninth Ulysses Quicksivler novel.

A talking of FFF2, that was the big news that we broke at the event yesterday. In case you haven't hear the news yourself, Fighting Fantasy Fest - the convention dedicated to all things Fighting Fantasy - will be returning in 2017, to mark the 35th anniversary of the publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

YOU ARE THE HERO - Part 2

Just imagine for a minute, if you will, that there was to be a supplement to YOU ARE THE HERO published next year, to mark the 35th anniversary of the publication of the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

If there was such a title, what would you like to see contained within its pages?