Saturday 27 July 2024

Christmas in July sale now on!

DriveThruRPG's Christmas in July sale is still on until the end of the month, and lots of ACE Gamebooks titles are included. Funnily enough, one of those is...

When the north winds blow,
Bringing with them ice and snow,
If Midsummer’s weather’s numbing,
Then know that Fimbulwinter’s coming.

Christmas in July is a self-contained adventure, set at the height of summer. As well as containing material that can be adapted for more conventional games of the ’TWAS RPG, this book also introduces new monsters to the game, and four new Player Characters.

A copy of ’TWAS – The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas is required to use the contents of this book.

Friday 26 July 2024

Gamebook Friday: La Oscuridad Sobre Arkham

The paperback edition of The Darkness Over Arkham, the first Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebook, was released in the UK just last week, but it will be out in Spanish, courtesy of Ediciones Minotauro, this September.


There are some other overseas editions of The Darkness Over Arkham in the works, and I will let you know more once all the appropriate Is have been dotted, and the relevant Ts crossed.


In other news, JambĂ´ Editora have recently released the 40th anniversary Fighting Fantasy adventures Shadow of the Giants and Secrets of Salamonis. They have also reprinted the Portuguese language editions of Howl of the Werewolf and Bloodbones.




So, with three ACE Gamebooks now available in Brazil as well, my takeover of the South American gamebook market is proceeding apace...


Thursday 18 July 2024

The Darkness Over Arkham released in the UK today

The Darkness Over Arkham, the first Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebook, is published as a paperback in the UK today, courtesy of Aconyte Books.

When a renowned professor is found dead, it’s up to the Investigators of Arkham to discover what occult horrors were behind his fate. Pick your path, Investigator, and collect allies along the way to hunt down his killer before they strike again. However, Arkham is full of mysteries, with many wishing to keep the truth buried, and who are hungry to usher in a new era full of death and darkness to devour the world you know it. Can you stop them before it is too late?

The book includes profiles for three Investigators - Agnes Baker the Waitress, Nathaniel Cho the Boxer, and Rex Murphy the Reporter. There are also three more Investigators available as downloads from the Aconyte Books' website - Stella Clark the Letter Carrier, Amanda Sharpe the Student, and Skids O'Toole the Ex-Con. All of them can be used to tackle the adventure contained within The Darkness Over Arkham.

When the book was launched in the US, Jordan Sorcery and I did a live readthrough of part of the adventure which can you watch below.

If you have read The Darkness Over Arkham, please do post a review on Amazon. Unfortunately, when the book was first released, it received some 1-star ratings with no accompanying reviews*, which has really skewed the book's aggregated score. We could do with some more balanced reviews, and fairer ratings, to help rectify that situation. In anticipation, thank you for your support.

* Something which I think shouldn't be allowed.


Saturday 13 July 2024

Fighting Fantasy Fest 5

Eight weeks today, Fighting Fantasy Fest 5 will be taking place at the University of West London in Ealing on Saturday 7 September 2024. Featuring Guests of Honour Sir Ian Livingstone and Iain McCaig, it will be a day-long celebration of the seminal Fighting Fantasy gamebook Deathtrap Dungeon.

Other guests attending include the authors Marc Gascoigne, Paul Mason, Peter Darvill-Evans, Keith P. Phillips, Jamie Thomson and Dave Morris...

along with the artists Alan Langford, Duncan Smith, Tony Hough and Malcolm Barter.



There will be all sorts of talks and other events taking place on the day, including the launch of Steve Jackson's F.I.S.T. by Sound Realms, a live readthrough of Deathtrap Dungeon, the legendary Fighting Fantasy auction, and a special performace of John Robertson's The Dark Room.


Tickets are on sale for Fighting Fantasy Fest 5 now!


Monday 8 July 2024

Dracula's Curse Strikes in Brazil

As of today, Dracula: Curse of the Vampire is available in Portuguese courtesy of Brazilian publisher Jambô Editora, under the title Drácula: A Vingança do Vampiro.

I have been sitting on this news for a while, ever since JambĂ´ sent me the fantastic cover art by Brazilian artist Carlos Eduardo Justino

Drácula: A Vingança do Vampiro is the third ACE Gamebook published by JambĂ´ Editora, the other two titles being Alice no PaĂ­s dos Pesadelos (Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland) and O Maligno Mágico de Oz (The Wicked Wizard of Oz).

Drácula: A Vingança do Vampiro features on the JambĂ´ Editora homepage today.

Friday 5 July 2024

Gamebook Friday: ACE Czech Gamebooks

There are currently seven ACE Gamebooks in print in English, through Snowbooks, but by the end of the year there will be six ACE Gamebooks available in Czech courtesy of Mytago, when RONIN 47 is released by the publisher. And here's the cover, featuring Neil Googe's awesome artwork...

Dracula: Curse of the Vampire is now available in Czech and recently received this fantastic review.


"This book isn't just a rehash of the original into a playable version, it's a clever and fun mix of various vampire and mythological stories. The Vampire's Curse is written in an accessible, understandable way, and as a stand-alone work it is the ideal gateway to the world of interactive novels for all new players. However, even seasoned veterans will be completely satisfied. Get ready for an unforgettable journey into the world of darkness!"
~ Petr Eller, for Imago

Click on the images below, to check out the Czech editions of the other ACE Gamebooks currently in print.