Gamebook Friday: The Art of ACE Gamebooks (Volume 1)

The Art of ACE Gamebooks: Volume 1 is a large format book showcasing artwork from the first 10 years of ACE Gamebooks.

Written by the series' creator and gamebook legend Jonathan Green, the book features the artwork of ace illustrators Kev Crossley, Neil Googe, Hauke Kock, Tony Hough, Heraldo Mussolini, and the late, great Russ Nicholson.

If you would like to support this project by making a donation, and be credited at the front of the book, please click the button below.

Please note, by donating you are NOT purchasing a copy of the book. The only reward you will receive is to see you name printed in the book as a supporter. However, any and all support is much appreciated and very gratefully received.

The finished book will be a full-colour, 250+ pages, A4 softback, and will be available from all good online retailers.

Don't delay - you only have until Monday 12th October 2026 to pledge your support.

Happy Birthday to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first published on 1st September 1900 - precisely 126 years ago today!

In 2017, I published the second ACE Gamebook, The Wicked Wizard of Oz. Whilst still available in paperback, the hardback had been out of print for some time.

Next year, to mark 10 years since the book first came out, I am going to be running a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of a brand new hardback edition. So, watch this space for more details!

Gamebook Friday: World Lizard Day

Which is your favourite lizard-based encounter from the ACE Gamebooks series?

Quox, from The Wicked Wizard of Oz?

The Terrible Lizards of Neverland: Here Be Monsters?

The Ravager, from Beowulf Beastslayer?

The Daikaiju, from RONIN 47?

Gamebook Friday - JG to attend PLAY: Festival del Gioco

I will be attending PLAY: Festival del Gioco in Bologna, Italy, from Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th May 2026. I will be there as the guest of Vincent Books, who publish the Italian editions of the ACE Gamebooks series.

Talking of which, available for the first time at the event will be NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! - which has a new title, I Mostri Dell'Isola Che Non C'è, and a new cover...

I love this image!

Two new covers, in fact!

It's great to see another piece of Kev Crossley's art on the cover of the special edition.

I will be signing copies of my ACE Gamebooks - including the Italian editions of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland and The Wicked Wizard of Oz - as well as the recently released L'Oscurità su Arkham.

So, if you're going to be at PLAY: Festival del Gioco, do stop the Raven Distribution stand and say, "Ciao!"

Gamebook Friday: Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland is 10 years old today!

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, the book that would become the first title in the ACE Gamebooks series, was launched at Dragonmeet on this day in 2015!

As you may have guessed, at the time, I didn't realise it was the start of a new creator-owned series, but just last weekend, the eighth ACE Gamebook was on sale at Dragonmeet 2025.

In the last 10 years, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland has been published in 11 different languages, including Bulgarian and Japanese, and while the covers might change, they have all used Kev Crossley's original internal artwork. Not only that, but when Raven Distribution published the book in Italy, they commissioned Kev to draw a map of Wonderland, that then appeared in the 5th anniversary UK hardback.

Every year, somebody picks up Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland for the first time, which leads them to then check out the other books in the ACE Gamebooks series. And while other titles have also proved popular - The Wicked Wizard of Oz and Dracula: Curse of the Vampire in particular - none have knocked Queen Alice off the top spot. It has garnered 182 reviews on Amazon UK, and even spawned an adult colouring book that has now received over 1,700 reviews!

All being well, there will be a new edition of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland in the next couple of years. But, for the time being, please raise your glasses and toast the most popular adventure in the ACE Gamebooks series - Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland!

Gamebook Friday: Terra Do Nuncassauro

Peter Pan flew into Brazil this week, when Terra Do Nuncassauro - the Portuguese language edition of NEVERLAND: Here Be Monsters! - launched at CCXP, the biggest pop culture event in the country, running from 4th-8th December 2024.

I love the cover art, which reimagines Kev Crossley's original designs for the characters in the adventure. Not only that, but it is actually a wraparound cover, and on the back can be seen a feathered dinosaur.

So, if you are a Portuguese language speaker, or a dedicated collector, keep a close eye on the Jambô Editora website to see when Terra Do Nuncassauro goes on general release.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

As it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day, it seems like a good time to remind everyone that in the ACE Gamebook NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! you can play as pirate Captain Hook himself.

You can buy the book through Amazon or the PDF through DriveThruRPG.

Arrrrr! 

Enjoy Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland for free this Free RPG Day

Today is FREE RPG DAY, so why not download the PDF of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland today for free?

To take up this offer, simply click on this link or the image below. Happy gaming!

Gamebook Friday: Alice in Bulgaria and Dracula in Hungary

The Bulgarian edition of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland is now available to preorder courtesy of GENY-Gamebooks.

I love seeing how overseas publishers either commission their own cover artwork, or use different examples of Kev Crossley's illustrations, or even just the same cover as the UK edition.

The Hungarian edition of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire is almost ready to go as well. In this case, Chameleon Comix used the same cover are as Snowbooks did on the UK edition but with a slightly different arrangement of image and text.

Gamebook Friday: Il Malvagio Mago di Oz launching at Lucca Comics and Games 2022

The Italian language edition of The Wicked Wizard of Oz - Il Malvagio Mago di Oz - is launching this weekend at the Lucca Comics and Games fair.

I'm told there will be two different cover formats, one featuring Kev Crossley's original artwork for the book, and another that reworks the art Mantikore-Verlag commissions for the German translation.

I'm very excited to be a guest of the Lucca Comics and Games 2022, as I have never been to Lucca before but also because this trip was originally supposed to happen in 2020.

However, while I am there, I am hoping to be able to drop in to The Rookery's first birthday celebrations, which will be taking place on Sunday 30th October at 7:00pm GMT.

Out now! Koszmar Alicji w Krainie Czarów

Koszmar Alicji w Krainie Czarów is published today by Polish games company Muduko.

Koszmar Alicji w Krainie Czarów is the ninth foreign language edition of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, meaning that the book is now available in ten different languages around the world.

If you are a Polish speaker, or a collector of ACE Gamebooks, you can order your copy here.

The Wicked Wizard of Oz

On this day in 1856, Lyman Frank Baum - who would one day write The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - was born in Chittenango, New York.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was a hit right from the start, the story of Dorothy and her friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion capturing the public’s imagination.

The book also captured my imagination when I read it for the first time in 2015, which is why I turned it into the second ACE Gamebook, but reimagined as The Wicked Wizard of Oz, and illustrated by Kev Crossley.

Hunted by the Wicked Witch of the West's winged monkeys and joined by her friends - the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Lion - Dorothy Gale sets off for the Emerald City.

Surrounded by enemies on all sides, will you uncover the secrets of The Wicked Wizard of Oz?

YOU decide which route to take, which perils to risk, and which of Oz's strange denizens to fight. But be warned - whether you succeed in your quest or meet a dire end, somewhere over the rainbow, will be down to the choices YOU make.

Are you ready to return to Oz?

World Book Day 2021

It's World Book Day, so why not buy a signed book direct from the author today? Simply click on the image of the book you would like to buy below.

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland (Paperback)

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland (Hardback)

Beowulf Beastslayer (Paperback)

Beowulf Beastslayer (Hardback)

Alice's Nightmare in Italy

Today is Twelfth Night, which in Italy is the time the kindly witch La Befana leaves gifts for good little boys and girls. Which is why the Italian language edition of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland is released today.

L'incubo di Alice nel Paese delle Meraviglie was teased back in March, and was supposed to have launched last April at the Modena Play games festival, with Yours Truly there in person. However, the whole world was caught up in the COVID nightmare at the time* so publication was delayed until today.

As you can see, the Italian edition features two different covers - one that reuses the artwork from Mantikore-Verlag's German language edition and one that was inspired by the English paperback.

The inside of the dust jacket features a map of Wonderland by original artist Kev Crossley. The map was commissioned for the Italian edition but the team at Raven Distribution very kindly allowed me to use it in the 5th anniversary hardback, which just happened to come out first

And here's the back cover of the Italian hardback.

* As it is now.

Gamebook Friday: Alice's Nightmare in Japan

Today, the Japanese edition of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland is released. If you are interested, you can find it here.

As far as I know*, this is the first book of mine that has appeared in Japanese. As a result I needed a little help understanding what was what on the cover, so my Japanese publisher kindly sent me this:

* You never can tell with some licensed work for hire stuff. For example, the first time I discovered Crisis on Coruscant, my Star Wars Clone Wars gamebook, had been published in German was when I was looking round a bookshop in Vienna, Austria.

Gamebook Friday: Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland 5th anniversary hardback

These have arrived, and will be winging their way to backers of the Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland 5th anniversary Kickstarter very soon...

As you can see, the new edition* matches the other ACE Gamebooks hardbacks.

* Which is actually the 6th English edition, to date.