Gamebook Friday: Valiant

Now that Valiant has been out for a couple of weeks, people have started to share how they have got on with the adventure. Like the people behind The Markov Dossier.

Jordan Sorcery also mentioned the gamebook on his channel today.

Gamebook Friday: Dracula Anniversary Hardback

As of writing, the Kickstarter campaign for the 5th Anniversary Hardback of the ACE Gamebook Dracula: Curse of the Vampire, has just 6 days left to run, but is already 56% funded.

There is now a no frills hardback reward available for £50. So, if you've been holding back from backing the Kickstarter, maybe this option is for you.

If you haven't backed the project yet yourself, here's a reminder of what you will be getting:

• 
  A hardback of the 1,000 section adventure, in which you can play as either Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, Dr John Seward, or Count Dracula. This will differ from the original hardback in that the cover will be red with black printing on it.
• Known errata will be corrected in this new edition and backers of the Kickstarter will have their names featured inside.
• Each book will be individually signed by the author.
  

Those people who back at the £70 or £120 reward levels will also receive the following rewards:

• 
  A collectible bookmark, only available with this edition of the book.
• A pack of 10 postcards featuring Hauke Kock's artwork.
• A pair of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire themed black dice.
• A golden pin badge in the form of Dracula's crest.
  

So don't delay, back today! And please share the project far and wide with your contacts on social media.

Thank you.

New Book Day: YOU are Valiant!

Today sees the publication of Valiant, the first Warcradle Studios Gamebook.

It is the Dystopian Age.

YOU are Valiant, an agent of the Crown Ministry of Intelligence, an unsung hero, working in secret to keep an unstable world from igniting into all-out war. Victoria may reign as Queen, but it is the super-science of the Enlightened that dominates the world thanks to their discovery of otherworldly technologies. The great global superpowers strain against the uneasy detente that exists between them. All it takes is the right agent in the wrong place, so after a secret mission goes disastrously wrong, all that stands between a shadowy conspiracy and global ruin is YOU!

Her Majesty is counting on YOU to end this threat.

Only YOU can save Queen and Country - and perhaps the world!

In the lead up to the release of Valiant, Warcradle Studios have published a series of blogs about the book. One of these is about the lore of the world of the Dystopian Age, which you can read here. They have also published an interview with Yours Truly about the experience of writing the adventure, which you can read here.

Valiant is illustrated throughout by Neil Googe, who also illustrated RONIN 47. So, to finish with today, here are some of his incredible illustrations from the adventure.

You can purchase Valiant direct from Warcradle Studios here.

Gamebook Friday: L'Oscurità su Arkham

This arrived at my home today...

L'Oscurità su Arkham (published by Vincent Books*) is the Italian language edition of the first Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebook, The Darkness Over Arkham, and a very nice hardback it is too.

It also means that The Darkness Over Arkham is now available in four different languages - English, Spanish, Hungarian, and Italian.

As you can see, L'Oscurità su Arkham varies from the other editions in that is has new cover art. And while the book does not feature any full page illustrations, Vincent Books have commissioned some adventure-specific fillers, including the ones shown below.

Recently, I was interviewed by Riccardo Scaringi for the Il Gioco In Tavolo podcast. During the course of our discussion we talked about Fighting Fantasy as well as exploring the world of Arkham Horror through gamebooks, which you can watch below.

Make sure you pop back tomorrow, because it will be new book day - again!

* Who have also published Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland and The Wicked Wizard of Oz in Italian.

World Book Day 2026

As it is World Book Day, I thought I would draw your attention to four gamebooks that may be of interest to you.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come was published last November. YOU take on the role of William Shakespeare himself as he navigates the nightmarish worlds of his plays and comes up against very servants of the Great Old Ones.

Here is what one reviewer had to say about the adventure:

"An absolute joy to flit through the worlds of Shakespeare as you fight your way through to hopefully a successful conclusion. Each read through bringing a little more insight and a better chance to make it out to the other side. This is a fast paced story as you are constantly being thrown from one story to the next and new paths and options unfold before you."

You can buy the paperback of Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come here, and you can buy a signed hardback direct from me here.

The Kingsport Metamorphosis was published in February and is the third title in the Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebooks series.

A mysterious letter summons you to the seaside town of Kingsport, where dreams leak into reality, to a wealthy estate transformed into a place of unspeakable nightmares. Curious as to why the reclusive Elijah Harcourt has summoned you to his home, you are unsettled when you discover Harcourt’s purpose is far more nefarious than you realized, leaving you and his guests with riddles to solve if you are to survive. As each hour passes, your companions meet terrible fates, forcing you to navigate a spiderweb of betrayal.

Here's what one reviewer has had to say about this adventure:

"Another solid entry in the series (this one stronger on parlor-room mystery vibes than on cosmic horror vibes, though these are present too) from gamebook maestro Jon Green."

You can buy The Kingsport Metamorphosis here.

Valiant is the first Warcradle Studios Gamebook and will be published on Saturday 7th March 2026.

It is the Dystopian Age.

YOU are Valiant, an agent of the Crown Ministry of Intelligence, an unsung hero, working in secret to keep an unstable world from igniting into all-out war. Victoria may reign as Queen, but it is the super-science of the Enlightened that dominates the world thanks to their discovery of otherworldly technologies. The great global superpowers strain against the uneasy detente that exists between them. All it takes is the right agent in the wrong place, so after a secret mission goes disastrously wrong, all that stands between a shadowy conspiracy and global ruin is YOU!

Her Majesty is counting on YOU to end this threat.

Only YOU can save Queen and Country - and perhaps the world! 

When asked which release she was looking forward to most in 2026, Warcradle Studios' Game Development Manager Sophie Williams, who worked closely with me on the adventure, had this to say:

"Valiant! I love choose-your-own-destiny books. Play as a Crown spy in the Dystopian Age whilst navigating a story packed with adventure, deciding how you would deal with the challenges ahead, yes please!"

Finally, the 5th anniversary collector's hardback edition of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire is currently funding on Kickstarter.

1897

In the wolf-haunted Carpathian Mountains, a young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, travels to an isolated castle to assist a mysterious Count with purchasing a number of properties in England. But what he witnesses there drives him to the edge of madness…

Meanwhile, in Whitby, Harker’s fiancée, Mina Murray, visits her dear friend Lucy Westenra. But during her stay, Lucy is attacked and becomes seriously ill…

In London, Lucy’s suitor and physician, Dr John Seward, becomes preoccupied with the case of a certain Mr Renfield, an inmate at his lunatic asylum, who seeks to collect lives for his master, having not long returned from a trip to Transylvania…

And so, the pieces for the game are set. For they are all pawns in a plan devised centuries ago by the Voivode of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes, a cruel tyrant whom history remembers as ‘the Son of the Devil’, his bloodthirsty deeds having earned him another name…

Dracula.

The new edition of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire has a red cover, with black lettering, and known errata have been corrected. The book will also include the names of everyone who backs this latest Kickstarter.

Those who back the campaign will also receive some unique rewards including a collectible bookmark, a pair of black Dracula-themed dice, a set of 10 postcards featuring Hauke Kock's artwork from the book, and a golden pin badge in the form of Count Dracula's crest.

The Kickstarter. is running until Thursday 19th March 2026 and, as of writing, is almost 50% funded already.

Dracula: Curse of the Vampire 5th Anniversary Hardback funding on Kickstarter now!

The Kickstarter campaign to fund a 5th anniversary edition of the hardback of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire is now live!

There are only two rewards on offer - one comes with one 5th anniversary collector's hardback and the other includes two 5th anniversary collector's hardbacks (perfect if you are looking for a gift for somebody else, or an investment for yourself).

Each hardback comes with a collectible bookmark, a pack of 10 postcards featuring Hauke Kock's artwork from the book, a pair of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire themed black dice, and Dracula's crest in the form of a gold-plated pin badge. Each book will also be signed by the author, and everyone who backs the Kickstarter will have their name appear within its pages.

Ebook and signed paperback editions of the adventure are available as add-ons.

To find out more and pledge your support today, click this link.

Gamebook Friday - Dracula: Curse of the Vampire

The Kickstarter campaign to fund a 5th anniversary edition of the hardback of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire, including the bonus chapter brimming with desginer's notes and artist's sketches, launches on Tuesday 3 March 2026, at 1pm GMT.

First published back in 2021, Dracula: Curse of the Vampire reimagines Bram Stoker's classic as an interactive adventure. YOU play as one of three Vampire-Hunters - Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, and Dr John Seward - or even as the eponymous Count himself.

At 1,000 sections, it is the longest gamebook I have written to date and is illustrated throughout by Hauke Kock.

Some of Hauke's illustrations from the adventure. (Click to enlarge.)

While the book is still availble in paperback and as an ebook, the hardback has been out of print for a while. So, to mark the 5th anniversary of the publication of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire, I am running the forthcoming Kickstarter. Where the original hardback featured a black cover with red lettering, the new edition will have a red cover with black lettering.

The original Dracula: Curse of the Vampire alongside a mock-up of the new edition.

Each hardback comes with a collectible bookmark, a pack of 10 postcards featuring Hauke Kock's artwork, a pair of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire themed black dice, and Dracula's crest in the form of a gold-plated pin badge.

Each book will also be signed by the author, and everyone who backs the Kickstarter will have their name appear within its pages.

Remember, the Kickstarter campaign goes live on Tuesday 3 March 2026, at 1pm.