Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks Coming to America via Steve Jackson Games

Fighting Fantasy and Steve Jackson Games announced a deal to release the series of solo choose-your-own-adventure style gamebooks in the United States for the first time in over 20 years.

The Fighting Fantasy series, written by Sir Ian Livingston and Steve Jackson (not the same Steve Jackson of SJ Games), were originally published starting in 1982. While still available in other markets, they have been out of print in the United States after the publisher, Laurel Leaf Editions, was purchased along with parent company Dell Publishing Group in 1999.

From the announcement:

Fighting Fantasy debuted with The Warlock of Firetop Mountain in 1982. Since then, over 20 million copies of the exciting series have been sold worldwide. In Fighting Fantasy, players embark on a solo adventure where their decisions – and dice rolls – determine the outcome of the story. This combination of nonlinear narrative and classic tabletop action sets the series apart from other gamebook franchises. Fighting Fantasy co-creators Sir Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson (UK) stated how thrilled they were to sign a US publishing agreement for Fighting Fantasy with Steve Jackson Games.

Sir Ian says: “To have a new publisher in the USA is a special moment in the history of Fighting Fantasy. We have known Steve Jackson (US) for more than 40 years, having distributed Steve Jackson Games in the 1980s when we owned Games Workshop. Steve also wrote three fantastic Fighting Fantasy books which caused a lot of confusion at the time when people didn’t realize there were two Steve Jacksons! We look forward to exciting times ahead in the USA for new and existing Fighting Fantasy fans.”

The first five books of the 50-title series will be made available in early 2025 with the next five in the series coming later that year.

 

[dbm]

I suspect at some point, one of the Steves Jackson said "hey, I know another game book line ..."

Steve Jackson wrote at least one of them under the pseudonym of Steve Jackson…

 

[Ramaster]

Steve Jackson's Steve Jackson presents: Steve Jackson.

I haven't had the pleasure of reading/playing with these game books, but I was a huge fan of the Choose your own Adventure line when I was young. I also have very fond memories of "The Pillars of Pentegarn", a similar game of the D&D franchize that my older brother had a copy of (translated to Spanish).

Thanks to that book, the bone dragon became my favourite fantasy monster!

 

[AK_Ambrian]

I hope they use ALL the original art for both the covers and the interior illustrations. In the past, many of the reissues of these FF and Sorcery books have used 'modernized' art which really detracts from the experience.

 

[AK_Ambrian]

As an example, here's the original art for Forest Of Doom:

And here's the art that has been used for some of the reissues over the years, nowhere near as good:

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I just picked up new prints not too long ago though?

Maybe they mean, not all of them have been in print...

There are more than 50 Fighting Fantasy titles. Only about a dozen are in print at the moment in the most recent edition.

I can't imagine SJG jumping in and giving us some of the later books like Night of the Necromancer, though. I suspect we're going to see the books I mentioned above, the Sorcery series, and -- later -- the most recently released books by Jackson and Livingstone.

Fingers crossed that this does well enough that the rest of the line can finally reappear.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I haven't had the pleasure of reading/playing with these game books, but I was a huge fan of the Choose your own Adventure line when I was young. I also have very fond memories of "The Pillars of Pentegarn", a similar game of the D&D franchize that my older brother had a copy of (translated to Spanish).

Fighting Fantasy books run rings around the TSR books. I think you're going to be pleased when you pick these up.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I hope they use ALL the original art for both the covers and the interior illustrations. In the past, many of the reissues of these FF and Sorcery books have used 'modernized' art which really detracts from the experience.

I suspect that, in at least some cases, there are rights issues.

That said, a lot of the classic art is in the big art of Fighting Fantasy book that Unbound published recently, so at least some of the classic stuff is still available.

 

[Kannik]

Oh wow! I had (and might still have?) the Car Wars/Mad Max-esque "Freeway Fighter", and the name "The Warlock of Firetop Mountain" is hyper-iconic in my mind. Great that they're being made available again!

 

[Kannik]

As I'm working from home today, took a quick look on my shelves, and while I didn't find Freeway Fighter*, I did find this:

Not quite Firetop Mountain, but the world created for those books and used in the RPG that they spawned.

* And I didn't expect to; if I still do have the book it's likely in a more buried storage area.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Hahaha and ya'll thought they were two different people!

Has anyone ever seen Steve Jackson and Steve Jackson in the same room at the same time?