Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks Coming to America via Steve Jackson Games

The classic adventure gamebooks return to US shelves after over 20 years

Screenshot 2024-10-17 at 20-32-37 Steve Jackson Games announcement fightingfantasy.png

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.

The_Warlock_of_Firetop_Mountain_(first_edition).jpg

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.
 

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Darryl Mott

Darryl Mott


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jolt

Adventurer
I would expect the art to be completely different. Art licensing is tricky and not very permissive. That's why reissues and remasters of both books and games almost always go with new art. Frequently, they have no choice.
 


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:

View attachment 383056
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.
I love this book, a really cool setting book to my mind that opens up lots of possibilities.
 



Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero
"The Tenebrous Forest" (or "The Tenebrous Wood") is actually a much more evocative title than "Forest of Doom" which is almost a self-parody.
The book names are their weakest points, which is strange, because the actual settings (like the four interconnected Sorcery books) have some deeply weird and evocative names and descriptions.
 




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