Results announcement to the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum competition

I am pleased to announce that the winner of the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize for short gamebook fiction is Niall Turner with Phoenix.

Merit awards go to Thomas Betsworth with Milly and Joe Cheal with the Endless Asylum.

Commendation awards go to Jeremy Johnson with Awakening Aboard the Anastasia, David Donachie with Escape from the Tower of the Stars, Paul Partington with Ghost in the Shadows, Andrew Greene with Hollywood Noir and Sean Loftiss with The Horn of Blaat. This is due to a tie between three books.

I would like to thank everybody who participated, the authors and those dedicated readers who took the time to evaluate all the entries, and also a further thanks to those readers who provided feedback and comment to the authors.

If you intend to write feedback in a public place, please email me the address and I will link to it.

It is no small thing to as entrants to write original gamebooks. To write a gamebook (even one that must be limited to 100 sections) requires considerable time and creative effort. It is the type of writing project that can take months to accomplish and I appreciate greatly the work done by all the authors who entered this year's competition.

Many thanks for helping make this year's competition such an excellent competition with a wide variety of gamebook genres and styles. This was the second year I ran the competition and you continued to help me make it as brilliant as it was.

I would also like to extend thanks to Peter Agapov who sponsored the competition, Tammy Badowski who donated her time and talent to the competition and Crumbly Head Games who has donated free subscriptions to GBAT for the top 3 entrants.

The entries can be found here: Lloyd of Gamebooks: Voting is now open for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize!

Voting closed for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum competition

 Hello all!

Voting has closed for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum competition.

This year's competition has been very exciting with many high quality entries.

If you would like to leave feedback to any of the entrants, you may do so by emailing lindenbaumprize@gmail.com.

The results will be announced on the 30th April 2023.

2 days left to vote!

  Hello all!

This is just a quick reminder that the Lindenbaum entries are out  

The voting period lasts until 11:59:59pm (GMT) on April 18th 2023.

In order to vote, you need to email your 3 choices to Lindenbaumprize@gmail.com.

Enjoy!

Voting for Lindenbaum!

 Hello all!

This is just a quick reminder that the Lindenbaum entries are out  

The voting period lasts until 11:59:59pm (GMT) on April 18th 2023.

In order to vote, you need to email your 3 choices to Lindenbaumprize@gmail.com.

Enjoy!

Update to the gamebook reading list

Hello all! Back in 2017, I collected a list of blog posts that would help any gamebook writer to improve their trade and published them. 

Dave Morris tweeted about it which reminded me about it, so I decided to ask people if there were any updates in the last 6 years. Someone reminded me that Victoria Hancox had been writing since I wrote the post and now and that she had also made many blog posts about writing gamebooks. So here is Victoria Hancox's posts. 

In future, I will make the list an annual event. I will release it at the beginning of September so that future Lindenbaum entrants can read it to help them with their entries.

Enjoy!

(also, read the Lindenbaum entries and vote for them)

Victoria Hancox

Choose Your Own Writing Strategy - Tip #1 (victoriahancox.com)

Choose Your Own Writing Strategy - Tip #2 (victoriahancox.com)

Marketing Your Gamebook: Insider Tips (victoriahancox.com)

Choose Your Own Writing Strategy - Tip #3 (victoriahancox.com)

Choose Your Own Writing Strategy Tip #4 (victoriahancox.com)

Choose Your Own Writing Strategy - Tip #5 (victoriahancox.com)

What's that they say about old dogs and new tricks? (victoriahancox.com)

Behind the Scenes on the NIGHTSHIFT (victoriahancox.com)

Choosing the right route? Interactive fiction vs gamebooks The Wandering - a (kind of) review. (victoriahancox.com)

Paulson’s Peak — A Masterclass in Gamebook Writing! (victoriahancox.com)

Choose Your Own Writing Strategy Tip #6: Putting It All Together AKA Where Do I Even Start? (victoriahancox.com)

Adam C. Mitchell

All About Newsletters (victoriahancox.com)

February news and upcoming March news

 Hello all! I'm sorry the news is late again. Here are some of the latest things going on:

Lindenbaum

The competition is going with 13 entries! Vote for your 3 favourite books. Closing date is 18th April 11:59:59pm GMT.

Lloyd of Gamebooks: Voting is now open for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize!

New releases

Computer games

Colossal Cave on Steam

Colossal Cave is one of the first interactive fiction games and I used to love trying to work out what was in the author's head. It is now on Steam with graphics.

Colossal Cave on Steam (steampowered.com)

Deathtrap Dungeon

Deathtrap Dungeon is coming to Switch!

Deathtrap Dungeon: The Interactive Video Adventure heading to Switch (nintendoeverything.com)

Crowdfunding

Destiny's Role: Dimensions 1

Mark Lain has taken his old school style gamebooks into sci-fi territory. The Kickstarter is running and is already funded.

DIMENSIONS 1 is the first gamebook in the new science fiction spin-off series from DESTINY'S ROLE adventure gamebooks. 

The book will feature a colour cover by Krystyna Nowek (who recently created the colour cover for the Scorpio Falls add-on module which was an exclusive to the Destiny's Role #4: Kaleidoscope Frenzy Kickstarter campaign and you can see more of her work HERE) and 20 black and white internal illustrations by Nick Spender (Fighting Fantasy #15: The Rings of Kether, Destiny's Role #3: Red Monsoon, Destiny's Role #4: Kaleidoscope Frenzy).

Destiny's Role: Dimensions 1 by Mark Lain — Kickstarter

Dungeon of Whatever

This one isn't out yet, but you can get notified.

A Gamebook of Unheard-Of DUNGEON CRAWLING MAYHEM intended for young readers of age 6+

Tales From Ane Moni: THE DUNGEON OF WHATEVER by Panagiotis Vlamis — Kickstarter

The Millenium Bomb

This is an interactive comic by Ricky Lima. It is already funded. 9 days to go!

 The Millennium Bomb is a graphic novel that I developed between 2019 and 2021. It's about a group of bodiless Millennials who find themselves stuck inside an art gallery after the world has ended. The art gallery is monitored by an A.I. called the Multi-Operational Mega Intelligence or M.O.M.I. for short. As the Millennials learn more about the gallery and how they got there it becomes clear that they must get out any way they can! 

The Millennium Bomb Gamebook by Ricky Lima — Kickstarter

Talamander Fantasy gamebook magazine issue 1

This is a kickstarter for a gamebook zine. It is already funded.

Fighting Fantasy green spines, Steve Jackson's Sorcery, Grailquest and The Way of the Tiger. That's where it all started for me back in the '80s.

I've always loved gamebooks and I've always wanted to write one, but the years ticked by and I never quite got around to it. Instead I published many fantasy small press comics and of course the terror and fantasy trumps, right here on Kickstarter with Rik and Chatri.

It was the Fantasy Trumps set that really convinced me to go for it. I've had ideas for an ongoing gamebook series for such a long time and I finally realised if I wanted to do it, I should just do it!

Talamander Fantasy gamebook magazine issue 1 by Tim Brown — Kickstarter

@MongoosePublishingLtd Shield Maidens - First look at the books for the new Cyberpunk Viking RPG - YouTube

Social

Dragon Warriors meet up

Simon Barns of Red Ruin publishing is planning a meet up in the summer for Dragon Warriors fans. If you would like to join in, fill in the survey below.

https://forms.gle/BBMHGVZoTaooY81B6

Blogs

Here is another playthrough blog I have recently discovered.

ALL THINGS FIGHTING FANTASTICAL : 2023

Podcasts

Fantastic flights has covered a couple of Transformers books and Sky Lord.

Fantastic Fights — Haunted Phonograph

Voting is now open for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize!

 Hello all! 

I am pleased to announce that you can download the 12 Lindenbaum entries from the link below. Enjoy!

Lloyd of Gamebooks: Voting is now open for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize!