October roundup and November events

Hello all! 

Here is this months news round up and upcoming events. There is a lot going on in the gamebook world in the autumn/winter months.

Edit on 31/10/2021

Happy Halloween! I am pleased to announce that Rebel Planet: The Graphic Novel was funded on Kickstarter and also the Fabled Lands crpg will include Golnir (book 2) in November! You can get Fabled Lands here: Fabled Lands - Steam News Hub (steampowered.com)

Breaking news

Rebel Planet, the graphic novel has 10 hours left from publication of this post! It is funded, so if you back it, you will get your reward!

FIGHTING FANTASY: REBEL PLANET the graphic novel by Mark Lain — Kickstarter

New gamebooks

Choose Your Own Adventure

Chooseco released the following titles:

The Citadel of Whispers (Kazim Ali)

YOU are Krishi, a Whisperer studying ancient, secret magic at the Citadel. A secret visitor arrives late one night with news of the encroaching attack by the powerful Narbolin empire, who are poised to possess all of the kingdom of Elaria. Will the decisions you make protect the many wondrous people of this rich, fantastic world?

Time Travel Inn (Bart King)

Your adventurous Grandmother Dolores makes you and your family the unlikely stewards of her Time Travel Inn in rural Wisconsin. You move from Florida to Wisconsin with hopes of investigating more about the inn, and your grandmother's disappearance, but quickly learn the inn is an epicenter for time travel research gone awry.

Choice of Games

Choice of Games has released Vampire: The Masquerade: Parliament of Knives by Jeffrey Dean. Vampire: The Masquerade — Parliament of Knives on Steam (steampowered.com)

There are also new hosted games:

Two New Hosted Game! “Interstellar Airgap” by John Lance and “The Horror Behind the Walls” by Alex Ryan - Choice of Games LLC

New Hosted Game! “Rain King” by Marvin K - Choice of Games LLC

Phil Sadler - The Dark Domain

Phil Sadler has made a new book. The Dark Domain. 

The Dark Domain.docx - Google Docs

Nasa

NASA Releases Interactive Graphic Novel “First Woman” | NASA

Terror Unleashed

Terror Unleashed is volume 2 of the Unleashed anthology series, edited by Marie Lanza and MAtthew Hollis Damon. It features 20 stories by 20 authors, and the grand finale is a 100 section gamebook novella by our beloved Victoria Hancox, which is a prequel to her book Night Shift.

Amazon.com: Terror Unleashed: Volume 2 (Unleashed Anthology series) eBook : Press, Skywatcher , Damon, Matthew Hollis, Restucci, Richard, Davon, Claire , Harper, James, Clive, Richard, Hancox, Victoria, Saunders, CM, Lanza, Marie, Dubovec, Mark : Kindle Store

Trial of the Wolf Girls - free PDF

Trial of the Wolf Girls - Free Gamebook with Female Protagonist — Sersa Victory

Destiny Quest RPG

There is a development blog going on. The latest entry is about the starter adventure.

Josh Dev Diary #3: Writing the Starter Adventure • DestinyQuest RPG

Victoria Hancox

Victoria Hancox's fourth gamebook, Behind the Weeping Walls will be published at some point in November. Keep your eyes peeled (based on Victoria's usual material, that might literally happen to your character at some point).

James Schannep 

INFECTED was released as an interactive audiobook app through Cubus games with a graphical interface and narrated by the award-winning R.C. Bray on October 26th.

Samuel Isaacson

Samuel Isaacson is releasing 2 gamebooks in November.

You’re a Wizard! (paperback pre-order) – IsaacsonAuthor.com

You’re a Wizard! is aimed at children aged 6-10 and is an interactive story in which you, a schoolchild, go on an exciting adventure. It’s a 100-section gamebook filled with original illustrations, and is designed specifically for a younger audience

The Bradfell Conspiracy (paperback pre-order) | Facebook

An interactive mystery where the reader attempts to find a friend and solve a murder in an amusing yet annoying city without losing their life.

Don Bosco

Don Bosco is running a launch party for his new book Last Kid Running: Night of the Six Headed Robogator. It will be on November 14th at 4:30pm-5pm Singapore Time.

Super Cool Books: LAST KID RUNNING _____ See you at the Singapore Writers Festival 2021, where we'll be launching Night of the Six-Headed Robogator, the second title in this thrilling gamebook series

Lone Wolf definitive editions

The Definitive Edition series from Holmgard Press is the first time Joe Dever's epic 32-book saga has ever been produced in one consistent format. Available in deluxe collectable Hardback, and soon in portable & playable Paperback. Drawing on the best art from across the years, with text freshly edited and gameplay newly tweaked by dedicated Lone Wolf scholars at Scriptarium and Project Aon, and with new supplementary material compiled by authors August Hahn, Vincent Lazzari, and Ben Devere - the DEFINITIVE EDITION series is the authoritative lasting testament to the world of LONE WOLF. 📚 Preorder your books from October 31 🎃 at Magnamund.com

SIGN UP HERE FOR UPDATES http://eepurl.com/gvnseP

R. Malak

R. Malak has released Heroes and Legends book 2

Heroes and Legends the Complete Edition is a collection of all five episodes from Book 2. Included: Episode 1 The Road Ahead, Episode 2 King's Legion, Episode 3 Kingdom of Orkeylium, Episode 4 Unleash the Beast, and Episode 5 Lost Flame.The game is entirely text-based, like a novel, only YOU get to make the choices for the main character. If you enjoy immersive storytelling with simple, yet challenging game play, this is for you.

Heroes and Legends: Book 2 Complete Edition (Gregor's Adventures) - Kindle edition by Malak, R., Keller, Stefan. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Zines

Fighting Fantazine will be releasing a new issue before the end of November! This will be a welcome return after a 4 year hiatus.

The website is here: Fighting Fantazine

Podcasts

The Instadeath Survivors' Support Group has released an interview with Jamie Thompson. As of writing (23rd October), it was on Patreon only, but it will be released generally at a later time.

This is the last episode of season 1. Season 2 will be coming soon...

Welcome to Instadeath Survivors Support Group by Instadeath Survivors Support Group (anchor.fm)

Campaign on Dice is currently attempting Sorcery! part 3

Campaign On Dice – Podcast – Podtail

Fantastic Fights is currently working through Rebel Planet

Fantastic Fights — Haunted Phonograph

Solo boardgames and RPGs

Dune: House of Secrets

Dune: House of Secrets is out.

Dune: House Secrets is a cooperative story-driven game in which you join the resistance against House Harkonnen! Experiencing an original adventure inspired by the blockbuster film, you must complete a series of missions with limited time and resources.

Dune:House Secrets - Portal Games

Computer games and apps based on gamebooks

Fabled Lands crpg

This November, the Fabled Lands crpg will include Golnir (book 2!)

You can get it from Steam: Fabled Lands - Steam News Hub (steampowered.com)

Websites

There is a website called Fungamery, which, amongst other things, has gamebooks: Gamebooks (fungamery.com)

If interactive fiction and roguelikes are your thing, head on down to Emily Short's blog where she posts several great articles. She also does TWO monthly roundups.

Emily Short's Interactive Storytelling – Narrative in games and new media (emshort.blog)

Crowdfunding

Defenders 2: Elusive Elixir by Derick William Dalton — Kickstarter

Rebel Planet, the graphic novel has 10 hours left from publication of this post! It is funded, so if you back it, you will get your reward!

FIGHTING FANTASY: REBEL PLANET the graphic novel by Mark Lain — Kickstarter

Interactive fiction book group

November's gamebook is Dracula: Curse of the Vampire by Jonathan Green.

Interactive Fiction & Gamebooks Discussion Group (Book Club) | Facebook

Preorders for Marching Order Solo Gamebooks close on Monday!

 

Marching Order is a solo or cooperative dungeon crawling book set of greedy Rogues pilfering everything they can from monsters and each other. It comes with the Rogues Handbook, the Delvers Guide, and cards for your Rogues and Monsters.

Marching Order RPG (Softcover Print) – Crumbling Keep

Rebel Planet graphic novel Kickstarter ending soon!

Hi all! 

The Kickstarter for the Rebel Planet graphic novel by the awesome Mark Lain will be ending on October 30th at 8am BST.

As of writing, it had just under £2000 to raise, so head on over and give it a pledge!

FIGHTING FANTASY: REBEL PLANET the graphic novel by Mark Lain — Kickstarter

Bonus post - Destiny Quest RPG

Hello all!  

If you follow this blog, you have probably heard of Destiny Quest, the gamebook series where you wander an open world, battling monsters, gaining powers and taking part in epic stories.

Well, Michael J. Ward. has teamed up with various game designers and artists to make an RPG!

Josh Bixler, the lead designer, answers some questions on it.

What is the planned release date?

We are planning for a December 2022 release.  This is tentative.  Currently, the writing and rules are about 95% done and we will have completed art coming in soon. 

We will do a Kickstarter, hopefully, in the first half of 2022.  The Kickstarter will fund the physical copies of the book.  We will be bringing a virtually 100% complete product to the start of the Kickstarter campaign.  It will be fully written, have the art completed, and should be formatted and ready for printing.

 

Will it cover all the current books?  

Yes, the first four books will be covered in the Tabletop RPG, but the first four books are not even the beginning.  The World Compendium section written by Michael J. Ward will cover so much more than the current series.  He has contributed over 100 pages to DestinyQuest RPG, and his writing digs into the creation of the world, the major factions within Valeron, a world atlas, hero short stories, and he details over a thousand years of history.

What new material will be in it?  

Expanding on my earlier answer, readers will be able to delve into several short stories of the most powerful and renowned heroes and villains of DestinyQuest such as Eldias Falks and Avian Dale and will get to discover new heroes such as Maria Tremalaine.  Michael J. Ward hasn’t merely written a mediocre paragraph or two about these heroes but has written gripping stories that interweave an exciting tale with the character’s biography.

The lore setting is a key feature, and it is massive.  The aim of the game is to have campaigns set in the current timeframe of the gamebooks, but the world he has written is intricately detailed. It includes a timeline of the world and is sectioned off into various ages.  This will help Game Masters set their campaign in different time periods within DestinyQuest, so their RPG games don’t have to be tied to what is currently happening in the gamebooks.

The book will also have an atlas of the DestinyQuest world, complete with maps and descriptions of the major areas in the world. 

I have also written a short starter adventure for the game, so Game Masters will have something to use immediately for a campaign after purchasing the book.

 

Will it have the same system as the books? 

Yes, with caveats.  The core system is still the same: Armour, Speed, Magic, Brawn, different abilities, and plenty of loot that adds new abilities and increased attributes.  The differences lie in how the game has been adapted to multiplayer.  Teams of heroes will be able to face off against multiple monsters.  We are utilizing combat sectors or zones for movement, which incorporates ranged actions, as well as several kinds of support abilities that boost teammates and can cause all kinds of afflictions on monsters.  The base of the game is firmly rooted in the established DestinyQuest rules system, so even with the new additions, a DestinyQuest reader will be able to jump right in and have fun.

 

Will it have details of the creatures in the books?  

Yes, all the creatures in the book’s bestiary will have detailed lore.  I am writing the lore for every monster that will be featured in the game, and I am having a blast doing it.  The team has purposely selected what we feel are the most epic and fun monsters in the gamebooks to bring over to the core RPG book. 

I am a huge fan of the works of Hidetaka Miyazaki (Dark Souls, Bloodborne), and I have pulled some inspiration from his excellent monsters, especially when describing the legendary beasts.

 

What will the game system be like?  

When creating the game system, I established four pillars that the game had to adhere to:

                1) Simple to Play - Players can learn the rules and create a character within minutes.
                2) Easy to run – Gamemasters can have a campaign up and running in no time.
                3) Deep, Varied, Character Customization- The rules may be easy, but there are endless ways to customize your character.  Paths, Careers, Loot, and Abilities mean that everyone's character is        thoroughly unique.
                4) An MMO or Action RPG on Tabletop - Like playing the very best multiplayer action RPGs or       MMOs, but on your tabletop.

In addition to that, the gameplay runs very quickly.  The game does not reward you for hesitating on your turn or trying to cheese monsters with magic or ranged attacks.  If players try this, then the monsters get more aggressive, and the combat sectors can start shrinking.  I wanted to capture the fast-flowing feel of the DestinyQuest combat system present in the gamebooks and convert it to a multiplayer experience.  The end result thus far, is a game that feels very much like an action RPG.

 

What classes are there? 

DestinyQuest features 3 different paths: Warrior, Rogue, Mage.  Each path has three different character trees that players can progress down.  For instance, Warriors can progress on the Feral Tree, the Holy Tree, or the Arms Tree.   Within these character trees, there are a total of 61 careers that players can choose from. 

There are vastly different careers that players can select.  Some of the careers that can be picked are Lich, Pyromancer, Runecaster, Werebear, Efreet, Crusader, Chaplain, Poisoner, Venomancer, Gunslinger, and Witchfinder.

 When combined with all of the different attribute boosting and ability granting loot that can be discovered, players can build highly customizable heroes.

You can find out more about the Destiny Quest RPG on the website.

The Gamebook Authoring Tool

 Hi gamebookers!

Today, I want to mention the Gamebook Authoring Tool. It is a great help for writing gamebooks.

One of the problems with writing gamebooks is randomising the sections. Along with those problems are the problems of making sure each section links to the correct sections, that there are no "orphaned" sections (sections where there are no ways to get there) that you don't want and that any sections that are supposed to have certain numbers (like section 1, the last section or answers to puzzles) stay at the same number.

Well, the Gamebook Authoring Tool is able to do that. It lets you write the sections out and automatically creates them as you do them. It lets you colour code sections which I find useful, because I can colour code sections as complete, not complete and bad endings. It also does the shuffling, but also lets you keep whichever sections you like fixed and also lets you swap sections.

This is just a short description of what it can do.

There is a free version of the Gamebook Authoring Tool that allows you to write a gamebook up to 100 sections long and convert it to rich text format. Daniel did this to let people enter the Windhammer Competition for free. And since I made the Lindenbaum competition as essentially Windhammer 2.0, it is perfect for that as well!

fightingfantasy.net

 Hi everyone!

I'd like to show you FightingFantasy.net today.

FightingFantasy.net is an awesome website where you can play gamebooks (and not just Fighting Fantasy ones) online. It was created by Jason Archer aka Beeblbrox.

Jason has created an awesome code that allows you to play books online and also create your own online gamebooks with hyperlinks and either save them as webpages or as hyperlinked pdfs. You can do this from a Rich Text file. 

There is also a Facebook group and a blog by Matt Ward.

It is an awesome website which I plan to use to convert the entries to the Lindenbaum competition into hyperlinked pdfs and websites.

Jason has done all of this for free for years, so any donations to him would be very welcome!

So go over, play the gamebooks and create your own!

A (not so) brief history of the Windhammer prize

 Hi all! 

Hopefully, you know that last week, I announced the Lindenbaum prize for short gamebook fiction. 

What some of you may not know (which is what I found out when chatting with some gamebook people on International Gamebook Day) is that the competition is basically just a continuation of a gamebook competition that ran from 2008-2015 called the Windhammer Prize. This article is about the Windhammer Prize's history. In researching this article, I realised that Andrew Wright had a similar idea in 2011, where he wrote "A Brief History of the Windhammer Prize", so this is the not so brief version.

The Windhammer prize was for writing an adventure of up to 100 sections. A few rules were added over the years - a word count limit of 25000 words (that might have been after my entry Rulers of the NOW), pictures being allowed if they are maps or parts of puzzles being the two main ones.

In 2012, The Gamebook Authoring Tool came to the scene. It has a free version that allows you to create a gamebook of up to 100 sections (perfect for Windhammer) and Daniel, the creator posted reviews of the entries on the blog.

The prize started when gamebooks just started to have a resurgence online. Before then, I couldn't find many websites related to gamebooks (www.ffproject.com was the main one).

I loved it, because as well as having the chance to win a prize, you could read gamebooks by other people and get to know who was into gamebooks at the time.

Why did it end?

Here is a quote from the competition page:

"From 2016 however, it became apparent that the possibilities for commercial gamebook publication had evolved considerably. New media opportunities including gamebook application development and more accessible self-publishing options allowed authors to find much wider audiences for their work than had been previously available. A consequence of that evolution was smaller numbers of authors coming forward to participate in the competition.

In 2016 the Windhammer Prize closed. What you can find here are all the preceding years' competition guidelines, entry lists and winning submissions, and an archive of all entries participating over those eight years. Please download whatever you wish from the archive. It is a collection of extraordinary talent and a wonderful exposition of how gamebook fiction can relate to a wide range of different genres and subject matter. What follows on this page is the final set of competition guidelines for the 2016 year including an outline of the benefits to authors of participation. May Glory and Renown follow all who entered."

Why do a similar competition now?

The reasoning in 2016 made sense. Kickstarter and self publishing was taking off. You didn't need a competition to reach and audience. The reasoning still applies today, so why am I doing it. A few reasons:

1) New fans. The seed of the idea was planted during the International Gamebook Day weekend, when, on a group call with others, I mentioned Windhammer and most of the gamebook fans hadn't heard of it. This means that we have either picked up new fans or had fans return since 2016. They might appreciate a competition.

2) Nostalgia. I've been getting a bit more nostalgic in the last year, which was probably exacerbated by Covid. A lot of the stuff I liked from the 10s is gone, but this is something I decided to bring back.

3) Time. I had no time during lockdown as I was both working and teaching my children. When I got more time, I decided to spend more of it one something I loved and this is one of those things.

To be honest, I have no idea how many entrants I have. It could be 0. It could be 20. Whatever happens, I wanted to find out.

Where are they now?

Here is a list of what some of the entrants did after their Windhammer entries. I searched everyone on Google and I have listed the people who are still up to stuff. If anyone has any other updates, please let me know.

I do not know about everyone and I might have forgotten some people, so please let me know if someone is missing.

I'd like to point out that some of these people drew attention to themselves via Windhammer and went onto bigger things because of that. The gamebook writers of the 1980s and 1990s also pay attention to the competition.

Tammy Badowski

Tammy has written a trilogy of gamebooks called the Grekgun series.

She also has gamebooks on FightingFantasy.net T M Badowski | Fighting Fantasy .Net

She also has several books on www.ffproject.com (scroll down or do CTRL-F to find her name).

Felicity Banks

Felicity has written a lot of Interactive Fiction, including the Choices games for Tin Man Games and many more that you can find here: Search for Games (ifdb.org)

Felicity has also written many novels. Check them out!

Zachary Carango

Zachary has several books on www.ffproject.com (scroll down or do CTRL-F to find his name).

Jake Care

The entrant with the shortest gamebook entry ever started a blog for a bit, about really short gamebooks, but stopped (ironically, his last post is about the biggest gamebook ever). Jake Care's Gamebooks (jakecaregamebooks.blogspot.com)

Simon Christopher Chapman

Simon wrote Golem Gauntlet, which is on www.ffprojet.com: Fighting Fantasy Project - Gamebooks by Simon Christopher Chapman (ffproject.com)

Kieran Coghlan

Kieran has several books on www.ffproject.com (scroll down or do CTRL-F to find his name).

Jac Colvin

Jac has a website of several interactive fiction works: JACIC GAMEBOOKS - Home (weebly.com)

Ivailo Daskalov

Ivailo has made several gamebook apps here: xsgamebooks and also wrote the Choice of Games book AI - Aftermath - New Hosted Game! AI — Aftermath by Ivailo Daskalov - Choice of Games LLC

Robert Douglas

Robert has several books on www.ffproject.com (scroll down or do CTRL-F to find his name).

Andrew Drage

Andrew Drage wrote the awesome Infinite Universe for Tin Man Games. He did lots of other work for Tin Man Games including designing Sultans of Rema with Gaetano Abbondanza. He has also written novels: The Calling, The Dark Horde and Evermore.

He is currently working on a heavy metal concept album also called The Dark Horde.

Ramsay Duff

Ramsay has several books on www.ffproject.com (scroll down or do CTRL-F to find his name).

Paul Gresty

Paul went on to complete Fabled Lands 7 and also writes for Choice of Games. One of his games is The Orpheus Ruse. The ORPHEUS Ruse (choiceofgames.com)

Per Jorner

Per Jorner was very active on the old gamebook Yahoo groups where he wrote funny and scathing reviews. His Coils of Hate review was very helpful for me when I wrote the reboot. I'm not sure what happened to him after Yahoo Groups closed.

Stuart Lloyd

No idea what he's up to these days.

Ashton MacSaylor

Ashton went on the write The Good, the Bad and the Undead with Jamie Thompson.

He also went on to write for the game Dwarf King with Micabyte.

He has done several other works.

Ashton has co-created Story Tables which uses RPGs to do teambuilding.

Stefano Ronchi

Stefano has recently released a gamebook: How the Spider Ate the Moon: A Gamebook Struggle eBook : Ronchi, Stefano, Ronchi, Elisa, Constantine, Francis: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Phil Sadler

Phil Sadler has created many awesome Fighting Fantasy fan works which you can get for free at www.ffproject.com (scroll down or do CTRL-F to find his name).

In fact, Phil recently released another gamebook called The Dark Domain. You can get it here for free!

Al Sander

Al Sander also has gamebooks on www.ffproject.com (scroll down or do CTRL-F to find his name).

Paul Struth

Paul Struth wrote the Dervish Stone for Warlock Magazine 4. He also published The Queen of Shades for Fighting Fantazine 7.

David Walters

Gamebook-wise, David Walters went on to work with Mark Smith and Jamie Thompson to complete the Way of the Tiger saga with the seventh book, Redeemer!. Finally, Avenger got out of that web. David also made a prequel called Ninja!

David has also written several novels with samurai and ninja in them.

Alec Worley

Alec doesn't seem to have any more gamebooks, but he has a website: ALEC WORLEY / COMICS, FICTION, AUDIO - Alec Worley: Portfolio Homepage

Andrew Wright

Andrew wrote Catacombs of the Undercity for Tin Man Games which is available on several formats.

He then went on to write several books for Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2nd edition including Return to the Pit, Beyond the Pit, A Rough Guide to the Pit and The Titan Herbal. Hmmm. One of those is a bit different. I think he is currently working on a magical item book for AFF2.

Funnily enough, Andrew also wrote a blog post called "A brief history of the Windhammer Prize" back in 2011, making my entry a not so brief history, I guess.

Lindenbaum prize for short gamebook fiction announcement

 Hello all! I'm really excited to announce the Lindenbaum award for short gamebook fiction.

The award is inspired by the Windhammer competition which ran from 2008-2015. I loved entering my books, seeing other books, voting and getting feedback. To be fair, I loved every aspect of it.

So, when it was discontinued, it left a hole. Between 2016 and now, I was very busy. However, I have a bit more time now and I was also shocked when I was on an online gamebook meetup to learn that almost no one there had heard of the Windhammer competition.

If you look at the list of Windhammer entrants, you will see a few familiar names. This is basically what kickstarted a lot of careers for the new gamebook writing crew.

I would love for that to continue with the new fans we have picked up along the way so that they can have a gateway into the gamebook community. I found the chance to meet new people and get lots of expert feedback invaluable.

So, without further ado, here are the details for the Lindenbaum competition:

Entry requirements for the 2021/2022 Lindenbaum competition

All entries must be in English.

All entries must be original works incorporating unique characters and world settings. This can include real world settings, people and events as long as they aren't the property of someone.

All entries must be previously unpublished works.

All entrants must state clearly on the first page of their entries that they are the authors of the work submitted.

All entries must be provided in rich text format (rtf) and sent as an email attachment to lindenbaumprize@gmail.com.

All character or status sheets provided with entries must be presented in a simple layout that does not include complex table formats.

All entries must be spell-checked and thoroughly tested prior to submission.

The total length of the entry does not exceed 100 sections and a word count of 25,000 words.

Illustrations will not be accepted as a part of an entry except in two specific circumstances. 

Exception 1: Maps that are integral to navigation within the gamebook.

Exception 2: Graphics necessary as a part of puzzles or clues integral to the entry's narrative.

Graphics provided for these purposes must be in either BMP or JPG format and be included as a part of the RTF entry forwarded. 

Graphics purely of an illustrative nature will not be accepted.

The entry may either be a complete stand-alone story or a self-contained excerpt from a larger gamebook adventure of your own creation.

The entry can be of any genre except erotica.

There is no entry fee.

All rights remain with the author and the author can withdraw their entry at any time during the course of the competition.

An entrant can submit one entry only.

All participants must have a valid PayPal account at the time of submission. For reasons given below you must have a valid PayPal account if you wish to receive a cash prize. Account information is not required by the organisers of this competition unless you are one of the winning entrants. Only at the time of winning a prize will you be asked for your PayPal details.

Competition deadlines for 2021/2022

3rd October 2021: Competition guidelines released

1st December 2021: Entry submissions begin

1st February 2022: Entry submissions close.

8th February 2022: Voting begins.*

22nd March 2022: Voting closes.*

31st March 2022: Winners announced.*

* If there are more than 14 entries, these dates will be extended.

Voting

The prize is awarded to the entrant who receives the greatest number of reader votes. This prize relies on votes provided by readers who have read enough of the entries to make a considered choice as to the relative merits of the gamebooks submitted. It is expected by the sponsor of this competition that votes will be provided on this basis. For 2021/2022 the voting system applies as follows:

A valid vote must be forwarded by email to lindenbaumprize@gmail.com. A valid vote must nominate the three gamebooks most favoured by the voter from the competition entrants. A vote with less than three nominations cannot be accepted. A vote forwarded with more than three nominations will only have the first three accounted for in the voting tabulation.

Only one voter email is allowed per reader. All votes will be checked for duplication of email addresses.

Feedback to the authors may be forwarded to the competition sponsors at lindenbaumprize@gmail.com. All feedback given will be provided to authors at the end of competition as a part of the email notification of results.

Prizes

Winning entrant

A cash prize of £100 GBP (Great British Pounds) to be paid within 48 hours into a PayPal account of the winner's choosing. If you do not have access to a valid PayPal account the cash prize cannot be paid.

A desktop licence to the Gamebook Authoring Tool which lasts for 1 year.

A First Prize certificate memorialising their success in the competition.

Merit awards

Two entries are chosen for Merit awards. These entrants receive:

A cash prize of £30 GBP (Great British Pounds) to be paid within 48 hours into a PayPal account of the Merit Award winner's choosing.

A desktop licence to the Gamebook Authoring Tool which lasts for 1 year.

A Merit Award certificate memorialising their success in the competition,

Commendation awards

If there are 10 or more entries, there will be 3 commendation awards. The entrants receive:

A Commendation Certificate memorialising their success in the competition.

Gamebook writing help

If you haven't written a gamebook before, you might think that arranging and randomising the sections might be a problem. However, there are now good gaembook writing programs out there. One is The Gamebook Authoring Tool, which has a free version specifically designed to write a 100 section gamebook and export it to Rich Text Format. You can try it here: About The GameBook Authoring Tool – Crumbly Head Games

Crowdfunding going on right now

Hello all! I would normally put these crowdfunding campaigns in my monthly roundup, but by the time the next one comes around, these campaigns will be over, so I'm mentioning them now.

Rebel Planet - the graphic novel

This classic sci fi Fighting Fantasy gamebook (some might say the best sci fi Fighting Fantasy gamebook) is getting a graphic novel!

FIGHTING FANTASY: REBEL PLANET the graphic novel by Mark Lain — Kickstarter

Malivor: Cataclysm's Edge

This is the third book in the Savage Realms gamebook series by Troy Anthony Schermer. Here is the synopsis:

Tasked with finding a lost family heirloom, you unwittingly stumble upon an ancient evil whose malevolent plot could very well bring about the complete and utter destruction of your world...

Malivor: Cataclysm's Edge | Indiegogo

Also, tune in tomorrow for a big announcement!