Fantasy Game Book Review by Paul Savoir
Jonathan Green is a great writer! I recently read his ACE gamebook 'Alice’s Nightmare in Wonderland' that was published 2015 I certainly had enough curiosity to read it and I was so glad I did! All you need to play this game are 2 dice and pencil and paper. A pack of 52 playing cards is an optional extra. Several years after the events of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Alice finds herself back in Wonderland. The quest is to save the world of playing cards and talking animals! All wonderland is threatened by the queen of hearts! I as the reader decided which route Alice should take, which perils to risk, and which of Wonderland’s strange denizens to fight or befriend. So my choices as reader decided her success or failure! What a great way to read a book, so much more enjoyable as a game than an ordinary novel.
Through decision making and chance, as dictated by a roll of the dice, the reader drives the narrative onwards, battling a host of weird creatures along the way.
The book has 400 pages, but 520 book sectors so this is like getting 2 fighting fantasy books for the price of 1. This ACE gamebook has character stats of endurance, logic, agility, combat and insanity so it makes the game interesting especially for adult players. Combat is easy enough, very similar to fighting fantasy.
It is a lot of fun and could be enjoyed by children and adults alike. There are mild horrific elements although these are not scarier than anything i watched on tv when i was age 13!
I really like Jonathan Greens style of writing and I love the art work. It’s not just dice rolls either, there are puzzles to be solved.
I am not going to judge the book for its difficulty as different players and different routes and choices effect how easy or difficult it is and players could cheat or homebrew modify the game to alter its difficulty and replayability.
To any gamebook collector this book is a must-have! To anybody interested in exploring gamebooks I would advice anybody to read this book. It is well worth it!
Its genre: fantasy, horror,alittle bit scifi or steampunk, choose your own adventure, gaming book.
Available as pdf or paperback, maybe hardback as well?
Also there is a special illustrated deck of cards and colouring book that is for sale as well to add to the playing experience.
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