International Talk Like A Pirate Day

Arrr! Avast, me hearties, it be International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

There be a fair few Fighting Fantasy adventures that features pirates, including City of Thieves, Seas of Blood, Demons of the Deep, The Keep of the Lich-Lord, and Bloodbones, of course, but which be your favourite villainous rapscallion of the high seas?

The Art Competition of Firetop Mountain

Over a week ago, Fighting Fantasy fans from all over the world met a host of FF artists at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2. Some of them were even inspired to bring along their own pieces of artwork.

If you are planning on entering our Fighting Fantasy art competition, you have until this Friday to do so.

All you need to do is re-imagine one of the classic monsters that appears within the pages of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Will it be the Minotaur, the Dragon, or the Iron Cyclops that you re-design? Perhaps it will be the Vampire, the Sandworm, or the Giant Spider. Any creature is fair game, as long as it is encountered somewhere within The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

You can draw it in pencil or pen, as the original illustrations were produced, or you can paint it, or produce the image digitally. However, your picture must be submitted in the form of a .jpeg via email to mail@fightingfantasy.com by Friday 15th September, and the winners of the competition will be notified by Saturday 30th September*.

Every winning entry will receive a Steam key to download a free copy of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, courtesy of Tin Man Games, who have recently released the first DLC for the game - Goblin Scourge!

So don't delay - get drawing today!

* Terms and conditions
Copyright in the image remains with you (although any characters, locations or logos from the Fighting Fantasy series remain the copyright of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone), but www.fightingfantasy.com reserves the right to reproduce the image however we like and how often. There will be no fee paid and you give us permission for www.fightingfantasy.com to use your image regardless of whether you win the competition or not. No correspondence will be entered into regarding any entries and if you have not heard from us by Saturday 30th September then you must assume your entry is not among the winners.

Ian Livingstone at Storysmash in Nottingham today!

A master of fantasy writing and a titan of the gaming industry, Ian Livingstone CBE is probably still best known for co-creating the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks series, as well as being one of the co-founders of Games Workshop.

Ian will be at Storysmash in Nottingham, today, at 3:00pm, to talk about writing for games and gamebooks. If you are in the area, and especially if you weren't able to make it to Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 last weekend, don't miss this opportunity to meet one of the most significant figures in the games industry. Ian will talk about the challenges, how he approaches writing a new project, and how aspiring writers can begin thinking about their own future of game writing. The session will include an interactive session to get everyone writing.

Ian will also be signing copies of his brand new Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Port of Peril, which will be available to purchase at the event.

This will be a great event for children 11+ and adults. Tickets are available from Eventbrite, or you can pay by cash in person at Nottingham Central Library.

Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 - Return to the Convention of Firetop Mountain!

A week ago, a weekend of celebrations to mark the 35th anniversary of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks kicked off with the world's first Fighting Fantasy pub quiz. Seven teams endured their own Trial of Champions, working their way through eight rounds to see who knew the most FF lore.

One of the highlights of the evening was a raffle, to help raise funds for men's health charity Prostate Cancer UK, with Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone donating some very special prizes, including a framed mint condition copy of Warlock Magazine #1.

In the end, '50 Shades of Throm' battled their way to victory, and were awarded with certificates and bottles of Cloud Ale by Mr Steve Jackson himself.

Steve Jackson with the winners of the FF Pub Quiz, '50 Shades of Throm'.

Attendees of the world's first Fighting Fantasy pub quiz.

Then, on Saturday, it was time for the main event itself. At 9:00am the doors opened on Fighting Fantasy Fest 2, and adventurers from both near and far - some having travelled from such far flung locations as North America, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand - were treated to a day of talks, Q&As, trading, adventuring and socialising, as well as the opportunity to meet their childhood heroes - the authors and artists behind the best-selling Fighting Fantasy series!

The marathon signing session undertaken by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone at the Scholastic Books stand lasted two and a half hours!

Highlights of the day included Nomad Games' showcase of Fighting Fantasy Legends, the premier of the audio drama The Warlock of Firetop Mountain: The Hero's Quest, one-time FF consultant editor Marc Gascoigne talking about his contributions to the world of Titan, the announcement that Charlie Higson will be writing a brand new Fighting Fantasy gamebook, entitled The Gates of Death, and an energetic talk by Iain McCaig, who had flown in especially for the occasion, which had fans enthralled.

Marc Gascoigne in conversation with Jonathan Green.

Charlie Higson talks about his new books, The Gates of Death.

Iain McCaig entertains the masses.

At the end of the day, before turning to 400, eager adventurers had the chance to see how Steve Jackson fared against his own creation, when Jon Ingold of inkle studios guided him, and award-winning film director Martin Gooch, through Steve Jackson's Sorcery!

The following day, a group of hard-bitten veterans, who had backed the YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 Kickstarter at The Black Tower level or above, were joined for lunch by Steve Jackson, Ian Livingstone, and Jonathan Green (the book's author). And then, it was time, at last, for venture former on new adventures, as yet untold...

From the posts that have appeared online since last weekend, it would seem that everyone had a fantastic time, which we are delighted to hear, and it looks like we're going to need to put a date in the diary for Fighting Fantasy Fest 3!

You can see more photos from the weekend here. Please feel free to tag yourself in any pictures and share your own photos of the event.