Happy Birthday, Ian Livingstone!

Ian Livingstone was born in Prestbury, Cheshire, on 29th December, 1949, and grew up in a Coronation Street-style terraced house in Rusholme, before his family moved to Altrincham in 1960.

70 years later, he is a Bafta award-winning, Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and with Steve Jackson is co-founder of Games Workshop and co-creator of the Fighting Fantasy series of interactive adventure gamebooks.

Happy Birthday, Ian, and may your STAMINA never fail!

What have been your Fighting Fantasy highlights of 2019?

As another year draws to a close on your Earthly Plane, it is traditionally a time for reflection. So what have been the highlights of your Fighting Fantasy year?

Was it Fighting Fantasy Fest 3, or The Forester of Doom Beer-o? Perhaps it was seeing the Fighting Fantasy Legends range released at long last by Atlantis Miniatures, or seeing Fighting Fantasy on BBC Click. Was it attending a performance of House of Hell LIVE, or meeting Steve Jackson or Ian Livingstone at an event? Perhaps it was seeing more Advanced Fighting Fantasy supplements released by Arion Games, or the publication of Ian Livingstone's new gamebook, Assassins of Allansia. Or was it the Deathtrap Dungeon Trilogy becoming available on Nintendo Switch? Perhaps some of the aforementioned Fighting Fantasy delights are awaiting you underneath your Christmas tree.

But if you think 2019 was a bumper year for FF releases, there's plenty to look forward to in 2020 too! The delivery of Atlantis Miniatures' Fighting Fantasy Legends Kickstarter. Board games from companies like PSC Games. Branching Narrative's own take on Deathtrap Dungeon. More releases for Advanced Fighting Fantasy and, who knows, maybe more gamebooks...

Deathtrap Dungeon is the gift that keeps on giving, and after the success of House of Hell LIVE at Fighting Fantasy Fest 3, The Storymaster's Tales are bringing Deathtrap Dungeon LIVE to the UK Games Expo in the summer.

All that there remains for me to do is to wish you a Merry Christmas and here's to a fantastic Fighting Fantasy New Year!

The Warlock

Win all 15 of Scholastic's Fighting Fantasy gamebooks!

Thanks to the children's book charity Booktrust, you (or your child) has the chance to win a set of all 15 of the Scholastic Fighting Fantasy gamebooks currently in print.

To enter the competition, simply follow this link. But don't delay - you only have until 11:00pm GMT on Tuesday 17th December to do so!

Assassins of Allansia Adventure Sheet

Many of you are doubtlessly already enjoying Ian Livingstone's Assassins of Allansia, but some of you may be hoping to received the limited hardback for Christmas. If you are fortunate enough to receive one, the last thing you are going to want to do is to write in your precious book, in which case you are going to want to download this spare Adventure Sheet instead.

Click on the Adventure Sheet to enlarge and download it.

What do you get the adventurer who has everything?

On the Earthly Plane, the festive season has arrived and the passing days are creeping ever closer to the Feast of the Nativity. Doubtless your mind has turned to the buying and receiving of gifts, but what can you give the Fighting Fantasy fan in your life this Christmas?

How about Nomad Games' Deathtrap Dungeon Trilogy on Switch?

Or how about one of the new Fighting Fantasy releases from Scholastic Books, including Ian Livingstone's new gamebook, Assassins of Allansia?

What about a late pledge to Dice Men, the history of the first ten years of Games Workshop, the company co-founded by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, ready for next Christmas?

Or maybe a copy of Jonathan Green's history of the FF phenomenon, YOU ARE THE HERO?

     

But if you really want to give your favourite FF adventurer a truly unique gift, and support a worthy charity in the process, you could bid to win The Ian Livingstone CBE experience of Deathtrap Dungeon.

You (or another FF fan) could get to play the new video game of Deathtrap Dungeon between 4.30pm and 6.30pm on 30th January 2020 with Ian Livingstone CBE.

This is the version of the game being developed by Branching Narrative, and stars British actor Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan, Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs and Shaw, Deadpool 2), who will act as the narrator in the game and guide in a high-quality interactive video production that faithfully recreates the beloved fantasy book.

Branching Narrative’s Deathtrap Dungeon will be delivered as a video stream that prompts the user to make choices and direct the flow, and should offer enhanced gameplay over other ‘interactive movie’ type games, fully utilising the mechanics from the book.

Please note, if the person playing the game is under 18, they will need to be accompanied by an adult (someone over 18) to take part in The Ian Livingstone CBE experience of Deathtrap Dungeon.

But don't delay, there isn't much time left...