40 years of Trial of Champions

When Deathtrap Dungeon became a publishing phenomenon, it cannot be over-exaggerated how high anticipation was for a sequel when Sir Ian Livingstone's Trial of Champions was published just two years later in 1986.

Number 21 in the original Puffin series, Trial of Champions wasn’t a direct sequel, but is set a year after the hero of Deathtrap Dungeon has beaten Baron Sukumvit’s deadly labyrinth for the first time.

All the familiar Deathtrap Dungeon tropes are there to be enjoyed, including a host of deadly monster encounters and lethal traps, as well as the other competitors who are encountered as the hero takes ‘The Walk’ through the dungeon - not to mention the massive cash prize for anyone who actually makes it through to the other end alive.

However, the story adds an element of sibling rivalry to the tale, with the hero having been taken captive by the Baron’s jealous brother Lord Carnuss and sent to Fang specifically to beat the dungeon and shame Sukumvit.

Author and creator of the Illmoor Chronicles, David Lee Stone, cites Trial of Champions as being one of his favourite gamebooks:

“House of Hell or Trial of Champions: both are absolutely brilliant fun, and classic examples of two authors completely focused on creating an atmosphere for the games they’re constructing. I couldn’t choose between them.”

Trial of Champions was the only time Brian Williams illustrated an FF gamebook, providing the striking cover art as well as the internal black and white illustrations (although he also illustrated The Riddling Reaver, published the same year). His clean line art and representations of the human form were exquisite.

Sadly, Williams passed away unexpectedly at his home in October 2010.

While not currently in print, adventurers can still tackle Baron Sukumvit's updated dungeon via Tin Man Games' Fighting Fantasy Classsics app.

Of course, Trial of Champions received its own sequel, of sorts, when The Dungeon on Blood Island was published in 2024, to coincide with Fighting Fantasy Fest 5.

Sir Ian Livingstone has written another new gamebook, this time to coincide with Fighting Fantasy Fest 6.

Tomb of the Golden Skull will launch at the event, on Saturday 5th September 2026, so make sure you've reserved your place at FFF6.

Return to Firetop Mountain with Fighting Fantasy Classics!

Zagor lives! Dare YOU return to Firetop Mountain?

Ten years have passed since the evil Warlock of Firetop Mountain was defeated. His treasure was plundered. His reign of terror was ended. His name became a warning whispered across Allansia.

But dark sorcery does not die so easily.

Zagor has returned from the dead, more powerful, more twisted, and more determined than ever to wreak revenge upon Allansia. Now, some brave adventurer must journey once more to the most infamous dungeon in Fighting Fantasy history, brave the wild lands beyond, enter the mountain, and face the resurrected Warlock in his lair.

That brave adventurer is YOU!

Return to Firetop Mountain is Ian Livingstone’s thrilling sequel to the original Fighting Fantasy classic, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. First published as the landmark 50th book in the original series, this adventure takes you back to where the legend began, but don’t expect old memories to save you. The mountain has changed. Its horrors have multiplied. Its master is waiting.

Before you even reach Firetop Mountain, you must travel through the perilous lands of northern Allansia, seeking aid, clues, weapons, and magical knowledge. Along the way you may encounter the wizard Yaztromo, cross dangerous rivers, wander through deadly forests, and meet a cast of strange allies, treacherous rogues, and monstrous foes.

Once inside the mountain, every choice could bring you closer to victory, or to a sudden and grisly end. Goblins, trolls, undead warriors, mutant beasts, vampires, traps, riddles, and dark magic stand between you and your final confrontation with Zagor himself.

This is not just a return. This is revenge.

FEATURES

• Face the resurrected Zagor, one of the greatest villains in Fighting Fantasy canon.
• Includes the classic cover art by Les Edwards.
• Features original interior illustrations by the late, great Martin McKenna.
• Built-in mapping system tracks your progress across playthroughs, helping you explore the deadly routes to and through Firetop Mountain.
• Unlimited bookmarks let you retry difficult sections as often as you like.
• Automated Adventure Sheet handles your stats, inventory, combat, and key decisions, so you can focus on surviving the mountain.

Will you defeat Zagor once and for all? Or will Firetop Mountain claim another victim?

Return to Firetop Mountain... again!

Arriving in just a few weeks' time on Steam, courtesy of Tin Man Games, is Ian Livingstone's Return to Firetop Mountain.

Years have passed since Zagor the Warlock fell, but the shadows never truly left Firetop Mountain. Evil stirs once more within its depths, and the labyrinth you thought you knew has changed. New dangers, twisted passages, and deadly secrets await those brave (or foolish) enough to enter again.

Tin Man Games' digital edition will feature the original striking cover art by Les Edwards, alongside atmospheric interior illustrations by the late, great Martin McKenna, bringing every dark corridor and monstrous encounter vividly to life.

So sharpen your sword, steady your nerves, and get ready to take that first step into the darkness once more.

The mountain is waiting...

Fighting Fantasy is coming to Nintendo Switch

Fighting Fantasy is coming to Nintendo Switch in February 2026!

Tin Man Games have announced that Fighting Fantasy Classics Volume 1 is launching on Switch on 5th February 2026, bringing four of the most famous gamebooks by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone to Nintendo’s hybrid console.

The adventures included in Volume 1 are The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel of Chaos, The Forest of Doom, and Starship Traveller.

Tin Man Games' digital gamebook adaptations include:

• Automatic stat and inventory tracking.
• Unlimited bookmarks.
• A map showing where you’ve already died.
• A gallery of original artwork.
• A soundtrack to make your bad decisions feel more dramatic.

Choose Wisely in the Scorpion Swamp!

The newest adventure available from Tin Man Games, as part of the Fighting Fantasy Classics library, is... Scorpion Swamp!

Sharpen your swords, steady your nerve, and maybe pack a spare pair of socks, because Scorpion Swamp has officially arrived as the latest DLC gamebook for Fighting Fantasy Classics!

A new edition of Scorpion Swamp - featuring brand new artwork by Tazio Bettin - is also on the horizon. It is coming as part of the second tranche of FF titles going from Steve Jackson Games in the States. You can back the Kickstarter here.

Crypt of the Sorcerer - coming soon!

Coming soon to the Fighting Fantasy Classics library, from Tin Man Games, is Sir Ian Livingstone's legendary FF adventure, Crypt of the Sorcerer.

An ancient evil is stirring!

The long-dead sorcerer Razaak has been re-awoken and is poised to fulfil his promise of death and tyranny. The Forces of Chaos are at large across Allansia and it seems that they are all pitted against YOU! For it is up to you to battle against the odds - to find the only weapon to which Razaak is vulnerable, to arm yourself with protections against his awesome powers, and to face him in his lair, the Crypt of the Sorcerer!

Descend into one of the most punishing dungeons in Allansia with Crypt of the Sorcerer, a legendary Fighting Fantasy adventure by series co-creator Ian Livingstone!

First published in 1987, Crypt of the Sorcerer has earned its reputation as one of the most challenging and deadly gamebooks in the entire Fighting Fantasy series. With its dark, oppressive atmosphere, brutal encounters, and iconic villains, this book is not for the faint of heart.

You must take up arms against the resurrected sorcerer Razaak – a being of pure evil whose return threatens to plunge the world into eternal darkness. Armed with only your courage, your sword, and a handful of enchanted relics, can you survive the sorcerer’s devious traps, ruthless minions, and the final confrontation with death itself?

Whether you're a seasoned veteran eager to face one of the toughest trials Fighting Fantasy has to offer, or a brave newcomer ready to test your mettle, Crypt of the Sorcerer delivers a merciless and unforgettable experience.

FEATURES

• Les Edwards' original front cover from the 1987 Puffin edition!
• Amazing original black and white line artwork by John Sibbick.
• A new difficulty setting to make things a little easier if needed and a special ‘Free Read’ mode to explore the book with no restrictions.
• Built-in mapping system tracks your progress across playthroughs – perfect for planning your next run (or brutal demise).
• Unlimited bookmarks let you retry difficult sections as often as you like.
• Automated Adventure Sheet that handles all your stats, inventory, and key decisions – so you can focus on surviving!

Starship Traveller now on Fighting Fantasy Classics

Steve Jackson's SF gamebook Starship Traveller is now available as part of the Fighting Fantasy Classics library app from Tin Man Games.

The fate of the Starship Traveller and her crew lies in YOUR hands!

Sucked through the nightmare of the Seltsian Void, the Starship Traveller emerges at the other side of the black hole into an unknown universe. YOU are the captain of the Traveller and her fate depends on YOU! Will you be able to discover the way back to Earth from the alien peoples and planets you encounter, or will the starship be doomed to roam uncharted space forever?

Relive Starship Traveller – the beloved fourth Fighting Fantasy interactive adventure gamebook from the 80s! Steve Jackson's classic science-fiction adventure adds a new crew management system, ship-to-ship combat, and phaser combat. It has been converted to a digital format using Tin Man Games' acclaimed Gamebook Adventures engine.

NEW FEATURES

• Beautiful, cosmic illustrations by Simon Lissaman.
• New crew management system for up to seven crew members. Beam down to planets and try and keep your team alive!
• Automated Adventure Sheet that keeps track of your stats, crew stats, and any space-time co-ordinates you discover. Starship Traveller also includes a special Adventure Sheet for ship stats during ship-to-ship combat.
• Make the gamebook as easy or hard as you like and even turn on a special 'Free Read' mode to play the book like an old-school cheater! 
• feature makes it easy to keep track of everywhere you have explored during current and previous playthroughs.
• Unlimited Bookmarks allow you to revisit difficult sections as many times as desired.

To download Starship Traveller, click here.

Return to the Caverns of the Snow Witch in the company of Tin Man Games

Here beneath Firetop Mountain, it is as cold as the Icefinger Mountains, as Farigiss - Old Man Winter himself - tightens his grip on northern Allansia.

So now would seem the perfect time to take advantage of Tin Man Games' current sale, which sees the company's adaptation of Sir Ian Livingstone's Caverns of the Snow Witch knocked down in price by 25%*.

And Caverns of the Snow Witch isn't the only game currently available at a knockdown price. You can buy the Fighting Fantasy Classics Collection at 13% off, and the Fighting Fantasy MEGA Bundle at a whopping 43% off!

So, don't let the god of ice and cold dampen your fiery passion for Fighting Fantasy gamebooks and grab yourself a bargain while you still can.

* Offer ends 13 January 2025.

40 years of House of Hell

For almost thirty years following its initial release back in 1984, House of Hell remained unique; it was the only FF adventure to have a wholly ‘contemporary’ setting. It was not a futuristic, superhero sci-fi yarn, or a post-apocalyptic adventure, but was Fighting Fantasy’s one and only specifically horror-themed adventure, until Blood of the Zombies was published in 2012.

The setting for House of Hell is the sort of nightmare you could imagine yourself ending up in if your car broke down on a lonely country road in a thunderstorm only for you to discover that you were in a mobile phone dead spot.

Other than the fact that there’s no mention of mobile phones, the plot of the book hasn’t dated in the intervening decades. As a result of the aforementioned breakdown and thunderstorm, the hero takes refuge in an old house, but it’s a decision that turns out to be the worst mistake of his life, since the house is home to a cult of devil-worshippers and their demonic Master.

House of Hell first appeared in a shortened form in Warlock magazine. A significant number of references were modified for the paperback version, with rooms being moved around and secret passageways added.

Although his artwork later appeared on the cover for The Citadel of Chaos, Houseof Hell was Ian Miller’s first work for the Fighting Fantasy series. Steve Jackson was so impressed by Miller’s work on House of Hell that he purchased the original painting.

The book was illustrated internally by Tim Sell. However, one of his illustrations - depicting a naked woman on an altar dripping with blood, with her modesty protected by a convenient cultist’s sleeve - was removed from subsequent printings after a number of complaints were received by Puffin Books.

“That did give us a problem,” recalls editor Philippa Dickinson. “We had a lot of complaints. The media suddenly got hold of, ‘was this suitable for children?’ We had various, no doubt very well-meaning, people claiming that we were encouraging children to believe in Satan and Satanism... But we had a lot of very bonkers letters. Some were genuinely concerned about whether this was suitable, and you could be respectful of their views, and we had a few who quoted Revelations at us.

“It was of that time, and it was because the books were so successful, and boys were getting so obsessed, so what were we doing? They were being obsessed by something, so this can’t be healthy, because they’re obsessed. But they’re reading! What are you complaining about?

“At that time our office in New York was at 666 Fifth Avenue… Every so often, they’d get people saying that the company was clearly run by an agent of evil because we operated out of the offices at 666 Fifth Avenue.”

However, attitudes can and do change, and recently an article in The Guardian newspaper recommended House of Hell as a good title for getting disillusioned children enthused about reading again.

The dedication written by Steve Jackson for the Wizard Books edition of House of Hell reads:

Games Night —
to Clive, Ian, Mark, Peter and Skye.
May their Dinner Winnerships be few.
But always more than mine...

The list of names are the members of an exclusive gaming group that’s been running since the mid-1990s, and which includes Peter Molyneux of Populous and Lionhead fame (and more recently with 22 Cans and Godus) among its membership. Games Night is still a regular event, and at the end of each season a cup is awarded.

If you are struggling to complete House of Hell, you can buy a solution map from Qatlas, and there is also one on the way from Scott Mackay.

House of Hell is now available as an app from Tin Man Games, either as a standalone adventure, or as part of the Fighting Fantasy Classics library.

To read more about the history of the Fighting Fantasy series, pick up a copy of YOU ARE THE HERO: An Interactive History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks today.

Fighting Fantasy Classics coming to Steam Deck

Fans of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks who also use Steam Deck, will be excited to hear that Tin Man Games' Fighting Fantasy Classics adaptations are coming to the platform soon.

Steam Deck is a great platform for handheld gaming and it is a perfect fit for FF adventures, which were some of the very first on-the-go games for Gen Xers back in the 1980s.

The Tin Man team are currently adding in controller support as well as updating Fighting Fantasy Classics' save system to allow for multiple save slots per book. They are also adding in cloud saving.

A new build will be released soon and there will also be an announcement in the next few weeks regarding new FF titles coming to the FFC library!

The Tin Man himself, Neil Rennison, teasing some possible future FFC titles.

Armies of Death comes to Steam

Armies of Death, Sir Ian Livingstone's 11th Fighting Fantasy gamebook, and the direct sequel to Trial of Champions, has been reborn as the latest release for Tin Man Games' Fighting Fantasy Classics line.

Brand-new artwork has been commissioned from digital artist Joshua Wright for the ad-app-tation and you can see how his initial roughs were transformed into the final art here.

Giant Spider

Calacorm

Dwarf and Shape Changer

As well as new art, the gameplay has been given an upgrade. New features include:

• New army management system to manage your troop numbers along with mass-battle combat between opposing armies.
• Make the gamebook as easy or hard as you like and even turn on a special 'Free Read' mode to play the book like an old-school cheater!
• Map feature makes it easy to keep track of everywhere you have explored during current and previous playthroughs.
• Unlimited Bookmarks allow you to revisit difficult sections as many times as desired.
• Automated Adventure Sheet that keeps track of your stats, inventory and knowledge gained during your journey.

Can YOU defeat the nightmare army of the undead?

Agglax the Shadow Demon is amassing an army of undead warriors to conquer Allansia.

Setting off from Fang with over two hundred veteran fighters, YOU journey east to meet the enemy. But the Shadow Demon is not of this world and special powers are needed to destroy him. The longer you spend searching for these powers the stronger he will be.

Log on to Steam and download Armies of Death today!