The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is 44 years old today!

But there's life in the old dog yet...

Fighting Fantasy: The Audio Odyssey from Sound Realms is launching on BackerKit, live at Fighting Fantasy Fest 6. Have you got your ticket yet?

Tomb of the Golden Skull - out now!

Tomb of the Golden Skull, Sir Ian Livingstone's latest Fighting Fantasy gamebook, is out today in paperback from Scholastic Books.

Allansia is under threat from Valmorka the Spider Demon and her army of Plague Spiders.

In a race against time, YOU must journey across Arantis and face grave danger to find the legendary Dragonblade and a lost artefact to defeat her.

Are you brave enough to face the terrifying Spider Demon?

The adventure has been illustrated by Karl Kopinski, who will be Guest of Honour at Fighting Fantasy Fest 6, along with Sir Ian. Have you got your ticket yet?

Brand new licensed gaming accessories from ARU at Fighting Fantasy Fest 6

A selection of dice bags, dice trays, mugs, messenger bags, and ARUs from All Rolled Up, featuring Karl Kopinski's cover art for Sir Ian Livingstone's new book Tomb of the Golden Skull, will be available to buy for the first time at Fighting Fantasy Fest 6.

Have you got your ticket yet?

Fighting Fantasy Fest 6 - 4 weeks to go!

There are just four weeks to go until Fighting Fantasy 6 takes place at the Universtiy of West London in Ealing, London. Don't leave it too late and buy your ticket today.

Official FFF6 merchandise is on sale now, including this rather fine T-shirt and mug.

We also have a host of traders attending the Fest this year including...

ACE Gamebooks

Archmage Press

Arion Games

Bedsit Games

Blue Giant Studios

Chameleon Comix

Devilish Dilemmas

Dungeon Shopkeeper

Faraos Cigarer

Fighting Fantasy Collector

Forbidden Planet

GWiz Publishing

Hammerforge Chronicles

Intercept Studios

Last Dawn Press

Lone Wolf

MJC Gamebooks

Pandaemonium Miniatures

Pick Your Path Adventures

Qatlas Fantasy Maps

Rasmus JensenS

Scriptarium

Serpent King Games

Sharp Sword Studios

Sound Realms

The Players Portal

White Hare Games

Karl Kopinski to attend Fighting Fantasy Fest 6!

The Warlock is delighted to announce that ace artist Karl Kopinski will attend Fighting Fantasy Fest 6, alongside Sir Ian Livingstone, as one of our Guests of Honour.

Karl is known for his incredible work for Magic: The Gathering, as well as working for Games Workshop, illustrating the worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000.

In recent years, he has joined the ranks of the Fighting Fantasy artists, contributing cover art to the collector's hardbacks of Assassins of Allansia and The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

And now he has illustrated Sir Ian's brand new Fighting Fantasy gamebook Tomb of the Golden Skull.

This is a rare appearance by Karl, so make sure you don't miss your chance to meet him and book your ticket for Fighting Fantasy Fest 6 today!

Fighting Fantasy Book News

New Fighting Fantasy hardback titles are like London buses - none come for ages then two come at once! In exciting news, Sir Ian Livingstone has announced the upcoming release of two titles:

TOMB OF THE GOLDEN SKULL - Hardback Collector's Edition – signed and numbered 1-400 limited edition with a new map of Allansia by Leo Hartas printed on the reverse of the dust jacket will be released on 5^th September at Fighting Fantasy Fest 6 being held at the University of West London.

CITY OF THIEVES - Hardback Edition – will be released on 10^th September. Signed un-numbered copies can be pre-ordered from Blackwell’s. A limited number of advance copies will be available at Fighting Fantasy Fest 6.

TOMB OF THE GOLDEN SKULL - Paperback Edition – will be released on 27^th August and can be pre-ordered from all good bookshops. Copies will be available at Fighting Fantasy Fest 6.

🗡️ Return to Allansia: The Monsters Step Off the Page! 🗡️

For over 40 years, you have faced down the terrors of Firetop Mountain and the City of Thieves in the pages of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. Now, it’s time to see them on your tabletop.

We are thrilled to partner with Blue Giant Studios and MyMiniFactory to bring over 40 iconic heroes and villains to life as premium digital STLs and physical miniatures! From the terrifying Bloodbeast to the bizarre Wheelies, your favourite gamebook encounters are being masterfully sculpted.

📦 For Collectors & RPG Players: We are preparing an exclusive, limited-run physical Box Set featuring Fighting Fantasy RPG stat-block cards, a brand-new adventure booklet written especially for this campaign, custom dice, and a physical model that will never be available as an STL. Sir Ian Livingstone will hand-sign a limited number of these boxes!

🎁 Claim Your Free Miniature: Sign up on our pre-launch page today to secure a FREE Zanbar Bone STL and ensure you don’t miss out on the signed tiers.

What monster are you most excited to see brought to life? Let us know in the comments! 👇

🔗 https://mmf.io/backerkitff

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.

Get ready for a high-octane, AR adaptation of Sir Ian Livingstone's Freeway Fighter

The first entry in a new wave of adaptations from the legendary Fighting Fantasy series will bring Sir Ian Livingstone's Freeway Fighter to a new audience through a high‑octane augmented reality experience.

Peasoup, the pioneer behind interactive augmented reality Smart Books, has announced a partnership with Sir Ian to transform the iconic gamebooks into its proprietary format. Their debut collaboration, Freeway Fighter, is scheduled for release in 2027.

Peasoup’s Smart Book system is far more than a traditional book or gamebook. It is a full‑colour, physical reading experience enhanced by cutting‑edge technology. Using a dedicated augmented reality app, the Smark Book system animates the printed page, allowing readers not just to imagine the post‑apocalyptic car chases of Freeway Fighter, but to see and interact with them digitally as they progress through the story.

Founded by veteran writer and videogame designer Søren Jønsson, Peasoup was created to inject excitement back into reading. To date, the company has produced four Smart Books featuring original adventures across fantasy realms, pirate voyages, and daring escapades.

Extending this technology to the Fighting Fantasy series is a natural evolution, and one that promises to redefine how readers engage with classic FF gamebooks.

Sir Ian Livingstone commented: “The Fighting Fantasy series was designed to place the reader at the heart of the story, letting them take control of where the story goes. Choice is exciting and empowering, and partnering with Peasoup for these new adaptations takes the experience to the next level, where choices and actions in an augmented reality setting further affect the outcomes of the story. This high-octane, AR adaptation of Freeway Fighter will take the adventure to new audiences.”

Freeway Fighter will be available in 2027, and the next Smart Book Fighting Fantasy adaptation will be announced soon. Retailers looking to find out more should contact Rory Kelly, Zatu's Head of Distribution, at rory.kelly@zatu.co.uk or call 01603 937 846.#