Scott Mackay produces fully-licensed, hand-painted maps of your favourite Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks.
His latest map is of Fire Island, the notorious Island of the Lizard King. But be warned - as well as mapping the location, Scott's maps also show the route through the adventure.
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To date, Scott has produced eight such maps, including ones for The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Deathtrap Dungeon, and House of Hell.
You will find them all here, on Scott's Etsy shop.
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.
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.
Halloween is next Tuesday, so today we open the vault to revisit some classic horror-themed Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.
House of Hell, by Steve Jackson
Taking refuge in the infamous House of Hell has to be the worst mistake of your life! The dangers of the torrential storm outside are nothing compared to the blood-curdling adventures that await you inside. Who knows how many hapless wanderers like yourself have perished within its gruesome walls? Be warned! Tonight is going to be a night to remember ... Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need to make your journey. YOU decide which way to go, which dangers to risk and which monsters to fight.
Talisman of Death, by Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson
The once-peaceful world of Orb is in terrible danger!
Dark forces are at work to unleash the awesome might of the Evil One, but their plans cannot be completed without the legendary Talisman of Death. YOU are the one who carries the Talisman, and only YOU can stop the Dark forces. YOUR mission is to destroy the Talisman before the dark lord's minions reach you. But beware! Time is running out!
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need to make your journey. YOU decide which way to go, which dangers to risk and which monsters to fight.
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Beneath Nightmare Castle, by Peter Darvill-Evans
Creatures from your worst nightmares lie beneath Neuberg Keep!
In this book, you find yourself in Neuburg, once a pleasant town in Khul, but now home to the vile monsters begotten of warped sorcery. An age-old horror has been re-awoken deep beneath the Keep, and it is up to you to face it and free the town and your friend, Baron Tholdur, from evil enchantment. But beware! Deep underground lie hideous traps and terrors, waiting to ensnare you! Will you succeed? Only if you are the resourceful hero you claim to be ...
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need for this adventure. YOU decide which routes to follow, which dangers to risk and which monsters to fight.
Vault of the Vampire, by Keith Martin
Can you put an end to Count Heydrich's evil reign of terror?
YOU are a hardy adventurer and have journeyed to the icy mountains of Mauristatia in search of great wealth and fortune ... but what you find there makes your blood run cold.
You discover by chance the terrible secret of the local villagers. Can YOU free them from the evil tyranny of the bloodthirsty Count, or will you too succumb to a horrifying fate?
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need. YOU decide which paths to take, which dangers to risk and which foes to fight!
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Dead of Night, by Jim Bambra & Stephen Hand
The Demon Lord Myurr seeks revenge!
YOU are renowned throughout the land as a Demon-Stalker, waging war against the creatures of Chaos. More than once you have thwarted the Demon Lord's evil schemes, but now Myurr has discovered a cunning way of exacting his revenge. There is no alternative. YOU must confront and destroy the Demon Lord, for the whole of the free world is threatened! Myurr's evil powers may soon enable him and hordes of his vile demons to cross from the Demonic into the Earthly Plane!
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need. YOU decide which paths to take, which dangers to risk and which foes to fight!
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Island of the Undead, by Keith Martin
Ancient evil has come to Solani Island!
The mysterious sorcerers of Solani Island have protected the local people from danger for many years. Now, it seems, their power has been usurped. An evil force holds sway across the land, an evil that seems to hold the power over life and death itself!
A hero is urgently needed to journey to Solani Island and discover what has happened to the wizards. Dare YOU be that adventurer? Who knows what terrible fate awaits you on the island where death rules? There is only one way to find out. Are YOU brave enough to solve the mystery of Solani Island?
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Revenge of the Vampire, by Keith Martin
Count Heydrich, Vampire, is back from the dead!
A half-forgotten evil has arisen from the grave to stalk the Old World in search of fresh blood and new victims to enslave. Count Reiner Heydrich, undead Vampire Lord, is ancient beyond the reckoning of mortals. This time, however, there is someone on his trail, a brave hero who is determined that he shall not succeed in his evil plans. That someone is YOU!
Lupravia is a cursed land; a chill place of snow-capped mountains, brooding forests and mist-shrouded moors, haunted by the spirits of the restless dead. Peasants struggle daily with survival, living in constant fear of attacks from ravenous wild beasts. Only the foolhardy or insane would willingly pass beyond its borders and enter that benighted realm of predators.
But enter you must, after a vicious wolf attack sets you on the path to murder and madness. Steadily succumbing to the call of the wild and the beast within, YOU must seek out a cure to your condition before the next full moon. But how long can you survive in a land where the powers of darkness hold sway and all live in fear of the Howl of the Werewolf?
Part story, part game, this is a book with a difference - one in which you become the hero! A pencil and an eraser are all you need to make your journey. YOU decide which route to take, which creatures to fight & which dangers to risk.
Returning to your castle home, Valsinore, after three years away crusading against the forces of darkness, it seems as though evil has been laid to rest. But then, out of nowhere, you are cut down in the final stages of your journey.
Caught between the living world and the Lands of the Dead, your ghostly form must battle to uncover the most malignant evil of all that has taken root in the heart of Valsinore. Before the night is out you must have your revenge or face a fate even worse than death itself.
Terrible things are happening in Goraya castle...
Insane megalomaniac Gingrich Yurr is preparing to unleash an army of monstrous zombies upon the world. He must be stopped and his undead horde defeated. In this life-or-death adventure the decisions YOU make will decide the fate of the world. Can YOU survive or will YOU become a zombie too?
Available now from Mytago in the Czech Republic is Pekelný dům, which is better known in English as Steve Jackson's House of Hell.
This means that there are now four Fighting Fantasy titles currently available from Mytago, with more to come later this year. So, watch this space!
Available now from Geny-G Ltd is the Bulgarian edition of Steve Jackson's seminal horror gamebook House of Hell.
For this edition, a new cover has been created, while the original internal illustrations by Tim Sell have been coloured.
Faraos Cigarer are also continuing to release Danish translations of Fighting Fantasy - or Sværd & Trolddom - gamebooks in Denmark. The latest titles are Rhianna Pratchett's Crystal of Storms, and Sir Ian Livingstone's Return to Firetop Mountain, Assassins of Allansia, and Shadow of the Giants.
To view the entire range, click this link.
There are many podcasts, Twitch streams and YouTube channels that regularly discuss Fighting Fantasy gamebooks or play through them, but the latest is definitely one that fans of the premier gamebook series are going to want to check out.
The Podcast of Firetop Mountain is a new venture by Alison Cybe and co-host Stuart Lloyd. Each episode, they take a deep dive into one of the FF adventures, starting with fan-favourite, Sir Ian Livingstone's City of Thieves.
You can listen to The Podcast of Firetop Mountain via YouTube or Spotify, as well as many other places. Next up is Steve Jackson's House of Hell, which premieres on Tuesday 9th August. So make sure you bookmark The Podcast of Firetop Mountain today.
Publisher Tin Man Games is having a sale on Steam and, as a result, both Steve Jackson's House of Hell and Sir Ian Livingstone's Deathtrap Dungeon are currently available for only £1.15 each!
