Gamebooks Guide

࿔࿐༆ HALLOWEEN FRIGHTS ༆࿐࿔

"Reader beware, you're in for a scare!" - Every 90s kid knows where this is from.

I'm working on a couple of interesting videos for the coming weeks, but none of them are Halloween/Horror themed for the Halloween season.

Because of that, I decided to make a short list of horror-themed Gamebooks that are readily available in stores, if you guys want to play something new during this time.

࿔࿐༆༆࿐࿔࿔࿐༆༆࿐࿔࿔࿐༆༆࿐࿔࿔࿐༆༆࿐࿔࿔࿐༆༆࿐࿔

࿔࿐༆ Fighting Fantasy: House of Hell ༆࿐࿔
No need for introductions, many of you have already read this one, but if you haven't, you're in for a very good, timeless classic from the 80s! Just keep in mind that this book has a lot of cover variants, and the recent Scholastic release has new (not-so-good) inner art.

࿔࿐༆ The House on Sentinel Hill ༆࿐࿔
If you're into Lovecraftian Horror, this one is a very good original Gamebook, written by Graham Plowman, which has an excellent Lovecraftian music composer. Here is his channel - youtube.com/@CthulhuMythosMusic/featured
I used his music in one of my videos (he composed the music for this game) - https://youtu.be/jVCfC8Jbm_w?si=YeaDD...

࿔࿐༆ Arkham Horror: Investigator Gamebooks ༆࿐࿔
More Lovecraftian horror written by the Legendary author Jonathan Green.
If you're familiar with Fantasy Flight Games' Arkham Horror board game and card game series, well, this is a Gamebook adaptation of those games and their systems.
A bit difficult to get into at the start, but once you get the hang of it, it can give you a satisfying investigation Gamebook.
Made a video on the first released book - https://youtu.be/cswmrCWa5LU?si=SNgef...

࿔࿐༆ Dracula: Curse of the Vampire ༆࿐࿔
More from Jonathan Green, this time from his own published series, Ace Gamebooks.
Most of these books are kind of horror, so you should check most of them (like Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu). But Dracula stands out for me because it's basically 2 Gamebooks in one.
Based on the original Dracula novel, you can play as 1 of three different human characters, or as Dracula himself.
I need to bring this one to the channel in the future.

࿔࿐༆ Nightshift ༆࿐࿔
This book and its series, Cluster of Echoes, written by Victoria Hancox, have a kind of cult following due to how they make you feel like you're inside a horror slasher movie.
This one requires no dice, but it's a very difficult book, be ready to replay it often before you finally survive until the end.

࿔࿐༆ The Ghosts of Craven Manor ༆࿐࿔
After reading my first Joseph Daniels Gamebooks - King's Judgement - I fully converted into a believer that his books have some of the best narrative choices and consequences.
In the Ghosts of Craven Manor, you'll have a time-traveling trip inside this house alongside its characters, and depending on the ending you get, you'll be able to continue your story in the following books/volumes.
I'm currently working with Joseph Daniels on an introduction and "difficulty ranking" video for all of his books. So it'll help more people choose their first book from one of his series.
In the meantime, here is a video I've made for King's Judgement - https://youtu.be/Hh8jWx22L0I?si=F6oje...

࿔࿐༆ The Flesh Thieves of Karnaf Tath ༆࿐࿔
Written by Jonathon Kelly, this book starts off weird, then it continues to be weird, and then it finishes with some philosophical thoughts.
It was a surprising experience, and one I would only recommend to people who want something weirdly different.
Made a video about it here - https://youtu.be/dCp0F0usBmY?si=150TQ...

࿔࿐༆ 2120 ༆࿐࿔
Written by George Wylesol, it is one of my favorite books I've read this year, and my worst-performing video. I'll just assume my voice narration at the start put some people off, haha. A fan helped me put together the Liminal space animation at the start of the video, and it looks exactly like the book, just in 3D.
Anyway, if you're into Liminal Spaces, puzzles, and escape rooms, you should 100% consider getting this one. It's creepy, it's weird, and it's fun!
You can check out my video of it here - https://youtu.be/6zJz4hUKBXU?si=Yd_sR...

࿔࿐༆༆࿐࿔࿔࿐༆༆࿐࿔࿔࿐༆༆࿐࿔࿔࿐༆༆࿐࿔࿔࿐༆༆࿐࿔

Tell me if you have any Halloween recommendations or any horror Gamebooks you enjoyed in the past!
Have a great Halloween!

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 8

Gamebooks Guide

I've been doing more narrated content because it feels like it's working, and I can do an actual script and follow it, instead of following topics and speaking about a book on the spot like in my earlier videos.
However, I'm just looking at numbers, and while I still personally prefer narrated videos, since they come out shorter and straight to the point, if you guys want to vote below on what you prefer, it lets me understand if I should mix a bit of both, or if narrated is the way to go.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 5

Gamebooks Guide

One Thousand. That is a big number in such a short time, in such a small niche. Truly, thank you to all of you, viewers and authors, who helped me achieve this big milestone.

And call it fate or... Destiny(Quest, ah!), but if I'm here today making these videos, it's because of these two books here, where their authors were feature on my last video, together... short story time!

Around 4 years ago, I was doomscrolling on Reddit when I noticed an ad for Legendary Kingdoms Book 3 Kickstarter.
I read Fighting Fantasy when I was a kid, in the 90s like many of you, but then video games came and changed my lifestyle.

I thought Gamebooks were a long-lost memory, but then, here I am, looking at a new one, not Fighting Fantasy, and is also an Open-World series? What did I miss in the last 20 years?

I got to research and found many more! While I was waiting for Legendary Kingdoms to arrive, I played City of Thieves, a classic, truly, but I wanted to experience something new and more modern. I found Vulcanverse and hated it at first (I'll do a video on it, it's an amazing experience, but let's continue for now), so I thought that maybe new Gamebooks are not for me, but I decided to give this newfound interest one more chance.

I bought DestinyQuest, and I was instantly hooked. Then the rest is history.
I just realized, after I published the last video, that those are the two authors that got me back into Gamebooks, together, in the same video, giving an interview.
Everything did come full circle. And I couldn't be happier about it.

I'll do a video celebrating the 1,000 subscribers when I have some time to do it (currently working on 2 time-sensitive videos), and I'll talk a bit more about why this channel was created. There was some reasoning behind it, alongside my guide (which I have to update this year).

But my goals will stay the same: let more people know that Gamebooks exist, and give a spotlight to authors that deserve their work to be shared.
I still have some of you on my to-do list, like Martin Nouch's Steam Highwayman and Lost in the City by Joseph Fry. They've been supporting the channel for a while now, and I haven't gotten to you yet, but I will one day!

And one can't forget about Spellsinger, who since day one has been here, supporting every single video I post, and he also has his own Gamebooks channel that focuses a lot on the old-school releases - youtube.com/@ChrisHolley-k1v

Thank you to everyone who joined, and thank you for watching!

1 month ago | [YT] | 29

Gamebooks Guide

700 subscribers! Wow, didn't even have time to celebrate 600 subscribers!
Seriously, in shock, and I'm really happy to be able to show this niche hobby that I love to more people! And I truly hope you find something new in my videos.

My next video will be my take on a short, semi-documentary style, about Archmage Press, and talk about their past works, present works, and, more importantly, their future works, such as, Legendary Kingdoms books 4 to 6, and other projects.

Had a great talk with Oliver Hulme (Author of Legendary Kingdoms) and Michael J. Ward (author of Sunfall and DestinyQuest) about their future plans. For Michael, for example, we talked about The Enigma Blade, his next work that will use D&D 5e rules, but still with a Gamebook progression style.

I know this is not a video about a Gamebook, but, I think this will be interisting content, so you guys know a bit more about Archmage Press, and what to expect from them in the future.

Just to clarify, these are not just interviews, they'll be presented in a semi-documentary style with me narrating, and this is not a sponsored video, I just wanted to do this video.

Thank you for coming along I hope you continue to enjoy my videos!

1 month ago | [YT] | 46

Gamebooks Guide

The next video will be about the Misbehave: Guard book because the author sent me a prototype version, and I liked it quite a lot, so I want to do a short video about it while the Kickstarter is still up.
After this short video, we're back to Gamebooks!

1 month ago | [YT] | 17

Gamebooks Guide

Starting out my first D20 Gamebook, with some D&D 5E rules (but it's 100% self-contained).

I made the Kickstarter trailer for this one, and a pre-release overview on my channel, and the final result of the book is actually better than I expected.

All of the new art is very good, and some have that Southeast Asia look to it.

And if you're wondering, the overall gamebook is inspired by Lone Wolf, so this is the 1st book of a Campaign, and the 2nd one is currently being planned out. This first book has 350 sections.

You can find it here (digital and physical versions): www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/551259/ahu-s-first…

I'll have a video with my personal opinions on it next month or so.
Meanwhile, if you want to know the mechanics and some story bits, here is a link to my video overview: https://youtu.be/XEBJ3mv-Egs

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4 5 6

2 months ago | [YT] | 8

Gamebooks Guide

Just reached 500 Subscribers!
That is quite the milestone, and in a shorter time than I ever anticipated!
Thanks again to everyone old and new!

And to celebrate, just showing off a curiosity that I might feature on the channel in the future. An original Japanese Gamebook! Yes, they do exist, and yes, they're usually based on Fighting Fantasy mechanics and such. Fighting Fantasy was big in Japan during the 80s, so much that they still get re-releases sometimes.

My Japanese is not amazing yet, but I will do my best to kind of explain what this is about.

Thief Swordsman (10º Gamebook in this particular series)

Peace has never truly returned to the historic port city of Negra Arena.
Betrayal, theft, assault, fraud... amidst a cycle of wickedness, one thief, shrouded in darkness, infiltrates the city once again.
Life and death, light and darkness, sacred and profane. Human and monster, man and woman, order and chaos. Everything is intertwined in this city. The Thief Swordsman races through the darkness of night.
As he uncovers countless secrets and the truth peeks out from the cracks in the darkness, what will he see...?

(I translated to Swordsman, but the word is genderless, so... yeah)

At 450 sections and a ton of inner art (some of them are a bit... risky to share), feels like an interesting read. The adventure sheet is almost a copy-paste of a Fighting Fantasy adventure. With your skill, stamina, luck, equipment, gold, and provisions.
It kind of feels like a Japanese City of Thieves.

Well, anyway, I might make a video on Japanese Gamebooks one day.
Thanks for subscribing!

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

2 months ago | [YT] | 14

Gamebooks Guide

Short update for the next 2 months or so.
I'm back at creating content for the channel after the last two busy months. The next video will be for Joseph Daniels' book, King's Judgement, as I said previously, and this one should be perfect for readers who enjoy very meaningful decisions that impact the story in a way that feels very satisfying.
I don't want to spoil more, so please look forward to the video overview at the end of July.

Then, for August and September, I have a couple of other books, including The Castle of Condemnation, which is a very straightforward Gamebook that some of you might enjoy, and the Break System, which is kind of its own thing and more advanced, might take a bit more to bring it to the channel, but super excited to show it off, clearly there is more we can do with Gamebooks, and this one shows exactly that.

However, that's not everything. I have two more videos planned for August that are not specifically related to a Gamebook, but are related to the Gamebook hobby in general.

So yeah, starting at the end of July, I have planned weekly/bi-weekly videos for a while.

Thanks for watching!

3 months ago | [YT] | 6

Gamebooks Guide

I'll return to showing off Gamebooks in June, but in the meantime, I have to share this "small" release from Paul Stapleton over on Bedsit Games.

I'm a fan of small solo board games, and loved The Crows of Coppershell Bay from Paul. It was a no-brainer to immediately pre-order his next small solo board game, The Siege of Shaddis Horne, and at the same time, I noticed he was releasing another small Gamebook, for free with certain orders, so I also got a copy.

But I was not expecting this... like, this is a full-fledged Gamebook release, with three books, and some sheets that make the Adventure Sheet, achievements, and player aid.

The Adventure book alone has 450 entries, which is more than a normal Fighting Fantasy book, with inner art and all, but then you have the location book, which you also have to use during your adventure, and includes a lot of colored art/dungeon art and encounters.

From what Paul said and the price point (I think it was 7£ if you didn't get it for free with the other games pre-order), I was expecting something like a 200-entry normal Gamebook, but wow, this was unexpected.

I don't know if I'll do a video on this that soon because this is a limited release, and my next Gamebook video will be for King's Judgement by Joseph Daniels (extremely excited to play this one), alongside other authors who sent me their books.

In any case, Paul, if you're reading this, please... keep your books in stock, this is a waste if it's limited. Amazing work!

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3

5 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 9

Gamebooks Guide

Haven't done an update in a while! First, 400 subscribers, thanks again for following me, and enjoy gamebooks (and some board games) together!

What better way to celebrate this achievement than with the new trailer that I've recently made for the new Lone Wolf release! It's always an honor to be part of Joe Dever's iconic series.

Regarding the channel, it'll be a bit of a weird month, but there's a lot of cool stuff coming. The next two videos are already made, kind of. One is for a Kickstarter card game, which is waiting for the Kickstarter to be launched, and the other is for a very special non-RPG "game"book, where I teamed up with a fan of the book to create an intro animation for the video overview, and it came out amazing. The video will come out in the next few days.

After that, I got to stop a bit due to life (nothing happened, just life), so I'll only be able to start doing videos probably around mid June, however, I already have 4 planned videos from authors that sent me their books, so a lot piled up already!

I wanted to do a video for Lost In the City, by Joseph Fry (Gamebook fan and viewer of the channel, I know you're probably reading this, thanks for showing up), but it'll have to wait until sometime in the summer. If anyone is interested in a more graphic novel-oriented Gamebook, please check that one in the meantime.

Thanks again for watching and making Gamebooks bigger every day!

5 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 5