Tomb
It’s a big day for nostalgic game-book fans like me, as hundreds will gather in Ealing for Fighting Fantasy Fest 6, a celebration of the bestselling series by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, which began in 1982 with The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. The series has experienced something of a resurgence in recent years, with both original creators adding to the books originally published by Penguin (Puffin) and Wizard/Icon in the UK.
I’ve been reading - and loving - Fighting Fantasy books since I was ten years old. For anyone interested, there’s an entire post about my own history with the series and how it influenced the creation of The Illmoor Chronicles in the late 90s, available here.
Fans of the series, now often in their 40s and 50s, have introduced an entire legion of their own children to Fighting Fantasy and have been rewarded with a number of new titles in recent years. These have included gamebooks by notable ‘FF’ fans and respected writers like Charlie Higson and Rhianna Pratchett, as well as many brand new entries in the series by established FF author Jonathan Green and the original creators themselves. Steve Jackson’s latest book was ‘The Secrets of Salamonis’ (written in 2022 with the assistance of Jonathan Green), while Ian Livingstone has produced a run of new titles including Shadow of the Giants (2022), The Dungeon on Blood Island (2024) and - most recently - Tomb of the Golden Skull (2026, pictured above).
I’m unable to attend Fighting Fantasy Fest this year…but I have strong memories of FF 4, an event I attended with my son that turned into an unforgettably nostalgic weekend. I was fortunate to have lunch with Steve and Ian a few months later for the backers’ launch of Dice Men, a hardback containing the ‘origin story’ of Games Workshop and how the chain was founded in the late 70s off the back of Gary Gygax’s phenomenal RPG game, Dungeons & Dragons. They were both incredibly lovely guys to meet in person, and it soon transpired that the remaining Fighting Fantasy ‘superfans’ gathered around the table were an equally warm and adorable bunch of geeky old gamers in the best possible sense.
For now, I’ll content myself with my first play-through of the new adventure: a book I’m already greatly engrossed in (while remaining firmly keen-eyed for Livingstone’s tendency to make his games fiendishly difficult and jovially mean-spirited). In-game, I’m currently lost in a fantasy trading port, debating whether to toss a coin into a fountain to celebrate the legacy of an old soldier. I’m assuming it’s the right thing to do, but (as always, with Livingstone), I’m expecting the worst.
May your stamina never fail!
