Best of
Gamebooks

2019

Nightshift


Victoria Hancox - 2019
    You’ve patched up gunshot wounds, plated broken bones and drained abscesses. Sometimes, you’ve spent the entire night watching TV, feeling bored and just willing the phone to ring. Waiting for something to happen. But what if something did happen? What would you do if your ordinary routine just turned upside down? In this adventure, you are not a hero. You’re just a hospital worker who’s plunged into an interactive battle with demons, witches and time itself! You’re caught in the middle of a nightmare but will you be able to use your wits and survive?There’s a difference with this adventure though. There's no dice to throw and no battles to fight. You won't get through by being lucky and you definitely have no spells or swords.What will get you through to the end of the nightshift is what you already have—knowledge, skills, memory and a pencil—the best advice is that you make notes of all the evidence and hints you find! You just might make it out if you can piece together the clues and figure out the puzzles. We'll see you on the other side!

The Fog Knows Your Name


Clio Yun-su Davis - 2019
    Your classmate Rex Keller was found dead six months ago, and you were the last person to see him alive. Half the town thinks you murdered him, including his sister, Ennis. The other half believes it was the fog.In your town, ever since anyone can remember, people die when the fog rolls in. No one knows exactly how or why. Some say the land didn’t want the colonizers, so it sends the fog as an agent of vengeance. Some say the Devil himself lurks in the fog, collecting souls. Others believe the fog simply drives people mad, causing them to enact violence onto each other and onto themselves.There is one element of the tale that remains the same in every telling: those who perish in the fog are guilty of wronging another without confessing to it. Those who admit to causing harm can walk in the fog untouched. The liars die.Their ghosts haunt the town. They’re haunting you, they’re haunting Ennis Keller, and they’re haunting your friends at school. If you and your friends can’t unravel the fog’s mysteries in time, those ghosts are going to kill you, one way or another.

Frostgrave: Perilous Dark


Joseph A. McCullough - 2019
    Often, the greatest adventures are those that pit a wizard and his trusty warband against the myriad perils found amidst the ruins of Felstad.This new supplement for Frostgrave presents full rules for playing solo and co-operative games in which the feuds and skirmishes of wizards take a back seat to the exploration and unlocking of the mysteries of the city. These include guidelines for both dungeon crawls and adventuring in the ruins, new traps, unique random encounters, and four multi-scenario mini-campaigns to get players started. Why should wizards fight amongst themselves? There is plenty of treasure for all and the Frozen City is enemy enough!

Beowulf Beastslayer (Snowbooks Adventure Gamebooks)


Jonathan Green - 2019
    A tale of heroes... A tale of monsters... A legend reborn. 'Listen! We of the Spear-Danes in the days of yore, of those clan-kings, heard of their glory, how those nobles performed courageous deeds!' So begins the greatest fantasy story of them all, the Old English epic poem Beowulf. It is a story that has fascinated people throughout the ages inspiring the likes of J. R. R. Tolkien, Seamus Heaney and Neil Gaiman. King Hrothgar's great golden mead-hall Heorot is under a curse, subject to attacks by the mirth-hating night-stalker Grendel. None are capable of destroying the monster, although many have tried, until Beowulf and his company of Geatish warriors cross the sail-road and land on Danish shores...Beowulf Beastslayer is a brand new take on the Anglo-Saxon epic, re-imagining the events described in the poem as an adventure gamebook. Will you follow the course of events as laid down by the scops and skalds of old, or will you choose a different path and forge your own legend?

The Ghosts of Craven Manor: A Ghostly Time Travelling Game Book


Joseph Daniels - 2019
     You are Dave Ingram. When you and your fiancée are given a chance to move into Craven Manor, you think that you have just been given the deal of a lifetime. That is until you discover the house is haunted. When your fiancée is possessed by one of the spirits inhabiting the house, you learn that the only way to free her is with the aid of a time travelling amulet. In an attempt to remove the ghosts from the house, you must travel through time and learn the truth about what happened there, so that you can either fight the threat in the present, or possibly attempt to prevent it in the past. The choice is yours.

Heroes of Myth


Abigail C. Trevor - 2019
    It was all a lie. The truth is, the "dark lord" you and your friends supposedly slew never existed; you used magical illusions to fake a prophecy. But now, as you relax into a life of fame and luxury, the omens from your false prophecy are happening again, and this time, you had nothing to do with it.Heroes of Myth is a 560,000-word interactive novel by Abigail C. Trevor, where your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.Naturally, everyone expects you to save the world again, but you're just an illusionist, and your friends have scattered to the winds. Will you become the hero all the songs say you are, or find new ways to fool them all again? How far will you go to protect your friends' secrets--or are there stronger alliances to be made by betraying their trust?This is the trouble with pretending you're a hero: occasionally you have to become one. Craft clever illusions, charm suspicious royals, and face shadowy demons from beyond your realm. In the end, is the story you told worth more to you, or to the legions of people who believed it?Play as male, female, or non-binary; gay, straight or bisexual; monogamous or poly; asexual, and/or aromanticIntercept messages, stage scandals, and guide your preferred ruler to the throneRomance a prince, a bard, a long-lost friend, a false prophet, or a visitor from realms beyondDefend castles, villages, and your own mind from demonic assaultHelp your friends protect their positions, or sacrifice them in the name of the truthTriumph in a tournament of the greatest mages from across the landSlay a centuries-old monster—or swear yourself to his causeAre you a hero, a liar, or both?

Children of the Painted Apple: An interactive adventure


Dane Barrett - 2019
    Within the academy known as The Chrysalis lies a secret hidden from the world; one which may turn the human race against one another and ultimately put the planet in jeopardy. Will you become the leader needed to uncover this threat and change the fate of the Earth? Will you be able to handle your new partner, who struggles with a great affliction of her own? The next seven days could change everything.But who is the real enemy? The man who manipulates living art? The killer from another world? The madman with links to organised crime? Or will the real threat be closer to home; among your own friends and colleagues?In this interactive gamebook with multiple paths and 16 endings, you have the power to determine your own fate. Which one will you choose?

The Mystery of Dracula: An interactive adventure


Dane Barrett - 2019
    This has since been corrected.You are Jonathan Harker, travelling to Transylvania to finalise a property transaction for a nobleman named Count Dracula. The man is an enigma, undoubtedly lonely and likely eccentric, but this deal will be a boon to your employer, and a significant step forward for your own career.The country you traverse is steeped in history and superstition, and as you surge further eastward, the more apprehensive people become. They warn you of the terrors that live in the darkest hours of the night, but you are an Englishman, and not one to be scared off by tall tales!In this interactive horror mystery gamebook set in 19th Century Europe, you will take on the roles of three characters at separate points in the story.Survive the freezing forests of Munich. Escape a Transylvanian castle with enemies all around you. Brave rough seas on the cargo ship Demeter. Then strive to save those whom you love back in England!You choose where the story goes. You solve the mysteries and puzzles that lead to a happy ending, or possibly an early demise. You could be the hero of the hour or the one who propels London to its very doom!Which road will you choose?

The Defenders of Dusk: An Interactive Adventure by Dane Barrett


Dane Barrett - 2019
    Indeed, many a conflict has happened here over the past hundred years as the city-state of Dactyl, which serves as a staging point for invasions to the west, continually strives to find new ways to assault the border bridge crossing the great river. In all this time, Dusk, under the protection of a highly-trained Town Guard, has never fallen to a foreign power, always repelling even the most determined of attacks.There is a foul scent upon the wind, however; a shadow looms from the east, and this time it brings the ominous signs of dark magic and evil creatures. Rumours abound from travellers and merchants that a new threat amasses across the river, though details as yet have remained sketchy. There is the talk of a vast army of men, orcs and lizard people, led by a dark mage and accompanied by a powerful beast of war. Such potential threats have led to Dusk's Mayor cutting deals with several dubious organisations to help protect the welfare and wellbeing of the border.Tonight, you, as a member of the Thieve's Guild of Dusk, will partake in a night patrol you will never forget. For tonight could spell the end of the stubbornly determined border city, or it may just be the beginning of something extraordinary... YOU decide!Two dice, a pencil and an eraser, and perhaps a little stealth and cleverness, are all you need to defend the city. YOU decide which route to follow and what tactics to use in this fantasy adventure gamebook!

'Twas: The Krampus Night Before Christmas


Jonathan Green - 2019
    Investigating, you discover that your home has been invaded by two red-cloaked, and bearded, strangers.Before you know what is happening, Krampus the Christmas Devil hasabducted Santa Claus, and it's up to you to save Saint Nick before Christmas Day dawns and the cruel, birch-wielding, goat-leggéd one usurps the generous gift-giver's position, taking his place forever. He knows if you've been good or bad, so be good for goodness sake... Throughout the course of the adventure, YOU decide which path to take, which risks to brave, and even which of the strange creatures you will meet along the way to engage in battle.Success is by no means certain and you may well fail to complete the adventure at your first attempt. However, with experience, skill, and maybe even a little luck, each new attempt should bring you closer to your ultimate goal.But whether you succeed in your quest will be down to the choices YOU make.

The Altimer: An interactive story (Entram Book 1)


Samuel Isaacson - 2019
    The year is 2162, intelligent extra-terrestrial life has been discovered, and a new recruit arrives at the Global Interstellar Group to be trained as an astronaut.That trainee is you.Immerse yourself in a mysterious sci-fi horror in which you will discover the truth behind a new alien threat...or die trying.

The Necronomicon Gamebook: Carcosa


Valentino Sergi - 2019
    Chambers and Howard P. Lovecraft in the second and last chapter of this interactive adventure: The Necronomicon Gamebook – Carcosa.

Neverland: Here Be Monsters! (Snowbooks Adventure Gamebooks Book 3)


Jonathan Green - 2019
    1,503 people died, including passengers and crew. But 706 people survived, among them Wendy Darling and her dog Nana...Separated from the rest of her family, Wendy's lifeboat is washed up on the shore of a mysterious island – a place lost in time – home to creatures long thought extinct, a forgotten tribe, and a boy who can never grow up.But the notorious pirate Captain James Hook and his crew have also found their way to Neverland, and the island is angry...___In NEVERLAND – Here Be Monsters! YOU decide which route to take, which perils to risk, and which of the island’s strange, prehistoric denizens to fight. Play as shipwreck survivor Wendy Darling, automaton avenger Peter Pan, heroic hunter Tiger Lily, or plundering pirate Captain James Hook. But be warned – whether you succeed in your quest or meet a dire end will be down to the choices YOU make.Will you manage to escape from Neverland?

Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty Associates


Van Ryder Games - 2019
    Question suspects without fear of offending them knowing your ability to coerce and threaten them will produce useful information! Will you solve the cases with the help of your arch nemesis? And has he really changed his ways? Or is he up to something sinister? Made in France.