Why gamebooks were so good and why we still need them

It's 1985, and independent reading time at St. Thomas of Becket's Primary School in Eastbourne. Standing before the sparse choice of unappealing books on display, only one reaches out to me with a tantalizing promise of escape from the maddening boredom of this dull, English seaside town:

So began my journey into the world of gamebooks, which, alongside the King James Bible and the thrash and death metal lyrics of the 1980s, instigated my fascination with literature and the English language.

For those unfamiliar with gamebooks, they are works of fiction that allow the reader to participate in the story by making decisions. The narrative unfolds through numbered pages or paragraphs, depending on your choices. Here’s an example from Talisman of Death:

Such gamebooks are sometimes collectively called “choose your own adventure” or “fighting fantasy” books, but Choose Your Own Adventure and Fighting Fantasy were, in fact, two different series. 

Choose Your Own Adventure by Bantam Books (now owned by Random House) was a popular children’s illustrated gamebook series between 1979 and 1998. Written in the second person, the reader takes on a role relevant to the adventure. After a few pages, the reader faces two or more options, each leading to further pages and options. On and on the interactive story goes, culminating in one of many possible story endings.

Fighting Fantasy books launched over 40 years ago by Puffin Books in 1982 (now owned by Scholastic) were mostly fantasy-themed and distinguished themselves from Choose Your Own Adventure with a dice-based role-playing element. Parts of the story could involve fighting enemies and monsters. The outcome (which could be fatal) would depend on your dice rolls, the initial skill, stamina, and luck scores determined before you begin the adventure, the equipment you picked up along the way, and the skill and stamina score of that particular opponent. 

While roleplaying games such as Dungeons and Dragons (launched only a few years earlier) required other people to play with, you could read and play a Fighting Fantasy gamebook on your own. All you needed was a pencil and a couple of six-sided dice. 

The revival of interactive narrative

There are many reasons gamebooks were so enticing for youngsters. They combined literature (containing some fairly advanced vocabulary for children) with illustrations, a fantasy world of adventure, and a game with choices that had consequences for the hero (you) and the story’s outcome.

Although these books swiftly died out following the rise of video gaming, an interest in reviving Fighting Fantasy and Choose Your Own Adventure has emerged, not just because old folks like me have nostalgia trips. Being interactive, gamebooks are now also striking a chord with the video game generation. Video games stimulate the senses, but gamebooks stimulate the imagination. A gamebook is more than a book, more than a game, and more than a comic or graphic novel. While illustrations enhance the reader’s experience, it’s the writing that shapes the reader’s world, builds the atmosphere, and creates the feeling of anxiety, excitement, and reward. 

One of the initial purposes of gamebooks was to encourage children to read. To this day, I can’t think of a better way to achieve that. What is interesting now, though, is that the revival of interactive narrative is aimed at adults more than children. In a way, it’s hardly surprising. Adults have become increasingly infantilized over recent decades, and there’s barely a distinction between adult and children’s entertainment anymore. One of the most popular book choices among adults is Harry Potter, and grown-ups spend as much time playing video games and watching films about superheroes as children do. Books initially written for children are now part of the intellectual diet of the mature. Tolkien wrote his Lord of the Rings trilogy for his children, yet most children of the same age today would struggle with it, while adults treat it almost with reverence. 

Perhaps it’s time for Fighting Fantasy and Choose Your Own Adventure to become this generation’s books for adults and children alike.