Other titles are set in unrelated fantasy, horror, modern day, and sci-fi environments. ==Publication history== In 1980, Steve Jackson (not to be confused with the US-based game designer of the same name) and Ian Livingstone attended a Games Day, and after meeting with a Penguin Books editor Geraldine Cook decided to create a series of single-player gamebooks.
The first volume in the series was published in paperback by Puffin in 1982. The series distinguished itself by mixing Choose Your Own Adventure-style storytelling with a dice-based role-playing element included within the books themselves.
The Magic Quest was eventually accepted by Penguin, although the authors devoted a further six months to expanding and improving upon their original concept. ===Puffin Books (1982–1995)=== The end result was The Warlock of Firetop Mountain and, after several rewrites, the book was accepted and published in 1982 under Penguin's children's imprint, Puffin Books.
This series used a new logo, the rationale being that the old covers did not suit the modern market. 2007 also marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of Fighting Fantasy, and to commemorate the event Wizard Books published a special hardcover edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain that used the original 1982 cover image and contained extra material such as the dungeon solution and a commentary on Fighting Fantasy by Livingstone.
In 1983, The Citadel of Chaos and The Forest of Doom were published, by Jackson and Livingstone respectively.
It was published from 1983 to 1986 and ran for 13 issues in the UK.
In 1984, a decision was made to hire more writers to continue the series: Steve Jackson (the U.S.-based founder and owner of Steve Jackson Games) was the first, followed by others such as Andrew Chapman, Carl Sargent (aka Keith Martin), Marc Gascoigne, and Peter Darvill-Evans.
It was also published in other countries, and continued in Japan until 1997. In 1984, Jackson published a roleplaying game, Fighting Fantasy – The Introductory Role-playing Game.
It was published from 1983 to 1986 and ran for 13 issues in the UK.
A second game was published in 1989: Advanced Fighting Fantasy (AFF).
There were also several supplemental books produced that provided more information about the Fighting Fantasy universe, including a comprehensive bestiary of monsters and a sample adventure. Although the Fighting Fantasy titles had successful sales the increasing dominance of video games in the 1990s caused a gradual decline.
The series was scheduled to conclude with Return to Firetop Mountain (book 50, Livingstone, 1992), but due to strong sales of that volume, ten more books were scheduled.
The popularity of the series led to the creation of merchandise such as action figures, board games, role-playing game systems, magazines, novels, and video games. Puffin ended the series in 1995, but the rights to the series were eventually purchased by Wizard Books in 2002.
The series sold 20 million copies in the 80s and 90s. Fighting Fantasy was ranked 47th in the 1996 reader poll of Arcane magazine to determine the 50 most popular roleplaying games of all time.
It was also published in other countries, and continued in Japan until 1997. In 1984, Jackson published a roleplaying game, Fighting Fantasy – The Introductory Role-playing Game.
The popularity of the series led to the creation of merchandise such as action figures, board games, role-playing game systems, magazines, novels, and video games. Puffin ended the series in 1995, but the rights to the series were eventually purchased by Wizard Books in 2002.
A new title, Eye of the Dragon (by Ian Livingstone) was released in 2005, followed by Bloodbones in 2006 and Howl of the Werewolf in 2007.
A new title, Eye of the Dragon (by Ian Livingstone) was released in 2005, followed by Bloodbones in 2006 and Howl of the Werewolf in 2007.
Bloodbones is available for free and other titles are available as paid DLC. === Mobile === On 5 December 2006, it was announced that Jackson and Livingstone were planning to release a new series of handheld games based on Fighting Fantasy for Nintendo DS and Sony's PSP.
A new title, Eye of the Dragon (by Ian Livingstone) was released in 2005, followed by Bloodbones in 2006 and Howl of the Werewolf in 2007.
This series concluded that same year, ending with 29 books. ====Series 2 (2009–2012)==== Wizard Books then began again with a new series of reprints in 2009, again featuring a different cover art style, and again starting with The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.
The first of these, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, was released for the DS in the United States on 25 November 2009, and for the Apple iPhone and iPod in early January 2010. On 10 February 2011 an Amazon Kindle edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was launched by UK developer Worldweaver Ltd, for the US market.
The first of these, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, was released for the DS in the United States on 25 November 2009, and for the Apple iPhone and iPod in early January 2010. On 10 February 2011 an Amazon Kindle edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was launched by UK developer Worldweaver Ltd, for the US market.
The first of these, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, was released for the DS in the United States on 25 November 2009, and for the Apple iPhone and iPod in early January 2010. On 10 February 2011 an Amazon Kindle edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was launched by UK developer Worldweaver Ltd, for the US market.
Wizard published new editions of the original books and also commissioned six new books over two series, ending in 2012.
Three other original titles were added during this run, including Blood of the Zombies by Ian Livingstone to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary in 2012.
The rights were then acquired by Scholastic in 2017, which has since published four new titles and reissued thirteen of the original books with new artwork. ==Overview== The main text of each gamebook does not progress in a linear fashion, but rather is divided into a series of numbered sections (usually 400, though a few are shorter or longer).
This series was 17 books long, although Blood of the Zombies, the last volume released, is unnumbered and packaged differently than the rest. ===Scholastic Books (2017–)=== A new Fighting Fantasy book by Livingstone, The Port of Peril, was published in August 2017 by Scholastic in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the series.
These adventures were published by Myriador (now defunct, though PDFs are still available for purchase from Greywood Publishing via third-party online retailers). A comic series based on Freeway Fighter was published by Titan Books in May 2017. === Audio === In September 2017 a series of audio dramas based on classic Fighting Fantasy titles was launched by FoxYason Productions at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2, starting with "The Warlock of Firetop Mountain: The Hero's Quest".
In April 2018 a further six titles were published, including a new adventure by author Charlie Higson, entitled The Gates of Death.
A boxset of four more titles was released in 2018. === Video games === Several Fighting Fantasy titles have been released as video games, including seven Fighting Fantasy titles (The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel of Chaos, The Forest of Doom, Temple of Terror, Seas of Blood, Appointment with F.E.A.R.
Three more titles were published in September 2019, including Livingstone's new adventure Assassins of Allansia.
In October 2020 a further two titles were published, including a new adventure entitled Crystal of Storms, the first in the series by a female author, Rhianna Pratchett. ==Other media== === Printed === Warlock magazine (first published by Puffin Books and later Games Workshop) provided additional information on the Fighting Fantasy universe, and each issue featured a short gamebook adventure, new rules, monsters, reviews and comic strips.
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