It's unusual, but not unheard of, for books to get adapted into board games. From the cathedral building worker placement game Pillars of the Earth, to the beloved Discworld board game. If ever there were books that were just crying out for a tabletop adaptation, though, it's the Fighting Fantasy series, a selection of choose your own adventure stories that started publication back in the eighties. Well, a recently launched crowdfunding campaign is turning that concept into a reality.
Steve Jackson (the British co-founder of Games Workshop, not to be confused with Steve Jackson, the American designer of Munchkin) published The Warlock of Firetop Mountain in 1982, alongside co-author Ian Livingstone and illustrator Russ Nicholson. While it wasn't the first choose your own adventure book, it was the first installment in the Fighting Fantasy series, which has gone on to have more than 70 installments.
The story was originally adapted into a board game back in 1986, but now German studio Ulisses Spiele is giving it another go using modern design principles.
Unlike in the book, where a lone adventurer tore their way through Firetop Mountain in search of treasure, this is a game for 1-4 players. In the base game, four different heroes are available: a bard, an arcanist, a scoundrel, or a knight, each of whom is available in every game regardless of player count.
The game is a longform campaign, split into several different scenarios with equipment and treasure transferring from mission to mission.
It's designed to be played cooperatively, but there is also a 'co-op competitive' mode, where players each separately track their own kills and maintain their own independent pool of gold (rather than sharing it with the rest of the party). Victory points are then awarded based on how players performed in each given scenario, and while they'll all win or lose together, players with higher scores will win more than others.
During each turn, a 'danger track' gradually rises, representing the titular Warlock of Firetop Mountain becoming increasingly aware of the presence of the players. If this track ever reaches 11 then the party fails the scenario, coming to an ambiguous, but undoubtedly gruesome end.
The Gamefound campaign for the Warlock of Firetop Mountain is currently live. The base game is available for $70 (£50), while an expanded collection containing additional levels, more plastic miniatures, two new heroes, extra cards, a deluxe playmat, and an optional harder difficulty setting can be purchased for $247 (£180).
What are some of your favorite dungeon delving board games? Give us some recommendations over on the Wargamer Discord, or check out our list of the best dungeon crawler board games.