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Choose Your Own Adventure books were fucking awesome, name your favourites
- Thread starter Funky Papa
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DimmuBurgerKing
Member
I remember reading Master of Tae Kwon Do at my elementary school library. Now I'm curious to read it again.
Wolfgunblood Garopa
Member
I was so into these when I was a kid. That Time Machine cover is a real blast from the past, I haven't thought of those probably since they were out.
My favorite (I can barely remember some of the scenes, but that cover is iconic to me):
My favorite (I can barely remember some of the scenes, but that cover is iconic to me):
I haven't read it yet, but Bob Powers released a choose your own adventure book for adults a few years back. I love his writing, so I'm sure it's hilarious.
RPG Wizard
Member
Hrm. On a phone, so I can't link images, but I remember taking out Carol Gaskin's Forgotten Forest CYOAs from my elementary school library. Specifically, The Forbidden Towers and The Master of Mazes.
I think I also own a copy of Deathtrap Dungeons, if that counts.
I think I also own a copy of Deathtrap Dungeons, if that counts.
Do you mean *actual* CYOA, or just that ilk? I ask because *this* baby and its family were awesome:
A standard adventure gamebook, but it came with a kit of tools that were used with it; the magic potion metre tracked 'health', the coin card did the obvious, a dice to randomly select characters to do various tasks, and there were translators the decipher codes in the book and an overlay card to read out messages from masses of letters. Really felt a lot more involved.
I saw those books with Asterix branding and Famous Five branding, both worked rather well.
While we're sticking with Asterix branding, I'd like to also flag up:
I've only played one of these, but they were again a bit more interesting than a standard gamebook. For one, if I recall correctly, they were actually organised into discrete chapters; you'd still do normal gamebook things within a chapter, but once you'd finished a chapter, you'd move on to another set of pages. For another thing, occasionally it'd break away from the normal gamebook flow system into something a bit more adventurous. I recall one scene where your character had to navigate through a roman camp - displayed on a grid - and as you proceeded you needed to fight or hide from enemies displayed on the map, and if you entered a tent you'd jump to the paragraphs indicated by the tent.
A standard adventure gamebook, but it came with a kit of tools that were used with it; the magic potion metre tracked 'health', the coin card did the obvious, a dice to randomly select characters to do various tasks, and there were translators the decipher codes in the book and an overlay card to read out messages from masses of letters. Really felt a lot more involved.
I saw those books with Asterix branding and Famous Five branding, both worked rather well.
While we're sticking with Asterix branding, I'd like to also flag up:
I've only played one of these, but they were again a bit more interesting than a standard gamebook. For one, if I recall correctly, they were actually organised into discrete chapters; you'd still do normal gamebook things within a chapter, but once you'd finished a chapter, you'd move on to another set of pages. For another thing, occasionally it'd break away from the normal gamebook flow system into something a bit more adventurous. I recall one scene where your character had to navigate through a roman camp - displayed on a grid - and as you proceeded you needed to fight or hide from enemies displayed on the map, and if you entered a tent you'd jump to the paragraphs indicated by the tent.
PoweredBySoy
Banned
I've read all of the Packard and Goodman ones. Seeing those covers brings huge waves of nostalgia.
PoweredBySoy
Banned
Oh god, yes.
I have - sadly...? - never read a Choose Your Own Adventure book... but the cover art of the books people are posting is fantastic: it reminds me of the brilliant illustrated science books from the 1970s I would find in the local and school libraries (in the 1990s). I miss those books so much - without them I think I'd be a very different person: they inspired such a love of the future, firing an immense curiosity. And the illustrations that depict the deep sea still scare me (gives me a real sense of dread-cum-awe)...
Last night I remembered a series of ninja adventure ones I used to go through, Way of the Tiger.
Pretty rad. There's an iOS repository of these or something? Online?
I need to go through these again, and try not to cheat this time.
Pretty rad. There's an iOS repository of these or something? Online?
I need to go through these again, and try not to cheat this time.
SpiderJerusalem
Banned
I read a bunch of them and the Time Machine ones..wish I still had them.
this too
this one too
this too
this one too
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Still glad I have all of the Time Machine books from when I was young.
I was beginning to think I was the only one!
Lord British
Member
I'm just going to leave this here:
As I'm sure you can imagine, this gets me pussy like you wouldn't believe.
As I'm sure you can imagine, this gets me pussy like you wouldn't believe.
Just to check, I assume people here are aware of Project Aon, right?
Much of the Lone Wolf series with permission granted to be distributed on their site for free, along with a few tools to aid playing them. Given that Lone Wolf lent itself well to being played in serial with your hero persisting between them, that's quite a nice setup!
I have similar (1-50, IIRC) from a friend at University who was throwing them out.
It... doesn't have that effect for me.
Much of the Lone Wolf series with permission granted to be distributed on their site for free, along with a few tools to aid playing them. Given that Lone Wolf lent itself well to being played in serial with your hero persisting between them, that's quite a nice setup!
I have similar (1-50, IIRC) from a friend at University who was throwing them out.
It... doesn't have that effect for me.
Link1110
Member
I loved these books when I was a kid. Came pretty close to buying a bunch on eBay recently.
Bought a couple at a library sale a few weeks back, and I even used one in an esl class when I had only a couple of students. I never read the Goosebumps version, but it was really fun, and m students enjoyed it too
Holy god, The Steve Jackson Sorcery! series! I *LOVED* those books, and the Lone Wolf stuff was incredible too. I have not seen that 'Cityport of traps' pictures in DECADES. So many memories of playing that one during summer vacations over and over again.
The Lone Wolf books were incredible and so EPIC. I only finished 1-5 and then they stopped being translated in french. I saw somewhere that they made over 20 of them (wtf!).. I wonder where they took the storyline, because as far as I remember, the first arc was pretty much self contained.
The Lone Wolf books were incredible and so EPIC. I only finished 1-5 and then they stopped being translated in french. I saw somewhere that they made over 20 of them (wtf!).. I wonder where they took the storyline, because as far as I remember, the first arc was pretty much self contained.
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
This was probably my favorite. So off-the-wall. There was a secret happy ending in the book that no page "linked" to, the only way to find it was to cheat. (I guess like Inside UFO 54-40, OP)
Still, hard to argue with the original:
There's no way I can remember any of them but I read countless CYOA books as a kid. I'd actually read them during church and use the pew cards as placeholders in case I died by going one route that didn't work out. :lol
I read so much back then.. we'd go to the library and I'd get like 10 books at a time. The Boxcar Children was my favorite series.
I read so much back then.. we'd go to the library and I'd get like 10 books at a time. The Boxcar Children was my favorite series.
Squirrel Killer
Member
My collection stops about where I outgrew the format, so somewhere around CYOA #25-30 or so. I also had a pretty good set of the TSR Endless Quest books until about #14-16. But this stands out as one I really liked...
Reading a bit more on the Wiki page and on R.A. Montgomery's reboot site, I get the feeling R.A. is a bit of a dick. His reboot looks really half-assed.
Like Wolf, I can barely remember anything about it, and what I do remember is actually probably either another CYOA book or the Planetfall book creeping in.My favorite (I can barely remember some of the scenes, but that cover is iconic to me):
Reading a bit more on the Wiki page and on R.A. Montgomery's reboot site, I get the feeling R.A. is a bit of a dick. His reboot looks really half-assed.
That's awesome of the rights owners to allow that. Is there functionality in one of the major ebook platforms (Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks) to allow branching to let these be converted?
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Edward Packard put out some iPhone apps that are essentially Choose Your Own Adventures, called U-Ventures. Good fun.
My fave as a kid. I was in the "special" English class for one year and our curriculum revolved entirely around these books. Very familiar.
This was one of the most disappointing for me though I remember it being really boring. Loved the art though, it depicted the main character (You) as an asexual human to make the book gender neutral.
I typically go to thrift stores to look for games but I'll brouse the book section to look for that red. Terribly rare at book stores though.
I have about 10 of mine from childhood and and about 20 from the past few years.
My favorites:
Escape - The thought of a divided U.S. terrified me as a kid. Also, something about being chased was awesome.
The Race Forever - For the rally half. The racecar half was fun, but it had obvious traps.
Space Patrol - Lol Star Wars 14 (iirc) on hologram. I love the space ones and this one had a ton of mystery.
Space and Beyond - More space. I couldn't get enough.
Inside UFO 54-40 - If I recall correctly, this one had a secret ending, with a city of gold. You had to be a cheating page flipper to get there though!
I have about 10 of mine from childhood and and about 20 from the past few years.
My favorites:
Escape - The thought of a divided U.S. terrified me as a kid. Also, something about being chased was awesome.
The Race Forever - For the rally half. The racecar half was fun, but it had obvious traps.
Space Patrol - Lol Star Wars 14 (iirc) on hologram. I love the space ones and this one had a ton of mystery.
Space and Beyond - More space. I couldn't get enough.
Inside UFO 54-40 - If I recall correctly, this one had a secret ending, with a city of gold. You had to be a cheating page flipper to get there though!
OneEightZero
aka ThreeOneFour
The most memorable of many. I inhaled these books as a kid.
Also really enjoyed these.
The art of those books was iconic.
I could never be bothered with the dice and keeping stats, so I just ended up assuming I won the battles. Still lost when I turned round the wrong corner or opened the wrong door though.
My two favourites were from the Fighting Fantasy series:
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
Starship Traveller
You stole my post.
anarckitty
Member
I loved these books when I was younger. I loved them so much that sometimes when I would go over to my best friend's house I would take one into the bathroom with me, sit on the floor, and proceed to read for at least 30 minutes at a time. My friend always thought I took massive dumps, but I was instead stealth-reading the CYOA books.
I was such a nerd.
I was such a nerd.
I loved these as a kid. These also bring back memoriesDo you mean *actual* CYOA, or just that ilk? I ask because *this* baby and its family were awesome:
A standard adventure gamebook, but it came with a kit of tools that were used with it; the magic potion metre tracked 'health', the coin card did the obvious, a dice to randomly select characters to do various tasks, and there were translators the decipher codes in the book and an overlay card to read out messages from masses of letters. Really felt a lot more involved.
I saw those books with Asterix branding and Famous Five branding, both worked rather well.
While we're sticking with Asterix branding, I'd like to also flag up:
I've only played one of these, but they were again a bit more interesting than a standard gamebook. For one, if I recall correctly, they were actually organised into discrete chapters; you'd still do normal gamebook things within a chapter, but once you'd finished a chapter, you'd move on to another set of pages. For another thing, occasionally it'd break away from the normal gamebook flow system into something a bit more adventurous. I recall one scene where your character had to navigate through a roman camp - displayed on a grid - and as you proceeded you needed to fight or hide from enemies displayed on the map, and if you entered a tent you'd jump to the paragraphs indicated by the tent.
And the Mario ones from the same series too.
The one and only Space Vampire
Love this cover. The black kids got a knife!
I LOVE the Third Planet from Altair. Love the scenario, love the ship, love the choices. The best ending is actually completely disconnected from any of the choices, just a random page.
Never understood why these types of books petered out.
The Sorcery! and Lone Wolf series were the best of the bunch. There was typically one or two good ends per book, a number of bad ends if you really screwed up, but a lot of it just made progression easier or harder depending on how you chose. That meant it wasn't as necessary to back up to the previous entry all the time. Also, the clever world-building and sense of progression from book to book elevated them into epic quests that were more involving than Ian Livingstone's more self-contained Fighting Fantasy books.
Eaten By A Grue
Member
Holy poo, I was looking to see if new ones were still published and I saw this little tidbit:
Almost a 20 year run and 250 million sold. Not too shabby.
I loved CYOA, Lone Wolf was my absolute favorite. Still pissed I didn't get in on the Mongoose Publishing hardbacks before they lost the license to print them. Now the books are going for $200+ each.
YES, by far my favourite but I loved them all. I'm sure I read most, if not all, of the CYOA books, as a kid I kept a list of all the numbers and went to the library at least once a week to see if they had one in I hadn't read before. My best friend was spoiled as shit and his parent bought him every book, but the little shit was basically illiterate and didn't read them at all and didn't want me to crease them up. So he had a couple of shelves of pristine, unopened books mocking me. I hope he enjoys his never-opened figurines or whatever now.
I was also a big fan of the Three Investigators. Wow, in the '80s I didn't realize how old these books were, they didn't seem nearly as dated as Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew (which I was too snobbish to read, that shit was *dated*).
Well, there's eBook versions available on the site, but I've no idea if they handle nonlinear progression. They do have a version that works with an accompanying program on the PC which does (and tracks statistics), though.
And the Mario ones from the same series too.
Zelda's face in that bottom one. It's like her head's moved backwards while the hair stayed where it was.
I wasn't aware there were Zelda variants of those, I'd only encountered a few of the Mario ones.
Sounds a little like The Great Spy Race / Riddle of the Sphinx.
Potentially my favourite series as a kid was Race Against Time by JJ Fortune.
Man, the superspy watches. So awesome.
Man, the superspy watches. So awesome.
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Awesome, awesome book. That it carried on into three sequels for one larger, better story with specific details and elements carrying on with you (if you'd read the earlier books) was really thrilling at the time.
This is on the App Store, and plays pretty neat. Only the first book is up though:
http://pockettactics.com/2013/05/10/review-sorcery/
Kung Fu Jedi
Member
Wow! Lots of great memories here. I jumped into the Choose Your Own Adventure stories with The Cave of Time (#1) when it first came out and bought dozens of them later. They were all so much fun back in the day.
I had a couple of these when I was young, but I only remember two of them. One was set in a circus that you ran away to, or maybe from. I don't remember much of it. My favourite I remember quite well, though. I think you were a wizard or a wizard's apprentice to three wizard brothers, who charge you with going into a castle to collect something. I believe they had a sleeping master or something, they wanted all the magic for themselves, and sent you on the quest to get or do whatever it was. You were accompanied with a fox and an owl, who bickered often on the journey. It was imaginative and fun, and I must have read it so many times over the years.
That's all I remember.
That's all I remember.
I don't remember the title, but there was this one book where there was a supercomputer named Acorn that was on a moon base, and was trying to take over the world.
I struggled to fight that thing so much as a kid. There were so many bad endings where the computer outsmarted me and sent me to some horrible doom.
I loved that book. I tried it again and again until I got the good endings.
I struggled to fight that thing so much as a kid. There were so many bad endings where the computer outsmarted me and sent me to some horrible doom.
I loved that book. I tried it again and again until I got the good endings.
They started my love of gaming and still are unmatched in terms of character choice.
the lone wolf series was the best.
This. Actually just had to dig out my books to show my son.
The best answer.
As trey360 said: For anyone else who hasn't
meltingparappa
Member
Bums me out a little that with a generation or two raised on these books, visual novels have a hard time getting on Steam, a pretty small stepping stone towards financial success as a genre.
Not to bring that dirty gaming side talk into here or anything.
Not to bring that dirty gaming side talk into here or anything.
Seven Force
Banned
Used to read this one all the time. I think there were only two or so good endings in this one, though.
Bucket Mouse
Member
I used to fucking love the Goosebumps ones, but I'd always do some contortionist shit with my fingers wedged in between different pages to ensure I got the best endings.
Ah nostalgia, but I don't think that's an adventure book; it only has one path, unless I'm remembering it wrong.
TimeEffect
Member
I seem to remember reading a CYOA Blaster Master, through which, I cheated like mad. This might not be the cover though.
Liberty4all
Banned
The correct answer to this thread:
http://www.gamebooks.org/show_item.php?id=950
this series took choose your own adventure to the next level. It was important to take notes throughout the adventures because certain puzzles old lead to a gruesome death if you hadn't been paying attention earlier.
It was followed by
If you liked Choose Your Own Adventure books these two series were god tier reading.
Funny story. In 2005 a buddy and I found Cave of Time at a used store in downtown Toronto. While walking back we ran into Margaret Atwood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Atwood
Super famous Canadian author, she wrote books read in our high schools ... It would be like running into the Canadian version of Mark Twain. Anyways we got her to sign the copy. We both found this hilarious. We worked with street kids so we donated the copy back to the centre for street involved youth we worked at.
Thought you might appreciate this story. She had NO idea what she was signing, we both gushed to her how this was book one of an iconic series
We told the truth !
http://www.gamebooks.org/show_item.php?id=950
this series took choose your own adventure to the next level. It was important to take notes throughout the adventures because certain puzzles old lead to a gruesome death if you hadn't been paying attention earlier.
It was followed by
If you liked Choose Your Own Adventure books these two series were god tier reading.
Funny story. In 2005 a buddy and I found Cave of Time at a used store in downtown Toronto. While walking back we ran into Margaret Atwood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Atwood
Super famous Canadian author, she wrote books read in our high schools ... It would be like running into the Canadian version of Mark Twain. Anyways we got her to sign the copy. We both found this hilarious. We worked with street kids so we donated the copy back to the centre for street involved youth we worked at.
Thought you might appreciate this story. She had NO idea what she was signing, we both gushed to her how this was book one of an iconic series
We told the truth !
Liberty4all
Banned
I read a bunch of them and the Time Machine ones..wish I still had them.
this too
this one too
I had the Supergirl one. The cover gave me unfamiliar strange new feelings as a kid of 11. Amazing feelings.
It was kind of like that, yeah! But not those ones, thanks for the suggestions though
I think it was written in the 90's and iirc the main character was a young girl and she was trying to foil the plot of a mad scientist who was testing on the gorilla. One of the puzzles was decrypting a message. It's going to bother me so much until I can remember!
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