Wikipedia

ACE Gamebooks

ACE Gamebooks is a series of gamebooks created by Jonathan Green and published by Snowbooks since 2015. A feature of the titles in the series is that they take classic works of literature and give them a dark twist, often combining steampunk elements. Some of the titles take inspiration from more than one work of classic literature, such as NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!, which uses elements of both J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan and Wendy and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World.

ACE Gamebooks
Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland
  • Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland
  • The Wicked Wizard of Oz
  • NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!
  • Beowulf Beastslayer
  • 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas
  • 'Dracula - Curse of the Vampire
  • RONIN 47
AuthorJonathan Green
IllustratorKev Crossley / Russ Nicholson / Tony Hough / Hauke Kock / Neil Googe
Cover artistKev Crossley / Russ Nicholson / Tony Hough / Hauke Kock / Neil Googe
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish
PublisherSnowbooks
Published2015-
Media typeprint
No. of books7
Websitehttps://www.facebook.com/ACEgamebooks/

Gameplay

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The ACE Gamebooks series are similar in terms of both gameplay and layout to Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, designed to be read by a single player.

The name for the series comes from the initial letters of the three attributes players keep track of throughout the books, Agility, Combat and Endurance. 'ACE' also references the fact that instead of dice, cards can be used to generate random numbers. Some books in the series introduce other attributes, such as Insanity and Logic, in Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, and Mutiny in NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!

Another feature of the series is that in some of the books the reader can choose which character they want to play as.[1] Each player character has unique content written especially for them, which includes unlockable mini-quests in books such as The Wicked Wizard of Oz.

Combat

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Combat is simulated by rolling dice or picking random playing cards from a standard deck. These randomly-generated numbers are added to the player's, or an opponent's, Combat score to produce a Combat Strength. The Combat Strengths of the player and the opponent are compared, with the higher one winning the Combat Round and deducting Endurance points from the other. Combat in the books also uses an initiative system, with whoever has the initiative gaining a Combat bonus.

Attributes

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  • Agility: A measure of how athletic and agile you are.
  • Combat: A measure of how skilful you are at fighting, whether it be in hand-to-hand combat, or wielding a keen-edged blade in battle.
  • Endurance: A measure of how physically tough you are and how much strength you have left.

Books in the series

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The series consists of seven books so far, with an eighth title (Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come) due for release in 2024:

No. Title Author(s) Cover Art Interior Art Sections Published ISBN
1 Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland Jonathan Green Kev Crossley Kev Crossley 520 Nov 2015 978-1909679597
2 The Wicked Wizard of Oz Jonathan Green Kev Crossley Kev Crossley 850 June 2017 978-1911390312
3 NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! Jonathan Green Kev Crossley Kev Crossley 900 June 2019 978-1911390411
4 Beowulf Beastslayer Jonathan Green Russ Nicholson Russ Nicholson 500 Oct 2019 978-1911390749
5 TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas Jonathan Green Tony Hough Tony Hough 500 Dec 2019 978-1911390701
6 Dracula - Curse of the Vampire Jonathan Green Hauke Kock Hauke Kock 1000 Oct 2021 978-1913525019
7 RONIN 47 Jonathan Green Neil Googe Neil Googe 600 Aug 2022 978-1913525187
8 Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come Jonathan Green TBC TBC TBC 2024 TBC
9 Judgement Day: 1869 Jonathan Green TBC TBC TBC 2024 TBC
10 TBC Jonathan Green TBC TBC TBC 2025 TBC

A copy of The Wicked Wizard of Oz is on display in the All Things Oz Museum in Chittenango, New York,[2] along with a set of bookmarks produced as rewards for backers of the Kickstarter that was run to fund production of the book.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "REVIEW: The Wicked Wizard of Oz". gamebooknews.com. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  2. ^ "All Things Oz Museum on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
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