#FightingFantasy Audio

Posted by Jam on December 17, 2018
Posted in: audio drama, Authors, books, Fantasy, game, Gamebook, Gamers, Games, gaming, hobbies, Readers, Reading, RPG. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

The #FightingFantasy audio dramas increase this week with four new thrilling adventures by Fox Yason Music Productions. FF classics Citadel Of Chaos, Forest Of Doom, Deathtrap Dungeon and Creature Of Havoc have all been given the audible upgrade due to a successful Kickstarter project earlier this year and come together in a lovely box set or via MP3 download.

Jam with his new FF CDs

Each adventure follows the adventures of heroes from the first CD The Warlock Of Firestop Mountain and appears to slightly predate the efforts of the hero that actually completes the adventure (the successful readers of the actual Fighting Fantasy gamebook series). Vocal talents such as Rachel Atkins, Richard Rycroft and Lisa Bowerman are also joined by Charlie Higson of The Fast Show fame and author of The Enemy book series and the latest Fighting Fantasy gamebook Gates Of Death.

All in all these are great little adventure skits which fans of the series will love, with the only real downside being they seem a little short i.e. when you consider the likes of Baron Sukumvit’s labyrinth being navigated rather quickly, with only a couple of traps and three or four monsters. That’s my only personal gripe but then consider the stories are well thought out and the scripts well written. I especially love the bitchy dialogue between Vale Moonwing and Lady Lucretia. I also enjoy the way all spell incantations pay homage to the old Di Maggio spell of the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, with basically a word associated with the spells effect said backwards then the casters’ name after it. You can tell the likes of David Smith and Violet Addison knew the lore of Fighting Fantasy before starting this project and they’ve handled it beautifully to give us a wonderful expansion on the Fighting Fantasy range. May their STAMINA never fail! To grab yourself a copy visit HERE

Dealing With Death

Posted by Jam on December 10, 2018
Posted in: cards, game, Gamers, Games, gaming, grim reaper, hobbies, horror. Tagged: , , , , , .

So what can I tell you about today? Well I have just received a brand new card game from the genius minds of my close personal friends Oliver McNeil and Oliver Brooks named Grim Reaper. (Hence the title of this post, wasted here aren’t I?

My lady and I just had two games of it, the standard deck to begin with and then the extreme pack. It’s a perfectly simple game and the object is to get a higher score than your opponents while using you action cards to hinder their own progress. The cards have multiple depictions of gruesome ways to die…although suffocating in granny’s quilt seems a rather nice way to go. The more gruesome, the more value. But beware, any action cards you still have left over at the end of your 20 minute game gets deducted from any +cards you have. On our second game, my Mrs managed to bat me down from over +200 points by using a crafty action card in the last minute, then win with a score of 390!

I defy anybody to play this game and not be thoroughly annoyed when beat in this way plus many more lurid deaths. I can honestly say it’s thoroughly enjoyable, and would definitely recommend this game for 2-5 players to anybody.

CLICK HERE TO BUY A COPY…and see how many people you can fall out with by becoming the new GRIM REAPER!!!

Bohemian Rhapsody review

Posted by Jam on October 29, 2018
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , .

So the time came I finally got a day off work and two days after it’s release I get to view the film Bohemian Rhapsody, a Queen biopic. So how was it?

I have a feeling a lot of die hard Queen fans are going to get irritated by a lot of inconsistencies, most notably are the chronology of the songs as the film passes by. We Will Rock You for example if we are to go by this film was released in the 80s. Bzzzzt… Wrong! Next they may be annoyed by Ben Hardy being cast as Roger Taylor and looking not very like him at all. Rami Malek isn’t the best Freddie Mercury look alike I’ve seen either, with John Blunt looking much more like him in the TV movie about Freddie’s life. All this could distract the pessimists among us but what did they get right? For a start Gwylim Lee couldn’t look more like Brian May if he tried. Malek got a lot of Freddie’s moved spot on. The Live Aid section towards the end of the film simply makes you feel it’s that incredible day in 1985 again.

Pic1 Rami Malek vs Pic2 John Blunt

So at the end of the cliché, I as a lifelong Queen fan adore this film totally despite the little discrepancies and will rate it a respectable 8/10 .

Beowulf Beastslayer

Posted by Jam on October 3, 2018
Posted in: adventure, Authors, books, Crowdfunding, Fantasy, Gamebook, Gamers, gaming, hobbies, illustrators, Kickstarter, Readers, Reading, RPG. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Revered author Jonathan Green invites you to take part in the funding of the fourth book in his ACE Gamebook series, Beowulf Beastslayer. Illustrated by the hugely popular artist Russ Nicholson, this adventure will see the reader take on the role of the legendary warrior Beowulf. The reader will make the choices in the book of how the story progresses: which goes to fight, which treasures to take etc.

Beowulf Beastslayer illustration by Russ Nicholson.

To take part in the funding of this exciting project, backers who donate from £5 onwards will be rewarded with items such as prints of the illustrations, their name credited in the book, special edition hardbacks and much much more.

If you are a lover of books then this is just for you! CLICK HERE to learn more about this unmissable project!

Difinately Defiant

Posted by Jam on September 5, 2018
Posted in: Uncategorized.

Despite some vindictive little pillocks who can’t take responsibility for their own actions’ best interests to put a spoke in out works, we are still doing rather well. We have had a ball settling into abode and can look forward to a lovely open fireplace just like the good old days. I’ve rediscovered an old 400+ ref FF game I threw together years ago. With a little tweaking I can get that up on Mr Archer’s Fighting Fantasy site. I’ll come celebrate that tonight hopefully.

In the meantime here’s a charming little website based in the wee toon.

Campbeltown

Finding Neverland

Posted by Jam on August 20, 2018
Posted in: Uncategorized.

Not long now before Jonathan Green’s epic new gamebook Neverland – Here Be Monsters comes to fruition. Once again I’m one of several playtesters and it’s going very well. Kev Crossley is on board again as illustrator which keeps the Ace gamebook series nicely routine. More soon, Jam out!

Antibacterials

Posted by Jam on May 12, 2018
Posted in: cleaning, pathogen, Uncategorized, viruses. Tagged: , , , .

You know the ones. Hand gels, air fresheners, disinfectants, all these things that proudly boast on the label they destroy 99.9% of all germs including pathogens and viruses. Ever so often I go through a phase of buying these products only to fall ill with the common cold, respiratory infections, tonsillitis or flu.

So what the actual Hell is going on. Well all the while we wash our hand with soap and water, we are removing germs and pathogens anyway so long as we rinse and dry our hands properly. The bacterial hand washes also do but they take away the good bacteria that coats our skin as a first defence protective barrier against the bad. This creates a completely clean slate for the bad to cover us much easier before generating more good, then when we touch our faces or eat with our hands they’re given a free ticket to make us ill. Stick to soap and water unless otherwise instructed or you work in the medical sector.

So when else is it ok to use these things? Well keep all your surfaces clean in the home but wear gloves to keep that all important good bacteria safe. Use the air fresheners in rooms that won’t be in use for a while to cleanse airborne pathogens. (Bedrooms in the day, Lounge at night etc)

In the meantime, remember to stay clear of that antibac hand gel and use good old soap and water.

https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/sep/12/should-i-stop-using-antibacterial-handwash-and-gels

#FightingFantasy GoD

Posted by Jam on April 14, 2018
Posted in: adventure, Authors, books, comedy, comics, Fantasy, Gamebook, Gamers, gaming, god, illustrators, Readers, Reading, RPG, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , .

@FightingFantasy – Gates Of Death. The second brand new Fighting Fantasy adventure game book released after Port Of Peril in 2017s Scholastic relaunch of the series. So how was it for me?

Me after finishing Gates Of Death by Charlie Higson

After an excruciating wait from Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 up until today I finally managed to tread through the latest adventure set in Allansia. Charlie Higson of The Fast Show fame had been a fan of Fighting Fantasy for years, and has graced us with Gates Of Death, his debut epic for the series. He was invited by FF co-series creator Ian Livingstone to guest write, and has made history as the first guest writer to have his own name on the front cover of an FF book. The celebrity essence may lend the series some pulling power.

Now, you may already know that I cannot stand the internal art scholastic has chosen for these books.

Little better than cheap grayscale slap dash comic styles, and this book is no exception. It’s a shame because the beautiful realistic illustrations in the classic series is what attracted me to FF in the first place. Thankfully, Higson’s writing hits the nail on the head and saves the book with fast paced scenarios and cleverly interwoven snares for readers to get netted up in. Multi FF author Jonathan Green is said to have coached Higson and this is apparent as Gates Of Death contains a couple of similar elements to Greens work Night Of The Necromancer, although this may be coincidence. But then the lore dies.

One thing I noticed is the fighting aspect is really kept to a minimum. You could always use an alternative to get yourself out of a rut with opponents. I think I completed the adventure with only four actual melee combats. There is plenty of magic to be found and used in this adventure, three pairs of magic shoes for example. I guess he likes giving you plenty of chances to win as you only need one pair!

FF is now meant to be aimed at a younger demographic than before, although this book introduces the words ‘bum’ and ‘farting’ into the FF vocab. Not to mention a mutant with two faces on it’s bottom actually illustrated! While it’s clearly meant to bring humour it seems to cheapen the feel of the serious quest.

Overall this is a grand adventure plot, much better than the flawed ho hum badly named Port Of Peril (which barely has anything to do with the Port in question, you’re there longer in this book) …but an uneducated debut for Higson to the series. He could easily do better. 4/10

Me and Charlie Higson at FFF2 – 2017