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Yes. FF is basically CYOA plus rolling some dice for combat and keeping track of your inventory. The CYOA books were predated by the first Tunnel & Trolls solo

Yes. FF is basically CYOA plus rolling some dice for combat and keeping track of your inventory. The CYOA books were predated by the first Tunnel & Trolls solo adventure(s), that have a more complex rules system than FF (since you are playing using a full RPG system, sometimes even with an entire party of characters), and that are still being made, but was always less well known. https://rpggeek.com/rpgseries/2576/tunnels-and-trolls-solo-dungeons https://rpggeek.com/rpgseries/2576/tunnels-and-trolls-solo-d... TSR also briefly experimented with making solo adventures for early D&D versions, around the same time the first FF books came out. The first one at least was not bad at all and I find the rules much better than FF. Those books are not to be confused with TSR's line of FF-clones that they marketed as AD&D-something, but that did not actually use any D&D rules. https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/44105/ghost-of-lion-castle https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/44105/ghost-of-lion-castle

allturtles 2y ago
FF books also have more complicated graphs connecting their passages than CYOA. CYOA books are generally tree-like with maybe a few extra connections that make them technically DAGs, e.g. https://outspaced.fightingfantasy.net/SVG_Flowcharts/CYOA001.svgz https://outspaced.fightingfantasy.net/SVG_Flowcharts/CYOA001... Fighting Fantasy book graphs are larger and can have cycles: https://outspaced.fightingfantasy.net/SVG_Flowcharts/ff01.svgz https://outspaced.fightingfantasy.net/SVG_Flowcharts/ff01.sv... This, combined with inventory tracking, contributes a lot to making them more interesting. You can do things like find a locked door, find the key for it somewhere else, and come back and unlock it, which is not possible in a CYOA.
- acomjean 2y ago
  Loved that use of data visualization. Thinking about it, it makes sense to cut the loops out of the CYOA as you want the story to never be infinite and because they’re for young readers never be too long. The charts remind be of “puzzle dependency charts” used to design adventure games: https://grumpygamer.com/rtmi_pdc/ https://grumpygamer.com/rtmi_pdc/

allturtles 2y ago

FF books also have more complicated graphs connecting their passages than CYOA. CYOA books are generally tree-like with maybe a few extra connections that make them technically DAGs, e.g. https://outspaced.fightingfantasy.net/SVG_Flowcharts/CYOA001.svgz https://outspaced.fightingfantasy.net/SVG_Flowcharts/CYOA001... Fighting Fantasy book graphs are larger and can have cycles: https://outspaced.fightingfantasy.net/SVG_Flowcharts/ff01.svgz https://outspaced.fightingfantasy.net/SVG_Flowcharts/ff01.sv... This, combined with inventory tracking, contributes a lot to making them more interesting. You can do things like find a locked door, find the key for it somewhere else, and come back and unlock it, which is not possible in a CYOA.

acomjean 2y ago
Loved that use of data visualization. Thinking about it, it makes sense to cut the loops out of the CYOA as you want the story to never be infinite and because they’re for young readers never be too long. The charts remind be of “puzzle dependency charts” used to design adventure games: https://grumpygamer.com/rtmi_pdc/ https://grumpygamer.com/rtmi_pdc/