Item - Dice Men: The Origin Story of Games Workshop

While I confess that I am not a fan of Ian Livingstone's particular brand of gamebook design, I found his autobiographical work here tremendously interesting and entertaining -- so much so that I read the entire book in a single afternoon. This tale of the formation and growth of Games Workshop and Fighting Fantasy really strikingly drives home the fact that much of today's hobby gaming industry grew out of the creativity and enthusiasm of a relatively small group of people, many of them pretty familiar to gamebook fans.

The tone of the book feels modest and even-handed, and the inclusion of direct quotes from many of the players reinforces the sense that this is a relatively accurate portrayal of events. It was also interesting to realize that the dramatic shift in Games Workshop's priorities in the late 80's/early 90's had so much to do with the departure of Jackson and Livingstone. The book makes me miss the old GW, though it also does a fair job of pointing out the strengths of the more corporate GW that exists today!

In any case, if you're interested in learning more about the British games industry and the roots of British gamebooks (among other things), this is well worth a look. I learned a lot, and the various photos and illustrations are fascinating as well. (Reading the front pages of all the early GW newsletters was a joy in and of itself, for example).

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