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In a decision point gamebook, the reader of a mass market paperback is given choices to make throughout a scenario. The reader is then directed to a place in the book where the story continues based on the decision that was made.
Typically, the book involves a goal, and if the reader/player makes the right choices, the goal can be achieved. Wrong choices may result in the player reaching a dead-end, and having to begin again.
Some decision point gamebooks include "success tests", and may require dice. In this situation, the player can not simply choose to do something, but must earn the right to proceed in that choice. This increases the repeat value of the book, since the correct can't simply be found by trial and error. However, it does make using the gamebook more complex.
Other role-playing game elements, including character creation, have also been included.
The best-known series is Choose Your Own Adventure. This series was very popular, and the term has been used generically to describe any decision point gamebook. However, there have been several other series. Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, well-known in the gaming world, contributed to Laurel Leaf's Fighting Fantasy gamebook series. Others include: Find Your Fate (which allowed readers to participate in the Indiana Jones universe), Time Machine, and Which Way. Individual titles include the Harry Harrison-written You Can Be the Stainless Steel Rat.
External Links
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