Lost Worlds (gamebook)

Did You Know?

• A minor resurgence in published books occurred in 2004, with five new titles, four by 1% Inspiration Games.
• Two books published in June 2005 used photo illustrations rather than graphics.
• Firelight Game Company has said they may reprint some of the early books.

Spinoffs

In late 2005, Hobby Japan launched Queen's Blade, a series of over 20 books centered on female fighters, with character designs by popular Japanese artists. A follow-up line, Queen's Gate, debuted in December 2007, pulling characters from Japanese visual media. By October 2008, Hobby Japan had announced four more characters for a subset called Queen's Blade Rebellion. Since 2010, Jill Leonardi, daughter of original designer Alfred Leonardi, has been crafting new character matrices for the series. In 2012, she teamed up with Todd Broadbent to found Legend's Gauntlet, a brand releasing new characters in a compatible format. Other publishers, including BattleBooks and Games Workshop, have also adopted the Leonardi move-matrix system to power their own combat picture books.

Reception

Steve Jackson reviewed Lost Worlds for Fantasy Gamer, stating he was immensely impressed, finding it fun, realistic, and easy, and recommending it for situations where other games could not be played. Chris Hunter reviewed it for Imagine, calling it a quick, fun system but noting shortcomings and suggesting he could not imagine playing more than a quick battle or two while waiting to start role-playing. Ian Waddelow reviewed it for White Dwarf #52, giving an overall rating of 6 out of 10, describing the game as easy and good fun but with limited appeal, suitable for lunchtime or the pub. In the May 1984 Dragon (Issue 85), Ken Rolston found the game entertaining and fast but expensive with limited replayability, giving high marks for playability, learning time, presentation, originality, system quality, and dramatic effect, yet noting its applications were limited and closed-ended. Larry DiTillio reviewed it for Different Worlds, guaranteeing it a definite winner for those who enjoy hack 'n' slash. In the April 1996 Arcane (Issue 5), Cliff Ramshaw was not overly impressed with the Flying Buffalo version, commenting that while fun, it lacked longevity and would not keep one occupied for hours, giving it a below average rating of 6 out of 10.