If enjoy the tactical side of combat, then there are a few gamebooks that go beyond the typical combat of Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf or Fabled Lands.
Gamebooks - 5 to start | deeper combat | 5 fighting fantasy | all gamebooks
Gamebooks with Deeper Combat
People rarely come to gamebooks for fulfilling, deep combat. This is usually something more for computer roleplaying games, combat tabletop rpgs or some solo rpgs.
Often in gamebooks, combat is against vastly inferior foes or something readers prefer to skip over.
But if you do want something with a bit more thinking or depth, there are a few options.
1) DestinyQuest
For combat more like diablo or other video games, DestinyQuest by Michael J. Ward is the first suggestion. If follows a format of battle, loot, power-up, repeat and puts it into gamebooks. You have lots of character choices to make that affect your abilities in combat. There's no permadeath in this game. If you fail a quest you just start again or pick another location on the map.
Much of the gameplay is combat, with a few puzzles too. While most of the combat revolves around who has the higher Speed, there's lots of variety in the fights. Multiple foes, carts to stop escaping, a golem that throws mud pies at you, snipers and a foe that absorbs your abilities and throws them back at you. As you loot items from foes, more combat abilities open up. There are many abilities to customise your character.
Combat evolves in later books, and the most recent series (Destiny Raiders) is diceless and you have multiple characters. Consider starting with the second book (The Heart of Fire), as the first one has balance issues (fixed in a revised version). Book 2 also has Team Battles where you can team up with a character from another book.
2) In the Ashes
In the Ashes by Pablo Aguilera is a unique gamebook set over four acts. With a dedicated website. It's a dark-ish fantasy facing a variety of foes. There are choices to make and plenty of narrative, but this gamebook's main strength is the combat.
Each combat has a double-page spread, played on a tactical hex grid on one of the pages. Each lasts up to three rounds and you have a grid of 9-15 actions to choose from (you'll choose 9 in most fights). Each round you choose three actions, but can't choose two from the same row or column. Your foe(s) have their actions pre-planned, or chosen between a couple of actions by a die roll. There's lots going on and lots of small decisions to make.
There are 3 characters you play with different abilities. Each feels different to play. The books are dice-light, used to determine the action some foes take and the damage modifier of some attacks.
3) Legendary Kingdoms
Open-world gamebooks have different issues for balancing combat, as you often have more options in general, and also the order you wish to face foes. VulcanVerse doesn't have separate combat rules, simply treating it as a test like any other.
Legendary Kingdoms gives more tactical options as you have a party of 4 adventurers. You'll usually be fighting multiple foes and you have access to spells (unless you're playing without spellcasters!) that can be used if you see fit.
Three of the six books are written and you can go between books and back, as with other open-world books. The series also features a simple mass-battle system, which happens a few times each book.
The books are hard to get in physical format (for now), but Book 1 - The Valley of Bones (and book 2) is available digitally.
4) Blood Sword
Blood Sword is a classic series by Dave Morris (RR interview) and Oliver Johnson, originally from 1987. You play 1-4 characters in a fantasy world, choosing from Warrior, Enchanter, Sage and Trickster. The fewer characters you have, the higher level they are. In the first book, you're trying to survive the Battle Pits of Krarth in a contest against rival adventurers.
The tactical side comes from the battle grids and the different abilities of your one to four characters. There are decisions to make about who should face who, what order your characters go in, which abilities to use, what items to equip and possibly who to sacrifice.
It's a well-regarded gamebook that has stood the test of decades.
5) Clockwork City
The Clockwork City is the first book of Endless Destinies (and so far only one) . Written by Corinna Keefe, game design by Joe Harris and Illustrated by Paula Zorite. Your character is trying to fix the ills that are besetting the Clockwork City. You choose locations on the various maps to go to and investigate, rest or shop.
The gamebook comes in a box with a deck of custom playing cards that are used for combat. It has some tactical depth but isn't too complex. You have a deck for your hero, which you can add to as you learn more techniques in time. The monsters get their own deck, with a different combination of cards (and actions) for each monster, making each fight quite different.
It's a pretty gamebook, with a distinctive art style. There's no permanent death to worry about (unless you run out of money to pay the boatman) and the storytelling is engaging.
Finishing Up
If you're interested in Gamebooks join the 100 Endings Book Club, look over the other gamebook articles or Join the gamebook community on our Discord.
