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These visual combat books, a successor to Ace of Aces, each represent a fantasy warrior. The books are all compatible with one another, so any two fighters can face off; however, there is no guarantee that the fight will be fair, as some characters are much tougher than others. To play, two people each choose a character, taking the character sheet for that character and giving the corresponding books to their opponents. Each character sheet provides some basic statistics (height, body points and attacks) and lists all of the moves that a player's character may make. Each turn, the players choose their moves and call them out to each other. By cross-referencing these moves with their own in the books they are holding and then turning the page, players are then given a picture of their opponent's current position along with an indication of whether or not a wound has been scored and restrictions on the next turn’s moves. Wounds are subtracted from body points, and when a character runs out of body points, it is defeated. Experience points are awarded to the victor, and in campaign play, it is possible for characters to grow in strength over time.
Over the years, a variety of gimmicks have been added to make the game more interesting. Some characters can cast spells or perform other special actions represented by cards. The earliest cards were included with certain books or sold in separate packages. Later books even include randomly inserted collectible cards representing spells, equipment and special moves which may be used to even up battles between poorly matched opponents or simply spice up battles. Some of these cards were also sold in special packs. There were also some kits released which, with the help of molded plastic dungeon floors, allowed the combat books to be used with miniatures for tactical combat and role-playing.
The series was first published by Nova Game Designs, then by Chessex and finally by Greysea. Flying Buffalo, Nutmeg Games and 1% Inspiration Games also published some additional items under license. Emithill reproduced some of the early Nova releases for English audiences; these British editions look exactly like the American ones (Nova logo and all), but the cover graphics are slightly less sharp and the back cover features a white box near the middle containing the text "Printed under license by Emithill Ltd., Manchester, England."
Play Aids
Lost Worlds 1001 Character Sheet (front)
Lost Worlds 1001/1002 Character Sheet (back)
Lost Worlds 1002 Character Sheet (front)
Lost Worlds 1010 Character Sheet (back)
Lost Worlds 1010 Character Sheet (front)
Lost Worlds 3001 Cards (front)
Lost Worlds 3001 Character Sheet (back)
Lost Worlds 3001 Character Sheet (front)
Lost Worlds 3002 Cards (front)
Lost Worlds 3002 Character Sheet (back)
Veltigg, The Forest Shade / Mattha, Huntress of Denglade
Firelight Game Company
This company sells Lost Worlds gamebooks and is working in developing some new titles for the series.
http://firelightgames.com/ (last verified: 2012-09-25)Flying Buffalo
This long-lived adventure game company sells solitaire adventures for the Tunnels & Trolls RPG along with some Lost Worlds books.
http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/ (last verified: 2012-06-12)Kelly Bennett's Elfwood Page
This gallery provides some artwork by the illustrator of the Daniel the Pirate Lost Worlds book.
http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/art/k/b/kbennett3/kbennett3.html (last verified: 2004-06-09)
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