The Windhammer Prize

Something that's certainly caught my eye within the past few days, was mention of a contest in an update bulletin over at Lloyd of Gamebooks.

Whilst, I was completely unaware of this competition, the Windhammer Prize is now in it's 5th year and looks to serve a great function, rewarding original writing within the genre of the gamebook.

This seems like a great idea to me as solitaire adventure fiction is often an aspect of the gaming hobby that gets overlooked and, as the years have passed, it has seemingly fallen to the wayside in the favor of more conventional gaming options, such as the board game and the group roleplay session.

Which is a great shame.

I can't count the many hours of fun that I have had playing various gamebooks over the years and, it seems to me that the next generation of gamers would really be missing a trick if awesome titles like those in the Lone Wolf, Fighting Fantasy and, many wonderful independent ranges where lost to the mists of time and obscurity.

Thankfully new technology has helped bring the genre into the 21st century, with many new titles being made available via apps and downloadable content but, the heart of the hobby is still with the writers and, competitions like this are excellent incentives for casting a spotlight on new and progressive talent.

As such I would highly recommend that if you think you have something to share, give it a go!