# Choose Your Own Adventure - on Kindle



## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

Just saw this on Amazon Kidles Facebook message http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?ie=UTF8&docId=1000449691&tag=kbpst-20

I loved Choose your own adventures as a kid. This is awesome!

The first in the series:


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

I saw those last night.  Looks like the entire series is there.  Says it is optimized for the DX.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I still have many of those books.(yes I keep everything.)
They were under $3 originally... $5.59 on Kindle now.


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

I used to really enjoy these too.  I was thinking a while back that the Kindle would be perfect for these books.  Wonder why it's optimized for DX?  I would think any Kindle would do....

N


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

Neekeebee said:


> I used to really enjoy these too. I was thinking a while back that the Kindle would be perfect for these books. Wonder why it's optimized for DX? I would think any Kindle would do....
> 
> N


I wondered that myself. It made me hesitate and not buy one of the books. I would like to know how they look on a smaller reader, if anyone has tried them.


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

You could try a free sample, maybe it would give you the answer for the K2..


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

This is awesome news! I loved these as a kid and never thought I'd see the day where they got Kindled (even though this is the perfect format for them).

Unfortunately, the sample I tried (The Abominable Snowman) ends before the book begins.


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## akpak (Mar 5, 2009)

CS said:


> Unfortunately, the sample I tried (The Abominable Snowman) ends before the book begins.


Ugh... I hate it when they do that.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

CS said:


> This is awesome news! I loved these as a kid and never thought I'd see the day where they got Kindled (even though this is the perfect format for them).


I saw these today, I never heard of them. I guess I'm too old.  May have to check them out!

Betsy


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I guess Betsy is LOTS older than me   .... I read all of these when I was a kid....


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm older than everyone except my husband....   and I just checked...I AM a lot older than you.  

Betsy


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Your_Own_Adventure



> Choose Your Own Adventure is a series of children's gamebooks first published by Bantam Books from 1979-1998 and currently being re-published by Chooseco. Each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions in response to the plot and its outcome. Choose Your Own Adventure was one of the most popular children's series during the 1980s and 1990s, selling over 250 million copies between 1979 and 1998, and translated into at least 38 languages.


I had been reading


Spoiler



Harold Robbins


 for years by the time these came out.... 

Betsy


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

pidgeon92 said:


> I guess Betsy is LOTS older than me  .... I read all of these when I was a kid....


I'm older than you, too. I remember reading them though.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Well, if you're lots older than Verena, you weren't a kid when you read them according to the publication dates.... 

Betsy


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

I would have been 14 or 15 when they first came out, deep into regular science fiction novels by then, and so was already a little too old for them.  If I recall correctly, they were sold in the children's section of the bookstore.


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Well, if you're lots older than Verena, you weren't a kid when you read them according to the publication dates....
> 
> Betsy


Nah.. just about four years older


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Yeah, see I'm LOTS older.    I was well out of college when they came out.

Betsy


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

Oh man, I read soooo many of those books, including the many, many rip-offs, like the TSR ones based on DnD, Star Frontiers, and Top Secret, or the Steven Jackson adventure ones with dice rolling and stat tracking, or the time travelling history ones......

Having them on the Kindle means I can't flip ahead and "backtrack" an outcome I want to find, nor can I hold my fingers in a half dozen places in case I chose poorly  Keeps the reader honest, probably too honest for a kid!


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

jason10mm said:


> Having them on the Kindle means I can't flip ahead and "backtrack" an outcome I want to find, nor can I hold my fingers in a half dozen places in case I chose poorly  Keeps the reader honest, probably too honest for a kid!


Really? We can't just hit the "back" button to backtrack? That's the best thing about reading these! (Otherwise, it would be a very short story for me indeed, most of the time... )

N


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

Neekeebee said:


> Really? We can't just hit the "back" button to backtrack? That's the best thing about reading these! (Otherwise, it would be a very short story for me indeed, most of the time... )
> 
> N


You should be able to do that. Of course, you'd have to read the book in one sitting, because if you return to the home page or something that would ruin your "path!"


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

I'm not sure how these books would work. Would "previous page" wind your way back, jumping around, or just move by page order ("next page" may do the same thing)? I'm assuming you use the 4 way button to select your choice to move "forward", it would be a pretty sophisticated trick to have the "previous page" button know to jump you back. Perhaps that the beginning of each new section there is a "go back" hotlink you can use instead. And given the adjustible font size, I wonder if each "section" always ends with the rest of the page blank, or if the following selection could show up at the bottom of the screen, after your choices (I forget how it looked in the book).

Lots of challenges for these types of books, moving from print to digital.

But I could see a HUGE resurgence in the Steve Jackson ones. Those had a little character sheet you xeroxed (if you wanted to "play" the book more than once) with stats, inventory, wounds, basically a mini RPG. Even required dice. If you could automate that stuff with the Kindle (maybe use the "menu" to get to your character sheet and back) and have a random number generator, it would basically become a text based RPG adventure. I'd buy something like that, though I must admit to massive cheating at times, as some of those books could be quite challenging (never did Beat the Warlock of Firetop Mountain....). Wiki link for those wondering WTH I'm talking about 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_Fantasy

Hmmmm, now I am kinda interested in what it would take to make that work. I wonder if Amazon has a kindle "dev kit"?


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## vermontcathy (Feb 18, 2009)

I also got a sample and was annoyed the sample only contains the cover and the table of contents - no actual content. I have a kindle 2, and the product page says it is optimized for the DX so I was worried there will be problems - that's why I wanted to try a sample. I decided to go ahead and buy it because unlike something like a comic book, I saw no reason why screen size would matter. Also, Amazon is good about refunding ebooks if there is a significant problem with them.

I just started reading this book and it seems to work just fine on the smaller kindles - in fact I'm not sure why they said optimized for the DX. There are illustrations, which is nice - not many of my kindle books have illustrations - but those display just fine on the smaller kindles. I looked at it on Kindle for PC (I guess that's why they now say optimized for larger screens, not optimized for DX), and I guess it is nicer to see text and the images together on the same screen, whereas on the K2, the pictures take up the whole screen. But I think Amazon needs to learn that the "optimized" comment does more harm than good in this case - scaring off K1 and K2 users, rather than encouraging DX users.

One note for the author or whoever edits them for the kindle - the directions at the beginning say that if you change your mind, press previous page to go back and make a different choice. But that's not correct - you want to press "back". Back does work fine, just like when web surfing or something - takes you back to where you were before your last choice/link

I was psyched to see that the author lives in Vermont (at least in the summer) and that's where the company is based 

I would be even more happy if the books were a dollar or two cheaper - they don't last long, and there's so many to try.


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## vermontcathy (Feb 18, 2009)

marianner said:


> You should be able to do that. Of course, you'd have to read the book in one sitting, because if you return to the home page or something that would ruin your "path!"


Huh. I didn't think of that - the "Back" path getting screwed up if you go and do things in other books, etc (it really works quite the same as a browser back button - you can't go to a web page the next day and then use the back button to trace you through what you did the previous day). But here's the kindle-solution - whenever you get to a decision point, place a *bookmark*. Then you can get back to it. Or, you could place a note, which would allow you to make a note of what the situation was, what you chose the first time.

I'm trying to remember... how did we handle this in the paper books? If you died or whatever, how did you get back to the previous decision? Did you fold down the page corner? If so, kindle bookmarks would do just fine, then.


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

vermontcathy said:


> I'm trying to remember... how did we handle this in the paper books? If you died or whatever, how did you get back to the previous decision? Did you fold down the page corner? If so, kindle bookmarks would do just fine, then.


I made little numbered bookmarks so I could make sure that I had taken every possible path. Seriously.


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## KimmyA (Dec 11, 2008)

Oh I use to love these. How cool!! Marianner, you're not alone. I'd make notes so I could go through all the choices too.


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## Dankinia (Jun 20, 2009)

I used to read these a lot too.  lol I am also one that would backtrack if I didn't like the ending.  I am very tempted to go spend some of my hard earned book money on a few of these.


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## mom2karen (Aug 15, 2009)

jason10mm said:


> O, or the Steven Jackson adventure ones with dice rolling and stat tracking,


Jason, my almost 10yo daughter is just now getting into Dungeon and Dragons (a very mild game where the worst thing that happens is you get turned into a mouse). I think she would love a book that lets her run a "game" on her own. Do you remember if there is much gore in the Steven Jackson adventures?


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## William Woodall (Jun 8, 2009)

I really loved these when I was a kid.  I never collected all of them because there were so many, but I used to have ten or twelve.  I probably still have them, in fact, stacked somewhere in the attic or the garage or someplace like that.  They were awesome.


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## tree (Nov 14, 2009)

I did get the gorilla one for my K2.  Just for nostagia's sake.  I think they are a little spendy, and that Amazon should have given us all one free or bargain one.  Still, the one I got looks great on my K2.  I was surprised at how well the illustrations look.  However, the pictures appear by themselves on a single page, instead of next to the apropriate text, so there is a little disconnect from the illustrative purpose of the story.  Still, I liked it, and the choices system works perfectly.  Everyone should get at least one CYOA, just to show off to friends.


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## LisaW. (Jun 1, 2009)

I loved these when I was a kid! Now if only I could remember the names of the ones that I loved the most.


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## imon32red (Jun 15, 2009)

I used to love to read these books too.  I remember reading them in elementary school.  

There is one thing that I could never understand though.  I had a friend that would read them from cover to cover.  That way he didn't ever miss anything.  It still seems like a waste of time to this day.


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## mom2karen (Aug 15, 2009)

House of Danger is now free! It was posted on the free book finds, but I wanted to make sure everyone here saw it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002LSIKGA?ie=UTF8&tag=kbpst-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002LSIKGA


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## vermontcathy (Feb 18, 2009)

mom2karen said:


> House of Danger is now free! It was posted on the free book finds, but I wanted to make sure everyone here saw it.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002LSIKGA?ie=UTF8&tag=kbpst-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002LSIKGA


THANKS! (both to you and to the CYOA folks). I guess this is my "buy one get one free" reward! I think CYOA is a good, small company that is working hard to make these books work well on kindle (I've corresponded with them regarding some suggestions), so I suggest that people take advantage of this free book to assure yourself that the books work well on kindle (and not just on DX) and then go ahead and buy one, to support the company.


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## GreenThumb (Mar 29, 2009)

mom2karen said:


> House of Danger is now free! It was posted on the free book finds, but I wanted to make sure everyone here saw it.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002LSIKGA?ie=UTF8&tag=kbpst-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002LSIKGA


Oh yay! I wanted to try these books, but not sure they will work okay, and not sure my daughter will like them. This is perfect!


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## KimmyA (Dec 11, 2008)

mom2karen said:


> House of Danger is now free! It was posted on the free book finds, but I wanted to make sure everyone here saw it.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002LSIKGA?ie=UTF8&tag=kbpst-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002LSIKGA


woohoo Thanks for letting us know. I got it!!


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## AFS_NZ_IT (Feb 3, 2009)

bellapixie said:


> I can't get the link maker to work but
> 
> House Of Danger (Choose Your Own Adventure #6)
> 
> ...


I am so excited I loved choose your own adventure books when I was a kid! My kids are just about ready for us to read them!! Thank you bellapixie!!


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

Alright folks, I nabbed House of Danger while it's free and the "instructions" say:

If you don't like your choice, press PREVIOUS PAGE to go back and decide again. You can start back at the beginning at any time by clicking MENU and picking GO TO THE BEGINNING.

(And so far, it looks fine on my K2)


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## esper_d (May 2, 2009)

AFS_NZ_IT said:


> I am so excited I loved choose your own adventure books when I was a kid! My kids are just about ready for us to read them!! Thank you bellapixie!!


 ME TOO! OMG one free?? So excited! Saw it on the Kindle blog and can't believe I get a free one. This made my day! Thanks to the poster.


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## krissynae (Feb 21, 2009)

I agree.. I loved them when I was growing up. They were the first books I would really read.


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## The Atomic Bookworm (Jul 20, 2009)

Dankinia said:


> I used to read these a lot too. lol I am also one that would backtrack if I didn't like the ending. I am very tempted to go spend some of my hard earned book money on a few of these.


Guilty as charged: I'd do the same thing.


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

mom133d said:


> If you don't like your choice, press PREVIOUS PAGE to go back and decide again. You can start back at the beginning at any time by clicking MENU and picking GO TO THE BEGINNING.


Actually, unless they have done something weird and magical, I'm pretty sure that you need to press the BACK button to go back to the last choice.


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## JennaAnderson (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow - I haven't heard of these books before today. Looks like you can use current technology to jump around the book and change up the story. $5.59

 I wonder if my brother ever read these... ? Was this more of a guy thing?

I plan on reading one with my son to see how they are. Great summer reading treat for those that don't like reading (him)











Jenna


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## Jasmine Giacomo Author (Apr 21, 2010)

What a clever idea! I started making up a cheesy CYOA set of stories (one for each of 5 genres)...now I wonder if I should dig that out and finish it, for the pure novelty of hopping around on a Kindle. I used to have to use several of my fingers as place-holders when I read these as a tween.


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## JennaAnderson (Dec 25, 2009)

It is a fun idea. I can't wait to see how it works on the Kindle.


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## J.E.Johnson (Aug 5, 2009)

How fun!  
-Jenna


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## NickSpalding (Apr 21, 2010)

If they do this with Fighting Fantasy or Grailquest (UK game books) I'm in! I spent many a happy hour as a kid flipping around those books.


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

I absolutely loved those books when I was a kid    I think I had like twenty of them at one time.  So glad to see they're still around.


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

I read so many of those CYOA books as a kid. I always did the stupid thing and died.


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

David McAfee said:


> I read so many of those CYOA books as a kid. I always did the stupid thing and died.


LOL me too


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

David McAfee said:


> I read so many of those CYOA books as a kid. I always did the stupid thing and died.





traceya said:


> LOL me too


Add me to that list!


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

traceya said:


> I absolutely loved those books when I was a kid  I think I had like twenty of them at one time. So glad to see they're still around.


Saw a huge display of them in a toy store in Seaside, OR over the last holiday weekend. I was pleasantly surprised. I expect they'd do great on Kindle.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

We had quite a discussion on them a while back...I'll see if I can find it...

EDIT:  I found it, I'm going to merge it with this thread so you can see some of the earlier thoughts on the series.

I had never heard of them before reading of them here on KindleBoards.

Betsy


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## JennaAnderson (Dec 25, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> We had quite a discussion on them a while back...I'll see if I can find it...
> 
> EDIT: I found it, I'm going to merge it with this thread so you can see some of the earlier thoughts on the series.
> 
> ...


Ahhh - I did a search for 'choose' and didn't find anything.... or I let my lazy side take over and didn't look very hard. 

I checked out a sample and it looks very cute. I'll test one out with my son this summer.

Jenna


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I loved these when I was a kid too. I think I had every single one of them. I'd read them over and over until I had tried every possible outcome. They were so much fun. I'm going to have to invest in the Kindle series I think.


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## farrellclaire (Mar 5, 2010)

I loved those books so much!  I read a CYOA blog recently - it wasn't finished but it brought back memories.  Mostly of me trying to keep my fingers in as many pages as possible just in case I died.


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## blackbelt (May 4, 2010)

CYOA's were the boss when I was a kid.  I wish that I could go back and re-read them for the first time again.  SO much fun, SO many good memories of going back and re-doing the bad choices.

I wish life was like that sometimes.


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## blackbelt (May 4, 2010)

And, as a side note, I chose to steal a good number of them from the local bookstore.  Bad kid me.  ;o(


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## amanda_hocking (Apr 24, 2010)

David McAfee said:


> I read so many of those CYOA books as a kid. I always did the stupid thing and died.


Ditto!

Here's a true story: Last night I read this thread, and then I went to bed. All night I dreamt about Choose Your Own Adventure books, and I kept picking paths that involved me being assaulted by a gorilla.

So thanks, Kindleboardians, for hautning my dreams.


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## CCrooks (Apr 15, 2010)

> Looks like you can use current technology to jump around the book and change up the story.


I loved these books too. The Kindle appears to work reasonably well for these. It's possible to write and upload text adventure stories. Mine is "Choose Your Own Romance."


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