Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come - halfway there!

Today marks the halfway point in the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come Kickstarter campaign.

It hit its funding goal within 4 days, which was amazing, but in the 7 days since it has only raised £1,230. I say only, but I am aware it is a lot of money. It's just a constant struggle to connect with new backers, and we have Stretch Goals to hit.

I have dabbled with targeted Facebook ads but have a feeling that for them to make a real difference, you really need to invest a lot more than I have.

I expect that pledges will pick up again in the last few days of the funding period, but this mid-campaign lull means that I am toying with running a future Kickstarter for even less time, perhaps just two weeks. But that's some way off yet.

You can help by sharing the project link with your friends through your socials. There will be someone you know who it just waiting to back a gamebook like Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come on Kickstarter. As someone else pointed out on social media, Kickstarter needs a Gamebooks sub-heading because otherwise he could easily have missed it.

Next weekend I will give the campaign another push but this coming week my focus will be on the release of the first Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebook The Darkness Over Arkham on Tuesday 7 May 2024, and the livestream of the game the very next day on Jordan Sorcery's YouTube channel.

Gamebook Friday: The Darkness Over Arkham Livestream

On Wedneday 8 May 2024, at 7:00pm BST, I will be taking part in a livestream of my new gamebook The Darkness Over Arkham on Jordan Sorcery's YouTube channel.

The Darkness Over Arkham is released on Tuesday 7 May 2024 as a global eBook and as a paperback in the US*. So, if you're free, do stop by and help decide which path to take and, if you're not free, you will be able to catch it later on YouTube.

In other gamebook-related news, Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come is heading towards its first Stretch Goal on Kickstarter. It's almost halfway through the funding period so there's still plenty of time to get on board and share the latest ACE Gamebook Kickstarter with all your gaming friends.

In four weeks' time, you will find me attending the UK Games Expo 2024 at the NEC in Birmingham. I will be sharing Stand 2-T21 with Sir Ian Livingstone, so do come and find us in Hall 2. You will find more details about the UK Games Expo here.

* The UK paperback of The Darkness Over Arkham is out on 18 July 2024 but, it you're lucky, you may be able to pick one up at the UK Games Expo.

Gamebook Friday - Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come has been funding on Kickstarter for three days now and, as of writing, is already 96% funded.

The most popular reward is the HAMLET paperback, with the KING LEAR hardback a not very close second, and the hardback + paperback PROSPERO reward third.

It has become clear that people are bravely and boldly backing this Kickstarter without knowing very much about the actual plot of the adventure. You can read the opening 25 sections here, but to tease you still further, the gamebook is divided into 5 Acts, which are as follows:

Act I - Ill Met By Moonlight

Act II - The Play's the Thing

Act III - Full Fathom Five

Act IV - Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair

Act V - Something Wicked This Way Comes

YOU can help Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come reach its funding goal by sharing the link to the Kickstarter page on your socials, but not just once - every day you can, please.

The Kickstarter concludes on Thursday 16 May 2024, in 20 days' time, but can we reach the funding goal before the end of this weekend? With YOUR help, we can!

Thank you for your support.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come is LIVE on Kickstarter!

The eighth ACE Gamebook is now funding on Kickstarter. In Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come, you take on the role of England's foremost playwright William Shakespeare, battling the forces of the Great Old One Cthulhu. Check out the rewards below and pledge your support today.

Thank you for your support and please share the Kickstarter project link far and wide.

“I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks…”

Gamebook Friday - Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come launches on Kickstarter in just 4 days' time!

If you check out the preview page for the project, you will now find an active link that allows you to read the opening sections of the adventure. Not only that, there is now a handy chart that shows you exactly which rewards come with which pledge levels.

Please share the project page preview far and wide and I'll see you again on Tuesday, when I hope to livestream the Kickstarter launch on Facebook.

Gamebook Friday - Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come

There are just 11 days to go until Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come launches on Kickstarter.

Because you are a faithful reader of this blog, you can check out the preview of the project page here.

If you are thinking of backing the Kickstarter, here are some of the rewards you might want to consider.

And even if you're not thinking of backing the Kickstarter, you can still play your part by sharing the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come project page far and wide.

Thank you for your support.

Gamebook Friday - Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come is coming to Kickstarter on 23 April 2024

In the eighth ACE Gamebook - Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come - YOU are William Shakespeare, taking on the forces of dread Cthulhu.

“That is not dead which can eternal lie,

And with strange aeons even death may die.”

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come is a brand new interactive fantasy novel, inspired by the Bard's greatest plays and the eldritch creations of the American pulp horror writer H P Lovecraft. In this adventure gamebook, you choose the course of the story, deciding which route to take, which perils to risk, and which of the monstrous creatures you will meet along the way to fight.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come, which will be illustrated throughout by Argentinian artist Heraldo Mussolini, who contributed illustrations, including backer portraits, to Heorot: Roleplaying in the World of Beowulf Beastslayer.

Rewards on offer to backers include signed limited edition collector's hardbacks, custom dice and playing cards, and the chance to appear in one of the illustrations in the book.

I first announced Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come back in 2016, after funding the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu short story anthology on Kickstarter. At the time I was going to use Patreon as the crowfunding platform for the project but in the end felt that the regular commitment it would have needed would have put me under too much pressure at the time.

Artwork by Nic Wykes.

Fast forward eight years, and here we are, just a few short weeks away from the launch of Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come on Kickstarter. Not only has it been a while since I first announced the adventure, it's also almost three years since I ran the last ACE Gamebooks Kickstarter. I've not been idle in the interim, however, having written several other gamebooks, a couple of RPGs, and YOU ARE THE HERO - An Interactive History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come launches on KickstarterIf on Tuesday 23 April 2024. If you are able to support the Kickstarter, I would really appreciate it if you could back it on Day One so that it gives the project as strong a start as possible. That way, the Kickstarter platform is more likely to give it additional support as well, which will help spread the word. And the more people who get to hear about Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come and support it on Kickstarter, the more impressive everyone's rewards will be.