I Finally Beat ‘The Warlock of Firetop Mountain’ Maze, Thanks, iOS

In late 2015, I set out to complete a quest I'd never properly conquered in all of my 30-something years of reading and playing—to venture into the depths of Firetop Mountain and defeat the Warlock who resided there, Zagor, playing fairly and squarely by the rules rather than cheating through fights and tests of luck and skill. And as this article documents, I failed.

The first-ever Fighting Fantasy game book, originally published in 1982, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain has a reputation as a tough entry point to the long-running series of choose-your-own-adventure books. (You know, "turn to 276 to fight the goblin", that kind of setup.) But then, as the first of its kind, its authors didn't really know how far they could push readers, many of whom would prove to be young, and impatient. Written by Games Workshop co-founders Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, it's a tale told across three unspecified but nevertheless distinct-to-me chapters, each featuring its own challenges, with the final stretch quite the (impossible) test of memory and endurance.

First, there are orcs, goblins, poisonous snakes and slime beasts to overcome, as you explore the Dwarven ruins of the mountain's bottom levels. (Keep them peeled for a certain Iron Cyclops, too, as it'll be important later.) Then comes a river that the player—the reader, armed with dice, a few sheets of paper (never write on the book pages themselves—you'll wear them away in no time) and a pencil and eraser—must work out how to cross. You can do this either via fair, gold pieces-costing means; or fouler, riskier approaches that can leave you more a lot more sorry than a sodden tunic could ever suggest. And finally, prior to meeting the Warlock himself, comes the maze. And it's in this labyrinth of twisted evils and quite-fatal dead ends that I came undone, on my 2015 read-through.

This Maze of Zagor was Jackson's idea, Livingstone told me when he was a guest on the Waypoint UK Podcast in late 2016. "He always tried to complicate things. He still does, and I'm sure he won't mind me saying that." Thousands of readers fell in despair, never finding their way through. So the first thing that came to mind when I saw that Tin Man Games' well-received, tabletop-styled adaptation of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, released through Steam in the summer of 2016, was headed to iOS this February (on the 22nd, to be exact) was: can I beat this bastard, this time?

And, I could. I can. I have. Albeit on the fourth attempt, after one embarrassing early death, a second run that saw me fall just shy of the maze, and a third on the cheats-enabled "Free Read" mode—you can immediately win fights or those tests of skill and luck, if you choose to—where despite my in-battle invincibility I still got chomped by a wraith. Every run was undertaken with the same character, Alexandra of (Port) Blacksand, one of four available at the game's commencement. Her mix of a well-educated background and a lucky streak got me through some treacherous passages where other, more brutish avatars might not have been so able. Plus, she looked the most badass of the options. Always go for the badass, especially when she's wielding twin blades.

Turns out that it helps, massively, if you can see where you're going in the maze, roughly; and, just as importantly, where you've been. The game's "board" reveals itself as you progress forward, and previously discovered areas remain visible—when they're not quite deliberately closed off from backtracking, ensuring new runs can follow different routes. The maze, which is here staged across two parts, becomes less of a dizzying exercise in about-turns and trap avoidance, and more of a fetch-quest relay. The first level is all about slotting crystal shards into perfectly proportioned holes, the second red-dotted skulls and magical doors and an in-joke-featuring parchment. No spoilers here, but I cracked a smile.

Rather than infuriate with the maze, though, Tin Man warrants a comparable level of player ire (from this player, at least) with a grid-based combat system that is about as clear to comprehend as a Haynes manual written in a language you're not fluent in, that's been left in a nasty old oil tank for three years. I'm not about to get bogged down in just how much it rankles, because it might be that I'm just not doing it right. But after two "proper" attempts at this Warlock, plus a handful of optional encounters in my two "Free Mode" runs (look, I'm not keeping my finger on every last page), it feels like it's way more to do with luck, beyond the customary dice rolls, than the on-paper battles ever were. And poisonous foes? Like, the smallest, most pathetic little serpents, left about the place as a practical joke? Let's absolutely not go there.

So let's focus on some other things that I like, a lot. The game features the book's original art, by Russ Nicholson, throughout, and it can be transformed into full color with a tap of the screen. The music is mostly terrific, atmospheric or oppressive whenever the necessity arises, likewise the subtle but nevertheless essential sound effects. The visuals never astound but are pleasantly consistent throughout, a mix of old isometric digital adventures and tangible board game goodness.

The text goes on a bit sometimes, and the actual story is a little ponderous, but again: this was the first crack at this from writers who'd go on to produce better things. Like more appealingly rambunctious stories like The Forest of Doom and City of Thieves and, in the case of Livingstone, the launching of video game franchises including Tomb Raider.

This isn't a straight adaptation, with elements that avid readers of Fighting Fantasy won't remember on account of them never being there before. But for what it is, working with what it has, using the tools available, it's pretty good. And, whatever its qualities as a video gaming experience in its own right, in regards to the medium, I beat the maze.

It's not quite the same maze, granted. The minotaur is still there, and the dragon, too. Oh boy, that dragon—you'll need more than a sword to get past that particular nasty. But it's a different beast in so many other respects, and easier, mercifully. But all the same: done.

Not that Zagor himself is any less of a "final boss" disappointment, providing you've done the right thing and sought out (and smashed up) that Cyclops I told you about earlier. That's a tip, not a spoiler. You'll thank me later when you march back to Anvil, loaded with treasure and glowing with pride.

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