Star Wars: Rebellion and Mansions of Madness creator reveals experimental interactive novel A Curious World

One of the designers behind some of the biggest games on the tabletop is taking his unique approach to play in a new direction.

Corey Konieczka is the creator of games including Star Wars: Rebellion, Mansions of Madness and Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game, as well as co-designing titles such as Imperial Assault, Eldritch Horror and Twilight Imperium’s fourth edition during his time at studio Fantasy Flight.

A Curious World will funnel Konieczka’s understanding of gameplay into a fresh form, with the book described as an experimental interactive novel for over 10s that readers will be able to shape as they progress through the story.

There are echoes of both choose your own adventure stories and legacy board games: as readers make decisions and complete the 70 unique activities spread throughout the pages, they will craft a one-of-a-kind story. Konieczka even hints that a certain combination of elements could result in readers literally writing their own ending.

“This book will not be complete until you write in it,” he explained. “When you reach the end of this journey, your book will be unlike any other copy in the entire universe. Your unique thoughts and quirks will be forever captured in the pages, and anyone who reads your book will immediately connect with your creative spirit.”

The story (at least to begin with) follows Jason Stone, a sheltered student who embarks on a treasure hunt after discovering a riddle in a strange inventor’s will.

Konieczka plans to release A Curious World as a print-on-demand physical book in the future, with the aim to “explore more options” in the future. Due to the interactive nature of the book – because you’ll actually be writing in it – a digital version will not be released.

“For half my life I've been working on an experimental young adult novel that encourages creativity,” Konieczka tweeted. “This started as a personal challenge to see if I could write a book, and you know what, it came out pretty good!”