Gaming: Thieves’ Gambit: Curse of the Black Cat

In “Thieves’ Gambit,” you’re the world’s greatest jewel thief! Well, second greatest. But if you and your team of talented crooks can steal the Black Cat, the world’s unluckiest diamond, you’ll be legendary!

“Thieves’ Gambit: The Curse of the Black Cat” is an interactive heist caper by Dana Duffield, where your choices control the story. It’s entirely text-based--without graphics or sound effects--and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

For example, suppose you’re on a heist, escaping from an art gallery surrounded by police. Interpol is right at your heels. What do you do?

A) Hack into the police scanner.

B) Cause an explosion.

C) Shoot at police cars.

D) Shoot at the crowd.

E) Taunt the Interpol inspector.

The Black Cat has never been stolen, its previous owners all having died under improbably unfortunate circumstances. Break into the palace of San Castellano, pinch the gem, evade the relentless Inspector Leclerc and get away before you succumb to the Curse of the Black Cat!

Play as male or female; gay, straight, or bi. Choose your methods and your motives. Will you be an honorable thief or a ruthless criminal? A technical genius or a master of disguise? Who can you trust, and who will you double-cross?

• 100,000-word tale of adventure and intrigue

• Fast cars

• High fashion

• State-of-the-art spy gadgets

• Double-cross or be double-crossed

About the Author

Dana Duffield has been a small-town newspaper reporter, a modern lighting expert, a boutique hotel manager, and, most recently, an attorney and game designer in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Fast cars, lavish palaces, daring scoundrels, and spy gadgetry are all part of the fantasy of the international jewel thief,” said author Dana Duffield, “and Thieves’ Gambit: The Curse of the Black Cat has them all, putting you in the role of a world-famous crook on the eve of your greatest triumph. A little bit The Italian Job, a little bitThe Castle of Cagliostro, Curse of the Black Cat takes on just about every trope of the heist caper.”

About Choice of Games

Choice of Games was founded by Dan Fabulich and Adam Strong-Morse in 2009. They produce text-based interactive novels for mobile platforms and the web, combining the delicious freedom of the 1980s’ choose-a-path gamebooks with the depth and scope of a bestselling novel. Choice of Games adventures have been awarded First Place in IntroComp 2011 (Choice of Zombies), “Best Roleplaying Game of the Year” by JayIsGames (Choice of the Dragon), and Honorable Mention in the IGF Nuovo Awards (Choice of Broadsides).

In addition to developing their own games in-house, Choice of Games has created an easy-to-use programming language for writing text-based games, ChoiceScript, and publishes games written by other designers.