Image Source: Lit Hub

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie or TV show where you completely disagreed with the decisions of the protagonist and wished you could change them? If so, you might be interested to learn about Choose-Your-Own-Adventure (CYOA) games. CYOA games are available as books, movies, and video games in all genres (action, adventure, drama, romance, etc).

I wasn’t a huge fan of CYOA for most of my life, but then I took a class where I read a few of them and even wrote my own, and it completely changed my perspective. They can be so compelling and enjoyable! There are many different versions available, so you can find whatever interests you, whether that be a text-based CYOA, a less-structured interactive fiction game like Zork I, or even a full-on video game such as Detroit Become Human.

The best part of CYOA is that you can replay the game as many times as you like to experience all the different paths. It’s so exciting to play the game one way, then go back and do it completely differently and see how the two playthroughs compare.

If you’re interested, start with a simple Google search. If you’re even more interested, look for an exciting CYOA video game you can play on a PC or a console. And if you’d like to create your own, there are dozens of platforms available to help you in that endeavor. I recommend starting with Twine, an easy text-based CYOA creation app.

Now go and choose your own adventure!