Sierra On-Line's first game, and, according to their press releases, the world's first graphic adventure. This game was released into the public domain on Sierra's seventh anniversary. Somehow, it hasn't weathered as well as Adventure and Zork. The graphics are crude, and the parser is substandard even for its time. Still, it's interesting to see where the Sierra empire got started. It's a bloody little story involving a search for jewels in an old house. It has a lot in common with The Colonel's Bequest - well, there's far less plot and characterization, but there's about as many deaths, including your own at unexpected moments. Contains an outdoor maze and one crucial early puzzle with a time limit.

Rating: **

Reviewed by Carl Muckenhoupt (30 Jun 2000)

mhto-original.blb (274.66 KB)

Inform source code (version: 1, ported by Nick Montfort, Dan Shiovitz, and Emily Short, from the Mystery House Taken Over project), Glulx executable (ported by Nick Montfort, Dan Shiovitz, and Emily Short, from the Mystery House Taken Over project)

mystery.dsk (140.00 KB)

Apple II executable

mystery-house.txt (1.61 KB)

solution

Swalks.zip (14.50 KB)

solution and map in GUEmap format