Voodoo Castle

Voodoo Castle
Cover art
Developer(s)	Adventure International
Publisher(s)	Adventure International
Designer(s)	Scott Adams Alexis Adams
Series	Adventure
Platform(s)	Apple II, Atari 8-bit, PET, TRS-80, VIC-20, TI-99/4A, Commodore 64, Macintosh, ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Dragon 32/64
Release	1979
Genre(s)	Interactive fiction

Voodoo Castle is a text adventure and is the fourth in the series of adventure games designed by Scott Adams. The game was written by his wife Alexis Adams.^[1][2] The game was published by Adventure International in 1979. It was available for the VIC-20, the Commodore 64, Apple II, and other contemporary computers.

Gameplay

Gameplay involves moving from location to location, picking up any objects found there, and using them somewhere else to unlock puzzles. Commands take the form of verb and noun, e.g. "Climb Tree". Movement from location to location is limited to North, South, East, West, Up, and Down. There are limited graphics and the player must type in commands.

The goal is to wake up the Count Dracula-esque Count Cristo, who is lying in a coffin at the starting location in the game. In order to do so, the player needs to obtain certain items, which requires overcoming certain obstacles, such as an exploding test tubes and a doorway that's too small to pass through normally. The player must visit all 24 areas of the castle, and must use magic on voodoo items.

Reception

Voodoo Castle was described as a challenge^[3] and noted as one of Scott Adams's more complex adventure games, requiring around 150 commands to reach the end of the game.^[3] New Atari User gave it a 2/3, noting "nice pictures, limited vocabulary, illogical puzzles."^[4] Commodore Computing International rated it highly, saying "despite the scarcity of any sort of vivid description, Voodoo Castle manages to keep you clicking right along on that keyboard."^[1]

External links

• A Memorial to AI Games including solution
• Voodoo Castle at MobyGames

References