Games like Escape from the Troll's Cave

Introduction Mr and Mrs Graham have gone out to a movie and left you to babysit their young daughter, Anna. What could be easier? Anna is in bed, so you settle down on the living room couch and fall asleep. In your sleep, you dream that Mr and Mrs Graham come home and find Anna missing. The police are called, a city-wide search is instigated and you are severely reprimanded...and rightly so. Amid …

Introduction On 24 January 1848, James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill, Coloma. When news spread, thousands flocked to the area and the great Californian gold rush began. Mining camps popped up all over the place and some of these developed into townships. When the gold rush died down, some of these towns were abandoned just as quickly as they had appeared. You're a grizzled old prospect…

Introduction You feel your brain rattling around inside your head. Someone is shaking you. "Wake up! Wake up!" You rub your eyes and squint in the bright morning sunlight. You vaguely make out the silhouette of your next-door neighbour, Peter the pumpkin eater. "Mother Goose has been kidnapped!" That catches your attention. You spring out of bed. Mother Goose is your other next-door neighbour…

Introduction There's a carnival in town and your young son has been pestering you to go. You know that if you do, you'll spend all your money on stupid frivolous things, like candy and fairy floss. The household budget can't afford that and you have a mortgage to pay off. On the flip side, if you don't go, your son will think you're the worst father in the world. So, you consult the missus. She…

Introduction Of all the forms of alchemy practised throughout the ages, the best known is the quest to turn base metals into gold. Of course, everyone knows this is impossible. Even so, there's a rumour that an alchemist in the forest has figured out how to do the impossible and has been building up quite a stash of the shiny yellow metal. After picking up a lead in the local tavern, you think y…

Introduction The stories about the Ark of the Covenant are well known, but its current location is a mystery. According to French author Louis Charpentier, the Ark was taken to the Chartres Cathedral by the Knights Templar, but no one outside the cathedral has ever seen it. There may be a good reason for this. You were raised in a small village about 100 km from Chartres Cathedral. According to lo…

Introduction You wake up feeling groggy. Your head hurts. "Blimey. What happened?" You run your fingers through your hair and feel a nasty bump on the back of your head. The last thing you remember was sweeping the floor in the pub before the early morning patrons started arriving. You look around. "What the hell am I doing in the broom closet?" Goal Your first goal is to find out what you're doin…

Introduction The weather is getting hotter and bushfire season is approaching. The animals have to stock up on food and prepare their bushfire survival plans. Every year, the animals appoint a bushfire warden. The bushfire warden has an important job to do, for he or she has to check on all the other animals and make sure that they have their bushfire survival plans in place. This year, it's Kenny…

Introduction Frederick H Winchester III was a rich man who lived in the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. Winchester's grandfather was an Englishman who emigrated to New Zealand in the early 1800s and became very wealthy as an importer/exporter. The grandfather's business was passed down the family line to Winchester's father, then to Winchester himself, along with the company's wealth. Winchester's…

Introduction Every year, the king holds an extravagant ball where he invites all the local dignitaries and they lavish him with gifts. The king sells some of these gifts after the ball and uses the money to fund the ball the following year. More importantly, he also gifts some of the money to enterprising craftsmen, tradesmen and other small businesses to help them establish or improve their busin…