Talesworth Adventure: The Lost Artifacts

Questy the Adventurer, a talented fantasy barbarian, has blown through the last of his loot and needs to get his cash flow moving again. Now Boneyard the Necromancer threatens the land from his lair beyond the mountains, guarded by a magical statue requiring three scattered artifacts to be reunited in order to pass through, save the kingdom -- and get paid again. Is the player up to managing this quest?

The land of Talesworth (in these adventures at least) is a neatly-skinned grid. Left to his own devices, Questy the Adventurer will wander down a path until arriving at a goal or an untimely end at the bottom of a trap. The player, however, has some devices at their disposal to alter Questy's natural predisposition toward selfless and thoughtless self-destruction. Loot bags, prudently placed, will sway Questy from his instincts (and from the pit or arrow traps immediately ahead), causing him to turn aside earlier than he might ordinarily. One-way gates deployed by the player deny Questy the option of returning back whence he came. With devices like this, the player is presented with the task of setting up, clockmaker-style, an elegant board layout that will deliver Questy through the route needed to complete the level (gathering keys and tripping levers needed to open doors, collecting colour-coded weapons needed to undo monsters, pushing stone blocks needed to block arrows, etc.) If the layout fails, the player can start the level over again and again, modifying their solution until hitting upon one that really works. Once Questy is in motion, the player cannot influence anything, but they can observe their solution's successes and failures.

Some levels also contain optional gems not needed to pass the level but required for a full score. Also, players can deploy food which lure opponents away from their posts much the same way that loot bags attract Questy.