Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None
Ages: Everyone

Agatha Christie -- And Then There Were None The title comes from the last line of a children's nursery rhyme that predicts and describes the deaths of the ten invited guests to Shipwreck Island

One choked his little self, and then there were nine One overslept himself, and then there were eight One said he'd stayed there, and then there were seven One chopped himself in halves, and then there were six A bumble bee stung one and then there were five One got in Chancery, and then thee were four A red herring swallowed one, and then there were three A big bear hugged one, and then there were two One got frizzled up, and then there was one One little Sailor Boy left all alone, He went and hanged himself, and then there were none.

With the rhyme in one hand and the floor plans for the exquisite Frank Lloyd Wright inspired house in the other, you are off to solve Christie's best mystery. The mystery begins when the boatman who brought the guest to the island finds his boat scuttled -- now all are trapped. The Adventure Company has used a clever mechanism for telling the story. Patrick Narracott , the boatman who ferries the people to the island becomes both the third person story teller and the investigator. The ten people are a varied lot: a judge, playboy, secretary, detective, doctor, spinster, retired general, an adventurer and husband and wife butler and housekeeper. After a quiet dinner, a mysterious voice accuses each one of them of murder. Soon after, one of the guests chokes to death and one of the sailor figures disappears.

The beginning of the game deals with gathering information. Patrick wanders throughout the house picking up clues and random items which will eventually be of use. After the first murder -- He listens at doors, peaks though keyholes and questions the guests and assembles dossiers on each of the guests. Once this is done, the game picks up speed.

Will Patrick be able to discover the killer and save any of the guests? Enough to say that there are three possible endings. The game uses a unique identifying cursor which changes to indicate various actions: speech, keyhole, walk, view, stairs eavesdrop, door and take. Using the keyhole for peeking and the eavesdrop function came in very handy.

This was a very ambitions undertaking for the producers. A game with 11 different characters to animate; a complex story line to tell; and conveying the emotions of nine trapped people facing probable death is more suited to the movies. As games introduce more complex story lines -- how to convey such information will have to be fully worked out. The Mystseries depends upon the gamer reading numerous journals to get the most out of a game, but it can still be played by skipping all the reading. Not so with a complex mystery. You must know the facts. Interestingly, the game comes with the paperback Agatha Christie mystery. Do you read it before, or after? Anyway, I am glad that The Adventure Company put out the game. There has to be more mysteries than the Nancy Drewseries.

Reviewed by: Editor - 12/05