The Holy Grail - Jim MacBrayne RRP œ7.50
                (Text adventure - requires 1 Meg)

                     Reviewed by Neil Shipman

My quest began in a dungeon. Taking the lamp from the floor beside 
me, I headed out, past the bottom of a crumbled staircase, to the 
courtyard of a castle. The drawbridge leading north looked 
inviting but, before crossing it, I resolved first to explore this 
edifice in which I had been incarcerated. Many were the rooms 
through which I could roam without hindrance and I saw from the 
lengthy descriptions that this had once been a place of some 
splendour. But robbers had now removed much of value and the 
structure was falling into disrepair.

One location which filled me with a mixture of horror and 
amusement was the torture chamber complete with Python-esque soft 
cushion and comfy chair. What agony had been suffered here, I 
wondered, until I picked up the note lying on the floor. A 


fiendish mathematical puzzle was written upon it. Now I should 
really have to concentrate my thoughts as I felt sure - and my 
expectations proved correct - that its difficulty was indicative 
of the task which lay ahead.

A room which had not been despoiled was the Strategic Planning 
Room and I was certain that the table therein would play a 
significant part in my adventure. But I could do little for now 
and so wandered up onto the battlements. A strange feeling struck 
me here and I resolved to revisit the location later on when I 
might discern its significance. From my vantage point I espied a 
village in the distance and decided to make my way towards it.

I first collected all the items I could find, including a handy 
knapsack in which to carry them, and marvelled at the parser which 
enabled me to "exam sack then put all but lamp and sword in it". 
Then, stringing together a number of commands with full stops, I 
strode out of the castle. The drawbridge was operated from the 


outside by a lever and, as it rose, I pondered on what effect its 
closure might be having within the walls. Perhaps the two hooks 
hanging next to the lever (and whose purpose I could not yet 
fathom) would help me to find out. I was sure that something in 
the village would prove useful in this respect.

There was not a soul to be seen when I arrived, but a number of 
dwellings attracted my attention including a magik shoppe, a 
doctor's surgery and an alchemist's shop. What a sight assailed my 
eyes as I entered the latter. Indeed, such was the profusion of 
alembics, retorts, tubes, wands and sundry items of the wizard's 
craft that I had to hit Alt/Help to freeze the display, thus 
enabling myself to read the description at leisure ere the 
beginning scrolled off the screen!

Full of admiration for the author's command of English - something 
upon which I was to remark many times during my travels - I left 
the shop, gathered together all the objects I could take from the 


village and its environs, and returned to the castle. Some 
considerable time later, after much experimentation not without 
painful, albeit amusing, consequences, I solved the puzzle of the 
drawbridge. Such was the sense of achievement this engendered that 
I was immediately spurred on to see what further intricacies lay 
in store.

I quickly found something which was to be of use in the magik 
shoppe and, after a helpful hint from a fellow adventurer, I soon 
had an item which proved to be of great import in the Strategic 
Planning Room. Restoring one of my earlier saved positions (by 
first typing in the relevant colour and number from the codewheel 
or "Infotater" provided in the game's packaging) I collected all 
my belongings and deposited many of them here before proceeding.

From this room a further five distinct sections of the adventure 
proved to be accessible. It was, however, many hours before I had 
found the solutions to the problems in each one to allow progress 
through to the next and, ultimately, onwards to the culmination of 
my adventure. I twice came to a full stop as I racked my brain for 
the answers to two number-related puzzles and, in desperation, I 
was forced to seek help over these. Had I been able to see the 
logic of all the numbers which appeared on a nearby leaflet I 
should, undoubtedly, have more hair on my head than is now the 
case! In retrospect such things are obvious, but not for the first 
time did I remark on the wondrous clarity of hindsight.

My travels took me through some 140 locations and so detailed and 
well written were their descriptions that I even enjoyed wandering 
into a few dead ends. As Yaggra had said in the introductory text, 
"A degree of risk does exist, but any goal worth achieving is made 
the sweeter by the pleasure of the chase." This was an observation 
with which I had to concur and my pleasure at reaching the end was 
tempered only by the realisation that there were no more places to 
visit or problems to solve.

Sometimes frustrating, often amusing and always challenging, The 
Holy Grail is a difficult but thoroughly enjoyable adventure worth 
œ7.50 of anyone's money. Of course you'll need 1 Meg to play it, 
but then you require this for a number of other titles, not least 
among them being Magnetic Scrolls' Wonderland. So, with the ever-
decreasing price of memory upgrades perhaps now is the time to fit 
yours. You can then savour the delights of Jim's handiwork in all 
three of his adventures and, hopefully, your support will 
encourage him to continue writing. Me? I'm already looking forward 
to getting to grips with The Mission.