5 min read

Hi-Res Adventure #1: Mystery House

Last updated: January 9, 2026

Overview

Mystery House is an adventure game released in 1980 by Roberta and Ken Williams for the Apple II1. The game is remembered as one of the first adventure games to feature computer graphics and the first game produced by On-Line Systems1, which later became Sierra On-Line2. Created by the husband and wife team of Ken and Roberta Williams, Mystery House was developed after the couple played Colossal Cave Adventure2.

The game is a monochrome interactive fiction adventure that places the player in a Victorian mansion with seven other people3. Inspired by Agatha Christie’s “Ten Little Indians” and the board game Clue2, Mystery House featured simple line-drawn black and white graphics consisting of 70 simple two-dimensional drawings2. The game was originally packaged in a Ziploc bag and sold for $24.952, initially being available in only 4 stores in L.A. county2.

Story Summary

Mystery House places the player in a Victorian mansion where they encounter seven strange men and women in the entrance hall6. The game’s plot revolves around expensive jewelry hidden somewhere in the house6. Set in a wonderfully Victorian setting2, the game establishes a murder mystery plot that follows the conventions of classic whodunit stories. The game was inspired by Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”2, creating an atmosphere where the player must navigate through the mansion while uncovering the mystery.

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Mystery House utilized a two-word text parser for commands2, allowing players to input simple instructions to navigate and interact with the game world. The game was controlled entirely through keyboard input2 and supported single-player gameplay2. Players could explore the Victorian mansion by typing commands to move between rooms and examine objects.

Structure and Progression

The game established many conventions for graphic adventure games2, combining text-based adventure elements with simple graphical representations of each location. Players must explore the mansion systematically, uncovering clues and solving puzzles to progress through the mystery. Mystery House is considerably more difficult and provides many traps for the unwary2, requiring careful attention to detail and methodical exploration.

Puzzles and Mechanics

The game featured traditional adventure game mechanics where players must collect items, solve puzzles, and piece together clues to solve the central mystery. The gameplay revolves around discovering the location of expensive jewelry hidden within the mansion6 while navigating the complex relationships and suspicious circumstances surrounding the seven other characters present in the house.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

PublicationScoreNotes
IMDb5.3/10User ratings7
MobyGames6.8/10Community score8
MyAbandonware4.07/5User ratings9

Modern Assessment

Mystery House received recognition for its historical significance in gaming. Computer Gaming World ranked it as the 4th Most Innovative Computer Game in 19962, acknowledging its pioneering role in graphic adventure games. GamePro later recognized the game’s importance by ranking it as the 51st Most Important Game in 20072. Some modern players find the game challenging, with one user commenting “too scary :(”9, while others appreciate its historical value and recommend playing it via ScummVM on modern systems9.

Development

Origins

Mystery House was developed by Roberta and Ken Williams in their home2 after they experienced playing Colossal Cave Adventure. The Williams couple wanted to create an adventure game that incorporated visual elements, leading to the development of one of the first graphical adventure games2. The game was programmed by Ken Williams for the Apple II10, while Roberta Williams designed the game’s story and puzzles4.

Production

Ken Williams developed a custom method to convert graphics to coordinate-based drawings using a VersaWriter machine2. This technical innovation allowed the game to feature 70 simple two-dimensional drawings2 that represented different locations within the Victorian mansion. The game was distributed in Ziploc bags in its initial release2, containing a 5¼-inch disk and photocopied instructions2. The entire game occupied just 58 KB of disk space2.

Technical Achievements

Mystery House was one of the first graphic adventure games2, establishing technical precedents for the genre. The game used the ADL (Adventure Development Language) engine8 and featured monochrome graphics2. The simple line-drawn black and white graphics2 represented a significant technological advancement for home computer games in 1980, proving that personal computers could deliver visual gaming experiences beyond text-only adventures.

Legacy

Mystery House’s influence on the adventure game genre cannot be overstated. As the first game produced by On-Line Systems1, it launched what would become Sierra On-Line, one of the most important adventure game companies in gaming history. The game established many conventions for graphic adventure games2 and served as the foundation for the Hi-Res Adventures series4. In 1987, the game was released to public domain to celebrate Sierra’s 7th anniversary2, with Ken and Roberta Williams encouraging players to “copy this game for yourself or to share”8. The game also contains an easter egg where a study painting references another game, Mission Asteroid4.

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

  • GOG Dreamlist - Community wishlist
  • Game is in public domain as of 1987

Download / Preservation

Series Continuity

References

Footnotes

  1. Archive.org – - Game overview and historical context ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. Wikipedia – - Comprehensive development and technical details ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18 ↩19 ↩20 ↩21 ↩22 ↩23 ↩24 ↩25 ↩26 ↩27 ↩28

  3. Lutris.net – - Game description and setting ↩

  4. Sierra Fandom Wiki – - Series information and designer credits ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  5. MobyGames Releases – - Platform information ↩

  6. MobyGames Screenshots – - Plot elements and character setup ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  7. IMDb – - Rating information ↩

  8. MobyGames – - Community score and freeware quote ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  9. MyAbandonware – - User reviews and modern compatibility ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  10. Old Games Download – - Development attribution ↩

Graph View

Backlinks