Troll's Tale

Troll's Tale is an educational game for children ages 8 and up. It was originally released for the Apple II by Sunnyside Soft, a company founded by Al Lowe of Leisure Suit Larry fame, and shortly after versions were published by Sierra On-Line for the Apple II, Atari, Commodore 64, and IBM PC computers. The game is a simple adventure game which uses a minimal user interface; the goal is to explore the lands and locate 16 treasures that have been hidden by a troll.

In Troll's Tale, a mischievous troll has stollen the treasures of King Mark and hidden them throughout the land. Players have the goal of locating all of the treasures and returning them to the king. There are 16 treasures to be located scattered throughout numerous screens. Included with the game was a partial map which indicated several of the locations found in the game; space was provided so players could fill in the gaps in the map as they explored in the game.

Troll's Tale features a simple for interacting with the game; on each screen, a menu of possible options is provided and players can press the space bar to cycle through each option. Once the desired option is highlighted, pressing the enter key selects it and the action is performed. Actions provided are different for each screen and situation and include moving to another location, taking an item, reading signs, and so on. From time to time, the troll will appear on the screen. Anytime the troll is present, players are unable to pick up any treasures that happen to be on the the screen. The troll appears randomly, so if a treasure is being guarded players can leave the screen and go back and eventually the troll will be gone allowing the treasure to be taken.