1 AGATHA'S FOLLY - EXPLORING BLUEBELL COTTAGE

ZX Spectrum Vega game #0024

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about this adventure game by Linda Wright, Marlin Games, John Wilson and Zenobi Software from 1989. The title screen welcomes me with a strange landscape. It has old country stone walls, path but in the distance there's a faint, mysterious structure on a hill against a red sky and blue moon. Looks very strange and mysterious!

This game is split into two parts on the Vega's menu, but I'll count them as the one game. The Vega game list counts them both as one game anyway.

I'm playing as the new owner of a cottage, whose previous owner mysteriously disappeared and I'm spending my first night here. Sounds like a spooky set up! The game is presented with white text on black background.

I explored the cottage for a while and the game commented on how the place needed care in many ways with walls peeling and cobwebs everywhere. I wonder why I moved in here before doing it up? Going into the pantry, I found an almost hidden door that wouldn't open without a key. Why wouldn't I have the key? Isn't this my house? Anyway, I looked around a bit more.

I found the study, which sounds very cosy with its fireplace and desk and nice view from the window. After wandering through the house a bit more, I heard a knock on the door. It was a young lad delivering groceries. He said he didn't understand why I'd want to live here and that he'd be afraid of Agatha, the previous owner's ghost haunting the place after she went missing. He said "They say that her folly is lit up on a moonlit night", which sounds very mysterious but at least I have something that relates to the title of the game! He then left.

I picked up the box of groceries and bread and then explored upstairs. My bedroom was in ok shape at least! I picked up a sponge in the bathroom and a needlework sampler in the nursery.

I explored outside and in my car a little bit. Found other doors that were locked too.

Eventually I ran out of ideas to explore so I stopped playing. I couldn't eat the bread either sadly. I tried the part 2 portion of the game and that asks you for three words that you would've gotten at the end of the first part.

So yeah. Decent enough game. Very mysterious and it was fun exploring the old cottage. Nice and moody title screen too!

I just looked up the game on Worldofspectrum and it had this pdf of original instructions that came with the game. On the second page it has this really cool looking comic building up the atmosphere of the game! Awesome companion piece! It was drawn by Kez Gray. I'll have to look up more Spectrum games on this site as I play them. The Vega doesn't include cool stuff like comics!