Mazequest: Tales of a Wandering Grammarian

This is the story of Blit, the wandering grammarian, who begins his adventures in the Mazequest as a lowly page.  Grammaria is a land ruled by a fairy King who needs someone to venture into the various areas of his kingdom on quests to find objects that have been lost or that the King would like to add to his collection.

The adventure unfolds as Blit is awakened from his sleep and taken to the town near the Fairy Castle.  You might want to take the time to visit a few places on the main menu screen before proceeding to the castle to receive your first quest.  Arabella, the king's daughter, will be glad to take you on a complete tutorial of the places you will visit in Mazequest:  Tales of the Wandering Grammarian.  You can enter or leave the tutorial at any time so if you have a question later you can always return to this area.

The main menu gives you access to the Fairy Castle, the Museum of Fantastical Creatures, the Magic Shop, and the Library.  Entering the Fairy Castle will allow you to meet the king and receive and finish your quests.  The only way you can enter the game mazes is through the Portal Room while you are in the castle.  Choosing the Portal Room will take you to a maze menu with lots of different areas you can enter, like the Bubble Reef, the Astral Labyrinth, Peekaboo Garden, the Lair of the Forgotten Knights and many more!

The Museum of Fantastical Creatures will allow you to view all the creatures you will meet on your quests.  There are so many different creatures here, like Beetle Buggy, Jarogenie, Grammar Hound, Alphabetataurian and Lionstrosity!  Boy, some of these creatures look really scary but don't worry because all you have to do when you meet them in the mazes is to make them your friends!  Answer the questions correctly and they will soon be friends!  Answer incorrectly and they get scarier!

There is a very friendly troll who runs the Magic Shop.  He has magical items to sell you, but you will have to use experience points because there is no money to spend in Grammaria!  You can also sell any items you no longer want in this shop, and you may have to do that to keep from dropping items in the mazes.  Blit can only carry 16 items, so judge very carefully what you want to keep and what you need to sell or drop.  When you sell an item, you will receive experience points that can help you earn promotions.  You don't always want to be a lowly Page, do you?

The Library is where you should head if you have a question about any area of grammar.  This is also a good place to practice your grammar skills!  Better to make a mistake here than in the maze while you are facing one of those fantastical creatures!

You will also find a place to change your level of play on the main menu.  Selecting a particular level will determine the topic of grammar to be tested, the size of the maze, and the number of creatures in that maze.  For example, Level one's topic is The Alphabet, the size of the maze is a 4x4 grid and there is only one creature.  In Level 5, the topic is Pronouns, the grid in 20x20 and there are more creatures.  Level 10 has a 32x32 grid and the topics are Verbs in the Future Tense and Positive and Comparative Adjectives.  The highest level is 20 which has a whopping big 60x60 grid and combines all the concepts of grammar from the entire game.  Remember, that the number of creatures increases with each higher level!

Don't overlook the Save, Load and Quit buttons on the main menu.  You should always save often so that you can maintain your highest level without worrying about a power failure or something like that.  The Load button allows you to play a game you saved earlier and the Quit button is for exiting the game.

Well, adventurer, that is about all the information I can give you.  The rest is up to you!  I know you can do this!  I bet the next time we talk the King will have presented you with top honors!  See you in the Mazes!

Note to Parents:  Mazequest:  Tales of the Wandering Grammarian is a remarkable learning program designed by Ohio Distinctive Software.  There is no violence and no blood and gore.  If a child answers too many questions incorrectly, he/she is simply "scared" from the game by the creature they have encountered.  This returns them to town where there is the option of lowering the level of play or visiting the Library to find out more about the topic giving them trouble and to practice their grammar skills.  A child can also opt to leave a maze at any time by selecting the Retreat button on the gameplay menu.  This is software that will encourage a child to learn while having fun!

Installation is not required as this program will run directly from the CD-ROM Drive on both PC and MAC computers.

Gameplay:  8.5.  The program seems a bit sluggish from time to time but in the hands of a child should make no appreciable difference.

Graphics:  8.5.  Mazequest:  Tales of the Wandering Grammarian is chock full of bright, vivid colors.  The animated characters and creatures are cute and appealing.

Sound:  8.5.  Both the music and sound effects are quite good, which enriches the child's gaming/learning experience.

Difficulty:  8.5.  Basic computer skills, mainly mouse clicks, are all that are required to play this program.  The child's grade status and covered grammatical material will need to be adjusted accordingly.  Level one can easily be played by a younger child while Level twenty will require the more mature mind of a child in the middle school ranges, or perhaps older.  This software can be quite challenging and it would be a good software to choose for a younger child which will grow with the child in the increased levels of difficulty.

Concept:  9.5.  Ohio Distinctive Software has produced a remarkable learning software in Mazequest:  Tales of the Wandering Grammarian!  There is a role-playing feel to the game which will definitely appeal to children and the young at heart.  My 10 year old granddaughter and I played happily for over 4 hours the very first time we popped this program into my computer!

Overall:  A solid 9!  I love this program!  It is fun and challenging!  I was astounded by the broad scope of grammar topics covered in Mazequest:  Tales of the Wandering Grammarian.  What a remarkably fun way of learning!  My hat is off to Ohio Distinctive Software for presenting such a fine learning product!