Masterpiece Mansion is just what it sounds like: an estate filled with great works of art.
Its origins are revealed in a short introductory segment explaining that it was once home to the wealthy Fouffenfester Family. But "Mr. Fouff," as he was called, was so villainous that ghosts infested his home after he died.
Mrs. Fouff wanted them gone, so she consulted a gypsy fortuneteller. On her advice, Mrs. Fouff installed a myriad of secret passageways to confuse the spirits, along with beloved works of art to calm them.
Actually, the drama has no real effect on players-you'll see no roaming spirits or other hijinx here. And you don't navigate the passageways on your own; you are guided through them.
Instead of Ghostbusters, the atmosphere is "Masterpiece Theater," complete with a classical music score and a narrator of refined accent. It's a refreshing change from the cutesy, cartoonish looks of so many CD-ROMs.
Players tour the mansion room by room. In each are several works of art to examine, along with a series of corresponding puzzles. The variety of these conundrums is great, everything from short quizzes, memory games, scrambled pictures that need unscrambling, rebuses and forgery detection. Some puzzles are interrelated, one supplying the clue for another.
Sometimes you'll want to take notes: a good many puzzles are downright tricky, especially on first encounter. The difficulty level seems just right: a good blend of easy and challenging-I never got bored.
Many questions can be answered by simply referring to the "Art Explorer," a section of artists' biographies, more paintings, timelines and discussions of various artistic periods, from ancient to twentieth century. This alone is an interesting reference tool; think of it as Art History 101. All entries are brief, but informative. Over 46 artists, from Arp to Vermeer, are profiled, along with 150 works of art, providing a basic overview of art history.
Correct answers to the puzzles are worth points; you need a certain number to advance to another room. If you don't earn enough points, you'll find yourself "Trapped" and have to start over.
You cannot save individual games. As you enter certain rooms, however, passwords are revealed that allow you to return to that room when starting another game.
At first I thought not being able to save games was a shortcoming of the program. But soon I began to realize that having to repeat puzzles means that players learn more: you are forced to review-and learn from-mistakes.
Alice Cary is a freelance writer from Massachusetts who can be reached at alice_cary@bookpage.com.
©1996, ProMotion, inc.
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