Dragon's Keep

Atari 400/800 version of Dragon's Keep

Dragon's Keep is a simple educational adventure game for children ages 7 and up. It was originally released for the Apple II by Sunnyside Soft and shortly after versions were published by Sierra On-Line for the Apple II, Atari, Commodore 64, and IBM PC computers. The game uses a minimal user interface to allow players to explore a house and the surrounding area where a dragon has captured 16 animals which need to be rescued. Gameplay is similar to Troll's Tale, another adventure game designed by Synnyside Soft around the same time.

A magical dragon has capture 16 animals and is keeping them in and around it's house; the player's goal is to locate and free them all! The game is played only with the space bar and return key; each screen presents an illustration of the current location along with several actions that can be taken. Players select an action by pressing the space bar which cycles through the available choices; pressing return executes the selection. Available actions allow players to move from room to room, examine certain items or locations closer, and to free an animal if one is found. The dragon will also appear from time to time at any location in the game. The dragon doesn't harm the player, however if the dragon is on the screen when an animal is found that animal can't be rescued until the dragon leaves. The game is won when players have freed all 16 animals. Included with the game was a large map along with peel-off stickers which could be placed on it in order to aid children's exploration of the game world.