The Colonel's Bequest is a graphic adventure game made by Sierra On-Line. It features a character named Laura Bow. The game was released for MS-DOS in 1989. Versions for Amiga and Atari ST computers came out in 1990. It was the first game in the Laura Bow Mysteries series, which was created by Roberta Williams. This series used many ideas from the game Mystery House. The next game in the series, The Dagger of Amon Ra, was released in 1992.

Gameplay

The Colonel's Bequest uses Sierra's Creative Interpreter (SCI), which allows the game to display 320×200 16-color EGA graphics. It works with different sound devices, such as AdLib, Sound Blaster, and Roland MT-32. Along with King's Quest IV, this game was one of Sierra's last to use a text parser before they changed to VGA graphics and point-and-click gameplay.

Unlike many Sierra adventure games, this one focuses more on characters than puzzles. While solving puzzles is needed to earn a high score, players can also learn about the characters' backgrounds and relationships. It is possible to complete the game without solving puzzles, discovering character details, or identifying the murderer.

The game does not have a clear point system, but some actions are recorded and scored. After finishing the game, it gives hints about things the player missed, which encourages replaying the game.

Characters in the game plan to be in specific places at certain times, and players can follow them. If the main character, Laura Bow, is caught snooping or asking too many questions, characters may express annoyance through dialogue, but this does not change the story significantly.

The game includes many dangerous situations, but the main villain rarely targets Laura because she is not part of the Dijon family. Most deaths in the game happen accidentally, such as falling from a balcony or being hit by a falling chandelier. Later in the game, the player may be killed by the murderer, such as when the murderer's arm grabs Laura or when the murderer strangles her in the dark. One notable non-accidental death occurs when the player tries to take a shower, and the murderer stabs Laura, referencing the movie Psycho.

Sierra often included the word "Quest" in the titles of their graphical adventure games. A bequest is a gift or legacy left in a will, which explains the game's unusual title.

Plot

The game The Colonel's Bequest takes place in 1925. The main character is Laura Bow, a student at Tulane University, the daughter of a detective, and someone who wants to be a journalist. Laura is invited by her friend Lillian, who is a flapper, to visit the old sugar plantation owned by Colonel Dijon for a weekend. When Colonel Dijon, who lives alone and has no children, brings his arguing relatives together to read his will, conflicts arise, and a murder occurs.

During the game, Laura stays on the island, surrounded by people who may be suspects or victims, similar to stories by Agatha Christie. Laura’s goal is to uncover family secrets and find out who the murderer is. There is also a side story about a hidden treasure. The story moves forward by 15 minutes when new events are seen, and a new part of the game begins every hour. Sometimes, 15 minutes of game time can pass quickly in just a few seconds of real time if Laura is in the right place.

In the final part of the game, Laura finds a skeleton key on Lillian’s body. She uses it to open the attic door and sees Colonel Dijon and Rudy fighting over a syringe. The ending depends on Laura’s choices. If she shoots Colonel Dijon or lets Rudy win the fight, the Colonel dies, and Rudy claims he was the only murderer. Laura returns home but wonders if that was the full truth. If Laura shoots Rudy but only hurts him, Colonel Dijon reveals that Lillian was the main murderer but was killed by Rudy. Colonel Dijon then changes his will to leave everything to Celie and allows Laura to keep the hidden treasure if it is found.

Characters

The story focuses on characters who might be victims or villains. Many characters are named after famous people from the past, such as Rudolph Valentino, W. C. Fields, Gloria Swanson, Clara Bow, Lillian Gish, and Clarence Darrow. These characters are based on common types often seen in stories.

• Laura Bow – The player character, a student at Tulane University and the daughter of detective John Bow. Her name is inspired by silent film actress Clara Bow.
• Lillian Prune – Laura’s friend from Tulane and Ethel’s daughter. Her name is inspired by actress Lillian Gish.
• Colonel Henri Dijon – A wealthy and unusual older man who fought in the Spanish–American War and lives on an Antebellum sugar plantation island. His last name is inspired by the character Colonel Mustard from the board game Cluedo.
• Ethel Prune – The Colonel’s younger sister and Lillian’s mother. Her name might be inspired by Prof. Plum, another Cluedo character.
• Gertrude "Gertie" Dijon – The proud widow of the Colonel’s brother and the mother of Gloria and Rudy.
• Gloria Swansong – Gertie’s daughter and Rudy’s sister. She is an aspiring Hollywood actress dealing with legal and health challenges. Her name is inspired by actress Gloria Swanson.
• Rudolph "Rudy" Dijon – Gertie’s son and Gloria’s brother. He is charming but dishonest. His name is inspired by silent film actor Rudolph Valentino.
• Clarence Sparrow – Henri’s clever lawyer and a former lover of Gloria. His name is inspired by Clarence Darrow, a famous American lawyer.
• Dr. Wilbur C. Feels – The Colonel’s long-time doctor with questionable methods. His name is indirectly inspired by comedian W. C. Fields.
• Fifi – A charming French maid who works for the Colonel and secretly helps Jeeves.
• Jeeves – The Colonel’s quiet butler. His name is inspired by Reginald "Reggie" Jeeves, a famous butler from P. G. Wodehouse’s stories.
• Celie – Henri’s cook, the daughter of enslaved people who once worked on the Dijon plantation, and the only character who becomes friends with Laura.

Release

The game was first released in 1989. It was released again in 1993 to support the release of the next game in the series, The Dagger of Amon Ra. This version fixed some problems with special effects, such as making the fireflies in the opening boat ride and around the dock easier to see and less chaotic in movement. In 2017, GOG.com released a version of the game that works on Microsoft Windows.

Reception

Upon its release, The Colonel's Bequest received positive reviews. Johnny L. Wilson from Computer Gaming World noted that the game's simple difficulty might not satisfy gamers who enjoy challenging puzzles. However, he praised the game's focus on storytelling over puzzles and called it an "interactive play." He also highlighted the game's humor and sound effects, stating it was a pioneer in a new type of entertainment software.

In the May 1990 issue of Games International, Theo Clarke described the game as "solid genre stuff." He pointed out that the game's theme was similar to Roberta Williams' first program, Mystery House, which involved a "mansion murder" mystery. Clarke mentioned the game's unique feature: players could choose to observe without taking action. While he said this approach was not very rewarding, he emphasized it showed how different this game was from others. He gave the game an above-average score of 8 out of 10 for both gameplay and graphics, calling it distinctive compared to other Sierra games.

Later, Adventure Gamers’ Johann Walter gave the game four stars out of five, calling it a "unique and excellent game." He noted that Roberta Williams, the game's director and writer, demonstrated her skill as a game designer by creating one of the few strong detective games in this style. Adventure Classic Gaming’s Michelle Destefano wrote that the Laura Bow Mystery series, including The Colonel's Bequest, was among Roberta Williams' best works and one of the best murder mystery adventure games ever made.

In 2011, Adventure Gamers ranked The Colonel's Bequest as the 84th-best adventure game ever released.

Sequel

A sequel named The Dagger of Amon Ra came out in 1992. It continues the story of Laura Bow, who is now a reporter in New York City. In this book, she looks into a series of murders that happen during one night at a museum decorated to look like ancient Egypt.