Feel free to comment and discuss this game here. Also, if you have any useful tips or tricks don't hesitate to share them with the others! Thanks!

Review

If you've ever wanted to be a dective then this the game for you.
Granted the graphics aren't that great, But still it's a really awesome game.
I recomend that you download the codes & the walkthorough :ok:

Can anyone help me to pass through this game's copy protection?

It's CELINE :sneaky:

I'm stuck at the bell tower. I always get killed by the falling bell. Please help!

Don't stand directly beneath the bell. Stand to the side. And save first!
(As written in the walkthrough, but you might not want to read that.)

I have another question:
I played this game ages ago. Once, I went out through the back door (that is to say, the doors opposite the front door of the mansion) and saw what looked like a flying statue zip past. Has anyone else seen this?

Yeah, that "flying statue" is a ghost... ooooo spooky... can you figure it out?

I love this game because there is so much to it, and you have to play a lot more than once to find it all. I have never even found it all. Then again, I last played when I was about 10. I am so happy to have found it again here and I am anxious to see what new aspects of the game I will find this time. Thanks Abandonia--

this game has a high replay value - that is what sets it apart from many of the similar games that you can play it over and over and find something new each time.

Good work abandoina

Matches! It says that if you search Wilbur's body you should find them, but I can't! He died in the chapel, if that helps! Am I missing something or is there some other way to get them?

This game has always been one of my favourites since the eighties. I love this one. I love the story line, I love the long gameplay, I love the graphics, and the music is the best ! Its a fab Agatha Christie style murder mystery!

They're in Clarences body, not Wilburs.

I played this game but it's damn hard - it takes several replays to really get anywhere. Great mystery, but it can be frustrating because of the sheer complexity.

Where could I find the codes??

here

I couldn't find the codes there. I'm looking for the codes, not walkthrough

I downloaded the game the other day, but there doesn't seem to be any sound at all. :help:

Where can i get Laura Bow 1?

It's ESA-protected, so not here. If you're that desperate for it, run a google search.

How can i get through the Copy Protection. I have the manual in pdf but not the magnifieng glasses.

Can anyone post a scan of the Copy Protection (something with finger prints?). I think Photoshop can "emulate" the magnifying glasses.

I found out how to pass the copy protection system without the codes.
Whenever you start Laura Bow from DosBox (dosbox.sourceforge.org), Celie is the correct choice.

found a jpg about the codes on the following link:
http://www.sierragamers.com/uploads/49/20299.jpg

Am I the only one with this problem? But I cant seem to unlock the elevator panel with the brass key. Ive been trying to go in and out of the room up stairs but the elevator wont show.

The Colonel's Bequest is an outstanding game. The plotline and relationships between the characters are depthful, and the game has a high replay value because much can be discovered in a second or third playing that was not visible the first time through. Great game.

OMG I am so pleased i have finally found this game! :Brain: remember playing it when i was 10... cool i will enjoy this one! :ok:

NOTE:
- download from http://xtcabandonware.com/ - they appear to have all the classics!
- codes/copy protection/fingerprints included in this zip file as jpg
- game runs straight off DOS in win9x.
- if game does not install, run sciv.exe

:cheers:

Ryso_5@hotmail.com

What annoys me is the fact that Sierra have it under copyright and refuse to distribute it as freeware - Why? They're never making another one, Laura Bow hasn't been available for years and won't be available ever!

Sierra unfortunately are one of those publishers who just sit on licenses they are never going to use again.

I truly love this game...:) :cheers:

I agree with you, MarkO, but whether we like it or not, it's Sierra's (or rather Vivendi's, since they bought Sierra) decision. There's nothing we can do about it without actually breaking the law.

As you say, what can we do?

Seems a shame, there's probably a host of games they could release for freeware.

Somebody ought to remind Vivendi they still own those licenses...

Well, since they're paying ESA to enforce their rights they're probably aware of them...

Perhaps opens up potential for a third Laura Bow?

The technology has never been more ready :)

Hmm, I don't think we'd really want to see that, though. If they were to make a third game it wouldn't be a proper adventure; it would probably have 3D graphics and action sequences, and that sort of gameplay never really works for a game which ought to have been a pure point-'n-click adventure. 3D graphics and action sequences completely ruined the later Indiana Jones games, and it would probably be the same for Laura Bow.

i would like to download Laura Bow 1 to play on XP

can someone PLEASE PLEASE help me?

E-mail removed

PLEASE PLEASE this means sooo much to me
thanks

Sorry, this game is protected. That means we could get into trouble for offering the game for download or giving it to people. And, as AJ said, posting your e-mail address on forums is inadvisable - Havell

Hmm, I don't think we'd really want to see that, though. If they were to make a third game it wouldn't be a proper adventure; it would probably have 3D graphics and action sequences, and that sort of gameplay never really works for a game which ought to have been a pure point-'n-click adventure. 3D graphics and action sequences completely ruined the later Indiana Jones games, and it would probably be the same for Laura Bow. [/b][/quote]
Unfortunately, you are right, as I have just realised.

No games developer around would want to have a 'proper' adventure game unless it had tons of unnecessary action in it. Still, the second Longest Journey game is a good benchmark, as is Fahrenheit...but maybe I'm being too optimistic.

sorry my email is

Removed

please please can someone tell me where to download Laura Bow 1?

See message two posts above - Havell

Sorry, Sonja, but no. We're not allowed to host the game, and we're not allowed to point you to a download either, because that might get us into trouble. You'll just have to try and find a secondhand copy on ebay, I'm afraid.

By the way, posting your email on an internet forum is a very bad idea. You'll end up getting lots of spam...

:ok:

Hi, just wanted to weigh in and say this game is way awesome. Unlike the reviewer, I really liked all the characters. Specifically the way you could actually carry out detailed conversations with them by typing 'ask about whatever.' Not like modern games where you get a list of every possible thing you can talk about, so you actually had to think of what you wanted to know about yourself.

Someone earlier made a post about this ghost.. I remember seeing it in the graveyard at the beginning of act one. Like you had to go to the graveyard first thing in the game to see it, and even then it wouldnt always appear. I never did figure out what the story with that was.

It really is a shame that vivendi is just sitting on this one. Heck, it's a shame when anyone sits on anything. I had the game when I was like 10 as a few others here did. Silly me I sold the game online like 15 years ago. Regardless, if you can find a way to get your hands on it, this is a goodee. Makes 5 days a stranger look like solitaire. ^^

warning, spoilers

ok so I've played the game through again, and I still cannot figure out what the deal is with Sarah Crouton, the ghost that only sometimes can be seen. As far as I know the ghost only shows up in two places, the graveyard and the back porch. This time around, I never saw her, but I definately remember her from when I first played the game ~15 years ago. So you find the bible in the chapel and the note in the armor, and you can see Sarah's grave so you know she died at 17. And there's the secret passage to the Crouton tomb. Sarah's family left clues for her to find the Jewels there, but obviously she never did. Are there any other clues about the Crouton family and what happened to Sarah? I mean, she's a ghost, and she died at 17. Are we to be be teased with that and not know anything else about her? I mean, if Roberta included that much about her, it seems that as a bonus there must be a way to discover her cause of death at such a tender young age, amd the reason she haunts the Dijon estate. At Gamegaqs there's a faq that covers everything I already know about the Croutons. It however contends that Sarah is Henri's mother, something that I don't think is ever actually said in the game, and I'm not sure is correct. The author also thought Ruby was a member of the Crouton family. Seems obvious to me that Ruby is a clue in the form of a pun so you know which vault to open to find the rubies. Without just opening them all I mean.

Anybody know where I can get some answers? This is really bugging me. Thanks!

One of the most spooky adventures i have ever played. Damn.....
Really good game. Played it for many hours. And gave me some good shocks so now and then.

:ok:

I was really astonished how much there is to until you completed the game in an appropriate manner. :blink:
There's so much you can miss in either being too slow or being not cautiously enough. You simply don't see some things...
I absolutelly agree!!! :ok:

How do you get it to run without the annoying sound coming from inside my cpu?

I don't think you can shut down the speaker sound at all...

Wow, I loved this game...

Like many of you, I played it when I was about 10. I first discovered it when I got the King's Quest Collection when it was released in 1998 as a bonus. I also got some gay puzzle game in which you could challenge King Graham to Checkers. -_- Needless to say, I didn't play that one too much, but I played the death out of The Colonel's Bequest.

Since I was 10, I skipped almost everything and had no idea what I was doing...I just remember the last scene ***SPOILER ALERT*** being between that slick guy in the tuxedo and the Colonel fighting each other. And I just sort of sat there and let the Colonel die. LOL Alas, I got a very low rating at the end and I could never figure out how to get through that damn swamp!

Now that I'm 17, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic and I'm looking around for these games again...I have the original CD's but for some reason they refuse to run on Windows 98! I do remember it being a really fun game and one that my mom likes to play too but temporarily banned me from once she saw the scene where the French maid took her clothes off. :tai:

Anyway, this is an awesome game. Can someone tell me, is the Dagger of Amon-Ra as good as this one??

Played it first time 1992-1993... nice game, very introspective... I love those ancient EGA 320x200x16 graphics... KQ4/LSL2-3/SQ3 like

Unfortunately it doesn't bring back good memories (real life related)

:D 16-color super-pixelated not-hand-drawn graphics...

Icewolf's answer:
Is only partially correct.
True, the speaker sound cannot be blocked. In theory.
In practice, you can unplug the speaker from the motherboard, thus silencing it.
If you run the game in DosBox, you can disable the speaker sound output as well.

That's why I said shut down in a manner of "turning off". Unplugging would be more like disabling it.

OK, I agree! => pwn3d :D
I should have been more precise. :cheers:

I really should register here, since this site just rules so much...

Ok I'm running Win98 and the only sound I get is from my soundblaster... no pc speaker. If i were running winxp i guess it would be a different story.

I made a post a while back... someone answer me dammit! Jk I'm sure no one knows... prolly no real answer provided in the game. Oh well the game still rules and so does Abandonia!

What's the problem with having SB-sound?! :blink:

You want be beep-ma-beepa-stuff back?! Just disable your SB-Card.... :sneaky:

I second Icewolf's question.
Personally, I always prefer SB sound rather then Speaker - heck, in my oldschool box, I removed the speaker and wired the speaker-out to connect it with one of the CD-in connectors on my soundcard. It's not too loud (I need to turn up the volume A LOT to hear it), but far more convenient.

Hey Im sorry if this is a stupid question - im probably missing something simple...

but ive downloaded the game and cant get it to start! Ive unzipped it but the files keep coming up with the error 'windows cannot find...' etc. The sierra.bat file causes a black box to flicker for a moment but then it disappears.

What am I doing wrong? I'm using windowns xp so it should be compatible...

Hope someone far more clued in then me can help! :D I really cant wait to play - I have the original game from when I was young, but I cant use the little disks anymore. I was so excited to see the game on here!

Dont worry - 6 hours later and im much more educated and have it working on dosbox LOL

Awesome Game. LOL i still have the original box and disks from when i bought it - Shipped on 12 5.25" DD floppies. What an effort to install!

Also, with copy protection, Just hit enter... skips it for me :D

I've downloaded the game, and am having the same problem mentioned above with the copy protection. I've tried going through DOSBox and selecting 'Celie' and also printing out the fingerprint jpg and selecting the proper print each time. But I always get "Sorry, this performance is sold out." Anyone know how I can get past this?

I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop with Windows XP.

The speaker beep is part of the nostalgia, in those days, many programmers used a lot of skill&tactics to get some decent sounds out of the speaker.

I have an old 386 machine which I use to play the old Sierra titles on, just like they were intended in the day.

If you want to disable the speaker, run the install, select SB or gravis Ultrasound, EVEN if you dont have these, as when you start the game, it comes up with a default "could not initiliaze ***** music card" and then skips that , but you end up having no sound.

The best way to get really nostalgic, is to buy a 2nd hand Roland MT-32 card as most Sierra titles had their games optimized for this sound-board.

As for Colonels Bequest, its very enriching, especially the text input interface, which required more fantasy and thinking on the players part. I'm thankful there never was a VGA version, as that would bar all the info you missed in the EGA version.
Also, point to be taken, CB isn't a "quest" as other quests, there are no points to collect, its about immersing yourself into a story and taking part in its unfolding. The goal therefore, is about becoming part of a plot, where you have influence.

A tip for newbies: You miss a lot of important info just stumbling into a room, so find those hidden passages and SPY on people when they're having a conversation!

I got this game along with the whole King's Quest Collection. I ended up playing the Laura Bow games instead of KQ..;)

It's a GREAT series, particularly for femme gamers, but my fiance enjoys playing it, too.

i'm near the end of act three in the game when the colonel is out of his room. I keep exiting and entering the room to get the elevator but it just never comes. anyone else had this problem? how to fix it

You have to do something with the obstacles on the mantelshelf. There's a cannon or something.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Guest_Matt_* @ Aug 2 2006, 10:59 AM) [snapback]246409[/snapback]</div>I remember that too! And all for 3MB! But I guess you really felt like you got your monies worth! :ok:

I cant pass the protection,Celie dont work.
What can i do ?

I have passed the protection but now i cant hear a sound,i've tried also with VdmSound but nothing.
Suggestions ?

Dosbox is the way to go - read the review for setting up sound, etc - worked for me!

Have to love this game! We need more women in gaming!!!! For example - what about that first joke when you go down the chute - 'oh chute!' !!! Brilliant!

Already finished without sounds :(

That sucks, but the game has replay value!:laugh:

What rank didja get? I got the third/middle one. It was a revelation when I found you could open the clock and cabinets. Whole new game!

Yes! The secret door really change the whole game.

I get the second highest rank: i miss the bad girl perfume in the secret passage and who know what else :wacko:

I have no idea how to get to the attic early on. I can't get the key! Also, I am mystified by the elevator.

You can ge to the attic using the elevator,you find the key later on the game.

How do I use the elevator?

When it's in the Colonel's room he says "GET AWAY FROM MY ELEVATOR!".

Such a delightful game, by the way. One of the best things I've gotten from here.

You can take the elevator also in the lower floor,anyway the colonel isn't always in his room :amused:

Next time I play I'll pay close attention to the elevator.

My Dream Game By the Only Writer Worth Her Stuff (Thanks Roberta)
 

Very possibly the best game (in my opinion) ever put out during this period. The levels of depth a player can get into are almost endless. I recall spending 48 hours straight, playing the game repeatedly, before finally getting a perfect sleuth score. The type interface makes such a game as this daunting at first, but soon allows for much greater interaction with the plot and players. I beg you not to cheat and read a walk-through... finding the clues yourself is a great thrill. Also, all of the bodies except for two (the first and the last) can be found two places (excluding the third in which all of them can be seen), and if you get to the end, think before you strike. Good luck, and have fun (play it with the lights off and sound up... when Ethel suddenly appears drunk around the estate, you'll have a heart attack.)
The sequel couldn't nearly compare, though it would have had a better shot without the horrible conversation interface.

Better late than never, huh? Anyway, go visit Celie and type "talk to celie". She'll thank you for bringing back her necklace. Then talk to her again, and she'll tell you all about Sarah Crouton.

question?!
 

okay, i think that i have the sound on.. but i dont' know wether or not the characters actually speak. the background sound is great,.. but is that all?

I fear the majority of games that old have no voice. When you see a game being larger than 200MB, there's a good chance it comes with speech but any less than that and it's nearly certain it will be text only. Laura Bow 1 is much too old to have speech though. Few games older than 1993 have voices.

A fun mystery game which is based on Roberta Williams first game, Mystery House for the Apple II.

Don't walk into closets or take a shower though unless you want trouble...

2.8 score from 4096 visitors? Are you all MAD?!

People nowadays obviously don't know a great game when it slaps them in the face!

It must have something to do with this game requiring a brain and a reasonable IQ to get anywhere!

Moderators, give a difficulty quotient to each game and then, hopefully, you will be able to prove what I think is true - easy retro PC titles score higher from the gamers point of view, and difficult games like this one, don't!

This game is hard, hard games annoy people so they vote low. I think the game is a four, but it has it's faults and like all Sierra games you need to play it so over and over to get the best out of it. Plus you can die so many stupid deaths in this game, more then even a normal Sierra game, and that really annoys people who arn't used to it.

My first batch of disks included Laura Bow. I played them for a looong time,on Amiga 500. :)

Back on sale at GOG
 

Hi, I just found this game and the sequel are being marketed again. At GOG.

http://www.gog.com/game/the_colonels_bequest

Is it possible to play it on Win 10?
 

Hi,

I loved this game, found it here, and now I want to play it, but it seems it doesn't run on Win 10. Could anybody help me?

You need dosbox or scummvm to play, the last one is easier to use

A few lines on a CLI vs a few clicks in a GUI. I wouldn't say easier, just different. But I guess most people are not familiar with using a CLI anymore.