Granny's Garden



A 1983 Edutainment Game by 4Mation for the BBC Micro, Granny's Garden was most commonly played in British primary schools up until the early 1990s. The BBC Micro is gone from the classroom, but 4Mation is still around, and so developed updated versions of the game for Windows and Mac OS X to use.

The story is very simple. You are visiting your grandmother whose garden contains a magic tree. Upon your finding it, the tree transports you to the Kingdom of the Mountains, where the king and queen have been locked away by a Wicked Witch who kidnapped all of their children. It is up to the player, with the assistance of a magical raven, to return all six children to their family.

"Can you see a cave? >No Yes you can! Do you want to go inside? >No Yes you do!"
 * But Thou Must!: What is probably the game's main claim to notability is the following gloriously egregious use of this trope almost immediately after starting the game...and it is the first of many.


 * Fetch Quest
 * Game Over Woman: The Witch.
 * Gotta Catch Them All
 * Inferred Holocaust: When you send the bee to help you get past the dog, it happily announces that it'll sting the dog on the bottom. A six-year-old schoolchild doesn't consider the implications of this, but when you know a bit more about biology you'll know you're sending the poor bee out on a suicide mission.
 * Let's Play: Here.
 * Luck-Based Mission: Even the creator can't remember why he included the magic trees at the beginning.
 * Never Say "Die": When the evil witch catches you, she sends you back home. Mind you, this applies only to the player character — the LPer above experiences a My God, What Have I Done? moment after somehow killing a snake by throwing an apple at it.
 * Password Save
 * Rainbow Speak: "I am the King and Queen's Blue Raven. I have Magic Powers."
 * Trial and Error Gameplay: Sometimes you'll pick up an item, and it'll trigger a trap later.
 * Unwinnable by Design: On the other hand, sometimes you'll decline to pick it up and you can't win without it.
 * Violation of Common Sense: At one point, a giant asks you whether you want him to eat you. You have to agree to progress.
 * Wanton Cruelty to the Common Apostrophe: You'd think a BBC educational title would be more careful to avoid things like "It's mouth is open wide."
 * What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?: "I am the Talking Toadstool!"
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: The introductory text talks about a king and queen who were locked away by the evil witch. They are never mentioned again.