Spirit of the Stones

In October 1983 author John Worsley hid 40 diamond talismans and one larger 'The Great Wight Eye' all over the Isle of Wight. After they were all hidden he released a book which contained clues to the locations of the diamonds. These could be found by anyone who read the book and any diamonds found allowed the finder to receive royalties in the books sales.

Commodore released a game based on the book and the idea of treasure hunting in 1984. The story concerned a cabin boy called Mark who sailed with smugglers in 1763 but after landing on the Isle of Wight, they are ambushed by the Revenue Service for the 40 diamonds and the large talisman the smugglers had. In the confusion Mark managed to flee with the diamonds but was caught and killed. His spirit realising the evil in these diamonds he scattered them over the island. Over the years people have travelled far and wide to the island but are unable to unravel it's secrets.

You are a treasure Hunter and you have arrived on the island to search for the diamonds. You start your adventure on the actual island with a part of the island shown from above at an elevated angle. The screen scrolls as you move around looking for the 21 buildings that contain the diamonds. As you walk around there are many dead spirits roaming the island and if you touch one then part of your PSI bar decreases. If the bar is empty then it is game over.

Any building you come across you can enter. The game now turns into a platform game with the whole level shown on the screen. You must avoid the spirits once again as you attempt to retrieve the diamonds placed on various platforms. Falling from a height will also lose you PSI energy. Any diamonds collected increases your PSI but will also reveal a letter at the top of the screen as well as the occasional rune. Once all diamonds are collected you will reveal a message and the secret meaning of the runes for 'The Great Wight Eye'.