What game would you recommend to someone who wants to begin playing adventure games. She has never played any computer games before.

Hopefully some forum members will have some good recommendations for you.

I'm wondering if a good casual adventure game wouldn't be a good way to start off, being as they all provide plenty of help. But let's wait to hear some suggestions for full-on adventure games.

How about a Nancy Drew Mystery? there's lots to chose from and are interesting to play.

For a "traditional adventure" King's Quest VI would be very nice. And can be bought from GOG these days so no problems running it on a modern machine.

Or, for a different style, The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time is a great game and is also available from GOG.

And no doubt there will be plenty of other suggestions to choose from once this thread gets going

Syberia
Return to Mysterious Island

Beautiful, absorbing games, both. They also each have sequels, if she enjoys the first.

Or if she enjoys detective mysteries, I'd recommend Frogwares' Sherlock Holmes series. They are all quite different in style and story, and are not too difficult. Well, SH vs Arsene Lupin (aka Nemesis) is the exception -- that's crazy difficult (but wonderful).

I'd go with what Marian suggested -- a good casual adventure might be best to start off with.
Another reason to go with a casual adventure is that they don't usually have high system requirements and work on most modern computers -- even those without a great video card.

I don't know what types of stories she'd like, but most people enjoy the Drawn series.

If she wants to start with a full on adventure, it would be helpful to know her computer's capabilities. If she has a low end video card or onboard graphics, I wouldn't suggest the latest Sherlock Holmes or the Remastered Grim Fandango.

ErnestineZ,

What age is she? Are you looking for a game for an adult or a younger person?

I think a Carol Reed game could be a nice starting game.

I say dive right in and play "Myst" the start of it all.

I guess I would suggest Siberia as an excellent start to gaming.

Well, not quite the start of it all, Geo

If I remember correctly, my first PC game was MYST, still playing it at least once a year, but I've "graduated" to "Realmyst Masterpiece Edition"
Sandy

My first PC game was also Myst, but I would NOT suggest RealMyst Masterpiece to someone unless I knew they had an appropriate video card. It can be chuggy even on a halfway decent video card. And Myst Masterpiece from GOG did not play on my Windows 8.1 computer -- some sort of QuickTime issue. (Riven and Bad Mojo, which also use QuickTime, play fine on the same computer though). It was easier to recommend games back in the Windows 95/98 days.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when recommending a game to a beginner is that the game actually works.

I know that tablet-based (eg. iPad) adventure games are not ordinarily typical subjects on this forum, but IMO they are a invaluable resource when introducing younger people to AGs for the first time. I have been introducing my grandson to them since he was 5 (now 6) and they have worked wonders as opposed to trying to introduce pc/mac AGs as the first experience.

In this case, my grandson has a particular interest in more puzzle-based games. The iPad-based Escape games (of which there are many) are a great way to start. Then I introduced games that are closer to actual adventure games. Two that stand out are The Hidden Treasure of Nahala and Pahelika-Secret Legends. Both games have typical AG puzzles that are mildly challenging in a fun way (fr'instance, you might find a battery somewhere that is required to power something elsewhere or things like a jigsaw or combining 2 things to make a fire). Then there are the games, Puzzle Agent and Puzzle Agent 2. Some of the puzzles can be a little more difficult, but kids seem to like the cartoon aspect.

Then one can start to introduce games that are going to be more like PC-based games. My recommendation for a first game would be Amerzone, which incidentally is also available for the iPad (though it has problems under IOS 8). Amerzone is available on GOG.

I agree with you, Jenny. I'm just lucky to have WIN XP, with 4 gigs of Ram, and I also had upgraded to a Nvidia GEFORCE GT430 video card.
That's the only reason why I can play the REALMYST MASTERPIECE EDITION, and also the original REALMYST. HAPPY GAMING!
Sandy

It would be nice if you could afford to get like 3 games to start with. Maybe a HOG (casual) game to see how that went over, and then a first-person game like Myst, but also a 3rd person game like Book of Unwritten Tales. I detest all 1st person games like Myst and if that would have been the first game I played, I doubt I would have continued to play adventure games. but, since everyone has different tastes, I guess it would be good to start with something cheap and just see where the interest lies. Big Fish has it that you can play a demo for an hour or so for free, so I guess I would start with that and see if those type of games are of interest. Maybe there is a Myst demo or a myst-type game demo somewhere to at least try? I do believe there is a Book of Unwritten Tales demo too and that would all be helpful.

Those are excellent ideas, Mbday630.
Sandy

Phew !! Well I found Myst really difficult

With the slideshow navigation I was always getting lost

I think it would be useful if you gave us some idea of the age of you’re friend, i.e. teens want to achieve fairly quickly and we don’t all have a lengthy attention span in our teen years. So wandering round the same location for an hour not having a clue what to do is a sizable put off.
Similarly if your friend is at the other end of the scale then it may be better to avoid games that have timed sequences.

Of some great games mentioned I think that a few are a little too advanced for a beginner. If someone new to classical music asked me for suggestions of what to listen to, I wouldn’t recommend a Bartok symphony as a first choice.

I agree with that

I think you cannot go wrong with Syberia, or the Longest Journey.

AmerZone and the Sinking Island might also be worth a try.

I think The Longest Journey is an excellent suggestion too.

The suggestion to try more than one game is probably the best one.
I started by getting four games, to see if I liked any of them.
Fortunately I liked three of them. The other one had a bug.