Besides being a load of fun, it seems that Adventure Games Live has attracted a lot of people who have never played such games before. Adventure games are very much a learned skill, but a lot of how well you do depends on realizing a few things. As such, I figured I'd go ahead and post a small, general guide to adventure games (obviously with a focus on AGL). I'll keep the thing spoiler free, so that you can read it without fear of having any puzzles ruined. If anyone has anything to add, I'd love to see it.

Starting off, the first thing to think about is what sort of game you're playing. The term "adventure game" is a broad one, covering everything from early text adventures to the item based Sierra (King's Quest) style to the point-and-click Myst type of games and even to action adventures (generally on consoles, the best example is the Zelda series). With AGL, you're playing a menu driven text adventure. What this means is that you're provided with a menu of choices, and that there's no graphics, the game world is created only through the written word (the alternative type of text adventure is command line driven, this means that you are able to type in what you wish to do).

What this all means is that for every location you visit, there will be a list of ALL CURRENT POSSIBLE actions. This is very important to know, as it let's you get an idea of what can be done at the location. However, don't let this decieve you into thinking that you are seeing everything that can be done at that location. Perhaps moving a desk in the room will reveal a trap door, giving you an option that wasn't avalible before. Or bringing an item back will open up some new line of exploration. Everytime you get someplace new, make sure you're aware of all your choices. Also, keep them in mind for later, it may come in handy.

Going along with knowing your options is another special feature of AGL: no death. Always try everything. You don't need to worry about saving or if something will kill you, you can always take back a move. So go ahead and attack that Cyclops with the stick, it can't hurt you permanetly (and you may get a funny death - interesting ways to perish are always loved by gamers). Sometimes the most obscure/illogical things will help you out.

Backtracking is an important facet of any good adventure game. As I mentioned above, new actions may open up once you return to a previously visisted location with something new. Was there a huge boulder blocking the path? Perhaps that TNT you just found could be used there. Everytime you find a new item, think of all the places you've previously been. If any of them seem like there was something more that could be done, and your new item could help, head back there. There's nothing to lose.

Always read everything. This would seem obvious, but there have been times when I've found myself skimming over descriptive text and missing a vital clue. Make sure you really know what's happening where you are, double check the text if needed. Also be certain to pay close attention to what happens when an action proves useless, you can sometimes get a clue from what happened when you did something wrong.

Knowing how the game likes to space things out is a good idea as well. For instance, Fantasy Quest starts out in a rather small area. Most items you get at the beginning have a use somewhere near their original location. As the game progresses, you'll find yourself heading out all over the land using stuff. Realizing this can give you some help in knowing where to go, but don't let this be a hard and fast rule: sometimes the game gets tricky, so be sure that you just keep this in the back of your mind without letting it rule your play.

Mapping: this can be very helpful if you do it correctly, and very harmful if done wrong. If you think you have something mapped out right, but a few things are off, you can find yourself very confused, very quickly. The real important thing a map in a text-game should show is how things connect. There's no need for something like a scale, just so long as you know where each location leads. Use the in-game map as a guide, and then draw a square or something for each individual location, and draw arrows showing what other locations it leads to. Obviously if you just get to a location you don't know where all the exits lead, so just make note of what directions the exits are, and return to complete your map. Don't expect the game to play straight with you; going west from one room may not take you as far west as going west from another (hence my suggestion to forget about scale altogether). I also would say that you label each location something with meaning, i.e. "Treasure Room" or "Thick Brush" and also jot down any special features. Also be sure to double check your map if it seems weird - don't just accept what you've written down as true. The game's always right, regardless of what the paper says in front of you.

A final note on getting stuck: don't despair. Patience is the key to these games, and getting stuck is natural. If you could just whiz through the game with no problems, it wouldn't be much fun. Enjoy being challenged and don't get frustrated. It's only a game. If you find yourself completely stuck, try getting some fresh air. Often your perspective is much more objective an hour later, and that's the mind set you want to be in. If you're really, truly and absolutely stuck to the point where you're no longer having fun, get help from somebody else. But always use those as a very last resort...

(Eck, that went on forever. I'm too lazy to proof it, and if I get some good feedback, I'll just go ahead and correct mistakes and add new stuff in a future post. As always, any sort of comments are welcome.)