graphic adventure
An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...
millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. In countries that use the short scal ...
and steal the sixteen
treasure
Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions le ...
s that are inside of it. The game allows players to switch between graphics-based and text-based gameplay.
''Cranston Manor'' is based on Larry Ledden's
text adventure
''
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...
''The Cranston Manor Adventure''. The graphical version was programmed by Ledden, Ken Williams, and Harold DeWitz.
Artworx
Artworx was a Naples, Florida software company that produced and supported a line of computer games (primarily specializing in poker and other card games) from 1981 to 2020. It is named after the founder's given name. At first the company publishe ...
in 1981. Sierra On-Line acquired the rights from Ledden to create a graphical version which was published as ''Cranston Manor'' for the Apple II. Ledden was paid royalties, but did not receive credit in Sierra's version.