This content of this post originally appeared in the “JNL” section of the Janesville Gazette.

“Myst: the surrealistic adventure that will become your world.” This is the slogan on the CD case. “Myst,” created by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller, is probably the most lifelike computer game on the market today. In it, you discover a book called “Myst” and when you reach the last page of the book, you are pulled in. You find yourself in the world you recently read about; you are the child of a great writer who is trying to gather the pages of three different books, all while solving complex puzzles.

“Myst” is full of the most realistic computer-generated images that you’ll ever find. It does have its flaws, though. Some of the puzzles are a little bit too hard to figure out without some help from somewhere. (“Myst” has its own strategy guide, sold separately) or by playing hours on end. When you can finally solve a puzzle, it
opens up a way to solve another. It also sometimes will open up a secret passage to other books and other worlds, where you will find the much-needed book pages.

“Myst” has been on store shelves for about three years, but it is still popular and easy to find. It can be found at most computer software stores.

It is very unlike many other popular CD-ROMs in that there are no guns, no killing. It surpasses others in almost every area, thanks to the creators at Broderbund and Cyan software who spent long periods of time perfecting all of the small details, ending up with a near perfect game.