The Secret of Grisly Manor

In The Secret of Grisly Manor, a point-and-click adventure by Fire Maple Games, you arrive at the reassuringly named Grisly Manor at your grandfather's behest, but find nobody there to greet you. Maybe not that surprising since your grandfather, an eccentric inventor, was reported missing some time ago... but then, who sent you that letter? (James Sunderland probably has some advice in this situation.) Just click to look around, pick up items, or zoom in on objects of interest. There's no changing cursor to indicate a "hot spot", but places you can fiddle around with are typically pretty obvious.

Click on your inventory to use your items, and click "menu" to go back to the title screen if you want to take a break. Scaredy-cats can play without fear, since this mystery is more Scooby-Doo than spooky, but you'll still need to put on your detective's hat if you want to find out what's going on, since this house is chock full of puzzles, secrets, and strange mechanisms galore.

Also available for iPhone (iOS)

If you're sick of point-and-clicks global conspiracies, twisted supernatural secrets, and psychological drama, than Grisly Manor may be just the sort of light-hearted, fun adventure you've been looking for. The puzzles are simple and logical, pixel-hunting is surprisingly absent even without a changing cursor, and the presentation is clean and professional. What the game isn't, of course, is particularly challenging, though it doesn't seem like it was meant to be and there are still a few neat little "a-ha!" moments that'll make you feel like you deserve a pat on the back. It's a short little game at around a half hour or so of play at most, with a silly plot, but if you just want a spot of adventure and mystery in your day this is one decidedly un-grisly little game you might want to try.

Play The Secret of Grisly Manor