The 7th Guest

RETRO NEWS

October is here, which means Blow on the Cartridge’s Retro October Fest has officially begun! All month long, we’re diving into spooky retro games, from horror classics to creepy hidden gems and plenty of weird stuff in between.

But the retro world isn’t slowing down while we celebrate. RetroAchievements are coming to original PlayStation 2 hardware, EGM has apologized for the continuing delays surrounding its $1.8 million Compendium project, and after years of development, the massive Super Mario Kart Deluxe SNES hack finally has a Christmas Day release date. Let the spooky season begin!

PRESS START

An Introduction To Today’s Game

Six guests accept an invitation to a mansion party, and the host never shows up to greet them. That should be everyone's cue to leave. Naturally, nobody does, because there are puzzles in here. I love puzzles. So I’d probably stay too.

The 7th Guest arrived on PC in 1993, and it asks you to wander the home of a toymaker named Henry Stauf. He may be missing, but he has plenty to say about your skills. Every failed puzzle earns you a taunt, which feels a little personal. I have feelings you know.

Grab a notepad, dim the lights, and get ready to talk back to your monitor. Do not worry, Henry will let you know how you are doing.

BEHIND THE PIXELS

Let’s Dive Into The Game

The 7th Guest is a horror puzzle adventure, set almost entirely inside the creepy Stauf mansion. You play as a disembodied presence with no memory of who you are or why you are there.

As you explore the house in first person, ghostly scenes from a dinner party begin playing out around you. Solve a puzzle and you unlock another piece of the story, slowly learning what happened to the six guests who came to the mansion.

There are twenty one puzzles scattered throughout the house, and they range from fairly simple to downright nasty. One has you divide a cake into six pieces with the same number of decorations on each.

Others involve mazes, chess problems, pattern matching, and a particularly difficult game of Ataxx, which plays a little like Reversi.

Many were based on much older puzzles. When the developers discovered some of their original choices were still under copyright, they went digging through 19th century puzzle books instead.

If one completely stumps you, there is a hint book in the library. Ask twice and it gives you clues. Ask a third time and it solves the puzzle, although you lose the video scene that comes with completing it yourself.

We will not judge how often you visit that library. But you will feel guilty.

The game was also a technical showpiece for its time. The mansion was created using prerendered 3D scenes, while live actors were filmed against a chroma key screen and placed into the environments.

Dated yes, but it has a 90’s charm to it. The process left strange outlines around the actors, but instead of trying to hide them, the developers leaned into it and made everyone look even more ghostly.

George Sanger handled the soundtrack, building much of the music around a central melody that changes depending on which character is on screen. The 7th Guest was also one of the early PC games released exclusively on CD ROM.

Holding everything together is the mystery of Henry Stauf. He begins as a drifter before somehow becoming a wealthy and successful toymaker, eventually building the mansion where everything goes wrong.

Even his name is a clue: Stauf is an anagram of Faust. You are never handed the whole story at once. Instead, every room, puzzle, and ghostly encounter fills in another small piece until you finally understand what happened inside that house.

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Learn More

GAME INFORMATION

WHERE TO PLAY

• The 7th Guest The 25th Anniversary Edition is currently on Steam.

• The 7th Guest Remake is a full remake of the original game with some changes.

• Original Copies of the Game (All prices in USD)

  • Loose: $20

  • Complete: $35

  • New/Sealed: $195

COVER ART

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GAME OVER

Why You Should Play This

So why knock on Stauf's door today? For one thing, The 7th Guest sold more than two million copies and is widely credited, alongside Myst, with pushing PC owners toward CD ROM drives. That alone makes it a fun piece of gaming history.

It is also easy to jump into. The 25th Anniversary Edition on PC adds a map, a way to skip scenes, and reworked controls, and it keeps an option to play with the original look and sound. You can find it on Steam and GOG, and versions exist for mobile devices and Nintendo Switch.

Curious about a fresh take? The 7th Guest Remake arrived in June 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. It rebuilds the house in 3D with newly filmed actors, changes the puzzles, and gives the story a new ending.

Either way, bring a notepad, a little patience, and a sense of humor about being heckled by a toymaker.

SUPPORT

This is a passion project made with love, and every open or read means the world.
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RETRO HARDWARE

The Miyoo Flip V2 is a tiny clamshell retro handheld that lets you carry a whole library of classic games in your pocket. With a bright screen, solid controls, and the nostalgic flip design we all remember, it’s perfect for quick gaming sessions anywhere. Click the picture to check it out. My readers can use the following code for a 12% discount: NY12