Quarterstaff: Tomb of Setmoth, Infocom's Only Game Never Ported to PC
Status unclearYear: 1991 · Developer/Publisher: Infocom / MediaGenic · Designer: Amy Briggs · Platform: Macintosh · Theme: Fantasy
Among Infocom collectors, Quarterstaff: Tomb of Setmoth holds a specific kind of status: it’s the one game the studio made and never brought to PC. Every other major Infocom release, from the Zork series onward, eventually reached DOS in some form. Quarterstaff didn’t, staying exclusively on Macintosh for its entire commercial life, which is exactly the kind of gap that turns an ordinary release into a hunted-for rarity decades later.
The game itself is built on an earlier RPG of the same name from Westwood Associates, a studio already familiar to Infocom through prior collaborations like Circuit’s Edge. What Infocom built on top of that foundation is a hybrid interface: a text parser handling commands, wrapped in windows for inventory, nearby objects, optional graphics, maps, and a genuinely extensive help system. The result reads closer to Magnetic Scrolls’ windowed adventure interface than to a traditional Infocom parser game, and it works, mostly, even if a few of Infocom’s own conventions got dropped or altered along the way. Non-cardinal directions like northeast aren’t recognized, there’s no UNDO command, and some familiar verbs got renamed for no obvious reason.
Where Quarterstaff earns its RPG label is in party structure. You control a leader and a set of followers who can be ordered around with cardinal-direction commands, or issued individual instructions one at a time, which slows play down considerably compared to controlling a single character. Special commands like MIMIC let a follower copy the leader’s actions, while SPLIT and JOIN handle breaking off from the group and regrouping. Unlike most contemporary RPGs, there’s no fixed class system; every character can attempt every skill, with proficiency rising or falling based on actual use rather than a locked archetype.
The puzzle design leans light by interactive-fiction standards. Most progress comes from finding hidden objects and unlocking passages rather than the layered logic puzzles Infocom built its reputation on. One real exception stands out: a magic-word puzzle tied to a physical parchment and wooden coin included with the game, which apparently stumped enough players that Infocom eventually printed the full solution in the very last issue of its in-house newsletter, The Status Line. There’s also a documented crash bug: setting fire to anything holding nested objects, a container or an NPC carrying items, brings the whole game down.
Is it good? Reasonably, for a while. The novelty of the parser-plus-party hybrid carries the early hours well, but the combat-heavy back half thins out fast, and few players report wanting to replay it once they’ve seen the ending. It’s a fair recommendation for Infocom completists and RPG fans willing to tolerate some adventure-game DNA mixed in, less so for anyone expecting Infocom’s usual puzzle craftsmanship at full strength.
How to run it today
Because Quarterstaff never left Macintosh, running it means classic Mac OS emulation rather than the DOSBox path that covers most of Infocom’s other catalog. Mini vMac or Basilisk II, paired with a period-appropriate Mac OS ROM and System software, gets it running, though the setup is noticeably more involved than a typical DOSBox session.
Compatibility: Classic Mac OS (via Mini vMac or Basilisk II) · Controls: Keyboard parser input, mouse for windowed panels · Setup difficulty: High
Legal status
Activision acquired Infocom’s back catalog decades ago, but nothing indicates the company actively manages or enforces rights to this specific, Mac-only title today. No modern rerelease or storefront listing exists for Quarterstaff, leaving its practical status genuinely unresolved rather than clearly one thing or the other.
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The Hobbit, Level 9’s own attempt at party-based text adventuring, is a direct point of comparison the original reviews themselves drew. Magnetic Scrolls Collection 1 covers the windowed-parser interface style Quarterstaff borrowed from. Daggerfall, for players who want the party-and-skills structure without the Mac-only ceiling, is worth a look from the same broad fantasy-RPG neighborhood.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Infocom never release Quarterstaff on PC?
It shipped exclusively for Macintosh in 1991, and no PC port ever followed, which is unusual since nearly every other Infocom title reached DOS. That exclusivity is part of why collectors treat it as a notable rarity today.
Is Quarterstaff a traditional Infocom text adventure?
Not entirely. It combines Infocom's parser with windows for text, inventory, nearby objects, optional graphics, maps, and an extensive help system, closer in feel to Magnetic Scrolls' interface than to a pure text parser game.
What game was Quarterstaff based on?
A lesser-known tabletop and earlier computer RPG of the same name from Westwood Associates, the studio that had previously designed titles for Infocom, including Circuit's Edge.
Does the game have real puzzles like other Infocom titles?
Not many, at least not in the traditional interactive-fiction sense. Progress depends mostly on finding hidden objects and keys and opening secret passages, with one notable exception: a magic-word puzzle involving a parchment and wooden coin that reportedly stumped enough players that Infocom eventually published the solution.
Who designed Quarterstaff: Tomb of Setmoth?
Amy Briggs, who also designed Plundered Hearts for Infocom, is credited with producing much of the game's text.