Orchard games magic cauldron

I can't express how much fun we had with this game. Played it again and again and my son just couldn't get enough of it. We use cookies to provide you with a better service. Carry on browsing if you're happy with this, or find out how to manage cookies. Ecommerce solution by Etail Systems. Registered in England and Wales No. Register Sign in. Search site.

Home Games Magic Spelling Game. Image gallery. Magic Spelling Game. Magic Spelling. Magic Spelling Game 4. Why Orchard Toys? Contact Us. The ingredients cards each have a number on the reverse. When a player has his turn, he turns it over to reveal a number. Sum cards are spread out on the table. The idea of the game is to be the first to fill your cauldron with enough magic ingredients to make a spell.

In one version, the small spell ingredients cards are shuffled and placed picture side. Players control a witch, who aims to become the 'Witch Queen' by defeating an enemy called the 'Pumpking'. Designed by Steve Brown and Richard Leinfellner, Cauldron originated as a licensed video game of the horror film Halloween.

Brown eventually altered the game to use a theme based on the Halloween holiday. The mix of two genres resulted from Brown and Leinfellner wanting to make a shoot 'em up and platform game, respectively.

The developers realized that there were no technical limitations preventing the genres from being combined. The game received praise from video game magazines, who focused on the graphics and two different modes of play. A common complaint was Cauldron ' s excessive difficulty. Players navigate the witch protagonist through the 2D game world from a side-view perspective.

Cauldron is divided into two modes of play: shooting while flying and jumping along platforms. Areas of the game world set on the surface feature the witch flying on a broom stick, while underground segments require the witch to run and jump in caverns. In the flying segments, players must search for randomly scattered coloured keys to access underground areas that contain six ingredients.

The objective is to collect the ingredients and return them to the witch's cottage to complete a spell that can defeat the Pumpking. While traversing the game world, the witch encounters Halloween-themed enemies such as pumpkins, ghosts, skulls, and bats, as well as other creatures like sharks and seagulls.

A collision with an enemy causes the witch's magic meter which is also used to fire offensive projectiles at enemies to decrease. The character dies once the meter is depleted. After dying, the character reappears on the screen and the meter is refilled. Players are given limited opportunities for this to occur, and the game ends once the number of lives reaches zero. Cauldron began development as a game based on the film Halloween. Palace obtained the video game rights and assigned Steve Brown to the project.

Unable to develop a concept he was happy with, Brown took the game in a new direction. Inspired by the Halloween holiday, he envisioned a game featuring witches and pumpkins. Brown submitted concept drawings to Palace co-founder Pete Stone, who approved further development. Influenced by what he deemed a 'classical witch', Brown designed the witch with a long nose and a broomstick. He created a Plasticine model of the character as a reference for a painting that was used for the game's box art.

Brown was joined by Richard Leinfellner, who served as the lead programmer.