Published by Mastertronic in 1985 for £1.99.

Finders Keepers is the 1st installment in the Magic Knight series, the sequels being Spellbound, Knight-Tyme, and Stormbringer which were all released on the £2.99 M.A.D. label.

Magic Knight must traverse rooms and mazes, picking up useful items along the way. There appear to be 61 items in total but the majority are not required to complete the game. Some items can be combined to create another, whilst others interact with the environment. A maximum of 5 items can be held. They have a monetary value ranging from £0.01 (Pile Of Mud) to £1,000 (Mud Monster). Cash is accumulated by selling your stock to any of the 3 traders - Anna, Gordon, and Gort. Building cash isn't necessary to complete the game, so it's essentially just a score counter.

There are 3 ways to finish the game, all requiring different items to collect. Either blow up Spriteland Castle, escape from it, or locate a suitable present for the Princess' birthday. This adds lastability to what was already decent value for money. Like it's successors many of the puzzles are obscure and involve experimenting and backtracking. With 5 lives it should be possible to explore a little further each time. It's fun and light-hearted along the way and rarely feels frustrating.

The tune which plays throughout complements the game well, and conjures up images of children's TV programmes around that time. One of Mastertronic's finest releases and still fun today. Well done to everybody involved.

Coder: David Jones
Graphics: David Jones
Music: Julie Dunn

00:00 Loading Screen
00:08 Title Screen / Instructions
01:00 Game 1 (Blow Up Spriteland Castle)
12:38 Game 2 (Escape From Spriteland Castle)
22:50 Game 3 (Present For The Princess)
36:28 Game Over