Alabama Smith in Escape from Pompeii

Alabama Smith in Escape from Pompeii is a short adventure game with simple puzzles for the casual market. The main protagonist is an American archaeology student called Alabama Smith, that is sent by his University to do some research on Italy. He soon discovers a time traveling device and a conspiracy involving a secret society.

Most of the screen shows the location where the character is investigating, with the bottom interface mostly dedicated to the inventory, with small sections for a portrait and the time travel medallion to the left, and a list of objectives to the right. Objects are collected on the screen and stored in the inventory, from where they can be dragged and used to solve puzzles.

Some of the screen hotspots bring up an interactive window, that might contain required objects or require some action to be performed. It can show another point of view of the scenery, or start one of the mini-games, usually variations of jigsaw puzzles and concentration. On casual mode, the mini-games can be skipped after one minute. Multiple windows can be opened at the same time allowing, for example, to have a paper with a numeric sequence next to its input device.

The game keeps score at the top, where a meter shows the scenario progress. Too many wrong clicks take points off. On the expert mode, objects have to be combined and assembled manually. The hint button highlights the location of one of the required objects, taking about a minute to recharge after use. Later in the game, the player must travel back and forth in time to solve the puzzles, collecting information and tools from one time version of the room to use on another.