King's Quest VII is a point-and-click game. In the main menu the player has the options to watch the intro, start a new game, restore an old game (if available) or quit the game.
Starting a new game
When starting a new game, the player needs to type a name for it. Each game needs to have a unique name, so if a game already exists with the name "Bob", then the player can not use that name again when starting a new game. Each game can have just one save location.
After typing a name, the player can chose which chapter to start from. If he plays it for the first time, then it is of course best to start from chapter 1.
Continuing an existing game
When the player chooses to continue an existing game in the main menu, a screen appears with all existing game names, or save positions (since each game has only one restore point). In this screen the player can select and continue an existing game, delete an existing game or return to the main menu.
The game screen
The game screen is very straightforward. The player can move the character around by clicking on the ground with the cursor. The cursor will change into an arrow when moving it to the sides of the screen or on passage ways, such as doors or cave entrances and holes. The cursor will sparkle when moving it over an interactive object on the screen, such as items that can be picked up, or people/animals the character can talk with. When selecting an inventory item, the cursor takes the shape of the item in question.
The lower section of the game screen is the game's toolbar. On the top right is a rather useless slider bar which indicates where the character is when screen-scrolling is enabled. The player can drag the slider bar with the cursor, though there is no use for it at all. All inventory items can be directly accessed from the inventory box. When selecting an inventory item and clicking it on the eye icon, a 3D view of the selected item is shown. Click on the item and move the mouse to rotate the view. Some inventory items need to be investigated. For example, the troll king's magic scepter has a button on the bottom of its shaft. Also keep in mind that some inventory items can be combined with each other.
Game options
Click on the red gem in the game's toolbar to access the game options. Here the player can see his chapter progress, enable/disable scrolling (the slider bar in the game screen will disappear when scrolling is deactivated), change the movie size, change the volume and continue playing or quit the game.
Somewhat hidden in the options is the possibility the save or restore a game. This can be done by clicking the "quit" button. The menu which then pops up allows to "make a new bookmark" (save the game) and continue playing or quit, or continue from the old bookmark (most recent save position) or quit without saving.
