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Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight, is a computer game developed and published by Mindscape in 1991. It was released on the Amiga and one year later converted to DOS-based PCs. The title is a play on A Hard Day's Night.\n\nMoonstone's gameplay blends several different genres, including strategy, real time fighting and role-playing games.\nIt allows up to four players to participate in a basic turn based Role Playing Game with real time combat for any encounters. It is also notable as one of the goriest games of its time, with some exceptionally bloody fight and death scenes, similar in tone to the famous Black Knight fight scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.\nThe game has a large cult following and is widely regarded as one of the best games available on the format. The game is highly sought after as a collectible; an original copy in good condition with all the original included contents, including a map of the game world, is extremely rare. Story and setting\nThe player takes on the role of a chosen knight who is sent by the druids to return the mystical 'moonstone' to Stonehenge. The game supports between 1 to 4 players at once, with the computer controlling any knights not controlled by human players as rival NPCs.\nThe world map is divided into 4 distinct regions:\nMisty Moors: The NW region of the Blue Knight (Sir Godber). Monsters found there are the Axe and Spear-bearing Troggs as well as their War Beasts. There is also the city of Highwood with the High Temple where the player can buy and sell magical items.\nWetlands: The SE region of the Red Knight (Sir Edward). Monsters are the Trolls and the Mudmen. There is also the city of Waterdeep with Mythral the Mystic who can advance the player's abilities in exchange of gold (or randomly reduce them).\nGreat Forest: The SW region of the Green Knight (Sir Jeffrey). Monsters are the Troggs and the Ratmen. It features the Stonehenge where the player can gain a life by donating a magical item.\nNorthern Wastelands: The NE region of the Orange Knight (Sir Richard). Monsters include Troggs and Baloks. It also features the Tower of Math the Wizard who can randomly reward the player or transform him into a frog if he asks repeatedly. The overall objective of exploration is to find the lair that holds one of the four keys. The player who gathers together all four keys (either by finding them or by stealing them from rivals), will have access to the Valley of the Gods at the center of the map. The knight will have to fight against the Guardian in order to win a 'moonstone'. The moonstone corresponds randomly to a lunar phase, and grants the knight more power during that phase. The moonstone must be returned to Stonehenge for the game to be completed.\nComplicating each player's quest is the presence of the opposing players, who can attack the player or be attacked by the player. This triggers real time combat where the opposing knights fight to the death, the victor can then steal the other player's money and equipment, including the moonstone.\nAfter some days, a dragon will appear and make regular sweeps across the land. In the event that an unskilled player is unfortunate enough to encounter the dragon early on in the game, defeat is almost inevitable. Skilled players, however, should be able to take advantage of the dragon's weak spot, granting them victory regardless of their current stats. The dragon's weak spot is its neck; a successful blow to the neck will render it unable to move for a short period of time. A successive series of upward thrusts from underneath the dragon completely unables it to move, as each stab stuns the dragon long enough for the knight to recover and deliver yet another attack.