Hugo: The Magic Oak

***Hugo: The Magic Oak*** or ***The Magic Oak*** is a 1998 video game developed and published by ITE Media for the PC as part of the "Play and Learn" series. It was titled ***Den Fortryllede Eg*** / ***Hugo: Leg Og Lær 1*** in Denmark, ***Tajemný les*** (*Mystic forest*) in Czechia, ***Taikatammi*** in Finland, ***Die Zaubereiche*** in Germany, ***Zaczarowany dąb*** in Poland, and ***Кузя и его друзья: Волшебное дерево*** (*Kuzya and friends: The magic tree*) in Russia.

Originally released on 1 June 1998, the game was re-released on 21 April 2005 as ***Hugo Gold III*** in Germany. It was also re-released as part of the compilations *Hugo 2 in 1* and *Hugo - Sonderpaket 1* (with a beach wristwatch) together with *Wild River* in 1999 in Germany, *Hugo: Birthday Party* in 2000, and in the *Best of Hugo* series with *Hugo Classic #1* (*Hugo*) in Denmark.

## Plot

The evil witch Scylla casts a spell on an old oak to set a trap for Hugo. During a family picnic, Hugo's young son Rat is suddenly swallowed by the cursed tree and spirited away. Only with the help of the player can he find his way back home. Rat meets a friendly mole, who gives him an old, dirty map that is the only way he can orient himself in the unknown part of the woods. He needs to use it navigate and to return before all sand in the hourglass trickles away.

If Rat succeeds, he happily reunites with his family, and Scylla gets her comeuppance by being launched in the air across the Troll Forest and smashed into the Skull Cave wall.

## Gameplay

The *Magic Oak* is a compilation of minigames supposed to be a fun entry to mathematical knowledge and to train memory and logic. The game can be played in three difficulty levels and is suitable for children over 6 years.

* **Archery**: Rat has to measure the distance to hit a target with the arrows
* **Fish Rescue**: Here Rat has to determine which number are closest to make a fish grow and so it can leap into the neighboring pool.
* **Memory (Insects)**: Rat has to turn the cards around to see which insects look the same as the other one until all are matched and are gone.
* **Mental Arithmetic**: Calculating the arithmetic problems properly to get extra time.
* **Hare Rescue**: After the hare on a tree trunk gives Rat a math problem, the little troll needs to calculate the task and put the right solution in the appropriate basket to save the hare from falling down the waterfall. (Also in *Hugo Krypton*.)
* **Time**: Setting the clock correctly. Rat will be shown different times and then will have to specify the clock or the correct time as a number.
* **Bird Feeding**: Rut has to set a domino chain correctly to feed a nest of baby sparrows.
* **Wolf Fight**: In this game Rat has to estimate how many boxes are brown and then give the correct number. If done right, the wolves disappear and Rat can move on through the forest.

## Credits

* Producers: Ivan Sølvason, Mark Gregory
* Design: Lars Ostenfeld, Mark Gregory, Niels Krogh Mortensen
* Programming: Michael Barklund, Morten Slott Nielsen
* Graphics: Michael Wettendorff (Miwer), Jonas Fromm, Jesper Eskildsen, Mark Gregory, Jakob Steffensen, Jørgen Trolle Ørberg
* Sound: David Filskov Christian, Steen Jensen

### Cast

Polish version:

* Cezary Kwieciński - Trik
* Artur Kaczmarski - Kret
* Zbigniew Konopka - Dąb
* Małgorzata Puzio-Miękus - Scylla

## External links

* *Hugo - Die Zaubereiche* and *Hugo - Sonderpaket 1* at Hugo-Troll.de (German)
* *Hugo: The Magic Oak* at Square Faction (Russian)[1]
* Youtube clip from the game