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Coktel Vision: Gobliiins and the French Puzzle Adventure

Gobliiins and Woodruff. A cross-media guide to Coktel Vision, the French studio whose whimsical, fiendish puzzle-adventures gave the point-and-click a surreal Gallic streak all its own.

Coktel Vision was one of the quirkiest studios of the French adventure-game scene. Founded in 1984 in Paris, it specialised in surreal, hand-drawn puzzle-adventures with a sense of humour all their own, none more beloved than the Gobliiins series, in which you solved fiendish puzzles by juggling the abilities of little goblins. Distributed widely by Sierra, Coktel's games paired gorgeous, cartoonish art with brain-bending logic and a distinctly French sense of the absurd, from the goblin trilogy to the strange, wonderful Woodruff.

This is the studio's run: the goblins, the puzzles, and one of the most charming corners of the golden age of adventure games. Here is the map.

The essential Coktel

Start here

The Coktel adventures

Goblins, puzzles and surreal charm

A short history of Coktel Vision

  • 1984Coktel Vision is founded in Paris.
  • 1991Gobliiins launches a surreal, fiendish puzzle-adventure trilogy.
  • 1992Gobliins 2 refines the formula with two goblins and richer art.
  • 1994Goblins 3 continues the whimsical series.
  • 1995Woodruff and the Schnibble pushes Coktel's surreal style to new heights.

The people who built Coktel

The creators behind the goblins. Follow either to their full catalogue.

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Its whimsical, fiendish puzzle-adventures gave the point-and-click a surreal Gallic streak all its own. That was Coktel Vision.

Frequently asked

What is Coktel Vision best known for?

The Gobliiins series of surreal French puzzle-adventures, and other whimsical point-and-click games like Woodruff and the Schnibble. Coktel's games were widely distributed by Sierra.

What makes the Gobliiins games unusual?

In Gobliiins you control several little goblins, each with a single special ability, and must combine them to solve devious puzzles. The series is known for its cartoonish art, surreal humour and high difficulty.

Was Coktel Vision a French studio?

Yes. Coktel Vision was founded in Paris in 1984 and was a distinctive voice in the French adventure-game scene, known for its surreal, puzzle-focused style.