Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum — stories left

Van Caneghem had difficulty finding a publisher to distribute Might and Magic, so he self-published as New World Computing, handling the distribution himself from his own apartment until he was able to broker a distribution deal with Activision.

The magazine's Scorpia praised the game's extensiveness, but noted that early versions of the game only equipped new party members with clubs, making the beginning of the game very difficult.

In 1993 the magazine stated that despite the starting difficulty "it's well worth the effort".

In 1993 the magazine stated that despite the starting difficulty "it's well worth the effort".

The Apple II version of the game was reviewed in 1987 in Dragon #122 by Patricia Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column.

Lesser stated that "This adventure is awesome in its scope, completely fascinating, graphically pleasing, and one of the top five games ever produced for a computer.

It was released in 1986 as New World Computing's debut, ported to numerous platforms and re-released continuously through the early 1990s.

The magazine's Scorpia praised the game's extensiveness, but noted that early versions of the game only equipped new party members with clubs, making the beginning of the game very difficult.

In 1987, Compute! magazine praised Might and Magic for its wealth of content, non-linear play and aspects of its graphics, though it notes that the game graphics lack animation, and that there is limited graphical representation of enemy combatants.

The magazine's Scorpia praised the game's extensiveness, but noted that early versions of the game only equipped new party members with clubs, making the beginning of the game very difficult.

Might and Magic sold over 100,000 copies by 1989.