Last updated on January 4th, 2026 at 10:51 am
The Manhole: Masterpiece – Family Game Review
The Manhole: Masterpiece is a Family/Entertainment game from Cyan Worlds, Inc, first launched in 4th August 2010.
It’s rated 4+ and currently has 23+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes The Manhole: Masterpiece Stand Out
Welcome to The Manhole! From the creators of Myst, The Manhole is a silly, delightful, interactive, busy-box-of-a-world that kids can explore and explore – finding something new around every corner.
This award-winning romp transports children to the fanciful world around, above, and beneath what appears to be just an average, everyday manhole. But there is much more than meets the eye – have tea with a rabbit, wake up a walrus, nibble biscuits with a dragon, hang with a penguin, boat with an elephant, speak French with a turtle, and much more!
First released in the 80's, the original version won rave reviews and numerous awards including "Best New Use of a Computer" from the Software Publishers Association. This Masterpiece Edition was produced in the 90's as a ground-up re-make of the original with meticulous computer-rendered scenes layered with delightful hand-rendered characters. There are over 30 original music compositions and scores of original sounds and voices.
Check out Myst, Riven, and Stoneship – more great iOS entertainment from Cyan Worlds!
This Family game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, The Manhole: Masterpiece is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 13th May 2024
Recent improvements include:
Added iOS 17 compatibility
Added support for Pro Max iPhones
Download & Availability
The Manhole: Masterpiece is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Get The Manhole: Masterpiece on App Store
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
If you loved this in the 1980s, it might be worth $2 to see it again. It was for us. We remember it used to take forever to go through the game and click on all the options (which were not always obvious.) Originally, this was created in HyperCard, the precursor to the links used in HTML. We imagine it was much slower in certain parts as it loaded from the 800k floppy disk, and in this version, it never seems to crash the computer. Im sure it will be just as astonishing to play with this when Im living in the retirement home.
We had the computer CD as kids so it is a delight to show it to our own kids now.
So excited to be able to play this game again under iOS 11! Thank you, developers, for continuing to support this app.
We are so glad we were thinking of this game the other day and so glad we just downloaded it! Better than we remember and we forgot how whimsical this game was… Thank you for bringing this to us in app form! Worth the $1.99.
We missed this one when we were a kid, but loved Spelunx and Myst. We've had so much fun with this, both by ourselves and sharing it with our 3 year old daughter, that we genuinely wish there were more games like this! (And, of course, that we could get Spelunx for either iOS or Mac!) Don't pass this one up. It's a true gem.
Years ago we worked for Broderbund selling our products to retailers and demonstrating them in computer user groups all over the us. We bought this for nostalgia but also to see our kids enjoy this. We love the literary allusions to cs Lewis and Alice in wonderland and the pre myst game play but the exceptional music wins the prize here. This is gorgeously redone with enhance graphics from the cd rom.
This is a precessor to MYST, in that u can see its influence on how MYST was made. This is a kids game but still looks like MYST. Haven't played yet but giving five stars cuz cyan deserves the support! Can't wait for Obduction.
If you have trouble with the sound, check the toggle switch right next to your volume button. The sound in the game didn't play at all for us until we flipped that switch. This brings back memories :-) One of the first games at ever played, at around age 5. Although we played the black and white version on an old Mac Pro, none of this color / touchscreen fanciness :-).
We loved this game as a kid and played it for hours on end! What a joy to have it on a mobile device! Just wandering around and listening to the music is a great way to de-stress and stroll down memory lane.
We loved The Manhole when we had it years ago and eagerly downloaded it when we saw it would work on our iPad only to discover NO SOUND – unless earphones or external speaker are used. Since the music is the very best part of The Manhole this makes it utterly useless IMO. Please fix.
This was our favorite game growing up. This game is what essentially turned us into a gamer nerd and it even lead us to other great point and click games (we.e. Riven and Myst) when we found it on the App Store we did not hesitate to pay the 2 dollars, and now this game brings a year to our eye as it blasts us back to our whipper-snapper days.
Well we don't have to load our HyperCard… :-) we loved the original Manhole and to have the experience again and share our childhood super-memory with kids that we love is so awesome. We think it is inline with the story games kids are playing now. Excited to spend more time in the Manhole World!! Thank you for giving us this back! And also another vote for Cosmic Osmo.
Parents, take heed: this game is old. Ancient, by software standards. It's an early 90s upgrade to a late 80s game, ported to iOS with no revisions. That said, the geniuses who made this game basically invented the point-and-click-everywhere game format that you see all over the App Store these days, so your kid will feel right at home in the Manholeverse. Underwhelmed, perhaps, but comfortable. It's a classic and a pioneer. That said, we wish the Miller Bros. Would do a real revision of this game for iOS. We say that with some hesitance, because the structure of the game is really perfect. Everything fits together just so, and the exploratory, objective-free gameplay still feels like a refreshing change of pace. Updated (not bells and whistles-ified) graphics and sound, and perhaps more complex character interactions, would enhance the game's appeal to a modern child audience. IPad compatibility is a must. C'mon, Robyn and Rand. For old time's sake. (Also, a possible bug… Is Mr. Dragon ever in his house? We're hungry for biscuits, baby).
The first thing our 5 yr old son said about this app: "Mom, this game is stupid. You can't pick up any clues to use later. There aren't any puzzles to figure out… It does nothing!" we gave it a second star, for pity, because we've already introduced him to simpler Myst-like apps, like Mystery Lighthouse, the Lost City, & Cryptic Keep. All of which completely engaged him from start to finish. He has a clever, hungry mind- and this app just wasn't enough of anything to keep his interest. Which doesn't really say much for an app intended for children.
Love this game, wish cosmic osmo were available.
Once we saw this on the app store, we had to buy it! We used to play this non-stop when we were a kid on our parents Mac IIci. This brings back so many memories! Thanks for bringing this to the iPhone Cyan!!! We still play this every now and then when we're in a waiting room etc.
Except for the touch screen, this game is exactly as it remember it as a child back in the days of classic.
Here's another call to bring back Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel next. COSMIC OSMO PLEASE :).
We picked up this app because we loved the original Manhole on our old black-and-white Macintosh back in the day. This app, however, tries way too hard to be "goofy" at the expense of all the simple touches that gave the original its charm. Don't bother.
That is what this is and that's why we give it 5 stars. We didn't realize it was a kids game but it is. It's kinda nostalgic too. Recommended for 2 – 9 year olds. Keep it up Cyan.
Not quite the original, but brings back the nostalgia nonetheless. Here's hoping Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel is next.
It's fantastic to be able to share these games from our own childhood with our daughter. We've only got two minor complaints. We wish it had come out with a true iPad iPad support and we wish that they'd taken a cue from Lucasarts Monkey Island revivals and let us pull up the original black and white art as well.
We used to be an avid player of this game when we were younger. We made it our goal to find any and all secrets that were to be held in this game. We gotta say that the people over at Cyan Worlds missed a very funny and subtle gag in this game though! When you ride the elevator with Mr. Walrus, if you tap on the elevator buttons multiple times you can actually BREAK the elevator. Upon which Mr. Walrus gives you a lecture and you fix the elevator by madly tapping the buttons again. We so miss that little easter egg.
We are a huge fan of everything related to Cyan, but we had never played this before. It is certainly imaginative and deserves five stars for that alone. It has the fun feel for exploration that Myst encompasses, but unlike Myst we do not believe there is much of a point… Other than the trippy experience itself.
Very cool game! Cyan has always made visiting different worlds a staple of their games. This one is no different except that you can play with your kids. Um… We mean… Your kids can play with you. This is a kids game after all. ;).
The game is designed for kids, but we enjoyed every bit of it too! And we are. . .um well . . . .let's just say, we are NO kid ;) The cleverness and detail of rich environment is priceless and provides a chuckle or a smile around every corner!! We recommend this to anyone, of any age :D.
We grew up playing this game. We had plenty of computer games available to us, but this is the one we most remember from our youth. The nostalgia alone makes it more than worth the cost. If you have kids and you're willing to let them use your iPhone/iPad/whatever, we absolutely recommend you get this game for them.
Now we can say we had tea with a rabbit:).
Big fan of cyan, fun but sorta a small game. (First rating!).
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 2.0
- Size: 88.07 MB
- iOS: 14.0 or later
- Languages: EN
- Content Advisory:
- Developer: Cyan Worlds, Inc
Last updated: 13th May 2024 | Genre: Family, Entertainment | Developer: Cyan Worlds, Inc