The Elder Kings preserved their power by parting the Hand of Quoid (pronounced "kwode") - the great Amulet that was the source and focus of all true magic - and creating the Five Relics.

As Thayer Alconred - a sorcerer's apprentice and the last survivor of the Elder Kings' bloodline - the player must find the Relics and restore the Amulet of Power before Sorsabal does.

Instead the player has full control over Thayer Alconred's movement to different areas and must find and use a variety of magical objects to overcome enemies and obstacles like in most later graphic adventure games.

[2][3][4][8] While Scary Larry of GamePro praised the gameplay for being much less linear than Dragon's Lair, he felt this was insufficient to make it appeal to seasoned gamers.

[citation needed] In the mid-1990s, Thayer's Quest was released to home computers and CD-based consoles titled Kingdom: The Far Reaches, with the characters' names changed (Thayer Alconred became Lathan Kandor, Sorsabal became Torlock, etc., because creator Rick Dyer thought the original character and names were "too 70's") and additional animation and puzzles.