VSB is a point-and-click. You can access the toolbar by moving the mouse to the top of the screen.
The first icon from the left is the walk icon. The second icon is the hand icon which is used to pick up items and interact with things. The third is the mouth icon, used to talk and taste among other functions. The fourth is the look icon.
The fifth icon shows the currently selected inventory item. In order to select another inventory item, click the sixth icon (the one with the bag on it) to open the inventory screen. You may also simply right-click the mouse to change the icons, rather than heading for the top of the game screen and selecting them there.
Inventory Screen
In the inventory screen similar icons occur. You can look at items, investigate items (with the hand icon), select items (with the arrow icon) and use your mouth on items (though hopefully you won't ever need to do that throughout the entire game). The arrow icons allows you to move to the next or previous page of inventory items. Select the OK button to return to the game. Sometimes it is also necessary to combine items within the inventory screen to create new items.
Control Panel
The final icon on the top toolbar is to access the control panel.
Here you can save, restore, restart, quit or continue playing the game. The "About" button opens a credit window for Chris Jones' AGS engine. The slider bars allow you to adjust game speed and volume.