ADVENTURES ON THE SPECTRUM

by

Mike Gerrard
ADVENTURES ON THE SPECTRUM
 ADVENTURES
ON THE SPECTRUM

Mike Gerrard
 First published in 1989 by
Mike Gerrard
PO Box 7
Ramsey
Huntingdon
Cambs PE17 2UZ

© 1989 by Mike Gerrard

All rights reserved. No part of this publication

may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, without the prior permission of the
publisher

ISBN 0 9515193 0 1

Printed by:
Antony Rowe Ltd
Bumper's Farm
Chippenham
Wiltshire SN14 6LH
 Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter One – Newcomers 8

Chapter Two - The History of Adventure Games 13

Chapter Three - Buying Adventures 25

Chapter Four - Clubs and Magazines 29

Chapter Five - How to Do-it-Yourself 34

Chapter Six - The Solutions 45

Appendix - Useful Names and Addresses 169

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Sandra Sharkey very much indeed for the use
of her photocopier and for her time. Also, the various editors of
Your Sinclair over the past few years (Kevin, Teresa and Matt) for
giving me a totally free hand with their adventure pages. And
finally all the readers of the magazine who have sent me
solutions, asked me questions, given me compliments and
criticisms, and generally made writing the adventure section as
much fun as it's been hard work.
 To John and Esther Ryan

Good friends are hard to find

(that's why I've had to settle for you)
 CHAPTER ONE

NEW PLAYERS START HERE

Tips for beginners... and others!

The more you play adventure games, and the more you get used to
them and their little quirks, the harder it is to remember that
there are still lots of people who haven't a clue as to what
they're about, or are just embarking on their first adventure
ever. I'm always getting letters saying 'What games do you
recommend for a beginner?' or from people saying they're finding
their first adventure rather difficult - then you discover they've
chosen a game that you yourself found not merely difficult but
virtually impossible, and that's after several years experience of
playing adventures! So for all those people who constantly ask me
for more help for beginners in my adventure columns, here it is.

One thing you have to remember is that some games are more
difficult than others, so if you're finding your first adventure
rather hard going it may well be that you've chosen a particularly
tough game. Of course adventures aren't meant to be easy, but some
are better for beginners than others. I wouldn't recommend The
Pawn, for example, because that was written by people who'd
already played a lot of adventures themselves, and they wrote the
game as a reaction to those adventures. In some aspects it's a
send-up of typical adventure conventions, so it helps if you know
what those conventions are in the first place. No, I'd save The
Pawn till you've managed to solve a handful of other games first.

There is one game that is far from easy, but which I do often
recommend for beginners, and that's the original Colossal Cave
Adventure, available as Colossal Adventure from Level 9 in their
Jewels of Darkness trilogy published by Rainbird. You could also
try the budget title, The Serf's Tale, from Players - if you can
get hold of it. This is a slightly different version of the game
that was written by Smart Egg Software as a way of developing and
testing their own adventure-writing system. When they'd finished
the experiment they thought the game might even be good enough to
release - and Players agreed. So did I, because although when it
came out I'd seen umpteen versions of Colossal Cave, Smart Egg
managed to introduce a few changes that made the game seem fresh
and new.

The game takes even an experienced player a long time to complete,

but one reason it is worth trying as a beginner is that it was,
after all, the first proper computer adventure game ever written.
Almost everyone who played it originally was therefore, in a
sense, a beginner to adventures - and they managed to cope with
the game! It does introduce you slowly to what were later to
become conventional aspects of many adventures. It begins with
some straightforward exploring, encouraging you to enter a
building and have a look around, encouraging you to make notes and
make a map of your surroundings, and discouraging you from
wandering into dangerous locations where you might die. There are
a few objects lying around, which you can pick up and examine and
have a think about whether they might be useful or not. One of
them proves useful fairly quickly, as one of the first 'problems'
you should encounter will be a locked grate. No prizes for
realising that the bunch of keys might be used to UNLOCK THE GRATE
and allow you to get into whatever lies behind it. In The Serf's
Tale, incidentally, the keys are a little harder to find than in
other versions.

Once beyond the grate you'll find many more locations to map and
explore, more objects to find, and a tricky problem in a snake
that won't let you past. This is a good one for beginners, because
the solution isn't immediately obvious, yet you know it has to be
something to do with one of the several objects you should have
picked up by the time you encounter the snake. Or perhaps there
was an object that you couldn't get hold of - maybe the answer to
the problem of the snake has something to do with that? By the
time you reach the snake you should have a few things like a black
rod, a sandwich or other food, a bottle, a bunch of keys, a lamp
or torch, a bird and a gilded cage. These enable you to try
various approaches to see what will deal with the snake: feed it
the food, hit it with the bottle, attack it with the black rod?
The beginner may well try all of these and hopefully will hit on
the right answer after a little bit of thought. By this time, too,
a few treasures might have been found - always a satisfying part
of any adventure! (See also page 16 for a little more beginners
help using this adventure as an example).

The beginner should also have learned a very important part of

successful adventure playing, which doesn't require very much
brainpower, and that is that you must save your game regularly.
Players of the original version of this adventure, playing on huge
mainframe computers in the 1970s, didn't have the chance to save
their game and had to begin again at the start every time they
played. Yet the game was so good they were happy to do this. Micro
versions of the adventure do thankfully include a SAVE feature so
make use of it. Some do penalise you by taking one point from your
score if you make use of the SAVE facility, the idea being that
when you know the solutions to all the problems, and have worked
out the best route to get through the game, you should try to play
through it completely at one session, just like in the mainframe
days.

To save your game requires only a little bit of effort, and you
should do this constantly. I usually make a note on my map of
exactly where I've saved the game, so that if I need to go back I
can see which saved position takes me back to the required place.
It frequently happens that a later problem could be solved if only
you still had with you that object you dropped a long time back.
Take the original adventure again by way of example. The bunch of
keys can be used to unlock the grate, and because you can only
carry a certain number of objects many players would now
automatically drop the keys assuming that they had served their
purpose. But suppose that the keys are needed again later on in
the game - and by this time you are unable to get back to reach
them? Anything might happen. The caves might explode, someone
might steal the keys: anything. To avoid having to go back all the
way to the start, do have a series of well-labelled saved games at
different stages of the game. I know this can be a real pain if
you're saving to and reloading from tape, but try to make the
effort: it'll be worth it.

Many people neglect this due to the fact that most games nowadays
enable you to save your position instantaneously to memory. If you
come across a tricky situation then it's obviously wise to use
this RAM SAVE in case you get killed, but this won't help you if
you discover that the way to stop yourself getting killed is to go
back and get a particular object - which you now can't get at
because something in the game has changed to prevent you. So save
to tape or disc regularly as well: save quickly, save often,
that's the motto.

It goes without saying (so I'll say it) that you should make a
good map of the game as you go. Try and make it reasonably legible
and logical, and don't stint on paper as it doesn't really cost
that much. One of the Murphy's Laws of adventure playing is that
no matter where you start your map on a sheet of paper, it's
always in the wrong place. You will reach the edge of the paper
very quickly in one direction, while 90% of the paper is still
empty. Don't give in to the temptation to start using the empty
bits of paper, or the back of the sheet, connecting everything
together with long arrows. The map will probably get more
complicated later on and you'll never be able to follow it. Get a
new sheet of paper and continue the map on that - I always
sellotape sheets together so that the map continues fairly
logically. I end up with some pretty big maps but I usually know
where I am!

When mapping I draw a square for each location I come to, and
write in that a brief summary of the place, so eighteen lines of
golden prose on the screen might end up on my map as 'The Big
Cavern'. I usually use lower-case letters as I like to use
capitals to mark the objects, but no doubt everyone devises their
own little system. As long as it helps you keep a track of what
you're doing, that's the main thing. If a location does have
objects in then I jot them down alongside in capitals, e.g. DESK,
CUPBOARD, KNIFE. I write these underneath each other because a
desk may have a drawer in it that may be locked, or that you might
open to find a letter, so that becomes DESK: DRAWER: LETTER
followed by any relevant information contained in the letter. Or
it may be DESK: DRAWER: LOCKED. That reminds me that there's an
unsolved problem, so that if I find a key or a screwdriver or
something similar later on, I can go back to the desk to see if
it'll open the drawer. If it does then I change the note to DESK:
DRAWER: LOCKED: USE SCREWDRIVER.

One reason for marking the objects, apart from the fact that it
makes the game easier to play if you do have to restart it for
some reason, is that you may only be able to carry a certain
number of things with you at any one time. You can guarantee that
if you come across a problem later on, the very object you need
will be the very one you decided not to carry. If you can look
back on your map and spot where you first found the SCISSORS,
you'll know how to get to them a lot more easily than relying on
memory or haphazard exploring. You should also be able to tell
whether you can in fact get to them, or whether you'll have to
reload a saved game. You'll now see why you mark your saved games
carefully - look back to the one you saved just before you reached
the scissors, and load it in. A tip when you are carrying lots of
objects: the author will often put some kind of container in the
game, like a backpack or a sack or something similar. Make use of
it, as it means you'll be able to carry more objects. Try to PUT
FOOD IN BACKPACK or even PUT ALL IN BACKPACK and see what happens.
If you're carrying a burning torch you may find you burn the
backpack to a cinder, but never mind: you did save your game just
beforehand, didn't you?

Back to the map, and the next thing to do is to mark the exit from
the location you've just arrived in. You will often be told these
in the location description, but some games don't tell you and
leave you to work them out for yourself. If the text on the screen
says 'There are exits to the north, south and west' then I will
draw little lines leaving my location box to the north, south and
west. You can only explore one direction at a time, and no doubt
in that one direction you'll soon get stuck, so it helps you to
see at once which directions you haven't yet explored to enable
you to go back and explore them. Most locations will only have a
few exits, and a box can cope with lines for north, south, east
and west leading off from the middle of each side, and if there
are north-east, north-west and so on, use diagonal lines going off
from the respective corners. If there's also an up and a down
exit, you can usually squeeze it in somewhere.

Even when you are apparently told the exits, it's worth trying the
other directions as well because some authors are a bit sneaky and
put exits there without telling you about them. If you're not told
the exits then try each direction in turn and mark them. In such a
case I usually mark non-exits with a double-line or a red line, to
remind me that I've tried it and there's nothing in that
direction. This can also help you get the shape of a map, as some
games are designed on very conventional grids of 10 x 10 or
whatever. One example is Urban Upstart, which is designed on just
such a conventional layout. Even the mini-maze in the hospital
fits into the grid. Knowing the way the map's shaping up can help
tell you when you might be wasting your time trying to go in a
certain direction, or can tell you that there must be another
location beyond the rockfall, despite the fact that you don't seem
to be able to pass it.

Some maps that are sent in to me by readers are definitely works

of art, that have obviously been redrawn to give a finished
picture of a game. Others, however, make me wonder how the player
ever hopes to get through an adventure. They're a mass (or a mess)
of lines and arrows and illegible notes, all squeezed onto the
tiniest scrap of paper. I don't suggest you have to produce maps
of Ordnance Survey standard, but a decent map will certainly help
your adventure playing.

Something else worth noting on your map (if you can find room
after all this information is squeezed on!) are any unusual
commands that you have to use. A good program will cope with a
range of inputs that all mean the same thing - but the trouble is
that not all adventures have been well programmed. If you find
you're having to use uncommon words, then jot them down on your
map when you discover what they are. You may think that you'll
never forget the obscure command that took you half an hour to
find - but you will! If you need to PRISE CUPBOARD instead of
merely opening it or unlocking it, then write it down. Remember it
for later on, too, as the chances are that the programmer might
have tried to save on memory by using the word again in another
context.

In this connection, one final piece of advice: be persistent. If

you know you need to get into the cupboard, and that you should be
able to get into the cupboard, then keep trying. If the program
doesn't accept UNLOCK CUPBOARD, KICK CUPBOARD, BASH CUPBOARD,
UNSCREW CUPBOARD or FORCE CUPBOARD, then do keep going till you
hit on the exact words the program's looking for, e.g. PRISE
CUPBOARD. It is frustrating, and the beginner tends to think the
fault lies with them for being stupid, but it doesn't. The fault
lies with the programmer for not making the game's vocabulary wide
enough.

The trouble here is that you can't always tell whether you're
being persistent in trying to solve a problem, or whether you're
just being stubborn and you're totally on the wrong lines. The
difference is that you're being persistent when you know the
answer, and keep going till you get there, but you're being
stubborn when you only think you know the answer. After all, the
cupboard could be a complete red herring and have nothing inside
it and not even be capable of being opened. Adventure writers are
sometimes like that: warped. Bear that one piece of advice in mind
and you won't go far wrong!
 CHAPTER TWO

THE HISTORY OF ADVENTURE GAMES

In the beginning was the word: the text-only adventure. These

mainly grew out of the role-playing game known as Dungeons and
Dragons, or D&D for short. War games, strategy games and board
games generally were growing increasingly popular in the 1960s,
and at the same time the cult for the Middle Earth books of J.R.R.
Tolkien was also growing. It seems inevitable, looking back, that
the two interests would combine to produce a game like D&D, in
which players got together to pretend they were involved in heroic
quests to collect treasure and save doomed kingdoms from evil
tyrants. It was two Americans, Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax, who
were responsible for giving the official version of D&D to the
world. And to collect the treasure ever afterwards.

In that game, as the name suggests, the players must travel

through a network of dungeons, encountering a series of obstacles
on the way. They must improvise ways of overcoming the problems,
and make decisions about which way to travel. Differing players
have differing abilities, chosen from a list of options at the
start of the game, and while some may elect to have the IQ of an
Einstein but be a little on the puny side, others may prefer to
combine the body of Giant Haystacks with the brain of an amoeba.
Unfortunately you can't have the best of everything: talent is
strictly limited, just as in the real world.

The Dungeon Master controls the game and acts like the banker does
in a game of Monopoly, except that in D&D you can't get by without
one. Armed with the comprehensive set of rules, drawn up by
Arneson and Gygax with the hope of covering every eventuality, the
Dungeon Master acts as referee and should be able to tell the
players the consequences of each and every action. If they choose
to attack the fire-breathing dragon with a wet lettuce, the
Dungeon Master should be able to let them know the result of this
rash move.

The ultimate referee is, of course, a computer. This can store the
vast amount of information needed, and check through it
instantaneously to inform you just what will happen if you do
attack the dragon with the wet lettuce - or tell you that you
aren't carrying a wet lettuce in the first place. A computer
should also be free of any suggestion of bias or cheating,
although anyone who has ever played (and lost) a game like poker
against the wretched machines will have their own views on that
subject.

Many people who were into D&D tended also to be into computers:
and vice versa. The problems of gathering together enough like-
minded people and a Dungeon Master together in the same place at
the same time in order to indulge in your favourite hobby were
quite considerable, and made organising a four for bridge seem
pretty straightforward. In the mid-1970s two fantasy-game
enthusiasts, Willie Crowther and Don Woods, got together in
America and wrote the first sizeable computer adventure game. It
was a way of playing D&D on your own, and with the computer acting
as Dungeon Master. The game was called Adventures, was written in
the Fortran language, and took up a massive 300k of memory. In
fact the game isn't as large as that might make it seem, as
advances in programming techniques mean that the same game can now
be played on our humble 48k Spectrum, and with some room left
over. Remember, though, that Crowther and Woods were writing the
game for fun, not as an exercise in programming efficiency. They
also put the program into the public domain, so that it was soon
circulating on many computer networks. This is also why there are
several versions of the game available, under titles like Colossal
Cave Adventure or Classic Adventure. There is no copyright in the
game, so anyone is free to copy it, or adapt it by changing the
problems, or do anything to it whatsoever. This does not mean that
you can freely copy the Level 9 version, or Melbourne House's
Classic Adventure, as copyright does exist in their particular
implementations of the game and in their own coding.

The original game owes a great deal to the D&D format, but now a
single player can set off on the quest and explore the underground
caves where Adventures takes place. The question of creating a
character at the start has been eliminated, so no need to choose
whether to be smart, cunning, strong or whatever, although this
aspect would of course return to the computer adventure with role-
playing games (RPGs) like The Bard's Tale. The game very quickly
achieved cult status and travelled round the circuits, so to
speak, of American programmers in a variety of offices, whose
bosses frequently discovered that their employees had been logged
on to the company computers apparently slaving away into the early
hours of the morning. Little did they know that their staff were
not looking for ways of making the company more profitable, or
making sure they got the accounts out on time, but were trying to
find ways of coaxing a singing bird into a wicker cage or were
busily throwing axes at little dwarves who'd attacked them with
knives. Much more fun than trying to balance the balance sheet.

If you haven't yet tried this original game, it is well worth

buying, not only for its historical interest but also because it
is still simply one of the best adventure games around. Its scale
is quite daunting - even more so when you realise that the
original mainframe version had to be played without a 'save game'
facility: yes, players in those days had to start from scratch
every time they loaded up the game. It's still a good game for a
beginner to try, despite its size and difficulty, because everyone
who originally played it had to be a beginner, this being the
first of its kind, and so the themes and problems are slowly
introduced to you in order to get you used to what it's all about.
It also converted many people who tried it into adventure addicts,
so it must have its good points! Current adventures often assume
some kind of previous knowledge, whereas this one couldn't because
no-one had any.

Players familiar with the adventure may want to skip the next few
paragraphs, because I'd like to deal with the start of the game in
some detail for the benefit of newcomers to adventuring, who are
forever asking me for advice.

Adventures begins quite simply by telling you that you are

standing beside a small brick building at the end of a road. A
river is flowing nearby, going south, with open country to the
north and dense forest all around. This is how an adventure game
paints a verbal picture of your surroundings. It's just like
reading a story on the screen, except that you are the main
character and the story only develops according to what you type
in at the keyboard. The first few things to do are quite obvious,
as you move around the countryside and get your bearings (by
typing commands like NORTH or GO NORTH, to tell the computer what
you want to do), and also go into the building to see what's
inside there (ENTER BUILDING or GO IN or just IN are the types of
command to use here). You may find a few objects in various
places, which you can GET or later DROP if you wish, and you might
have to take care not to fall over clifftops by moving in the
wrong direction. There is also a small forest maze to negotiate,
but this is all a very gentle beginning for what is to follow.

From somewhere in the forest area you should be able to find your
way through (see advice on mapping in the previous chapter) to a
small depression in the ground, with a locked grille nearby. Try
to OPEN GRILLE and obviously you can't, as it's locked, but if you
have with you the key or bunch of keys that were so thoughtfully
left in the building by the programmers, you should be able to
UNLOCK GRILLE to enable you to OPEN GRILLE and go through into the
colossal cave network. If you don't have a key with you, go back
and find it at once (which will teach you the advantage of proper
map-making).

One of the many good things about this adventure is that it sets
very high descriptive standards, even if the prose does tend to be
a bit purplish on occasions. Once you have played a game which
creates such a very rich and convincing atmosphere, it becomes
difficult to enjoy the rather amateurish approach of some
adventure games where locations are described along the lines of
"You are in a tunnel" or "You are in a room". Compare this with
the description of a location you should very soon find yourself
in when playing the original version, or an accurate home-micro
rendering of it: "You are in the Hall of the Mountain Kings, a
huge room decorated with majestic statues. The east wall is
covered by trophies and the mounted heads of elves and monsters,
with a carved granite throne standing beneath them. The hall is
hung about with the tattered remains of rich tapestries and has
large doorways on all sides. A huge green snake hisses fiercely at
you."
If you want to go further into the network of caves then you
obviously have to do something about that snake, and while I'm not
going to spoil it for anyone who hasn't yet encountered or solved
it, it is a good gentle introduction to what adventure-playing is
all about, causing you to examine carefully the handful of objects
you should have come across so far to see how they might be used:
picking up and dropping different items, throwing things at the
snake, attacking it with different objects, experimenting with
various combinations of words, looking for an alternative route
past the snake, and so on. The delight of a problem like this,
when you think about it, is that there are so many possible ways
of dealing with the snake. A locked door offers only a limited
number of ways to get past it, but a snake....

Once you've disposed of the creature - and sorry, but there isn't
a convenient can of anti-snake spray lying around - you can then
travel further round the caverns and passages, and if you look in
the right places now you will start to discover some of the items
of treasure that traditionally lurk in every adventure. Well,
unless it's the type where you're rescuing a princess or saving
the earth from destruction, that is. You will be introduced to the
concept of magic words, too. If you see an unusual (or even an
ordinary) word written down somewhere, on a wall or a parchment or
perhaps told to you by another character in the game, you should
always try saying this word at regular intervals, in any likely
place you can find. Sometimes magic words open doors (as with
'Open Sesame'), while others will transport you from one place to
another: well, they are magic, after all. Magic also makes an
appearance when you come across a yawning chasm that obviously
needs crossing: and no, you can't give it something to stop it
yawning.

One person in particular who was captivated by this adventure to

the extent that it actually changed the course of his life was an
American systems programmer named Scott Adams, who admitted to
being hooked on the game after just a few minutes and who went on
to score the coveted 350 points to earn the title of Grand Master
after ten days of playing every morning and every evening. In
between playing he did manage to fit in his work with the firm of
Stromberg-Carlson, making telephone digital switches. This was in
1978, and Scott Adams had just bought a home micro, one of the
popular earlier models, a TRS-80 Level II machine. Having finished
writing a backgammon program for it he was intrigued by the
prospect of writing his own adventure game, though his first smart
move was to write not an adventure program but an interpreter
program, which then enabled him to go on and produce lots of
adventures by simply changing the data.

This may sound mechanical, but a great number of adventures are

written in a similar way. Companies like Level 9, Magnetic Scrolls
or Infocom, all have their own adventure-writing systems into
which basic data must be fed, while lesser mortals make do with
PAWS or GAC. It's still up to the writer to produce the story,
write the text and design the problems, and in fact far from being
mechanical it gives the writer much more time to exercise his or
her imagination on the content of the adventure, without worrying
about having to spend weeks rewriting the system slightly for each
and every game.

Scott Adams was the first to do this, however, and the result was
Scott Adams International and a string of successful adventures,
like Adventureland, Pirate Adventure, Savage Island and so on. Six
months after starting work on his interpreter, the first of these,
Adventureland, was published. They look rather primitive now, but
you have to bear in mind that they were written with the intention
of getting them into the then-standard 16k home micro. No room for
pages of purple prose, but an emphasis instead on very devious
problems.

Adventureland takes place in what quickly became a traditional

setting, of forests and dragons, axes and magic, and it has you
hunting for treasures in typically greedy fashion. The follow-up,
Pirate Adventure, was written by Scott's wife, Alexis, as were
some later games in the 'Scott Adams' series. Scott had spent six
months writing Adventureland and virtually ignoring his wife, and
she responded in a way befitting her Christian name by putting the
disc of the finished adventure in the oven. Luckily the oven
wasn't switched on at the time or it would have been a case of
Molten Data Pie for supper. After that she realised that as she
wasn't going to beat him she may as well join him and together
they turned the company into one of the early adventure success
stories. After several years of churning them out, Scott retired
from adventure-writing, and you don't come across his name very
often these days. Personally I never much cared for his games, but
many people love them so it's worth giving at least one of them a
try if you can find them.

The Scott Adams games were originally text-only, with no-one

thinking that you might add graphics to them, because in the early
days that's simply what adventures were: manipulations of text on
the non-graphics screens of mainframe computers. The Adams games
were later re-released with graphics added, and this was one of
two developments in the history of adventure games that happened
more or less simultaneously. The other was the enhancing of the
parser.

Time for a slight diversion to deal with parsers. Time again for
anyone who knows what a parser is and how it works to skip the
next bit. Apologies for this, but advice for beginners is very
much mixed up with the development of adventure games. The more
you know about their simple origins, the easier it is to
understand how to play them. Anyway, for quite a few years the
player's input in a game had been limited to two words. The writer
could go to town, giving you a screenful of the most vivid
descriptive text, but at the end of it all the player was only
able to respond with a very prosaic GO NORTH or GET KETTLE. This
was dictated by the simple way in which early parsers worked. The
first word had to be a verb, the second word a noun. The program
would read the player's input till it came to a space, then stop.
It would 'know', for example, that the player had typed 'GET'. In
the program would be a list of verbs that were understood, and
which would be dealt with in the appropriate way. All the program
was really doing was scanning the player's text and matching it
against the text written into the program by the programmer. 'GET'
would be read at the keyboard and matched up against 'GET' in the
program, and the program would then go off to the bit that told it
what to do with the word 'GET' - i.e. you then read the second
word, 'KETTLE' say, and look for a match for that in the
vocabulary as well. If it's not in there, tell the player you
don't recognise the word. If it is in there, check whether the
'kettle' object is in the same location that the player's in. If
it is and there's no problem, let the player pick it up. This
means removing it from the screen so it no longer says "You can
also see a kettle", and adding a kettle to the objects the player
is carrying around.

If the program was really clever in these early days you could
type something like PUT KETTLE, and back would come the question
"On what?". You could then type ON STOVE and the two-word input
had somehow coped with a four-word command. Very clever. The first
word didn't have to be a verb - obviously the program, which is
simply moving words around, and in order to do that is just moving
numbers around in its memory, has no idea what a 'verb' is. The
program does what the programmer tells it. Mostly, anyway. But
adventure-playing in the main involved the player using the VERB-
NOUN type of input: GET KEY, DROP TOAST, KILL DWARF, THROW AXE,
OPEN DOOR, and so on. Many adventure players still think in those
simplified terms - and many adventure writers do too. Someone
recently wrote to me to say he was having difficulty getting
through a door in one particular adventure, and could I help? I
checked my files and saw that there was no problem in getting
through the door, it wasn't locked, you didn't have to break it
down with a hammer, all you had to do was... and then I saw why
the person must be stuck. The command needed was GO DOOR, which
was quite obvious to someone ancient like me who'd started out
playing these simple VERB-NOUN types of adventure, but when you
sat down and analysed it the terse command 'GO DOOR' didn't
actually make much grammatical sense. Sure enough, the player had
tried OPEN DOOR, to be told it was already open, then GO THROUGH
DOOR, WALK THROUGH DOOR, and so on.

The first Spectrum adventure where you could actually type more
than a two-word input, and also the first one to introduce the
idea of graphics into a game, was the extremely successful The
Hobbit. This game is also responsible for introducing lots of
people to the adventure game too, as I know several people who
tried the game just because they were fans of Tolkien, having no
idea what an adventure game was, and they so loved the game that
they were hooked on adventures for life. That must have happened
quite a lot, because adventure games don't generally sell anything
like the quantities of arcade games, yet The Hobbit became a best-
seller. Several years ago someone from its publishers, Melbourne
House, revealed the sales figures to me at that time, provided I
kept them to myself, but I think now that the years have passed I
won't be thrown to the trolls if I reveal that the figure then was
in excess of 200,000 copies, a phenomenal amount for an adventure
game. Presumably it's way beyond that now, as the game continues
to sell.

The Hobbit was a first in another way too, as it took an already

established and successful adventurous story and attempted to
involve the player directly in the action by casting him or her as
one of the best-loved characters from the book, Bilbo Baggins. The
game also attempted to create independent lives for some of the
other characters in the story. It's easy to see why it created
such interest at the time, although many of its features are now
commonplace: graphics, a complex parser, independent characters
with their own quasi-intelligence, fatal bugs! It was also a
pretty good adventure.

Independent characters had been a feature of the original

Adventures, if you look back at it, though The Hobbit did take
things a stage further. In the original there were dwarves who
would pop up and throw knives at you at random intervals, and
there was also the thieving pirate who only turned up in certain
locations and only if you were carrying treasure, and would then
only steal one item of treasure from you at a time. It was
artificial intelligence of a sort. Cynics would say that in The
Hobbit it was very artificial intelligence that made Thorin
continually sit down and start singing about gold, usually at the
most inopportune moments, but elsewhere the program did attempt
something more, as it was quite possible for Gandalf to be killed
in the game, out of sight of the main character and without his
knowledge or participation in the action. All you knew was that
you never saw him again for the rest of the game - unless you
happened to come across his dead body somewhere.

One thing that limits an adventure's popularity, in the eyes of

some people anyway, is the fact that when you've completed the
game there is no reason to go back and play it again. You've
solved the problems, got the treasure, saved civilisation, end of
story. The Hobbit was one of the first adventures where this was
no longer true. The game plays differently each time, according to
various built-in random elements, and it is also possible to
finish the game without getting a perfect score, encouraging the
player to go back and look for the missing percentage points. It's
also possible, incidentally, to finish it with a score of more
than 100%, but that's another story. Programmers now often put
lots of extra little touches in their games just for fun, adding
to the pleasure you get from simply playing the game, aside from
the question of solving it. You can try inputting various swear
words, a very common inclusion, or the programmer's name, or the
names of computer magazines: a few old scores for bad reviews have
been settled that way! A company like Infocom publishes what it
calls its Invisiclue booklets for all its adventures. These not
only give you the answers to the problems in the game, but may
well suggest you go back and do various actions you may well not
have thought about doing. Then again, with an adventure like The
Leather Goddesses of Phobos, maybe you would have thought about
it!

There are also other techniques which The Hobbit developed, and
it's possible to use that wonderful invention called 'hindsight'
and see exactly why it was so successful - and why it deserves its
place in the Adventure Hall of Fame, alongside the original
Crowther and Woods classic game. One of those techniques was the
way in which you could talk to the other characters, not merely
telling them to do things but actually having to ask them, and
hoping they were in the right frame of mind to co-operate. At one
point in the game you are totally dependent on either Thorin or
Gandalf to help you get out of a certain location. Your
instruction SAY TO THORIN "CARRY ME" is less likely to be
successful if you've spent the early part of the game trying to
beat him up.

This ability to talk to the other characters is the result of

ever-more sophisticated parsers. The program no longer needs to
'think' in terms of VERB-NOUN, as it's a comparatively simple
matter to add, for example, an adverb to the sentence. Simple but
stupid, in my view, as I know very few adventurers who actually
like problems where the answer is not merely to KILL THE DRAGON
but to KILL THE DRAGON QUICKLY. The inclusion of definite and
indefinite articles is also an easy step: you just tell the
program to ignore them! For THE KETTLE or A KETTLE, read KETTLE.

If the player types in the word SAY, the program can be told to
think along the lines of: "Hang on... is it SAY or SAY TO? If it's
SAY TO, let's look for the name of another character... Then let's
look for the quote marks, and see what they want this other
character to do... Do they want them to GET, DROP or KILL
something? Well, that's fairly straightforward, I know how to cope
with that. Right you are, squire." Programmers might phrase it
differently, but in simple terms that's more or less what's going
on. It does help you to play adventures more successfully if you
have some basic idea of what's happening inside the program. The
reason you may not be able to solve a particular problem could be
the fault of the program, not you, and sometimes you can figure
out whether you're on the right lines or not by the way in which
the program responds. If you come across a locked door and type
UNLOCK DOOR and the program responds by asking "What with?" then
the chances are you're looking for a key. If the program were to
respond "I don't understand the word UNLOCK" then you'll know the
door cannot be unlocked as the word isn't contained in the
program's vocabulary, so you might be better off looking for a
sledgehammer, or trying to PICK LOCK.
The next step in adventure game development was in the graphics
department, though, with the arrival of Valhalla. This also,
incidentally, predicted the way in which adventures would go when
16-bit machines arrived, with more concentration on the graphic
element than the text. For some people the graphic development of
Valhalla was very much at the expense of the adventure itself -
and some would argue that's been the way with graphic adventures
ever since. For all its advanced techniques, The Hobbit was still
your traditional adventure with graphics simply being used to
illustrate some of the locations you visited. You can just as
easily play the game without the graphics - in fact owners of
those allegedly superior-in-every-department BBC machines had to
play a text-only version, due to the lack of sufficient memory to
cope with the pictures as well. But with Valhalla the graphics are
what the game is all about, and it was one of those releases which
started to break down the barriers and question the assumption as
to just what an adventure game was. Other releases were described
as arcade-adventures, such as Imagine's Alchemist or the various
Ultimate titles. Some people suggest that the definition arcade-
adventure is a misleading one anyway, having been coined by
software houses in the hope of selling their games to both arcade
and adventure fans.

Valhalla's step forward was actually to depict the axe, the food,
the treasures and so on on-screen, and to go further than that
even and portray the characters themselves as moving cartoon-like
creations which responded to the commands you typed in at the
bottom of the split-screen. If you type GET AXE your matchstick-
man hero marches across the screen and picks up the axe, with
commands like EAT FOOD, GET WINE and DRINK WINE producing similar
responses. Just as in The Hobbit you weren't taking part in the
adventure completely alone, so too in Valhalla there are a host of
other characters, from gods to dogs, who all have a say (well,
maybe not the dogs) in what is happening. If you're getting hungry
and need to eat then you'd better make sure you get to the food
before one of the other characters feels a bit peckish and nips in
before you. Even if there is only you, a snake and a bottle of
wine on the screen, don't think you can saunter across slowly and
pick up the bottle whenever you're feeling thirsty. I once saw the
snake slither over and drink the wine. The result was an amazed
player and a paralytic python.

In fact Valhalla was such a step forward that it was the first
adventure in which the player did not even need to touch the
keyboard. If you load the game and simply sit back and watch, the
various characters will wander onto and off the screen, eating,
fighting, arguing, ignoring you or maybe even killing you, and you
needn't lift a finger. Of course it's much more fun if you do, but
it might be an interesting experiment to leave the game running
for a few hours then go back and view the results: probably a
screenful of dead little computer people. There is also an
interesting kind of morality built into the program - again a step
forward in adventure-gaming - whereby if you go round doing good
deeds and co-operating with the other characters then you are far
more likely to be successful than if you charge about attacking
everything in sight.

Both The Hobbit and Valhalla were produced by teams of

programmers, rather than by the lone arranger of data such as
Scott Adams. This also showed the way in which adventures were
going, as did the arrival of the game which founded the Infocom
adventure empire: Zork. This was originally a mainframe game,
produced by the joint efforts of several people, and Infocom as a
company was set up to market the game, which is so large that it
has in the main only been available on disc, and even then needing
to be split into three parts. A tape version has been produced for
the Commodore 64, and although people said this was a game that no
Spectrum owner would ever be able to play, it is possible to play
this if you have a Plus-3, with a copy of Locomotive Software's
CP/M operating system, and can get hold of a 3" disc copy of the
game as originally released for the Amstrad CPC/PCW computers.
This also applies to other Infocom titles, all of which should run
on the Spectrum, and I have tried several myself just to prove it.

Because Zork is unlikely to be available to the vast majority of

Spectrum owners, though - and partly this is because 3" disc
versions are no longer published - I won't dwell on its features
in this history of the Spectrum adventure game, but it is
noteworthy in that the Infocom parser has long been far superior
to anything available on the Spectrum. The concentration on the
parser was one of the next major developments, and this does
affect Spectrum owners as games produced by the likes of Level 9
are available for all machines, with the 48k Spectrum hardly
lacking any of the features of the 128k or Plus-3 disc versions.

The parser has developed to such an extent that we might wonder

how much further it can go - or it needs to go. The ability to
cope with lengthy inputs is now commonplace, and if you understood
how a simple two-word parser worked, as explained earlier, then
you should have no trouble understanding how the more complex ones
perform their apparent miracles. In fact the quickness of the
parser often deceives the eye, and its apparent intelligence is
merely the result of clever and concise programming. If you can
teach it to recognise a space and distinguish between a verb and a
noun, you can extend this to make the parser understand commas,
full-stops and words like AND and THEN, thereby enabling it to
break down a longer input into more easily digestible chunks.
Anything inside quote marks is 'understood' to be speech, or if an
input begins with the name of a character followed by a comma,
then the parser can read this as also being the beginning of a
section of speech or an instruction to the character, e.g. DORIS,
DROP THE BANANA. Some parsers also fudge their alleged
intelligence by scanning the sentence for recognisable words, and
working out what it all must mean. This is helped by the fact that
there are very few words which are likely to be of more than one
type, so it can spot an adverb, a noun and a verb because they
cannot be anything else. BANANA cannot be a verb, and while DROP
could be a noun it's rather unlikely. Magnetic Scrolls showed off
the power of their parser on The Pawn by demonstrating that it
could make sense of this seemingly difficult sentence: PLANT THE
POT PLANT IN THE PLANT POT WITH THE TROWEL. Look, they said, it
can distinguish between the three different uses of the word
PLANT, as noun, adjective and verb. Rumour did reach my ears,
however, that this command was carefully placed in the game with
the express intention of impressing reviewers, and rather than the
program always understanding all uses of those verbs, it was
merely reading the entire sentence as a string and acting upon it
as instructed. What this means is that in the section of the
program that reads the player's input there is, in effect, a bit
which says "And if the player happens to type in 'PLANT THE POT
PLANT IN THE PLANT POT WITH THE TROWEL' then this is what you
do...". In other words, if the player tries to PLANT THE PLANT IN
THE GARDEN, the program can't cope. As I say, this was only a
rumour and far be it from me to say whether it's actually true or
not. I'm sure Magnetic Scrolls aren't telling.

Tricks or not, their parser is first class, as are those of their

main rivals, Level 9 and Infocom. We now take it more or less for
granted that multiple inputs will be understood, that we can put
objects inside, behind, underneath or on top of other objects,
that non-combustible objects won't burn, heavy objects can't be
lifted, that we can follow other characters, listen to them, find
characters and objects, go to and run to any location in the game
that's readily available to us, and so forth. Commands like RAM
SAVE and OOPS (to take back a move) are also commonplace, yet
would have been thought nigh-on impossible just a few years ago.
This is only in part due to more memory being available to
programmers to use, as most of the features can also be seen on
the comparatively small 48k Spectrum versions, meaning all credit
to the programmers for increasingly efficient and clever
programming tricks and techniques.

There is, however, only so far you can go and still fit a game
into the Spectrum. On 16-bit machines adventures are headed in all
kinds of directions, not all of them beneficial to my eyes.
Because 16-bit machines can handle graphics so well, and software
houses tend to cater for tomorrow rather than today, adventures
are being made more graphics-based, regardless of what the
majority of adventure players might actually want. For a long time
now we have had the bizarre situation of not being able to buy
many adventures in the shops. This is undoubtedly good for the
mail-order trade, but not so good for the casual browser. The
decline began when shops stopped stocking text-only games on the
grounds that they didn't sell, yet at the same time hundreds of
people write to me every year saying "I much prefer text-only
adventures, but where can I buy them?" I think it's more truthful
to say that the marketing men that control so much of our lives
decided that adventures had to have graphics, so these are the
adventures that get written and pushed into the shops, the
shopkeepers then telling their customers that text-only adventures
don't sell and aren't being produced. In other words you get what
you're given rather than being able to choose what you want.

The same principal applies still, but at the moment it's the
difference between 8-bit and 16-bit machines. Read any general
micro magazine and you will see a vast amount of space devoted to
16-bit machines. Now I'm not knocking those machines. I have one
myself, an Atari ST, and I love it and can play some adventures on
it that would never fit into my six-year-old Speccy. But the space
devoted to 16-bit machines is completely out of proportion to the
numbers that have been sold. The magazines write about them
because all the journalists have them and love them, and like to
show off their toys. Spectrum has almost become a dirty word. The
magazines also write about them because their advertisers, the
major software houses, are always looking to the future and are
solidly promoting 16-bit software. Yet if you look at the sales
figures the situation is, as I write, that the Spectrum still
accounts for 40% of the computers sold each month in this country,
and the Amiga and ST only amount to about 10% between them! If you
think about it, this means that the gap between the numbers of
Spectrums and the numbers of STs and Amigas in the country is
widening all the time - and in the Spectrum's favour. Yet the
games market and in particular the adventure market for Spectrums
is being ignored by the software houses in their keenness to be at
the cutting edge of technology, always in the future, not left
behind for a second.

What has all this to do with the history of Spectrum adventures?

Well, I think it's sadly the case that adventures will not now
develop much further on our favourite little machine. Software
houses, who dictate development, can't see further than the latest
flash graphics. I doubt if adventures could develop anyway, except
in terms of the types of stories being dealt with - and I
congratulate Abstract Concepts for tackling just such a difficult
subject in Mindfighter, despite the way it was heavily criticised
by much of the computer press. Why shouldn't adventures deal with
what some people regard as unsuitable subjects? Why not deal with
emotions? It's possible in books, so are adventures not capable of
being equally mature? They could, if people forget pretty pictures
and concentrate on the content, which is much more important to my
way of thinking.
 CHAPTER THREE

BUYING ADVENTURES

One of the most frequent questions I'm asked is "Where can I buy
adventures?" or "Where can I get hold of a copy of....", naming
some adventure that's positively ancient, like all of six months
old.

The truth is that how to get hold of adventures is one of the

first problems adventurers face! For a while, several years ago,
it was actually possible to buy some of the more popular releases
in the software departments of places like Boots and W.H. Smith.
Presumably not many people bought text-only games, as it was the
people responsible for getting adventures into the shops who
declared that only adventures with graphics were selling, as a
result of which all the software houses had to start putting
graphics in their games in order to get them stocked in the shops,
whether they wanted to put graphics in there or not.

It didn't take long for the shops to start saying "Adventures

don't sell," at which point they stopped stocking them completely,
apart from the odd exceptions like games from famous names like
Infocom, Magnetic Scrolls and Level 9. The only other adventures
you could hope to find in the shops were budget titles:
Mastertronic at their height were great at getting their games
distributed, as a result of which some adventures sold in figures
that rivalled arcade games, simply because they were on the
Mastertronic label.

The situation now, though, is that you'll find very few adventures
in most software or general computer shops. Mail order is the only
way in which you'll get hold of them.

Mail order means two things. One is buying direct from the
software house, whether it be the mighty Rainbird or Joe Bloggs
selling his own games from his back bedroom. The other is to buy
from the type of company that specialises in mail order sales and
sells arcade games along with adventures. Now it's some of these
that have got the mail order business a bad name. The competition
is cut-throat, and companies do their utmost to ensure that they
are selling games at lower prices than their rivals. It is a fact
of economic life that there must be a price below which you cannot
possibly sell a game and still make a profit to enable you to stay
in business. Some companies cut their own overheads by skimping on
things - like efficiency. Some companies have gone bust owing
people money, simply because they're not operating at profit
levels that can allow them to stay in business. Other companies
have gone bust because they're cowboys, pure and simple. They've
taken the money, your money, and run. What sounds like an
impressive address turns out to be an empty office above a chip
shop when you try to get your money back.
I don't want to paint too gloomy a picture as this kind of thing
is the exception rather than the rule, and most mail order
companies work efficiently and get the goods to you at very cheap
prices. If you find such a company that's reliable, stick with
them. You might see the same game on offer for 50p cheaper from
someone else, but you might end up losing much more than 50p.

Such companies, if they're going to stock adventures at all, will

probably limit themselves to those familiar names, like Level 9,
Mandarin and Rainbird. Buy from the mail order companies and you
could save yourself several pounds on a game you would otherwise
pay £14.95 for if you bought it from the software house direct.
But bear in mind that you can usually buy from the software house
concerned, and if you see an advert or a review for an adventure
that you fancy then the easiest thing is to stick a cheque or
postal order in the post and buy it there and then direct from the
company that's published it. Well, let me rephrase that slightly -
if you see an adventure reviewed, then send off for it, as we all
know that something that's advertised may well not actually exist
yet.

A very good adventure mail order service was run for several years
by the Adventurers Club Ltd, till it closed down in mysterious
circumstances. I always used to buy my adventures from them, at a
slight discount from the recommended prices. But unfortunately
they have ceased to be, they are no more, they are an ex-
Adventurers Club.

In their place has sprung up the very good mail order service
offered by Official Secrets/Special Reserve (see appendix for the
address). You can join Special Reserve for just a few pounds, and
this entitles you to buy games at vastly reduced prices.
Adventures are well represented, though tend to be only the usual
mainline names, but you can get the very latest releases from
Level 9 and so on at about half price, which isn't bad, though
there is a hefty postage charge. I know several people who have
used the service and they've been impressed by the speed and
efficiency.

However, the best Spectrum adventures are undoubtedly now coming

from the independent software houses, which are often also
referred to as 'mail order' adventures, in that these games are
never available in the shops. That's a bit misleading, as hardly
any adventures are now available in the shops!

The independent companies, which are typically one-woman or one-

man businesses, have suffered a bit because of the same bad
reputation that some of the mail order distributors have got.
While there are undoubtedly cowboys and inefficient companies in
every field, most of the independent adventure companies are both
efficient and honest. In the several years in which I've been
writing about Spectrum adventures I can't at the moment think of
any cases where people have lost money to these companies. One
small company, a two-man business that shall remain nameless, did
cause me a bit of bother recently because they were very slow in
sending out their adventures after I'd recommended them, but that
was purely a case of inefficiency, not dishonesty, and all the
orders were fulfilled in time.

That is very much the exception, though, and if you write to any
of the independent companies it's much more likely that you'll
receive your game by return of post. These companies have far
fewer customers than big companies do, and so each one matters to
them. If your game won't load then it'll be replaced like a shot.
Once the big companies have got your money on a game, they often
cease to care about whether the game loads or has got bugs in it,
but these small companies do care, because they want to be sure
that you also buy their next game, and recommend them to your
friends. After all, they can't afford glossy adverts so they rely
very much on word of mouth recommendations.

One virtue these independent companies have is that they duplicate

their games in small quantities, so none of their titles ever
becomes unavailable. They will always run off another single copy
for you if you order it. Just try getting hold of an adventure
from a big company six months after it's been published! They tend
to think in terms of thousands of copies, so no way will you get
them doing a few copies at a time once the first run has sold out.

If you see a review of a game that's been published by a company

whose name you're not familiar with, then it's best to send off
for it there and then, if you can afford it. Chances are you won't
be able to find the address a few months later, when you get round
to it. Most games sell at £1.99 or £2.49, with some a little bit
more, so you should be able to scrape the money together and order
a copy. Don't worry if the cheque has to be made out to Fred
Bloggs rather than Bloggsoft, as Fred probably can't afford to
open a business account: banks charge more for business accounts,
and you have to provide headed notepaper and references as well.
It's quite a business, running a business, so till Fred knows
whether or not he's going to be successful he's better off using
his own bank account for a while.

As I said, most of the independent companies are run from home by

one man or one woman, and are often run for fun in their spare
time, although there are one or two people for whom it's a full-
time (if not very profitable) occupation. If you haven't yet
bought any games from the likes of Zenobi Software, Tartan
Software, Marlin Games, Compass Software, Eighth Day Software, The
Essential Myth or River Software (with apologies to anyone I've
left out), then believe me, you're missing out on some of the best
Spectrum adventures being published right now. See the appendix
for the addresses of these and other independent companies. You
can risk sending a stamped addressed envelope for an up-to-date
list of their titles and prices, and such companies will often
send you copies of reviews of their games, to give you some idea
of what you're getting. Try them, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
 CHAPTER FOUR

CLUBS AND MAGAZINES

Adventure clubs and magazines come and go, though the occasional
one manages to survive for more than a year or so. People are
frequently wary of them, which I think is a healthy attitude to
have. A bit of scepticism never did anyone any harm. You often see
ads from people who say they're going to start an adventure
magazine, or a club, or a general fanzine with a healthy adventure
content, and asking potential readers to send off a fiver for
their first few issues. Some of these never see the light of day,
so if you're tempted by the start-up of a new organisation then
I'd say it's probably best only to risk paying for one issue at a
time, till you see how it goes.

The magazines and clubs that have faded, frequently taking

members' subscription money with them, give a bad name to the
honest ones that are around and which are doing their best to get
going and provide a value-for-money service. The good ones are
often run by adventure addicts, who devote many hours of their
spare time to producing magazines and running helplines - hours
that they could be spending playing adventures - and they're
certainly not in it because there are vast profits to be made.
They do it because of their love of adventures, and deserve all
the support they can get.

The oldest established adventure fanzine now must be Adventure

Probe, which has been going since June 1986. It was started by
Sandra Sharkey in Wigan, an adventure enthusiast if ever there was
one, and she ran it for many months and built it up into a
terrific monthly magazine. Unfortunately it grew too big for
Sandra to continue to edit it, and her own increasing commitments
(she was for a while The Sorceress on Sinclair User) meant that
she had to hand over the editorial reins to Mandy Rodrigues, who
still publishes it from her home at 24 Maes y Cwm, Llandudno,
Gwynedd LL30 1JE.

At the time of writing, Adventure Probe costs £1.25 per monthly

issue, and it usually runs to over 40 A5 pages. If you can't find
something to interest you there, then you're not trying! I would
say at the moment that this is the adventure fanzine to get, and
that you certainly won't be wasting your money if you take out a
subscription. It contains articles on a range of adventure topics,
with a healthy letters section, solutions, tips, a helpline, small
ads and a host of other things. It covers all machines, and of
course the Spectrum is prominently featured.

Two things are very much in the fanzines' favour. One is that they
are written by adventure players, with the contributions coming
from readers, and the cover price just about covers the cost of
each issue. You won't be paying for glossy advertisements, and
this in turn means that the content of the magazine reflects what
adventurers are actually playing. As most people are still buying
8-bit machines and games, with a few now starting to upgrade to
16-bit, this is the way it reads in the magazine. You won't get
more pages devoted to 16-bit machines than they warrant, simply
because those are the machines all the journalists have got, and
which they therefore want to write about and want to get review
copies for. The excess of 16-bit stuff you read in many so-called
general computer mags is also dictated by the fact that software
houses are putting their money behind 16-bit games, to the
exclusion of 8-bit, and so the magazines' editorial and
advertising policy will follow that trend. They have to. The man
who pays the piper calls the tune, and the man who pays for the
magazines is the advertiser, not the reader. Fanzines are written
by and for fans, and so they're not dictated to in this way.

The second thing that I like about fanzines is that they're a good
place in which to try to get hold of older adventures, which are
virtually impossible to get in the shops at all, even when they're
new, and which are never advertised. If you see an adventure you
like then it's really best to buy it there and then, if you can
afford it, and as long as the address is printed. In a few months'
time, when everyone's raving about it, just you try and track it
down somewhere - impossible! But in the fanzines readers often
advertise their old adventures, when they've finished them and
want to sell them, or you can send in a letter yourself listing
any particular titles you're trying to find. You can also be
reasonably sure that your letter will be printed, unlike with the
major glossy magazines who receive hundreds of letters every week
and simply cannot print them all. Even the adventure section at
Your Sinclair receives well over a hundred letters most months,
and there's no way that I can print them all. The circulation of a
fanzine is likely to be a few hundred rather than anything up to
100,000 for a glossy magazine, so the odds are a bit more in your
favour. You also don't have to put up with all those pages devoted
to arcade games, when all you want to read about is adventures.
(You should still, of course, buy Your Sinclair as its excellent
adventure section is worth the cover price alone!)

Another fanzine that began at about the same time as Adventure

Probe was Adventure Contact. I always thought the two titles
sounded extremely dubious, but maybe I'm just perverted. Anyway,
Adventure Contact was started by a friend of Sandra Sharkey's, Pat
Winstanley, and she wanted to produce a magazine that complemented
Probe rather than rivalled it. Contact therefore concentrated on
the writing of adventures and included lots of material on using
utilities like The Quill and GAC, and advice on marketing your
games. The magazine was successful and built up a regular
readership - the trouble here was that Pat Winstanley was
successful too! She started writing regularly for magazines, did
the Spectrum conversion of Frankenstein for CRL, and just didn't
have the time that a fanzine takes up. The consequence of this was
that she had to hand it over to a new editor, who really wasn't up
to the job and so after a few irregular and increasingly slim
issues the magazine folded. The new editor did his best, I'm sure,
but simply hadn't realised what he was taking on.

Adventure Contact would have died much sooner than it did if it

hadn't been for the prolific pen of Chris Hester. Chris seemed to
write the last few issues almost exclusively, despite the fact
that the magazine was nothing to do with him! Chris recently
decided to revive the idea of the magazine under the title of
Adventure Coder and edit it himself, sensibly spreading the load
by calling upon the experience of Mandy Rodrigues to do the actual
publishing and distribution.

The first issue is the only one I've seen at the time of writing,
but that was an excellent effort, although I hope the editor
doesn't indulge himself too often and continue publishing his own
short stories. If the magazine's meant to be about adventure
writing then keep it that way!

Still, there's lots of good stuff too in the mag's 32 pages, which
is sure to expand if the readers respond. It covers all machines,
but naturally the Speccy takes up most of the space anyway. There
are four pages devoted to two particular PAW routines, to do with
printing exits on-screen and the control of other characters. This
'PAW Prints' column will be a regular feature, as will a series on
writing your own adventures in machine code on the Z80, by
adventure author Paul Brunyee. There's advice on doing graphics in
GAC, which I know many people will welcome, a list of useful
addresses and a full list of utilities and add-ons, including some
on the Spectrum which were news to me. If the quality keeps up,
it'll be well worth subscribing. At the moment it costs £1 per
issue but get the latest details by sending a stamped addressed
envelope to editor Chris Hester at 3 West Lane, Baildon, Nr
Shipley, West Yorkshire BD17 5HD.

Another magazine that has been going fairly well is Spellbreaker.

I'd certainly recommend you invest in £1.25 for a sample copy of
this - that's the price as I write, but it may of course go up in
the meantime so get the latest details from editor Mike
Brailsford, 19 Napier Place, South Parks, Glenrothes, Fife KY6
1DX. The contents are very similar to Adventure Probe, with most
issues again at about the 40-page mark, so it's good value for
money. Mike's only published it for a few issues yet, but it shows
every sign of being a continued success. It grew out of an
adventure fanzine called Soothsayer, which was published
successfully for a year by John Barnsley, till personal
circumstances meant that John could no longer continue. Mike
Brailsford grew tired of hearing everyone say 'When is someone
going to revive Soothsayer?' so he decided to do it himself, only
pausing to change the name slightly. It was a brave move, for
someone who's never edited a magazine before, but he's proved very
quickly that he knows what he's about.

There are many general Spectrum fanzines, some of which include a

few adventure pages, but for the dedicated adventure player
Spellbreaker and Adventure Probe are the ones to go for. I can
honestly say that I read my copies avidly as soon as they arrive.

Many people miss the old Micro Adventurer magazine which Sunshine
Publications used to bring out, and I've still got my complete set
of copies on the shelves. Some computer mags can be thrown out
when you're having a clear-out, but not these! It was certainly
the magazine to read, and every adventure player I know regrets
its passing.

The only magazine I've seen that looks like it could possibly
replace Micro Adventurer has been Confidential, the bi-monthly
magazine published by Official Secrets, the adventure club. It
isn't quite the same, but it's still an excellent magazine. My
only complaint is that it seems to think the term adventures
includes strategy and chess games as well, and in one issue it
even included an interview with arch arcade-writing freak Jeff
Minter! But still, it is mainly devoted to adventure and RPG
games, and it's an excellent read so I forgive it these occasional
aberrations.

The only problem with Confidential is that you have to join the
Official Secrets club in order to get it. You can't just pick it
up in a newsagents, or take out a subscription to the magazine
alone. You're paying for the helpline service they also offer,
whether you use it or not. Mind you, you also get a free
membership to the companion club, Special Reserve, and that does
allow you to buy adventures at very cheap prices indeed. They
stock games by the major software companies, like Level 9,
Mandarin, Rainbird, Magnetic Scrolls, and these are available at
ridiculous discounts - sometimes about half-price. If you buy
about three or four adventures a year then you'll save your
subscription to Official Secrets, when you think of what you'd
otherwise have paid for games in the shops, and if you like you
can join Special Reserve on its own and just get the cheap
software service. Either way, details of the latest subscription
costs for both are available from PO Box 847, Harlow, Essex CM21
9PH.

Clubs do come and go, though, and the saddest departure of all
happened in 1989 with the sudden disappearance of the Adventurers
Club Ltd. This had been running successfully for several years,
and was well-liked by its members - well it must have been, as it
apparently built up a membership of about 3,000 people. It was
occasionally erratic, with the bi-monthly dossiers sometimes being
a few weeks late in appearing, and once it closed down completely
for a few months and re-emerged with the new owner Henry Mueller
talking about takeover bids and management buy-outs in a way that
made it sound like ICI or IBM! It then ran happily for another
couple of years or so, held a high-profile award ceremony in
London in early 1989... and then: absolute silence. The phone went
unanswered, as did letters, and even personal callers couldn't
find out what had happened. This obviously left a lot of
disgruntled members, some of whom had only recently renewed their
expensive subscriptions, and so we had yet another example of poor
service and disregard for people which makes it so much harder for
the honest and hard-working ones to produce their fanzines and
sell their mail-order games. Which is roughly where I came in.
 CHAPTER FIVE

HOW TO DO-IT-YOURSELF

Writing and Selling Adventures

There's something about adventure games which means that sooner or

later almost everyone who plays them decides they want to have a
go at writing one. This is a lot easier with adventures than with
other types of game, or than with non-games programs, because at
least it's possible to produce a result that's as good as many a
commercial release. It's not easy, but it's possible. You wouldn't
dream of sitting down and trying to write a word processing
program, or an art package - well, not many people would - but
adventures are different.

Not everyone who decides they're going to write one ends up

producing one, of course. Some discover very quickly that it isn't
as easy as they first thought. They spend half an hour trying to
think up an original storyline, decide that there's no such thing
and go back to playing The Hobbit. Mind you, the fact that they
can't come up with an original idea doesn't stop some people from
going on and writing a game! I wish I had a fiver for every
adventure I've seen that's either a send-up of The Hobbit or is
set in the author's school, featuring all his mates and nasty
jokes about the teachers. Not that there's anything wrong with
writing such a game to amuse yourself and your pals, but don't
expect too many other people to fall about laughing at all the in-
jokes you've put into it.

If you're going to write your own adventure, you do need a plot of

some kind, although in many cases the plot will have come first,
and will inspire the person who thought of it to say "Hey, that'll
make a good adventure!" Plots don't have to be totally original,
of course. There have been hundreds of adventures set in space, on
the surfaces of hostile planets, and there will be hundreds more.
They can still work, provided you bring a bit of freshness to the
rest of the adventure.

One thing people often think about is adapting a favourite book or

a TV show, but you have to be careful here that you don't fall
foul of the copyright laws. If you want to write a game based on a
TV series or a film, say, or on a fairly modern book, then there's
nothing to stop you doing it for your own amusement. But the
characters in the film, or the storyline in the book, are all
owned by someone else - the copyright owner. You can do what you
like with them, provided no-one else sees it. The minute you show
it to a friend, or pass a copy on, then you're in breach of
copyright and you could get into trouble for it. It's best not to
risk it.

Some people who know a bit about copyright will write and ask
permission from whoever wrote the book or made the film or series.
The chances are against you getting it, however. You would be
expected to pay something for the rights to produce a computer
game based on the original work, and the 'something' could be very
high indeed, probably thousands of pounds. There's a lot of money
to be made from a successful computer game, and the rights to
characters like James Bond or the Star Wars films will cost the
software house vast amounts of money. No-one is going to give you
the rights to produce a game free of charge, even if it is only an
adventure game that might only sell a few copies. After all, if
they give the rights to you then that means they can't sell them
to anyone else later - we're talking big business here, so try to
be realistic and don't expect to be allowed to produce an
adventure game based round the next Bond movie. And don't laugh at
the thought - people do write and ask me how to go about it, you
know!

There is a way, however, in which you can use existing stories and
characters to help you if you're finding it hard to come up with a
plot. Books that have been around for some time may well be out of
copyright, which means that anyone's free to use the story, film
it, publish it, rewrite it or turn it into a computer game, a tea
towel or whatever takes their fancy. Copyright in a work generally
exists until fifty years after the author's death. There are a few
exceptions, but if you follow that rule you're unlikely to go
wrong. For example, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died well over fifty
years ago, so the rights in his Sherlock Holmes and other stories
are all out of copyright. This means that you can take any of the
Holmes stories and turn it into an adventure game, if you wish.
You don't have to get permission from the publisher or anyone.
There are dozens and dozens of potential adventures in the various
collections of Sherlock Holmes stories that were published - just
get them, read them, and find one that would make a good
adventure. You can even write your own story if you wish: turn
Holmes into a transvestite, an alcoholic or anything you like. The
character's now out of copyright and at your mercy.

Look to other 'adventurous' authors too, such as Jules Verne and

Robert Louis Stevenson - but not H.G. Wells, note, as he only died
in 1946, less than fifty years ago, so all his works are still in
copyright. You now know why you'll suddenly see lots of different
editions of his works in 1997, as publishers will no longer have
to ask permission or pay his family a royalty! Perhaps you should
start planning your War of the Worlds adventure game now.

By far the safest thing is to write your own original game - then
you can do whatever you like, as it's all yours. Planning the game
comes first, and here there are no absolute rules as everyone
works in different ways. One author I know doesn't plan at all, he
just sits down and starts tapping away at the keyboard to see what
comes up. Some book writers work in the same manner, trusting to
their imagination.

It's probably best, though, if you do give it a bit of thought and

do some advance planning. If you like sci-fi and read a lot of it,
then try a sci-fi adventure. Write about what you know has always
been a popular guideline, and it still holds good for the most
part. Some people advise you to write the ending to your adventure
first, then you know what the ultimate goal is. You should
certainly start to make notes of the storyline - what the aim is
going to be, what some of the obstacles are. A rough sketch map
should probably start to come into play at about this point too.
Another adventure author I know likes to have a list of problems,
and how they relate to each other, either working forwards from
the first one or backwards from the solving of the ultimate task
in the game. As I said, there are no rules, just do it the way
that works best for you - but bear in mind that the more advance
planning you do, the less likely you are to have problems at the
programming stage.

That's the next question - how to program the game? Again,

different people have different ideas. Some people scorn
adventure-writing utilities like The Quill, saying that they're
too regimented and produce games that all look alike. That may
have been true when The Quill first came out, before people got to
grips with it. There were certainly dozens of very poor adventures
released, which did all look the same. Things have changed since
then, not only with the release of The Graphic Adventure Creator
but also with new versions of The Quill and many add-ons for it,
culminating in the arrival of the Professional Adventure Writing
System. This last release is capable of producing a wide variety
of types of adventure, and is almost as versatile as the many in-
house adventure-writing systems that are used by professional
software houses.

What is undeniably true is that if you're going to write your own

adventure, probably in Basic, then you'll have more control over
it than a utility will give you. You should be able to vary the
screen layout more (though how many adventure layouts can there
be?), and have a go at programming any command, and not just the
options the utility offers. The drawback to this is, firstly, that
you have to learn Basic, and then learn how to use Basic to
program an adventure game, which could take you many months. The
advantage of a utility is that you can be working on your
adventure almost at once - in fact producing mini-adventures
within hours of loading up. The other advantage that utilities
have is that they are written in machine language and hence the
resulting adventures are much faster, and can be larger, than your
own Basic efforts.

Of course if you are reasonably familiar with Basic already, then

by all means go ahead and use it for writing your adventure.
There's also nothing to stop you using a utility alongside it, to
see which you prefer. If you do want to learn to program
adventures in Basic, then family loyalty means that I have to
recommend my brother's book, Exploring Adventures on the Spectrum,
by Pete Gerrard, published by Duckworth. Even if he wasn't my
brother I'd have to recommend it as it's the only one of its kind!
It will teach you Basic by the means of getting you to write your
own adventure game, so kills two birds with one stone. That it's
effective is demonstrated by the fact that several adventures have
been published, whose authors acknowledge the debt they owe to
Pete's book. End of plug.

My ultimate verdict on this question of utility vs. programming

language would be to say that if you're only ever going to write
adventures, use a utility, but if you think you might want to
write other types of program, then learn to program. In the end
you can always do both, it isn't an either/or situation.

As to which programming language to choose, that's a question I'd

have to leave to others who know more about them than I do. Basic
is the most popular language around, and probably the easiest to
learn, and as far as adventures go it's effective so there's a lot
to be said for it.

As to which utility to buy, that's a question I can deal with, but

there are still several considerations to make. One is that not
everyone finds they can use them. They're not difficult to learn,
by any means, but some people just don't have the right type of
mind and end up putting them back on the shelf, never to be used
again. That could be quite a waste, if you've spent the best part
of thirty pounds on a program. If you're in any way unsure as to
whether you can use one or not, and haven't had chance to see one
used on a friend's computer before you buy, then there's something
to be said for choosing whichever utility you can get hold of most
cheaply. For example, since they published PAW, Gilsoft have been
selling off their stocks of the earlier Quill, with its
accompanying graphics package, The Illustrator, at very cheap
prices. Prices may change and stocks may sell out, so check with
the company at the address in the appendix to see whether those
offers are still available. Typically, though, you could buy both
programs together for considerably less than £10: a bargain.

Another bargain is to be had if you're a member of the Home

Computer Club, as they have taken stocks of GAC (Incentive's
Graphic Adventure Creator) and this is available through their
catalogue at a considerable discount. It has also featured from
time to time in their special introductory offers, usually for
less than £3, which is not a lot of money to waste if it turns out
you find it a bit too tricky to use.

All this talk of being cautious might make you wonder whether to
bother at all. I should point out that most people find utilities
very easy to master, and great fun to use - I'm just trying to
warn the few exceptions, that's all. The above comments also apply
if you don't have much money to spare - you can write excellent
adventures with any of the utilities, so don't worry if you can
only afford the cheapest. Buy it, and use it.
If money's no object, however, and you really want to know which
is the one to go for, then I don't think there would be many
people who would argue if I said that PAW is without doubt the
best and most versatile, by a long way. Second choice would be
GAC, and third choice would be The Quill/Illustrator combination.
So if you're going to buy at full price, and are serious about
your adventure-writing, go for PAW, no question.

How to write an adventure with these utilities would fill up a

book, just to deal with each one of them, so I'm going to skip
that, I'm afraid. Some other tome, perhaps. The only general
advice is stuff that ought to be obvious, such as keep copious
notes, always make back-up copies of your datafiles, label them
all clearly, and don't lose heart when the going gets tough. No-
one said adventure-writing was easy, Then again, in view of the
numbers of adventures I get sent to look at each week, maybe my
advice should be: give up when the going gets tough! Pack it in!
There are too many adventures in the world as it is! Give us a
break!

Assuming you don't heed that advice, and your adventure is nearing
completion, what now (as they say)? If you're hoping to see it
published by one of the major software houses then the sad truth
is that the odds are against you, and getting worse every day. The
big software houses, for some reason, have decided that the 16-bit
market is what matters, and all their energies and advertising
budgets are being thrown behind that. Don't ask me why. More
people still buy a new Spectrum every week than all the 16-bit
machines put together, but the software houses aren't interested
unless they can put something out across all the formats, which
means that Spectrum games are increasingly going to be watered-
down versions of 16-bit games rather than games that are written
specifically for the machine with the intention of getting as much
as possible out of it.

We've already seen this happening when it comes to adventure

games. At first we were told that text adventures weren't wanted,
and that everyone wanted graphics. It does seem strange, then,
that the vast majority of adventure players I know all say they
prefer a good old text adventure. Is it any wonder the adventure
game market is a minority market when the software houses don't
bother to produce what the customers want - and shops refuse to
stock adventure games, apart from a select handful? How arrogant
and annoying software houses can be. We'll decide what you want,
give you no choice, and then when you don't buy it we'll stop
producing it and say there's no market for it.

As depressing as this is, I'm afraid it is the reality of the

situation at the moment and there's not much you can do about it.
Some of the budget houses like Alternative still publish
adventures, but this is a situation that changes constantly and
rapidly so all I can really advise is that you do your market
research thoroughly. Look at who's currently publishing
adventures, and write to them enclosing a stamped addressed
envelope and ask them if they are still in the market for
adventure games. Ask them if they have any submission guidelines,
too, as some companies do duplicate helpful information like that,
telling people how to submit material to them. Some will tell you
that they simply do not publish adventures written on utilities
like The Quill, which is stupid of them as many excellent
adventures are written on utilities these days, as I mentioned
earlier, but I imagine they want to prevent themselves being
overwhelmed with sub-standard submissions. That's up to them, of
course, but by refusing to look at the rubbish they're also never
going to see the good stuff. You can't pan for gold without
looking at a lot of dirt!

Don't be surprised if you don't hear back from some companies.

That's about par for the course for software houses - I'm amazed
some of them have any customers left, after the way they regard
incoming mail as a nuisance rather than the inevitable contact
with the people who pay their wages. If you haven't had a reply to
your letter within about a month, do a follow-up just in case your
first letter went astray, but if you still get no response then
cross them off your list - and make a mental note not to buy any
more of their games.

If you've actually submitted an adventure to someone, then give

them a bit longer than a month to write back as it does take time
to evaluate games, particularly adventures, which are lengthy to
play through in full - or should be, though I can think of some
that could have been playtested during a tea-break, and were
probably written during one as well. But if you are submitting a
game, don't forget to send two copies on different tapes or discs,
to allow for loading problems and to allow more than one person to
playtest it at one time. Always enclose a brief covering letter, a
full solution, a map, and any notes that are relevant and would be
included on the cassette cover. Always include return postage as
well - a self-addressed sticky label to go on a jiffy bag, and
sufficient stamps to pay for the postage.

By the way, you should always use a jiffy bag, not an ordinary
envelope. I'm amazed how many people still do this, not realising
that ordinary envelopes will get bashed about in the post, and if
they include a cassette in a box are very likely to get ripped and
spill their contents. A jiffy bag is essential, and that return
address label and postage. You might also send a stamped addressed
envelope, if you want an acknowledgement that your game's actually
arrived. That covering letter is vital, too. I still have on my
shelves an adventure game that someone sent me, and all the
envelope contained was a tape with "Full details in program"
written on the side. The trouble was that the program wouldn't
load, no matter what I tried, so no doubt someone somewhere is
cursing me still for not reviewing their adventure game, and never
sending it back.
This advice about how to submit games to software houses also
holds good if you decide to publish the game yourself and submit
it to magazines for review. Always record the game twice at
different volume levels if it's on tape, and do two versions on
different sides for disc games. Include a covering letter and a
full solution, preferably sealed, so the reviewer can avoid
temptation for as long as possible. You may think that the
reviewer ought to play the game for himself or herself, without a
help sheet, just as any other player would. You're entitled to
your opinion, but what happens if they can't get past the first
problem? They won't write to you and ask how to do it, they'll put
the game back on the shelf and pick up one of the dozens of others
that come in every month, and which does have a solution sheet
with it. You might think the first problem's easy, but everyone's
different and we've all had that experience of telling a friend
how hard we found a particular problem to be, only to hear them
reply: "But that was obvious! It took me five seconds to get
that!"

This isn't a case of the reviewer being lazy, but it's a practical
question. Not only may they get stuck at an early hurdle and so
never see the wonders of the rest of the game, they also have a
deadline to meet, and never as much time as they'd like in which
to look at adventures. In my own experience, I can be sent
anything up to a dozen adventures and more in a month, and they
all have to be looked at. Some can be dismissed in a few seconds
because they really are bad, but most take some time to get to
grips with, so it does take a while just to decide which ones
you're going to review each month. The select few then have to be
looked at in sufficient depth to enable you to review them, all of
which takes a great deal of time. If a game starts giving you
hassles, you can't sit for days trying to solve one problem or
your editor will soon start hurling rude words in your direction,
so you'll probably put that game away and pick up another one:
there's never any shortage of choice. As the writer of a game
you're quite entitled to tell reviewers how to do their job - but
it won't get you a review.

People often don't understand deadlines, either. "Please review

this game in your next issue," they tell you. Ignoring the
assumption that you're bound to want to review the game anyway,
despite the fifteen others sitting in your in-tray, what they
don't understand is that the next issue is probably already at the
printers, and the one after that quite well advanced too. Most
magazines go to the printers about four to six weeks before they
appear at the newsagents, and parts of the issue may well have
been written anything up to four weeks before that. In my case
with Your Sinclair, the adventure pages are written at the start
of the production schedule for various practical reasons, so the
June issue, for example, which is published in May, will have been
written in March! And not just that, but I'll have been planning
it for a week or two before that, so if you send me your adventure
in March the chances are that it won't get reviewed till the July
issue at the earliest.

Please don't blame me if your game doesn't get reviewed, will you?
I know it's taken you months to write, and you're desperate to get
a review in one of the glossy mags, but so is everyone else, whose
games have also taken them months to write, and there just isn't
space to cover them all. The space I'm given is generous by most
magazines' standards, but it isn't infinitely expandable and I'm
afraid there are other things going on in the adventure world than
the publication of your game. If you've included return postage
then I'll send your game back and tell you briefly what I thought
of it. I may have liked it, but not quite enough to want to review
it. Opinions on adventures, as on anything else, are all
subjective so it doesn't mean the adventure's no good, just that
it didn't appeal to my tastes. If I thought it was promising I'll
ask you to send your next game in, and if I don't mention your
next game, you'll know that I really wasn't all that impressed!

People often overestimate the power of a review as well. They

think they can just sit back as thousands of orders come flooding
in, and it's next stop the south of France. As far as adventure
games go, one review is neither here nor there. You may get a lot
of orders, you may get nothing at all. You really need to get a
few reviews, in the adventure fanzines as well as the glossies,
and hope that your game starts to sell by word of mouth, and as
letters start to appear in the magazines praising it, or asking
questions about it.

The trouble with reviews is that people place too much emphasis on
them. This also leads to another major problem for adventure
writers/publishers. They're often so keen to get a review, and
maybe they know a bit about a magazine's deadlines, that they send
in a pre-production copy saying that the final bugs are being
removed, the cover notes are being printed, but meanwhile here's
something for you to look at. In other words you're giving the
reviewer an incomplete version of the game, and telling them that
the program's got bugs in it! I can't speak for others, but if I
look at a game and see a few bugs in the first few locations then
it's very unlikely that I'll review it. The same goes for spelling
mistakes, of course. Even if I do decide to review it, you're
likely to have all the bugs pointed out in the review, and that's
going to do you no good at all. So be patient, and wait till
you've got a final finished version to send in. If you've
submitted a preliminary version, and then a debugged version, I'm
only going to take one look at the second one when it arrives and
think, "Oh, here's another copy of that bug-ridden adventure I've
already looked at." So do yourself a favour, and be patient.

What no reviewer wants to get is a game which the writer asks you
to look at and report back all the bugs that you find, or tell
them how to improve it. I don't ask you to check my spelling, so
don't ask me to hunt out your bugs for you. That's your job, and
it's essential you also recruit several friends to help you do it.
As you've written the adventure, you know how to solve it, and it
therefore means you tend to play it through in that way, just
doing the things you know need doing, and perhaps trying a few
other obvious inputs too. What you need to do is give the game to
several people, and ask them to play the game as thoroughly as
they can, and jot down any bugs or odd responses they see.
Everyone plays an adventure differently. You're very likely to get
a report that says "Did you know that the game crashes if you try
to put the banana sandwich into the torch?" To which you say, "But
why on earth would you want to do that?" And they say, "Why not, I
just thought I'd try it." It might never have occurred to you to
try it, but someone somewhere will, so let the game loose on your
warped friends first and allow them to do everything to it.

When you've got what you hope to be a bug-proof version of your

game (after all, just because Magnetic Scrolls and Level 9 can
release bugged adventures, it doesn't mean that you can!), don't
immediately stick it in a jiffy bag and bung it in the post to all
the reviewers you can think of. I often get sent games about which
the accompanying letters say "Sorry there's no packaging, but
everyone who buys it will get a 32-page multi-colour booklet,
which hasn't been written yet." Well, if the buyers are going to
get such a thing, the reviewer really ought to see it too. How do
they know what it'll look like otherwise? How do they know you'll
actually write it? How do they know you're not just lying about
it? It does happen, you know. Give the reviewer everything you
plan to include with the finished product, plus the map, solution
and so on referred to earlier.

If you plan to publish your own games, there are sure to be plenty
of surprises in store for you. One will be how well or how badly
the games sell. Another will be the amount of work involved. Yet
another will be the cost of stamps and jiffy bags.

One thing to take account of is the name of your company. This is

a subject on which some people are totally ignorant. I recently
had a letter from someone sending in their game for review, and
according to the author he had one limited company for selling the
game, another limited company was responsible for writing it, and
a third limited company had done something which I've forgotten
about - probably sticking the stamps on the envelopes. It was
quite obvious that these companies didn't exist other than in the
mind of the person responsible for the game. He'd just decided he
was going to call himself and his mate "Mega-Quest Adventure
Coders Ltd" or whatever it was. Now there's nothing to stop you
calling yourselves "Mega-Quest Adventure Coders", but what you
cannot do is put those three little letters "Ltd" on the end, or
those other three little letters, "plc". You cannot refer to
yourself as a limited company unless you have actually formed one
legally, and that will cost you at least £100 or so. If you do
call yourself a limited company and you aren't, then it's a legal
offence for which you can be fined so much for every day that you
do it.
Some people go overboard when naming their companies. An original
name for a software house is all very well, but so often you can
tell people are simply trying to impress you by pretending they're
bigger than they are. Call yourself Global Adventures
International if you wish, but no-one's going to be taken in by it
- especially when you spell it wrongly. And believe me, it
happens. Some people invent one name for their software label, and
another for their 'Programming and Development' team, though the
grand effect is usually spoiled when you see they're all run by
the same person, Adrian Noddle. By all means call yourself
Noddlesoft, Questsoft or something similar, but leave it at that.

When deciding on a name you should be careful what you do about a

bank account too. Tell reviewers that the game is published by
Noddlesoft, and that means any cheques or postal orders you
receive will all be made out to Noddlesoft. Try and pay them into
your own bank account and you could be in for a shock, as the bank
won't take them. Your name is Adrian Noddle, and for all they know
Noddlesoft could be a company whose cheques you've pinched. They
will need proof that you and Noddlesoft are one and the same, and
that will involve headed notepaper and business references at the
very least - meanwhile you'll be left with all these cheques and
postal orders that you can't cash, and customers screaming for a
copy of your game. Bang goes any chance you have of establishing a
good reputation.

Sort out your name and trading name while you're writing your
adventure. If you want to trade under another name, say Noddlesoft
Adventure Software, then you'll have to go and see your bank
manager and ask what you need to do to open an account in that
name. Chances are it will be more than you're prepared to do or
more than you're able to do, and you will have to trade as Adrian
Noddle after all. If the bank manager does allow you to open an
account in your preferred business name, you may well be expected
to pay more in bank charges, as business accounts attract higher
charges than ordinary current accounts. As I say, sort all this
out beforehand, so that by the time you send your review copy in
to the magazine you will know whether cheques will need to be
payable to you, or to the name of a company. You could still call
yourself Noddlesoft, but you would have to stress that all cheques
should be payable to Adrian Noddle.

Don't try and pass yourself off as another company, by the way. No
calling yourself Level 8, or Magnetic Scrawls. Their lawyers won't
like it, and nor will you when you get the summons.

Don't forget the Inland Revenue, either. If you're in business,

they'll want to know about you. I wouldn't advise you to keep
quiet about it and hope they won't notice. They will, sooner or
later, especially if your business does well, and you'll be doing
your best to make sure it does just that. It's highly unlikely
that you'll need to pay any income tax, so it's not worth the risk
of trying to hide your activities. Keep good records of all your
income and expenditure, with any receipts or invoices. Don't
forget you can claim the cost of your computer too, a little bit
each year, plus any software you buy like GAC, GACPAC, art
programs or whatever, plus a printer if you use it to print labels
and inlays, or just write business letters on. You see why I say
it's unlikely you'll pay any tax if you're doing all this on a
part-time basis, as in addition to all these expenses you'll have
your personal tax allowances too, so your income will need to be
pretty high before it exceeds all these put together.

There will be lots of decisions you have to make if you're trying

to run your own software business on the side. How many blank
tapes to buy at a time? Should it be 5 or 50 or 500? Where to buy
them? How much will it cost to get a proper cassette inlay done?
How much to charge for the game? Whether to get the tape
duplicating done professionally or to do it yourself? What to do
when someone's cheque bounces? Whether to give out your phone
number, in case someone decides to ring you at two in the morning
asking for help?

Let there be no mistaking it, publishing your adventure yourself

is not something to be undertaken lightly, and the more successful
you are the harder it gets. But having said that, the people who
have done it and done it successfully all agree that it's worth
all the aggravation, all the hard work and all the expense. It's a
great feeling to be able to say "I wrote that adventure, and I
published it myself. It was all my own work - even if I did only
sell six copies!" Never mind, the next one is sure to do better.
 CHAPTER SIX

THE SOLUTIONS

Index to Solutions:

Behind Closed Doors I/II 47

The Big Sleaze 48
Blizzard Pass 50
The Boggit 52
Bored of the Rings 55
Bugsy 57
Castle Blackstar 60
Circus 64
Colossal Cave Adventure 65
The Colour of Magic 68
Corruption 70
Federation 71
The Guild of Thieves 72
Hampstead 76
The Hobbit 78
Imagination 86
Kentilla 87
Kobyashi Naru 89
Lord of the Rings 90
Matt Lucas 94
Mordon's Quest 98
The Neverending Story 100
The Pawn 103
Pharoah's Tomb 106
Play it Again, Sam 107
Quann Tulla 108
The Quest for the Golden Eggcup 110
The Quest for the Holy Grail 111
Questprobe III 114
Rebel Planet 116
Rigel's Revenge 126
Robin of Sherlock 133
Robin of Sherwood 135
The Serf's Tale 136
Shadows of Mordor 139
The Sorceror of Claymorgue Castle 143
Sherlock 144
Spiderman 146
Twin Kingdom Valley 148
Urban Upstart 159
Valkyrie 17 164
The Very Big Cave Adventure 166
 Full Solutions

There are far too many Spectrum adventures for me to be able to

provide full solutions to every single game, not without making
this book the same size as War and Peace, anyway. I have included
here as many solutions as I can cram into the available pages,
though, trying to concentrate on the most popular games, and the
trickiest. Apart from the public domain Colossal Cave, you won't
find any Level 9 titles listed here, no matter how tricky their
games might be, as they do provide excellent clue sheets free to
anyone with a legitimate (i.e. non-pirate) copy of the game. As
this unique service costs them tens of thousands of pounds every
year, I for one don't intend to give the slightest help to anyone
who's stuck in a pirated copy of any of Level 9's adventures. They
deserve to be stuck.

I've given over asking people to take care when solutions are
available, to avoid reading the whole thing and completely
spoiling the game. I used to advise people to tell a friend or
relative what they wanted to know, and get them to try to find the
answer in the solution, or at most to skim through the thing
themselves till they come to the problem that's puzzling them, and
then stop reading. But some players seem to revel in collecting
complete solutions, in playing through adventures in someone
else's footsteps just so that they can add another title to what
they regard as their list of conquests. If anyone wants to do that
then it's fine by me, as long as they go on buying and playing
adventures. If you've paid £9.95 or £7.95 or even £1.99 for a
game, then I feel you're entitled to play it any way you choose,
even if it's not the way I would.
 BEHIND CLOSED DOORS I

Stand up/Pull up pants/Examine right wall/Take nail/Straighten

nail/Unfold gazette/Slide gazette under door/Insert nail in
keyhole/Pull gazette/Take key/Unlock door.

Crossword in gazette: 15 across is BALROG, 2 down is ROCHDALE.

Inputs to try (unless you're easily offended): JOHN WILSON, MIKE

GERRARD, MOLE, WICKET, HOLLY, FRIENDS, ZENOBI, TV, RECORDS, TED,
SMART EGG.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS II

Examine door, Examine note/Pull dagger two or three times/Examine

garden, Examine rhubarb, Cut rhubarb/Take rhubarb/Examine boots,
Take lace/Tie dagger to broom, Look up/Cut string, Take key/Drop
ball, Unlock door.

Other things to try: Kiss frog/Burn hedge/Unlock door before

dropping ball/Climb on wall.

Inputs: JOHN, ZENOBI, YS, MIKE, SEAN, RICHARD, KAREN, TV, KEZ,
SEX.
 THE BIG SLEAZE

Examine desk, get flashlight, smoke Lucky then wait till woman
appears. Take cheque then get and wear your mac and when Spot
comes in you should read and decode the note (DECODE NOTE) then go
down to your car. Examine car first, then get into car and examine
book to find bank address. For driving, you should JOIN WIRES then
DRIVE TO.....

First, go back to your office, examine the safe and INSERT

DYNAMITE INTO KEYHOLE. Light fuse with your lighter and go into
Velma's office to wait for the explosion. Collect the safe key,
battery and gun, insert battery into flashlight, take both cheques
and go back to car. Be sure to CLOSE DOOR and LOCK DOOR every time
you leave your office or else the neighborhood kids will break in!
DRIVE TO ASTORIA BOULEVARD and just go up to counter with cheques
and bank book to deposit them. Note that bank and Joe's Diner
don't open till 6 a.m. so you may have to WAIT till they do. They
also close at midnight so don't get locked in! DRIVE TO JOE'S
PLACE, go into men's room and EXAMINE WALL to learn Ben Durr's
address.

DRIVE TO IMRAND STREET and when you find the locked door unlock
it, open it and go in. Wait till Ben arrives, EXAMINE SOFA, TAKE
PHOTO and Ben confesses. Back to car to drive to 21st Street,
examine mac to find a crowbar, go to reception, PUSH OBELISK, open
grille with crowbar, turn flashlight on before going into open
grille to reach the next closed grille which you also open with
the crowbar to go IN and EXAMINE DESK to find another piece of
photo before returning to your car.

DRIVE TO POLICE STATION and then go E-E-S to learn where to go

next. Back to car after Commandant has had words with you. DRIVE
HOME and you will be told to save data for next part. Load up part
three.

Part Three

When you arrive home you will meet a German who will give you a
wad of bills so take these then go in to answer the phone and then
go back to car. DRIVE TO CHINATOWN, find Wang's Shop and EXAMINE
CRATES on the way. In the shop just SAY TO WANG OPEN DOOR, and he
will. Go south, get the cloth, leave shop, go south, meet Dyke. He
will get shot by the villain so listen to what dying Dyke says
before going into Dragon Bar.

Inside go down to meet the villain, SHOOT VILLAIN, EXAMINE LEG,

GET PHOTO and back to car. Drive to Brooklyn Heights, make sure
you're carrying all four bits of the photo and go to Dame's Room.
She will join all the bits together so then take and examine photo
to learn next place to visit. Drive to Kenmare Street, go through
the tedious UNLOCK DOOR/OPEN DOOR/IN routine twice then examine
the banner in the Nazi office and return to your car.
Drive to Battery Park, board the ferry, make the crossing (just
WAIT) and make your way to top of statue and RUB TORCH with cloth
(examine the torch and examine the cloth). READ WRITING and go
back to car. DRIVE TO CENTRAL MANHATTAN and you will be told to
save data for next part.

Part Two

Give bills to old man in shop in exchange for model airplane and
go to library. Find the librarian and WHISPER TO LIBRARIAN
BULLFINCH and READ PAPER. Then Drive to Central Park and make your
way to the Lake (if it's dark be sure to wait till daylight). Take
the net, go to the bridge and examine it. Shoot the whale, get it
and examine it. SMASH BULLFINCH, READ DOCUMENTS, then back to car
and on your return you should get a glimpse of King Kong smashing
the Empire State Building. Drive to Central Manhattan, go to
Empire State Building, PRESS BUTTON inside, enter elevator, PRESS
102, OUT, PUT BATTERY INTO MODEL.

NOTES:

1) You can only carry so many objects, so store others in car.

2) In each part try typing FERGUS and SPUD, and anywhere in game
try PIRANHA, DELTA 4 and the various swear words.

3) Examine glass cabinets in Wang's, or toilet and calendar in

Joe's Diner.

4) Try kissing Velma or the librarian.

5) Try taking model airplane without paying, forgetting to lock

your office door, visiting Central Park after dark, forgetting
to pay the cheques into the bank or getting into your car
without examining it first.
 BLIZZARD PASS

Blizzard Pass came bundled with many 128k Spectrums, and so was
the first adventure lots of people tried. The publishers did
provide a solution sheet, but unfortunately it included some
misleading information. This version corrects that, and I'm
grateful to Ruth Golding and Jonathan Borer for helping me with
it. Even loading it can cause problems. You have to go into 128
Basic, type OUT 32765,23 then press ENTER and LOAD"" as normal.

Items to collect: Brass key, polish, bright red wand, black robe,
scroll, garlic, rod of power, earth spell, glowing rock, sword,
shield, sceptre, metal tin, earth spell again, chalk, harp, wind
spell, snow shoes, bless spell, shatter spell, mystic book, ice
wall spell, mind shield spell, crown, orb, rope, ring, chair.

TO FIND GARLIC Dig in snow in blizzard.

LOST IN BLIZZARD Find cave for shelter/climb cliff.
PROBLEMS WITH WINDOW Examine it - put snow in cracks.
TOO DARK TO SEE Find rock, examine it, carry it.
CAN'T FIND SECRET TUNNEL Find statue - examine it carefully.
CAN'T MOVE STATUE Find robe, go to window, wet robe
with snow, wet runners.
CAN'T FIND BLAST SPELL Go along tunnel and search priest.
CAN'T GET PAST DARK FIGURE Wear robe.
NEED TO FIND PLANK Find well, get plank and look.
HAVEN'T FOUND SHIELD Find a massive hall.
CAN'T FIND SWORD Find a huge cavern (near shield).
SWORD TOO HOT Try cooling it - wet it with robe.
PROBLEM WITH GHOUL Use sword.
NEED POLISH & SOAP Find small room leading from a
corridor.
CROSSING FISSURE (1) Roll pillar across it.
SNAKE Push pillar (but go pillar first).
EARTH SPELL Go to smelly cave, check roof, dig.
CAN'T UNLOCK DOOR Key in robe pocket.
CAN'T FIND ROPE Cut down wizard in dungeons.
CAN'T OPEN LOCKED DOOR Examine carefully - break it down.
CAN'T FIND ANYTHING IN CELL Turn ring, hit ring.
CROSSING FISSURE (2) Tie rope to ring, knot it, throw.
Make sure it's the right fissure!
You must TURN RING before pulling
it from wall or you'll never get
out.
STRENGTH SPELL Examine wizard at bottom of
fissure.
OGRES Drop boulder on them.
CAN'T GET ACROSS CANYON Swim.
SLIME Throw soap at it.
BLAST SPELL Fill bucket with slime, empty it
into grill three times.
SCEPTRE Look in pit and go pit.
CHALK Examine curtains and go passage in
big room.
GIANT Throw slime.
NOWHERE TO GO Go back to pit, drop bucket, go
through narrow passage.
EARTH SPELL Examine body.
TELEPORT SPELL Look in tin.
CHANNEL FULL OF LAVA Blast spell then use plank.
LAVA RISING Blast spell.
NOTHING TO COLLECT Touch wand to pentacle in Hall of
Fire, wave wand at picture, go back
to window, go outside to find yeti.
YETI Make avalanche – yell!
NEED TO FIND TUNNEL Go into cave, dig in snow.
MIND SHIELD SPELL Go to icy throne hall, examine
wizard.
ICE WALL SPELL Open cupboard in royal bedroom, get
book from crate, examine it.
SHATTER SPELL Go to research room.
IN RESEARCH ROOM Make hole in roof, stand on chair.
CAN'T GET PAST GUARDS SKIN YETI, go back and frighten
them.
BLESS SPELL Talk to priest in church in green
and fair valley.
WIND SPELL Go crevasse in snow, find temple.
STUCK IN TEMPLE Cast teleport and make way to well.
IN WELL AND NOWHERE TO GO Find passage to chamber, get rod of
power.
CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ELSE Examine bookcases in library.
STUCK IN CAVES Make way to Hall of Fire, follow
instructions.
STUCK ON A LEDGE Wave sceptre.
WIZARD CASTING SPELLS Retaliate using all spells and
items collected.
WHEN WIZARD DEAD Touch wand to pentacle again, wave
wand at picture.
CONCLUSION: Make way from Hall to your cottage
beside church (and make map as you
go).
 THE BOGGIT

START Grandalf will enter and leave an

exploding box of chocolates, so GET
CHOCS and THROW CHOCS.
CHEST OPEN CHEST, CLIMB CHEST, EXAMINE
CHEST. Then EXAMINE DIARY and note
numbers, as they include the
combination to the front door lock.
CLIMB OUT.
FRONT DOOR EXAMINE DOOR, and to unlock it type
29285 (Frodo's birthday).
GRANDALF'S QUESTION The answer is NOTHING.
IN THE TOILET After all the celebrations you find
yourself here, so go north then
TALK THORNY and SAY FOLLOW ME.
TROLLS Wait till they finish their chat
routine then SAY LUX. Now you can
GET KEY, CLIMB CAULDRON, GET SWORD,
CLIMB OUT.
ROCK DOOR Unlock it with the stone key, OPEN
DOOR and ENTER. Here you find the
rope disguised as a nylon washing
line. Get this and go south to
leave.
SMELROND'S HALL As long as you earlier talked
Grandalf into following you, just
WAIT till he and Smelrond have
exchanged greetings and then you
should be given some luncheon, so
GET LUNCH and EAT LUNCH.
BEORN'S HOUSE To find this keep going east from
the neon archway. Go IN to enter
the cupboard and get the marmalade
sandwich. OUT to leave, then head
south till you find the security
card.
MOUNTAINS Go south from the tourist booth to
find the credit card, and then
north from here to find the
cigarettes.
GOBLINS' BACK DOOR To enter, SAY FOOL.
CAVE To find this go east twice from the
neon archway, then ENTER and WAIT
till the crack opens and you're
taken to the goblins' dungeon.
GOBLINS' DUNGEON DIG SAND to find the trapdoor, and
SMASH TRAPDOOR to find the cash and
the torch. EXAMINE TORCH to find
the battery, then INSERT BATTERY
into sword to provide some light.
To escape from the dungeon, THROW
ROPE till it catches on the window
 and PULL ROPE. GET ROPE and go
south-west to find the large egg.
From here go east, north, south-
east and east to find the magic
ring. Go north, south-east and
south to meet Goldbum. If you don't
want to answer his riddle, KILL
GOLDBUM and then go south, south,
north-west, east and up through the
back door.
TREE BY BACK DOOR If you have the large egg, WAIT
till the eagle comes along in order
to escape from the goblins.
NECROMANCER'S ASYLUM INSERT CARD (security card) to
enter, then UNTIE DRAIN to find the
small curious key. INSERT CARD
again to leave.
BEHOLDER ATTACK BEHOLDER when carrying
cigarette.
BLACK RIVER CLIMB BOAT and GIVE CREDIT (card)
to the minion to receive your duty
free. EXAMINE BOAT to discover the
outboard motor, TIE ROPE (to
engine) and then WAIT till boat
crosses the river. Then CLIMB OUT
and go east to the web.
SPIDER'S WEB To pass the web just PULL WEB and
go north-east to meet the spider.
When it's had its say, GIVE
SANDWICH to destroy it. PULL WEB
before heading in whichever
direction you want.
MAGIC DOOR To open this EXAMINE DOOR while
wearing magic ring.
ELVENKING'S DUNGEON To get into here (which you must)
you should wait around in the
presence of the Wood Elf, east from
where you killed the Beholder. To
get out again, WAIT till someone
opens the pink door and go west. Go
north to find the pink key, then
south to the wine cellar.
WINE CELLAR As long as you're wearing the ring,
WAIT till the butler drinks the
wine then CLIMB BARREL. Then you
WAIT some more till you feel the
barrel run aground and CLIMB OUT
and then go east to meet Lard.
LARD AND FLAKE TOWN When you meet Lard, TALK LARD to
learn what he wants in exchange for
his bow and arrow. GIVE DUTY FREE
then GIVE SMALL KEY and you can GET
BOW, GET ARROW. Now go west, north,
 up, north to Dale Valley to meet
the dragon.
DRAGON'S MOUNTAIN You can go in via the side door
(ENTER), the front gate (by going
north) or via the rope ladder (by
going down). However, you can only
meet the dragon once so to learn
how to kill him go east and south-
west from the front gate to find
the small bird. READ NOTICE then
GIVE CASH to be told where to shoot
the dragon.
THE DRAGON To kill the dragon you need to be
carrying the bow and arrow and to
SHOOT TAIL. You can now get the
treasure and the Barkenstone and
make your way back to Fag End.
THE SPACE CRUISER If you encounter this, give the
aliens what they want, which is the
Barkenstone.
FAG END When you get back, CLIMB CHEST
(provided it's still open) and DROP
TREASURE to complete the game.
BOGGIT BUG: When escaping from the goblins'
dungeon, if you refer to the rope
as a line, and instead of THROW
ROPE you THROW LINE, this can cause
the line to disappear. You need to
have the line in order to start the
boat to cross the river. To bypass
this, type DELTA 4 while in Part
Two, and this takes you into the
Delta 4 offices. Typing BOGGIT
returns you to the game, outside
the dungeon and with the rope.

Solution by John Wilson

 BORED OF THE RINGS

SOUND OF HORSES Hide to avoid the wraith.

WILLOW TREE Call for help.
TIM'S HOUSE Enter house to get magic beans.
VILLAGE OF WHEE Enter the Inn and wait for Arogant
to arrive.
PEPPER Go north and up from southern edge
of tall mountain.
RIVENDULL Enter large house and go east if
all the company is there.
GATE OF MORONA Drop the pepper.
TROLL VEND MACHINE Insert the battery to get the coin.
PIXIE Buy map with coin.
DOORMAT Move it.
RUG Move it.
KEY Under doormat.
MAZE E, N, E, E, S, W, S, E, take
poster, W, W, S.
GAYS Drop poster.
BRIDGE Press red button.
DE LOREAN Plant beans.
NAZAL ON C5 Shoot rifle.
TELESCOPE Insert coin.
GULLY Go east and take platinum brick.
CLIFF Say Hog, take and tie rope, climb
down, pull rope.
GOLDBUM Give brick and enter marsh.
MARSH N, N, SE, SE, N, N, E, S, E, E, S,
E, E, N, N, E, E, take and wear
sunglasses and return to Basilisk.
MAZE PATH OUT W, W, S, E, S, W, W, then head to
Gate of Dormor.
DORMOR GATE Go south and east to Grey Trees
then north and east till you get to
the stairs.
CAVE Go east to fissure.
FISSURE Throw rope and swing across.
GUN TOWER Go up and fire gun when you see
flying pig.
AFTER TOWER D, W, D, E, enter forges, get key,
go to fissure, swing.
LIFT Press button and board lift.
POWERFUL DEBUGGER Take before entering lift, press
magenta button and leave.
SILENT ROAD Go S, S, W to headless statue.
BAR Enter and leave bar, attack
Kremlins, then enter bar again for
magic scissors.
SHOPPING CENTRE W, S, cut string, look.
MICROWAVE Put ring in microwave and wait.
NOTE: Don't eat the magic beans, you can kill wolves but not crows
and the passwords are, in order: GOODTIME/Trevor and Derek/NOT
TELLING.
 BUGSY

START Go IN to the bar and ATTACK HOODS,

then when approached by Louie and
Muscles you should talk to Louie
and press 'Y' to buy mask.
NEWSBOYS There are three of these in
different places. WEAR MASK when
you meet one, then talk to newsboy
and operate protection routine. As
soon as the newsboy gives you the
money, REMOVE MASK and type CASH to
see how many banknotes you have.
Repeat this with all three newsboys
and when you have $25 go to the
gunsmiths and buy a gun.
POST Once you have the gun you can go to
the post office and ROB POST, which
should mean you then have $118. Go
back to the bar and talk to Louie,
then press 'H' to hire him and
Muscles.
STATION At the station go east to the
ticket office and BUY TICKET. Go
west, north, north to the westbound
platform and BOARD TRAIN when it
pulls in. If you're waiting for the
train, try READ POSTER.
CHICAGO After the shoot-out EXAMINE CORPSES
and EXAMINE POCKETS to find $20.
You should now have $33, so go
north back to the station.
PAWNSHOP This is east from the post office.
Go IN and talk to the man before
pressing 'P' for protection. This
should mean you have $72, so go to
theatrical costumiers and BUY
POLICE COSTUMES for you and the
lads.
WAREHOUSE East of the post office is the
warehouse. As long as you're
wearing the costumes it's safe to
go in, and with luck you should now
have $207 so go to Good Time
Charlie's Bar and talk to Fergus
before pressing 'H' to hire him and
his lads. Now with Fergus and his
gang, and Louie and Muscles, go to
the bank and ROB BANK. This will
complete part one and give you the
password for part two: BOSS BUNNY.
PART TWO Type BOSS BUNNY when asked who sent
you, and CASH should tell you that
you now have $7,000!
CAR SALES Leave your hotel room by going down
and out, then proceed east till you
reach the street corner that has
the dark alley running south from
it. From here you head north till
you reach the automobile showroom,
where you talk to sales and press
'Y' to buy a car. When asked, type
CADILLAC.
HI-JACK POINT After buying the car return to the
hotel then go west to the casino
and north till you reach the hi-
jack point. Here you EXAMINE CORPSE
to find the business card and TAKE
CARD and go to the casino.
BOOK SHOP From the casino go east till you
reach the street corner then south
into the dark alley. LEAVE CAR and
go IN to the shop. Talk to the man
and then press 'P' for protection.
HILTON HOTEL When you have the valise and the
business card, go to the hotel,
which is south from the casino, and
go IN. DROP VALISE and LEAVE. Wait
till you hear an explosion then go
to the Tib Bar.
TIB BAR Talk to Joe and bribe him to learn
of the beer shipment.
CASINO From the Tib Bar go to the casino
and talk to the croupier, then
operate the protection routine and
you should have $12,000. Go back to
the car showroom and buy the
SICILIANO model.
BEER SHIPMENT Once you own the Siciliano model go
back to the hi-jack point once more
and when asked, press 'Y'.
POLICE STATION Bribe your way into the station,
going IN and WEST to meet the
Commissioner. Talk to him and then
bribe him too.
POLICE At some stage you may be stopped by
the police, so if this happens you
should talk to the police and then
bribe them, but once you have
bribed the Commissioner that should
stop happening anyway.
RITZ CARLTON After you have sold the beer
shipment make your way here and
talk to the manager before pressing
'H' to hire some rooms. Press 'Y'
when he asks if the rates are
agreeable.
TIB BAR Go back to the Tib Bar, UP the
stairs, and when approached with an
offer type 'Y'.
CAR PLATES Once you've been given the false
licence plates go back to your
car and head south from the Ritz
into Chicago.
FOUR DEUCES Go IN and ATTACK GOONS, then DOWN
to the cellar, TAKE GUNS, UP and
OUT.
GAUMONT To raise your Public Enemy Status,
go IN.
GARAGE South from the Gaumont, talk to the
mechanic and press 'Y' to buy the
overalls.
FINISH OFF CAPONE With the guns and the overalls in
your possession, go to the
Metropole Hotel and east into the
alley. Keep going east till you
reach the parking lot, and PRESS
BUTTON (the emergency escape alarm
button).

NOTE: Don't upset Louie and Muscles before you've enough cash to
hire them otherwise they may walk off never to be seen again.

Solution by John Wilson

 CASTLE BLACKSTAR

You must begin by mapping out the forest maze, which only has six
locations and which can be mapped by dropping objects in each
location in turn and working out how they all connect together.
It's a tedious beginning to what turns out to be an excellent
adventure that's not half as well-known as it ought to be.

In the forest there are three special locations to look out for:
the clearing to the witch's cottage, the grate over the castle
exit and the temple where the treasures must be taken. In the
cottage you'll find the broomstick and the gingerbread. If you
hang about for too long then the witch will arrive and turn you
into a worm, which isn't much fun for you and also deprives you of
the broomstick and gingerbread (well, where would you put them?)
Being a worm only lasts for a while, although there's always the
chance that you might get eaten by a bird.

To open the drawbridge FIRE ARROW from the castle front.

To climb the portcullis just type CLIMB or UP.

To take the iron bar out of the furnace, wear the gloves that are
to be found in the aviary. The bar will cool after about 90 moves,
or by being dropped in a location which has water in it.

To deal with the eagles guarding the eggs in the aviary you need
to be carrying the violin and the bow, and then PLAY VIOLIN.

To get the violin you must first TURN WHEEL in the store room,
which lowers the chandelier in the dining hall. Then take the rope
from the store room, climb the chandelier, jump to the gallery,
and to get down again just drop or tie the rope and go down.

The lamp is in the stables in the centre of the courtyard, and the
oil with which to fill it is at the bottom of the well that's at
the base of the south tower.

The dungeons in Castle Blackstar have four entrances. One is down

the well, and that way is blocked by an iron door which can be
opened with the keys found in the wine cellar. Another way in is
by moving the bale in the stables and revealing a hole. You can
also go down the ditch in the north-east corner of the courtyard,
or by going through the mirrors in the north and south tower
rooms: SAY FRIEND and then ENTER.

The gold ring in the north tower cannot be removed via the
staircase as you will always be killed by the wraiths. You must go
instead through the mirror and down to the banks of the flaming
lake, cross the lake in the boat and then up and out through the
mirror in the south tower.
When you've got the ring you can wear it and make yourself
invisible to any creature beginning with the letter 'D', as hinted
at in the ring's description: dwarves, dragons, dralon sofas...

You must wear the ring in order to get the gold nugget from the
dwarves working at New Face. If you go there and you're ringless a
dwarf will take the gold to the duel room, and if you enter the
duel room the gold will be taken back to New Face. This goes on
forever, unless you wear the ring to render yourself invisible and
enable you to sneak up on the dwarves.

The dynamite is on the island in the middle of the flaming lake

(pardon my language). It will automatically explode should you try
to pass through the flames with it, so to prevent this you must
POUR LIQUID on it while holding both the bottle and the dynamite.
The liquid is heat-resistant so the dynamite can be set off by you
but will not be ignited by the heat from the flames.

To keep the boat afloat while on the lake you must BAIL BOAT at
every landing. The boat will also enable you to reach the cave
which contains a source of oil that never runs out, unlike the oil
in the well which has a limited life.

To get the diamond from the statue, move it to the other end of
the room then PUSH STATUE, leave the room and press the button
with the warning beneath it. This opens the trapdoor and you can
then find the diamond and the remains of the statue in the tall
room beneath the trapdoor.

To get the sword out of the stone you must PULL SWORD whilst also
wearing the crown and the sceptre.

To deal with the invisible hand which pushes you back down the
narrow corridor you should render it visible by throwing flour at
it.

To get the vase out of the split room you must drop the iron bar
down the crack in the crevice cave. This falls into the split room
and wedges the sliding walls. The bar can't be taken through the
normal entrance to the split room as it won't fit.

Before going into the chapel you should get the scroll from the
dusty study. In the chapel you must immediately enter the pentacle
to protect you from the Angel of Death. There you should READ
SCROLL.

The stairs in the duel room lead up to the dual room, from where
you can reach the room with the star indentation, the hydra pit
and the warm pit which leads to the dragon and throne rooms.
To kill the hydra, throw the gingerbread at it. The gingerbread is
in the witch's cottage near the start of the game. The various
hydra heads will quarrel over the gingerbread and you can kill the
remaining head with a weapon of some kind when you enter the pit.

The troll on the bridge can be passed in two ways, though only one
helps you get the maximum score. You can get past by giving him
something of value, which loses you the value of the something,
and the better solution is to wave the staff from the lake, which
turns him to stone.

Beyond the troll you find the star-shaped gem which you must take
to the star-shaped hole off the dual room and insert it to
activate the entrance button to the hexagon room.

To get through the M-room you must take a route in the shape of
the letter M. From the western entrance go N, N, N, N, SE, S, E,
N, NE, S, S, S, S. This takes you to the eastern entrance, and
obviously reverse the route to go the other way. If you get it
wrong then you will be returned to the place you came in, and your
lamp will end up at the other entrance. The room itself is
actually made up of a simple four-by-four grid of locations. As
well as the name itself, there's a clue to the room and the route
if you examine the painting in the gallery.

You can use the broomstick to fly with if you take it to the
clearing or to the top of the south tower and SAY ABRACADABRA. If
you examine the plaque on the side of the broomstick this gives
you a clue. You can fly for six moves above some of the features
of the landscape, such as the clearing, plus two locations that
are higher up in the air and called 'Between Heaven and Earth' and
'Touching the Stars'.

At the top of the south tower is a golden weather vane, and you
can take this by flying, though you can also get at it by taking
another route from the secret passage behind the mirror in the
south tower. Use the command PUSH ROOF to push the low roof and
open up another route.

You can fly to the 'Touching the Stars' location on the

broomstick, taking the orb with you, and by saying TOUCH STARS you
open up a passage to enter Artemis's lair.

When you encounter the dragon, don't kill it from the direction of
the warm pit as its body will then block the way into and out of
the area where the orb is to be found. Instead you should kill it
on your way out of the orb area by dropping the vial, to put it to
sleep, and then killing it with whatever weapon you have with you.

When you INSERT GEM into the star-shaped indentation, pressing the
star button then takes you to the hexagon room which leads to the
orb area. To get through the hexagon room, clues are contained
within the room itself, the route being S, NW, E, SW.
The orb is also in a small maze, and is down the windy passage,
where the wind will blow out your lamp. To get rid of the wind you
must have closed the hatch in the ditch in the courtyard, where a
sign says that it must remain open (windy). You must open the
hatch again once you've got the orb, or you lose a point from your
score at the end of the game. Once you've taken the orb all the
castle entrances will close except for the grate.

Underneath the throne, if you PUSH THRONE, is a secret passage

that leads to a bricked-up wall where you must use the dynamite to
blow open a route connecting the orb area to the rest of the
Castle Blackstar dungeons.

If you use the keys to unlock a cell door in the cell block you
will find a cell in which pulling the torch in its holder opens up
a secret doorway down and out of the castle to the grate. This is
the route you must take once you have got hold of the orb.

Having taken all treasures to the temple in the forest, pray at

the altar there and you will see a vision which gives you a clue
to the final location of Artemis.

If you WISH when you've dropped a coin down the well you will be
taken automatically to the temple location.

Once you've got the orb and have put all the treasures in the
temple, in order to complete the game you must then fly to the
'Touching the Stars' location, say TOUCH STARS, enter the passage
and pass through the small punctuation maze, SAY FRIEND to open
the lift, switch the lift on with the button in the electrical
room, then after the lift has gone up SAY FRIEND again to open the
doors. You then meet Artemis and the game finishes.

The maximum score of 250 points is a combination of finding

treasures, depositing them at the temple, performing various
actions throughout the game (some of which aren't essential so you
can finish with a lower score) and returning the orb to Artemis.
 CIRCUS

From the start go south to your car and open boot with the car
keys and take the two objects inside. Go to circus and examine
generator to discover what is missing. Look around till you find
the shovel and dig with it in location where you find it. Light
the flashlight and enter the tent. Take the whip from inside the
closet and open the chest by kicking it. Go to the large tank and
swim. Examine the pile of rope to discover its purpose, and
examine the freezer to find a fish. Examine the cannon, take the
helmet and read the sign. Feed the sea-lion with the fish to get a
snorkel.

You can examine the clown when you meet him, provided you are
wearing the clown costume, and he will provide you with a note to
explain what is happening. He will also follow you as long as you
are wearing the costume, and you will need his help later. Wearing
the slippers enables you to GO TIGHTROPE once you've climbed one
of the ladders, and this provides a metal bar. With this you can
open the waggon and the locker inside the waggon, thus giving you
a hacksaw to cut the tightrope with, as the tightrope makes a good
cable for repairing the generator.

First, though, you should ERECT NET (the clown needs to be present
to help you and tell you exactly where to erect the net), and once
this is done you can go up and cut the tightrope then jump to
safety. Now fix the generator with the cable, then start the
generator with the starting handle, enabling you to get some
petrol by siphoning it with the snorkel. Put this in your car but
don't try and drive away yet - well you can try, but save the game
first.

Go back into the tent, climb to the trapeze, swing on it and cut
the canvas with the penknife - this will prove useful when you
make your exit later using the cannon. Go down again, crack the
whip at the tiger, go through the trapdoor, examine the panel,
press the button, read the blueprint then short the terminals with
the spanner. This only gives you another 24 moves to complete the
game, so make no mistakes from here on in! Go back to the cannon,
wear the helmet, GO CANNON and pull the lever. Head straight back
to your car, GO CAR and DRIVE CAR.
 COLOSSAL CAVE ADVENTURE

(Also of some use for The Serf's Tale)

THE ALCOVE/CRACK Nothing can pass through but you,

so drop everything.
THE AXE Carry this whenever possible and
THROW AXE when attacked by dwarves,
then GET AXE again.
BEANS/BEANSTALK Only means of reaching certain
parts of the caves. Don't
overwater.
THE BEAR Sooth bear with food/sandwiches/
honey (according to version of
game) then UNLOCK CHAIN.
BEDQUILT East and west exits usually
consistent, but others move you
randomly to other locations.
THE BIRD To catch the bird you need the cage
but must not be carrying the rod.
THE BLACK ROD Frightens bird and creates bridges
when waved near wide fissures.
THE BOTTLE Used for transporting water or oil
when needed, and usually breaks
when dropped.
THE CAGE Used for catching bird and can be
dropped when bird has played its
part in the adventure.
THE CHAIN Can be unlocked from round bear's
neck (keys needed) and counts as
treasure.
THE CLAM Can be opened with the trident.
THE COINS To be used in the vending machine
to replace dying lamp batteries.
THE DARK ROOM To get inside while carrying lamp
SAY PLOVER in room with Y2 on wall.
THE DIAMONDS Treasure.
THE DRAGON ATTACK DRAGON with bare hands.
DWARVES THROW AXE each time a dwarf attacks
you, and GET AXE again ready for
next time.
THE GOLDEN EGGS Treasure, and can be transported
from wherever they happen to be
back into giant's room by use of
magic words FEE FIE FOE FOO.
THE EMERALD Treasure, will fit through narrow
crack but not moved when you use
magic words.
THE ENDGAME See End!
FEE FIE FOE FOO For the effect of this
mysterious incantation, see "The
Golden Eggs".
THE FISSURE Wave the rod to create a bridge.
FOOD Sometimes sandwiches or honey, but
give it to the bear in any case.
THE GATE Needs oiling before you can open
it.
THE GOLDEN NUGGET Treasure that can only be taken out
by using magic words.
THE GRATE Needs keys to open it.
THE KEYS Found near start of the game in
most versions, they open the grate
and the bear's chain.
THE LAMP Switch off whenever not needed, and
needs new batteries when eventually
fails you.
THE MAGAZINE Read it and leave it at Witt's End.
MAZE "SAME" To get to pirate's chest from west
end of Hall of Mists go S, E, S, S,
S, N, E, E, NW, while from
stalactite go DOWN, N, E, NW. To
get out go SE, N, DOWN.
MAZE "DIFFERENT" To reach machine, S, W, N, E, E, E,
E and to get out again, W, E.
MIRRORS Always worth a look or a wave.
THE NOTE Read it and heed it.
THE OIL Useful for oiling rusty gates,
carry it about in the bottle.
THE PEARL Rolls away when you first find it
(in the clam), so follow it DOWN.
Treasure.
THE PILLOW Always drop this first before
dropping vase.
THE PIRATE Steals treasure till you can find
his chest (in the "all the same"
maze) and get it.
PLATINUM PYRAMID In the dark room, and won't
disappear when you say PLOVER.
PLOVER Magic word taking you from room
with 'Y2' on wall into dark room,
and vice versa.
PLUGH This magic word takes you from 'Y2'
room to inside building, and vice
versa.
THE RARE SPICES Treasure.
THE RUG Treasure.
THE SEEDLING/PLANT Grows when watered, but don't water
it too much.
THE SHADOWY FIGURE Try waving to it.
THE SILVER BARS Treasure.
THE SNAKE Free the bird to deal with the
snake.
THE TRIDENT Treasure, also opens the clam.
THE TROLL Give eggs and reclaim them to get
past troll first time, then scare
with bear.
THE VASE Treasure, and breaks when dropped
unless you drop the pillow first.
VENDING MACHINE Insert coins to get spare
batteries. Machine in "different"
maze.
WATER Use to water plant, and carry water
in bottle.
WITT'S END Drop magazine here and go south to
hope to avoid maze.
XYZZY Magic word, takes you from room
where it's written back to
building, and vice versa.

THE END GAME: You need to have been everywhere and seen everything
in some versions before the end game will materialise. The game
itself can also vary in different versions, but for the lengthiest
and most common, the Level 9/Rainbird version, you should: N, S,
TAKE LAMP, KEYS AND DYNAMITE, ON LAMP, N, DROP DYNAMITE, SW, TAKE
ROD, BLAST, W, W, W, U, U, U, U, U, E, D, W, W, W, WAVE ROD, W, W,
W, D, D, D, TAKE ELIXIR, OFF LAMP, DROP ROD, TAKE PENTACLE, U, U,
U, E, E, E, E, E, N, DROP ELIXIR, S, W, N, OPEN CHAIN, S, S, OPEN
CHAIN, N, W, W, W, W, LOCK DOOR, U, U, U, U, E, N, TAKE ORB, E, E,
DROP KEYS, TAKE SCEPTRE, S, W, W, W, U, U, U, THROW PENTACLE, ON
LAMP, D, D, D, E, E, E, S, TAKE CROWN, W, N, U, U, W, W, W, W, W,
U, S, S, S, E, E, U, E, E, E, E, E, E, U.
 THE COLOUR OF MAGIC

Part One

Stand up, wait a while, translate, say yes, talk to Broadman, ask
him to show Twoflower to his room, then go Widdershins and take
the milk. Go and collect Twoflower and take him down through the
Broken Drum, through the fight, and to the docks and say yes to
the Cripple Wa. Give the milk to the cat in Short Street, say yes
to the beggar at the hubward end of Back Street, then go to the
Plaza of the Broken Moons. Here you wait, press lever, turn, talk
to Stren and go Hubwards. Examine the luggage, take the bottle and
biscuits, and go to the Shadow of the Leaning Tower. Ask the guard
where Twoflower is, then go to the Broken Drum and wait behind the
bar till the luggage attacks. Then go up, out, say hello to Stren
and SAVE.

Part Two

Go to the stables and buy and take horses, then go out of the city
to meet Brevd and say yes at the campfire. Then go and kill the
troll, go to the clearing with the wolves, climb the tree, jump,
hit the nest, go to the wide room and talk to Death. Examine the
fragments, take the crystal, say hello to Hrun and wait for his
sword to utter the dreaded word. Throw the crystal, wait till Hrun
summons his horse, take and eat the meat, go Turnwise and Rimwards
and SAVE.

Part Three

Wait for the dragons to appear, then heed Hrun's advice, head
Hubwards twice and pull Kring. Go Rimwards and kill K!sdra. Climb
on the dragon and wait. Take and wear the boots, eat a biscuit and
drink some water. Go Hubwards and type KILL LIO!RT till a
riderless dragon is below you, then remove the boots to fall onto
the dragon. You end up in a dark passage, go down then Hubwards,
unbolt and open the door, go in then out, close and bolt the door,
go Hubwards and wait then imagine a door and enter the door. Go to
the large cave, wait for the dragon, climb on the dragon, wait
again till you land in the sea, wait again till the luggage
arrives, and SAVE.

Part Four

Go down the trapdoor, take the three bottles of rum, then to the
store room and take the bucket. Go up to the deck and drop a
bottle of rum in each of the three starboard locations and watch
the pirate booze himself overboard. Climb into the old tub of a
lifeboat then bail water till you can get the frog then wait till
you're in a different boat and wait again till you hit the
'circumfence'. Say hello to Tethis, wait till you're on the
island, open the door, go Rimwards and wait again (many times...
many many times) till Tethis arrives. Then wait some more till the
bells clang, and wait yet some more (exciting stuff, this) till
you're told to go outside. Go outside, say hello to Marchessa
and... yes... wait again till you get to Krull, then, just for a
change, type WAIT till the frog changes and bites the toe of
Garhartra. Then attack Garhartra, open the door, go Widdershins,
open the white door, go Widdershins, attack the chelonauts, take
and wear the suit, go Turnwise, Hubwards, Widdershins, attack the
hydrophobes and go W, R, R, R, U, R. Then, finally, guess what...
WAIT until you fall.

Solution by John Barnsley

 CORRUPTION

Open the cabinet in your office, take the share certificate and
amended ledger and put them into your briefcase for safekeeping.
Go up to the end of the corridor and listen outside the wooden
door to hear David and Bill plotting. Then into the dealing room
with the list. Go into the cubicle in the toilet and look in the
cistern, but don't take the bag. Go to Margaret's room and look at
the desk then ask her for the envelope and have a look at it. Go
down to the car park, get into your car and take the screwdriver
from the glove compartment. Get out of the BMW and smash the
window in the Volvo and take the folder that's on the floor. Read
the Affidavit and put it in your briefcase.

Go to Theresa's office and wait till 10.00 when she goes for a
break. Open the drawer and take the brass key and the letter. Go
into David's office, take the tape from the desk, then get out
quick and shut the door and the drawer. Listen to the tape in the
player in your car, and read the letter. Put the tape in your
briefcase. Go back to your office till approx 11.20, then take the
phone and listen and at 11.25 you'll hear an interesting
conversation between Bill and David. When that's over go and wait
outside Bill's door till David goes in, then listen in again. Go
to Theresa's office and wait till she leaves at 12.00, then pick
up the phone and listen in as David rings Charpontier at 12.10.

Nothing much happens then till about 1.45 when you should go to Le
Monaco to meet Jenny for lunch at 2.00, and if you wait outside
you'll see her arrive with David - a bit blatant, that! Go in and
have your lunch, a quick one, and when you leave just before 2.20
you'll be pushed into the road and wake up in hospital. Don't
worry, this is meant to happen!

Take everything from the cabinet that belongs to you while the
nurse is still in the ward, then when she leaves get up and take
the briefcase, pillow case and papers. Put all your items except
the pillow case and papers onto the empty bed and go south into
the corridor. Go west up to the operating theatre, put the bandage
on your head and go back to the TV room. Take the stethoscope from
the bear, open the locker and take all your clothes then put them
into the pillow case and close it. Go back to the bed, put the
pillow case onto it and then lie down. Wait for the nurse to wheel
you out to the ambulance. Take the bandage and pyjamas off, wear
your shirt, tie, jacket and trousers and take the items that are
left (briefcase, stethoscope etc). When the ambulance stops
outside your building, just walk out.

Go to Theresa's office and wait till she leaves at 3.30. Go into

David's office and move the TV to reveal the safe. Put the
stethoscope on, put it onto the safe, turn the dial a few times
and the safe will open. Take the full ledger, receipts and chips.
Go out and back up to Bill's office and wait till he leaves. Open
the door with the credit card. Inside, open the drawer with the
screwdriver and take the document. Read the document, amended
ledger, full ledger and receipts, and things make a lot more
sense. Put them all back into the briefcase for safety. Go back to
Le Monaco and show the waiter the chips and he'll show you through
the kitchens to the casino door.

Knock on the door and when you're inside...lose! Play anything,

but lose all the £500 in chips that you've got, then go over to
the teller and ask for credit. This will get you in to see
Charpontier, who will tell you that he wants the document. Don't
give it to him or he'll kill you. Go over to the police station
and tell the desk sergeant about the bag of cocaine you found and
he'll show you into the interview room. Once there you can tell
the Inspector all you know and give him the various documents, or
you can immediately give him the envelope, tell him about
Charpontier and he'll make you a proposition. Go back to the
casino and give Charpontier the document, then wait till the
police bust the place.... and VICTORY is yours!

FEDERATION

See Quann Tulla

 THE GUILD OF THIEVES

From the boat, JUMP WEST or PULL ROPE and go WEST.

To get into the castle: HELP OLD MAN.

In the drawing room: Examine the settee, get the cushion, open it
and get the note.

When the rat race is announced, GO TO COURTYARD and bet on grey

rat with the note. Take the cheque and cage that you win.

Take oil painting from gallery. Take water colour and gaudy
paintings to reveal a safe. Examine all three paintings for clues,
but you only need the oil painting.

The safe on the wall is a red herring.

In junk room, MOVE JUNK to reveal a south exit.

Break the coal found in the coal bucket in the lounge and take the
fossil. You can try to KICK BUCKET as long as you've saved your
position first!

In main bedroom, move abstract painting to reveal a hole. Open

cabinet and examine it. GO BED and press top button with the
billiard cue to enter a secret laboratory.

To enter windmill: SHOUT TO MILLER "PLEASE STOP VANES".

Buy lute with cheque, but put it in your swag bag and close bag
before leaving.

Lute contains a valuable silver plectrum.

Look under bed to find a tub.

Pull polystyrene bars in junction chamber to go SW.

Break undertaker's door. Go inside, open flap and go south.

Press button on till to take coin to use at toll gate to enter

zoo.

Shake palm tree to get a coconut. Break it with spade then feed it
to macaw and it will tell you the ingredients to a potion.

Untie ladder at waterfall.

Get jam jar from kitchen cupboard, open it then go to stables to

catch some flies. Go to Hothouse and throw jam at palm tree to get
rid of spider. Take succulents.
Read books in library for fun and information.

To kill rats in cellar, pull the pipe, examine the system, open
the stopcock, wait and then close the stopcock and go down.

Examine wine racks, take red bottle and champagne bottle, open red
bottle to find a ruby and drink the red wine.

Take the snakeskin in the zoo. When the ice snake lands on you go
straight to Hothouse where it will drop off.

Get the gloves from the beehives in the temple gardens.

Get the temple statue and you will fall. Drop the statue, go down,
north, north, dig in sand and wear the boots that you find. Go
down the thin shaft (north) and take brooch.

Wear gloves, climb slippery rope and get pick.

Hit vein with pick and get chips.

Examine organ and take ebony and ivory keys.

Open zoo office door with ivory keys.

To reflect the beam at the wax, use the mirror, then CATCH GEM.

Examine altar to find an incense burner.

From black square go SE, N, E, E, SE, S, SW, E to white square.

From white square go NW, N, NW, E, SW, SW, NW, N to black square.
(The colours of the rainbow, or WOBNIAR)

Ebony key opens black door in shrine, leading to black library.

Rub succulents on your bare feet to cross hot coals. Leave

succulents on boathouse side of coals.

Beyond hot coals, roll each coloured die from surrounding rooms
until all are 5's, then insert them in correct slot to open opaque
case and reveal a plastic die.

Take white rhino.

Close white door at large cage and say 'Hooray' to mynah bird then
put it in cage.

In spare bedroom take china pot (under bed), needle (in sewing box
on bed) and designer dress (in wardrobe).

To get fish from moat, tie cotton to cue, place maggot on needle,
place needle in moat.
Maggots are in the tub.

To get platinum chalice from bear, smear poison on fish and feed
fish to bear.

Open red billiard ball to find diamond ring.

Finger from skeleton opens sarcophagus.

Put into cauldron in secret laboratory: heart (from chest of

skeleton), snakeskin (from zoo), berries (from tree in cemetery)
and eye (from skull in sarcophagus). Add wooden cube (read diary
in laboratory for hint to this extra ingredient). Open sachet and
take anticube.

Get and rub horseshoe on back of stables door for luck.

Bank will open once you have banked enough treasures. Read notice
on bank door every so often till it is open.

Before entering bank, shake champagne bottle (read label).

In bank, join longer queue, show plastic card (in your pocket) to
teller who will get you into manager's office.

Drop champagne and caged mynah bird in office, open office door,
go north and stick gum over keyhole to stop manager returning. If
timing is right, bird will squawk 'Hooray' in office and champagne
bottle will explode. Roof will be blown off and everyone will rush
out. (Gum should be given to you by miller earlier in game).

To re-enter office after explosion you should have plastic die,

anticube and lute. Put die and anticube in your pocket, make sure
you have torn joker from box of cards found in desk on library and
that you have rubbed the horseshoe for luck. At office door SING
URFANORE PENDRA, play lute and go south. You will float above and
over door and into locked office.

In office go east into opening. Roll die and fairy will appear (if
you rubbed the horseshoe). Ask for a TWO then go down. Following
this, roll die again and ask for the following and move in the
direction specified: ONE (SE), SIX (DOWN), FIVE (E), FOUR (DOWN).

You are now in a room with all of the treasures: take all of them.

Then PUT PLASTIC DIE AND ANTICUBE ON MACHINE (type this in

exactly) then TAKE CUBE AND ANTICUBE FROM MACHINE. You now have
the cube without having set off the alarms by unbalancing the
scales.

GO SW (it's dark), NW, NW, RUB SUCCULENTS ON FEET, E, SE, SE, then
GO TO JETTY.
At jetty: pull rope and go east. If you have all the treasures
then you will be made a member of the Guild of Thieves by the
master thief and finish with a full score of 501/501.

RED HERRINGS: The bee hive and the safe in the art gallery.

TREASURES: Fossil, oil painting, diamond ring, ruby, plastic bag

containing music sheets, designer dress, silver plectrum, platinum
chalice, china pot, gem, chips of mineral, white rhino, brooch,
cube, incense burner.

NOTES:

1) You can put any object, not just treasures, into any of the
deposit safes scattered around the game. Only treasures will
score points for being banked. Any other objects can be found
in the rubbish bags outside the bank. If in doubt: bank it!
You can always get it back again from the rubbish bags.

2) Tear the joker, just in case, although I'm not certain whether
it matters if you do or you don't!

Solution by Richard Hewison

 HAMPSTEAD

LOUNGE Examine it and get the UB40.

BEDROOM Open wardrobe, wear tracksuit.
KITCHEN Examine it and get the key.
YARD Unlock shed and open gate.
SHED Wear clips, get bike and ride it
when outside.
DHSS OFFICE Join queue and take giro.
POST OFFICE Cash giro.
INDUSTRIAL ESTATE Find bracket (see below) and go SW
to get out.
HAMPSTEAD HEATH Sit and take credit card.
OXFAM SHOP Replace tracksuit with tweeds, drop
clips beside bike and continue on
foot.
NEWSAGENT Examine shop and take magazine.
STATION Buy ticket, take pass and go to
Waterloo.
TRAIN Board train, take card, read it,
offer bracket and wear tie.
BUS STOP Board bus.
FURNITURE DEPT. Open desk, take screwdriver.
TAILORS Buy, take and wear suit.
CLUB Give name as "Justin Perrier",
answer "Yes", take letters.
SIR LIONEL'S OFFICE Just show up.
YOUR OWN OFFICE Examine desk, read memo, force
cabinet with screwdriver, drop
screwdriver, drop credit card, drop
magazine, examine cabinet, take
report, read report and wait till
summoned to Board Room.
BOARD ROOM Choose option three, take draft, go
south, enter "Translate Motto".
ESTATE AGENT Examine display, buy house, take
deeds.
COCKTAIL PARTY Get Pippa, take Pippa, drive.
CAR PARK Get car, go to St John's Wood.
MANSION Drop car, ring bell, say "Meet
Chubby".
STUDY Answer "Marry Pippa", give memo,
give report, go north, take car, go
north, west and south till at Oxfam
Shop again.
OXFAM SHOP Drop car, go in, take and wear
tracksuit, go out, take bike, take
and wear clips, go north, north,
east and east to Hampstead.
MAZES:

INDUSTRIAL ESTATE N, E, E, NE, E, E, NE, N, TAKE

BRACKET, SW.

COVENT GARDEN From east end of Oxford St go SE,

S, S, S, E, SE, GET PIPPA, then
reverse route to get out again.
 THE HOBBIT

BARD Find him in the wooden town in the

middle of the long lake. If he's
not there, go away and come back
until he shows up. If he still
doesn't show up, there's always the
chance that he's been killed, in
which case you've no choice but to
start again or resume an earlier
saved game. When he eventually
shows, SAY TO BARD 'NORTH', then
follow him yourself for two
locations before you change his
direction of movement with SAY TO
BARD 'UP'. When you and he both run
out of UPs to follow, SAY TO BARD
'NORTH' again till you both reach
the hall where the dragon sleeps.
Some players suggest you try to
CARRY BARD, which apparently works
sometimes. As for what happens when
you meet the dragon, see under 'The
Dragon'.
BIG CAVERN WITH TORCHES TIE TORCH to take a torch from the
wall, then TAKE ROPE to give you a
torch and rope tied together.
BLACK RIVER To cross it, try HELP. If that
doesn't get you on the right track,
then THROW ROPE ACROSS: you may
need to try it a few times. PULL to
haul the boat across from the other
side, then CLIMB INTO BOAT to sail
across and CLIMB OUT at the other
side.
BUTLER To avoid capture, wear the magic
ring. If he happens to turn up just
at the moment when the magic wears
off, you'll need to know how to
escape from the dungeon: see under
'Elvenking's Dungeon'.
THE DEEP BOG Can't escape from here – avoid
going in.
THE DRAGON You can't kill this on your own,
you need to get Bard to do it for
you. SAY TO BARD 'SHOOT DRAGON' is
the command needed. You may need to
repeat this a few times. As with
all commands in The Hobbit, if they
don't work after maybe half a dozen
requests, the possibility is that
they may not work at all, so you'll
have to start again or go back to
 an earlier saved game. It can be
maddening, but the Artificial
Intelligence routines built into
the program mean that there's no
way round it.
ELROND Find him in Rivendell, and SAY TO
ELROND 'READ MAP'. You will get one
of several replies, which you don't
need to note down, though what you
do need to note is that whichever
route Elrond tells you about is
only created in the game at that
moment. If you didn't ask him to
read the map, that route would
remain blocked off to you. He may
also give you some food if you WAIT
around.
ELVENKING'S DUNGEON Try HELP first of all. Watch the
butler and note his movements. WAIT
till he unlocks the door, WEAR RING
to make yourself invisible for a
few moves, and leave when the
butler opens the door. SW takes you
to the cellar, or WEST to the great
halls.
ELVENKING'S HALLS (a) Getting in: WEAR RING and
EXAMINE DOOR in the elvish
clearing. Then WAIT till door opens
and immediately go NE before door
closes. If you miss, repeat the
routine. WEAR RING again as soon as
you're through the door.
(b) Getting out: You can always get
out the way you came in, and in
later stages of the game you may
prefer to do this. On your first
visit, however, you escape through
the cellar. WEAR RING at all times.
In the cellar you need an empty
barrel, so keep your eye on the
butler when he visits as he may
well empty one for you.
Alternatively you can OPEN BARREL
and DRINK WINE for yourself - the
program responds accordingly! Then
you CLIMB INTO BARREL, CLOSE BARREL
and WAIT till the butler throws the
barrel through the trapdoor, taking
you to the next location. Another
method is to JUMP just as you see
the butler throwing a barrel, but
that can be slightly trickier on
the timing. The main thing is to
 WEAR RING throughout.
THE EMPTY PLACE Impossible to enter. Seems to be a
location that should have been
removed from the game but wasn't.
FOOD Elrond will give you some, and
there's also some in the cupboard
behind the curtain in Beorn's
house. A quick way to get at this
is to type the single command:
OPEN, OPEN, GET. Eating builds up
your strength if you're planning to
smash a door, a warg, a goblin or
anything else.
FOREST RIVER Avoid it. No escape.
GOBLINS' CAVES (a) Getting in: There are two ways.
One is to WAIT in the large dry
cave till a goblin appears through
the small insignificant crack and
throws you in the dungeon. The
other is via the back door, through
the goblins' gate. Just OPEN DOOR
and go DOWN.
(b) Getting out: Through the door
again, and the goblins' gate. OPEN
DOOR and UP. You must map the caves
thoroughly. To get to the gate from
the big cavern with torches go
DOWN, WEST, EAST; from the dark
winding passage it's SW, DOWN,
WEST, EAST; from the location where
you find the ring go NORTH, SOUTH,
NW, EAST.
(c) Finding the magic ring: This is
essential if you're to complete the
adventure. From the dark winding
passage go SE, EAST, SE, EAST; from
the big cavern with torches go
DOWN, NORTH, SE, EAST.
GOBLINS' DUNGEON (a) Digging: Only your second
priority is escaping from the
dungeon, your first is to explore.
DIG SAND reveals a trapdoor, which
you STRIKE or SMASH till the thing
gives way. SMASH TRAP DOOR WITH
SWORD often works more quickly, but
unfortunately often breaks your
sword too and you're plunged into
darkness. You can take the small
curious key, which has a small
curious use later on, but you
cannot take the goblins' cache
which you also find.
 (b) Escaping: HELP gives you a
clue: 'A window should be no
obstacle to a thief with friends'.
So wait till Thorin or Gandalf
turns up. This tends to be after
just a few WAITS, so if you're on
your twentieth WAIT and there's no
sign of either of them it rather
looks like they've both been killed
and you'll have to start the game
again or try going back to an
earlier saved game. If one of them
does arrive, SAY TO GANDALF (OR
THORIN) 'OPEN WINDOW'. As with all
commands in The Hobbit, it may well
need repeating. When the window's
been opened, SAY TO THORIN (OR
GANDALF) 'CARRY ME'. Once they've
picked you up, SAY TO GANDALF
'LEAVE' or SAY TO THORIN 'GO
WINDOW'. As soon as you're out of
the dungeon you must of course
immediately save your game, as
you're likely to be thrown back in
there very quickly till you can
manage to find your way to the
location with the magic ring, after
which you should be safe.
THE GOLDEN KEY Found by wandering round the narrow
paths in the Misty Mountains.
Starting at the Misty Mountains
location, try typing N, NE, N, SE,
D, D, D, D, E, GET, U, W, N. You'll
then find yourself back where you
started with the golden key in your
possession. It has no use other
than scoring you points, but as you
don't need maximum points to get
through the game it's a bit, well,
pointless.
GOLLUM "What are the answers to Gollum's
riddles?" is a popular question. I
don't know the answers to them all,
but you don't need to. If you try
to answer and get it wrong, Gollum
will probably kill you. If,
however, you just ignore him and
move away, nothing happens.
THE LARGE KEY Found in the trolls' clearing, but
if you try to get it straight away,
or just wait around, you'll be
grabbed by the trolls, which is a
painful experience. Move away from
 the location and WAIT till you're
told that a new day has dawned.
This turns the trolls to stone and
you can go back and get the key.
The key is used to open the rock
door on the nearby hidden path with
footprints.
THE MAGIC DOOR WEAR RING, EXAMINE DOOR, WAIT (till
it opens), NE.
THE MAGIC RING See entry for goblins' caves for
location of ring. When you find it,
WEAR RING. This makes you invisible
for three or four moves, and stops
you being caught by the goblins,
which can bring the tears to your
eyes. It also puts Thorin into a
panic, but that's his problem. When
in the caves it's best to type WEAR
RING every other move, to be
absolutely safe. Invisibility is
also useful later on in the game.
THE MAP SAY TO ELROND 'READ MAP'. Unless he
does so, the route he tells you
about won't be created in the game
and will remain blocked off to you.
THE PALE BULBOUS EYES You can avoid the eyes by taking a
different route home, but if you do
come across them you should
immediately WEAR RING, go back the
way you just came, WAIT twice, then
continue.
THE RETURN JOURNEY Once you've killed the dragon and
collected the treasure, you need to
go all the way back home again.
Safest seems to be to go to the
waterfall and WAIT till the wood
elf turns up and throws you in the
Elvenking's dungeon. From here you
already know how to escape, and
going DOWN from the cellar usually
allows you to reach the forest
river on the return journey.
Alternatively, go out through the
magic door, back to the Elvish
clearing and WEST to the bewitched
gloomy place. Then again, go to the
waterfall but instead of waiting
for the wood elf travel through the
forest and brave the pale bulbous
eyes.
THE ROCK DOOR Needs the large key to unlock it.
THE ROPE Found in the trolls' cave near the
start of the adventure, beyond the
rock door. You need the rope to
cross the black river.
SCORING Very strange. Some people report
finishing the game with scores as
low as 50%, and some with over
100%, both theoretically
impossible! Scoring is obviously as
random as some of the other
elements in the program, but you
don't need a perfect score in order
to finish. Some points are scored
by merely visiting certain
locations, others by getting
objects that have no other use at
all. Generally, though, you'll know
you're on the right track if you
have 25% when you leave the
goblins' dungeon, 35% after the
Elvenking's dungeon and 75% when
you've got the treasure and set off
home.
You get 2½% for going east from
Bilbo's house, going east from the
Misty Mountains, entering Beorn's
house, going south from the
spiders' web, going north from the
spiders' web, reaching the ruins of
the town of Dale and finding the
side door in the lonely mountain.
You get 5% for entering the trolls'
cave, entering the smooth straight
passage and for leaving by the west
exit after going into the
Elvenking's dungeon. You get 12½%
for visiting every location in the
goblins' caves. You get 10% for
making a second visit to Long Lake,
20% for entering the hall where the
dragon sleeps and 25% for
depositing the treasure in the
chest.
THE SWORD Found in the trolls' cave beyond
the rock door. Useful for attacking
creatures with, but also very
fragile and can break at any time.
Another reason to save your game
regularly. If you can do something
with your bare hands then do it
that way and don't risk the sword
as this is also your source of
light in a great number of places.
THE SMALL CURIOUS KEY Found beneath the trapdoor in the
goblins' dungeon, this has a small
curious use. If you WAIT in 'a
little steep bay' on the mountain
where the dragon lives, then a hole
appears which is the side door of
the lonely mountain. The key opens
this door and allows you inside the
mountain, which is not very
exciting but adds to the points.
THE SMALL INSIGNIFICANT CRACK This appears from time to time in
the large dry cave, if you WAIT
long enough, and through it a
goblin will emerge and throw you
into the goblins' dungeon. This is
a quick way to get into the caves
without going round through Beorn's
house, which in any case you can
visit on your way out of the caves.
From one of the locations in the
caves you can see the other side of
the crack, but it's still small and
insignificant.
A SOURCE OF LIGHT Use the sword found in the trolls'
cave, and be careful not to break
it as it's your only source of
light and is vital if you're to get
through the game.
THE SPIDERS' WEB To get through this you must SMASH
WEB, followed by the direction in
which you wish to move. The spiders
will immediately set to and try to
rebuild the web, so be prepared to
SMASH WEB with each move you make.
To finish the web off completely
you can try to SMASH WEB WITH
SWORD, but this may also finish the
sword off completely too. If you go
south from the place of black
spiders, and then back again, you
score 2½%.
THE TROLLS' CLEARING HELP gives you a clue, as indeed
does reading the original book of
The Hobbit, though this takes
slightly longer. To get the key
that's in the clearing you must go
away again and wait until you're
told that a new day has dawned,
when you can return and the trolls
will have been turned to stone.
THE WARG You can usually defeat this little
blighter, which pops up all over
the place. Take a bite to eat first
and attack it. It's usually safe to
use your sword against it, as it
seems to be made of a warg-proof
material, but save your game first
just in case.
THE WOOD ELF Pops up now and again, but the
place where you actually want to
see it (which means that it
probably won't be there) is at the
waterfall or the running river on
your journey home. WAIT till it
turns up and throws you in the
Elvenking's dungeon, from which you
already know how to escape and this
then gives you a choice of routes
home. If the wood elf doesn't
appear you'll have to face the pale
bulbous eyes.
 IMAGINATION

1) Talk to the Timelord and read notice.

2) Fill bucket with coal.

3) Examine the window in the pod then enter VIEW.

4) Give the map to the mother of weather and she will change the
wind in the airfield.

5) Examine the bull outside the citadel then return to rear

gunner and aim the gun then fire the gun.

6) Paint the cord with the black paint then the Japanese soldier
thinks you're a black belt!

7) Take bucket of hot coals to deep in the Forest of Mildew and

drop it. The snow will melt revealing some grass. Take this to
cow and feed it. Then milk cow. Give creamy icicle to child in
forest. She will let you have the yoyo.

8) Play the yoyo over the bottomless pit. It picks up a key that
fits the cell in the citadel dungeon.

9) Take the bread from the cell in the citadel dungeon and feed
the bat in the Caverns of Doobris. The bat will press the
switch which will enable the auto food dispenser in the
Jupiter Ship.

10) Take the chips from the dispenser and drop them in the
airfield and if the wind is in the right direction (see hint
4) the dogs will run to them and allow you to enter the base.

11) Dig with the spade in the airfield and take the gloves. They
will allow you to hold the unlimited lives poker and in turn
allow you to climb the ladder in the platform maze.

12) Use the pickaxe to hit rocks near the mole and fill the can
with oil. Oil the gun in the tank and fire gun. If you have
read the plaque in the bell tower you will then know what to
do!

Copy of reviewers' notes as provided by Firebird

 KENTILLA

DRY MOSS Drop damp moss on scorched plains.

ROPE Give sword to Chief Cavezat then
take rope and say 'Kentilla'.
RIVER BANK Throw rope at bank and swing on
rope.
TIMANDRA Untie her and take her to Zelda's
lair.
TYLON'S CASTLE You need Zelda to enter.
STEEL DOOR Pull arms on statue nearby.
TYLON'S MACHINE Turn dial to any number and push
button to leave.
URGA-MAUL'S CHEST Open with small key.
SACK Put items in to carry more, and
look in to see contents.
GREEN AND RED DOORS Need large key.
GOLD RING Wear it to see magic passage in
Tylon's Castle.
TYLON'S CHEST Dip gold key into barrel then open
chest.
GRAPHITE Examine talisman then remove
diamonds with sword. Put diamonds
in crucible, put crucible in
furnace, turn dial on, then off.
BOAT Pull boat, enter boat, row boat.
SINKING BOAT Bail water with chalice.
SIRENS Put wax in ears.
LARGE TROLL Use crystal to defeat it.
WARDS Wear ring and say 'sagagoo' and hit
ward with staff.
DEMONIC IDOL Insert iron rod.
BLACK DEATH Cast cure spell with moss and red
scroll.
STONE DOOR Open bottle.
KARUSH Put mirror in cage.
DARG-VOOL Say to Elva, 'Shoot Darg'.
DEATH BEETLES Carry mushrooms.
ZALROGS Drop one set of mushrooms in
winding passage and carry others
into death beetles' location. They
now go west and kill Zalrogs.
FIRE DEMONS Cast fire spell with green scroll.
GRAKO Say 'sagagoo' then give staff to
Grako.
KENTILLA, OBJECTS:

DAMP MOSS Examine river.

LIT TORCH Examine Cavezat cavern.
CANDLE WAX Examine dungeon.
SMALL KEY Examine chief Urga-Maul.
CONCH SHELL Dig at beach.
VELMISTA Examine large Urga-Maul twice.
LARGE KEY " " " thrice!
BLUE MUSHROOMS Climb Hiahara tree.
GOLD RING Open drawer and look in it.
CRYSTAL Turn dial to 16 on Tylon's machine.
YELLOW SCROLL Look in Urga-Maul's treasure chest.
BLANKET Examine bed.
GOLD KEY Examine bed-post.
TALISMAN Examine rags at Tylon's Castle.
WOODEN BOAT Examine vegetation.
OARS Examine vegetation twice.
IRON ROD Examine trolls' lair.
SILVER DAGGER Look in desk.
CORKED BOTTLE Examine debris in natural cave.
BUGS Return game to Mastertronic.
 KOBYASHI NARU

KNOWLEDGE: Analyse and get scimitar, S, analyse tree and plant,

throw scimitar at stem, get and examine leaf, get and examine pod,
N, E, cut tentacle of Krakod, activate pod, throw pod at maw,
analyse fungi, S, analyse blue flowers, get blue flower, use leaf,
N, ascend obelisk, jump barrier, W, W, W.

WISDOM: Analyse and activate solance, then pull and activate

solance, N, analyse entrance and recess, get and use o-mask, E, E,
E, analyse silicoid, activate solance, cut antennae, E, E, swim
object, use solance, get pearl, swim water, ascend Klam (clam),
descend cliff, S, E.

UNDERSTANDING: Analyse and activate mega-unit, get lasalite, S,

examine lasalite, E, jump pit, activate lasalite, E, drop
lasalite, get wheel and lasalite, W, throw wheel in pit, jump on
hoverdroid, analyse perch, W, analyse passage, activate and use
lasalite, E, activate computer, S, S, get wheel, W, W, jump pit,
W, N, N.

(NOTE: these can be done in any order, but if you are killed then
you have to go right back to the beginning again.)

Solution by Allan Phillips

 LORD OF THE RINGS

Part One

(Played as Frodo)

Open the drawer, chest, cupboard and door, take one of the canvas
backpacks and put into it the matchbox, bottle and food. Go east,
then south to the main highway, then west till you reach the turn-
off for the town hall. Go north and then east to meet the mayor.
Now go west, south, west and west to enter the Mathom House (if
the guard refuses you entrance, just WEAR RING and go west). In
here take the book and the candle. Then go west till you are back
at the highway outside your cottage, then go east, north-east,
north-east, south-east, south and east (through the yellow door)
to find Merry. EAT MEAL until it's finished and go west and north.
If there are no riders about go east and then south-east into the
forest with the trees that move. If the riders are present then go
north, south, east and south-east into the forest (moves east and
west are fatal when the riders are about, but others are usually
safe till they've gone).

In the forest you need to remember two locations, the wide glade
and the grassy glade. To pass from the wide to the grassy you need
to go east, so just type WAIT and then EAST till the trees let you
pass. In the grassy glade it's the same, except that you want to
go south-east to find the hilltop. At the hilltop go south to the
riverbank then north-east to the willow. At this point your
companions should fall asleep, so go north-east to Tom Bombadil
and SAY TO TOM "HELP". Now return to the willow and WAIT. As soon
as they are free go north-east to Tom's and EAT MEAL till it's
finished. Thank Tom then go east till you meet the Barrow Wight.
Now tell your companions to take a sword each, then WEAR RING and
go east. At the gate, TAKE OFF RING and KNOCK. When asked, SAY TO
GATEKEEPER "FRODO" and then SAY TO SAM "GO SOUTH-WEST AND OPEN RED
DOOR". Once Sam has gone go south-west and then south into the
store. Here take all the food supplies and then SAY TO SAM "GO
NORTH AND KILL A BLACK RIDER". Do the same with Pippin, and when
Sam returns tell him to do it again. WAIT till they both return
and then go north and west and SAY TO STRANGER "HELLO". Now WAIT
for Strider to leave, then FOLLOW STRIDER and continue to do so
till you find the flat stone. READ STONE and WAIT, then Strider
will go off again so FOLLOW STRIDER once more till you reach the
Fortress of Fornost. Here WAIT until the Starling talks to Strider
and then FOLLOW STRIDER back to the gate. Now WAIT twice and then
go east, WAIT twice more and go east again. Around this point the
Black Riders should enter, so go north and then east to the bare
hilltop and WAIT five times. Now go south and FOLLOW STRIDER. At
the bridge Strider will stop, so SAY TO STRIDER "GO EAST" (you
will have to do this at least twice). When he agrees to follow
you, go east till you can go no further and Part One is complete.
NOTE RE BLACK RIDERS:

This solution depends on timing to avoid the Black Riders, but the
'correct' way to pass them is to use the pale green jewels. The
following routine should enable you to learn the words needed to
release their powers: Go to the lake, then west, west, south,
south-west, south, east, north-east, south-west, west, south to
locate the Monk who will tell you what to do next. Then go north,
west, north, west, south to locate the Green Knight. Attack and
defeat him and make sure you take the Broken Medallion that he
leaves behind. Then back to Monk, then north, east, south-east to
locate Red Lady, kill her and take her medallion. Return to monk
and you should be allowed to pass through the stone door to the
south of him, where you will find yet another door. Knock and wait
till Radagast answers and he should give you the scroll with the
magic words on. Now whenever you encounter the Black Riders, make
sure that Frodo, Pippin and Sam are carrying one jewel each and
type in magic words to get rid of Riders. Give any spare jewels to
Merry to carry.

GENERAL TIPS:

1) Keep up your strength by eating at regular intervals.

2) If the Riders enter the same location as yourself, go any

direction bar east or west.

3) Elfstones can be found in the willow (Pippin will be carrying

them when he is rescued), at the top of a tree that can be
climbed by Hobbits and in a plant pot (TAKE THE PLANT and
EXAMINE POT).

4) If you ever visit Farmer Maggott's farm, just WAIT three times
when dogs arrive and all will be well.

5) If you must go via the tunnel, then light the candle before
you enter it (OPEN MATCHBOX, LIGHT MATCH, LIGHT CANDLE WITH
MATCH).

6) If you want to use the ferry then take it in turns to wind the
handle.

7) If you really want to live like a Hobbit, then you need to get
the pouch and a pipe. Now OPEN POUCH, FILL PIPE and LIGHT
MATCH (as before). Then LIGHT PIPE WITH MATCH and enjoy a good
smoke of the pipeweed.
 LORD OF THE RINGS

Part Two

Go north-east and north and you should encounter a small brown

pony, then go south-west to meet Glorfindel. Talk to him and he
will tell you that he has been sent to guide you. Go south and
then east, then RIDE STALLION and SAY TO STALLION "GO EAST" as
soon as you see the Black Riders approaching. Continue east till
you have crossed the ford, then GET OFF STALLION and WAIT till
your companions appear. Go east to Elrond's courtyard, then north
and east till you meet Bilbo. EAT MEAL till it's finished, then
FOLLOW BILBO to his bedroom. WAIT for him to speak, then SAY TO
BILBO "NO" and repeat till he gives you the sword. Then WAIT and
he will also give you the Mithril Shirt. WEAR SHIRT then go west,
east, south, west to meet the council of Elrond. When the meeting
is over and you are assembled outside, WAIT and the pony will be
laden with supplies. Proceed south, south, south-west, south-east
and then WAIT again. Go south-east and WAIT. Go south-west and
WAIT yet again. Now take Strider's advice and EAT. Then go south-
east and at this point distribute the bundles of cakes amongst the
company (e.g. SAY TO BOROMIR "TAKE CAKES"). Go east till you
encounter the outline of a door upon the rock, EXAMINE DOOR and
then SAY TO DOOR "FRIEND". At this point you will be grabbed by
the tentacles (ouch!), so ATTACK TENTACLES and when they release
you, go east.

In the Mines, go up, east, east, east, down, down, west, west,
west, down and you should be in a corridor (but see note 2). PUSH
HORSE and the slab will open, so now go east, east, east, up and
east and you should be in a room with a book and a stone block in
it, along with a pile of armour. READ BOOK and EXAMINE BLOCK in
order to hear a noise in the corridor. WAIT and when they enter,
ATTACK ORCS. Now go east and WAIT. When Gandalf talks to you, go
east and LIGHT CANDLE WITH MATCH. Go down, down, south, down,
south till you enter the square room. If all the party are not
with you, you can backtrack at this point to round them up. When
all are present, go south, down and then proceed east till you get
to the bridge. WAIT on the bridge and Gandalf will tell you to
flee, so go east till you emerge into Dimrill Dale then WAIT and
FOLLOW GIMLI. Now head south-east until you arrive on the eastern
bank of the Nimrodel. When the elf enters, WAIT, then proceed east
to the river. Here the best policy is to SAY TO ELF "HELP" and
then SAY TO GIMLI "GO NORTH-WEST". When he has gone, you must go
north-east over the rope and then WAIT. Now go west and WAIT
again. When the doors have opened, head east to the tree and then
go up, then SAY TO GALADRIEL "HELP". When she has replied, climb
down and go west to the bridge but do not cross it. Now go south
till you reach the banks of the Anduin river and your quest is
complete.
NOTE:

1) There are many other incidents and happenings along the way,
this is just one solution, but it is impossible in a game with
so many variables to include a comprehensive guide to
everything. If you have managed to get through the game once,
however, you should then be able to go back and explore the
complexity of it some more.

2) If the route given above when entering the Mines doesn't work,
try instead going up, east, east, east, down, down, west,
down, south, down.

3) If Gimli insists on killing the Taciturn Elf then you can

either send him away or else try to take his axe from him.

4) The above solution relies on timing to avoid the Black Riders,

as follows: After the Starling has talked to Strider, return
to the Gate of Bree and WAIT twice, then go east and WAIT
twice more. Now go east, north, east, east and WAIT five times
before heading south then east over the bridge. In case of
problems, just try varying the number of times you WAIT in
each place till you find the correct sequence to enable you to
pass over the bridge in safety.

Solution to both parts by John Wilson

 MATT LUCAS

ALSATIANS Carry meat to get past, but once

past you can go back and forward
repeatedly.
ARROWS Fired at you on the island, though
you seem to be OK if you keep
moving.
BANANA SKIN Forget it.
BOAT Need to pass alsatians to reach it.
Carry full container onto boat to
automatically fill tank. Carry
another to increase score. INSERT
KEY to start boat, but make sure
you have all the objects you want
with you as you cannot now change
your inventory. READ MAP for
directions.
BOTTLE On the island, makes you thirsty,
but contains poison so best to
ignore it.
CAGE Contains Harpinger at end of game.
DROP WEIGHT.
CAR 1 Your own. Broken. Ignore it.
CAR 2 In filling station. INSERT TUBE,
SUCK TUBE to fill container.
CARPET ROLL CARPET in Harpinger's place to
find disk.
CAVES A maze below the island. Limited
time to get through. Go S, E, E, N,
E, N, E, E, S, S, E, S, E, E, S, S,
W to reach Harpinger.
CHOCOLATE In machine. KICK MACHINE to get it.
EAT CHOCOLATE to feel stronger,
increase score and carry more
objects, though it doesn't help
your hunger later in the caves.
CLUB Disk gives clue to location, though
you can get there without using the
disk. The men there give two clues,
one about the thug in the
warehouse, the other the password
for the gravestone on the island.
COMPUTER In precinct. INSERT DISK to be told
route to club.
CONTAINER See entries for BOAT and CAR 2.
Found while walking by the sea in
the location next to your car.
COVE On the island. Go there for a rest
and to increase your score, but
serves no other purpose.
DESK In precinct. EXAMINE DESK to find
drawer.
DISK ROLL CARPET in Harpinger's place to
find it. Insert it into the
computer at the precinct to learn
the route to the club.
DOOR 1 To Harpinger's place. PICK LOCK
with hairpin.
DOOR 2 To Joe's place. KNOCK to get in.
DRAWER In desk at precinct. EXAMINE DESK
and OPEN DRAWER to find hairpin.
EXHAUSTION If you start to feel exhausted in
the city you must REST to recover.
GET This command doesn't work: use TAKE
or T instead.
GRAVESTONE TAP GRAVESTONE to be asked for the
password, which you should have
learned in the club. SAY OUT.
GUN In safe. Use it to SHOOT PUSHER and
SHOOT THUG.
HAIRPIN In drawer of desk in precinct. PICK
LOCK with it to get into
Harpinger's place.
HARPINGER Your buddy. Purpose of game is to
find him.
HARPINGER'S PLACE PICK LOCK to get in (needs hairpin)
and ROLL CARPET once inside.
HUNGER Strikes in caves. Ignore it. Only
way to deal with it is by getting
through in quickest way possible.
Chocolate doesn't help.
IGNITION KEY For the boat. Found in Joe's place.
ISLAND Before going here you must have the
weight with you, as you will need
this to finish the game and you
cannot go back and get it.
JACKET Can be bought with the money. But
don't do it.
JOE'S PLACE KNOCK to get in. The key is in here
somewhere. If you can't find it,
see the entry for PICTURE.
KEY See IGNITION KEY entry.
LEG Thug's wooden leg. SHOOT THUG
first, then LOOK to find leg. BREAK
LEG and LOOK to find map.
MACHINE Vending machine in precinct. It's
faulty so KICK MACHINE to get it to
work and provide you with chocolate
and money.
MAP 1 Route to club, contained on disk
you find in Harpinger's place.
MAP 2 Found in thug's wooden leg and
gives you route to island if you
READ MAP (route is S, S, E, E, S,
S, W, S, W, S, S).
MEAT Buy this at the butchers with the
money, and carry it to get past the
alsatians.
MEN IN CLUB Give you two clues, one for thug in
warehouse and one for password to
gravestone.
MONEY Use it to buy meat, don't squander
it on a jacket. Get money from
faulty vending machine: KICK
MACHINE.
NOTE UPTURN VASE in Phil's place to find
it. Has safe combination on it:
685743.
PASSWORD Needed at gravestone on island.
Clue given by men in club: "The
word is out". Get it? No? Well SAY
OUT.
PETROL Needed to fill boat. To get it from
the car in the filling station you
need the tube and the container,
then INSERT TUBE and SUCK TUBE.
PHIL'S PLACE Just go EAST to get in. Contains
vase and safe. The two are
connected.
PICTURE In Joe's Place. TURN PICTURE to
find key.
PORCUPINES On the island, can't shoot them so
SHOUT to move them.
PULLEYS Attached to cage. DROP WEIGHT.
PUSHER SHOOT PUSHER increases score, but
no other reason.
SAFE In Phil's Place. Combination is on
a note in the vase, though as this
is a six-figure combination and the
program only accepts four-letter
inputs you only need DIAL 6857 to
open the safe.
SAWDUST Forget it.
SCORING Some scores are for trivial or
unnecessary actions, like going to
the cove or eating the chocolate.
Having extra petrol on board the
boat also boosts the score - for
the return journey maybe?
SHOE Forget it.
SWAMP Can be seen from tree on island.
Avoid it.
THIRST Caused by bottle on island, so
ignore it.
THUG At the warehouse, but he won't be
there till you've been told about
him by the men in the club. Shoot
him and break his leg. Show no
mercy.
TIRED When you get tired and exhausted
you must REST.
TREE UP tree to warn you of swamp to the
south.
TUBE Used to siphon petrol from car.
TYRE Ignore it.
VASE Contains note with safe
combination. UPTURN VASE.
VENDING MACHINE See MACHINE.
WAREHOUSE See THUG.
WEIGHT Needed for cage at end. Found in
club.
WOODEN LEG See LEG.

Solution by Jim Magee

 MORDON'S QUEST

Take the blanket, S, W, N, take the newspaper, E, N, E, climb the

drainpipe, N, S, W, S when Mordon will appear and tell you your
quest, Say Yes (well, you don't have to), N, E, take transporter
and torch, light the torch and go N, N, N.

You are now in THE JUNGLE AREA. Go E, drop blanket, E, take and
transport tusks, take the bamboo, NW, NW, take the berries, NE,
SE, E, take the thorns and make a blowpipe, N, NW, NE, use the
blowpipe, take the pygmy, drop the bamboo, SW, E, give pygmy to
plant, E, E, say frog (because the outline of the map is meant to
look like a frog!), W, W, W, NE, N, E, S, E, E, N, E, S, SE, SW,
S, E, NE, SE, SW, take the dagger, SW, E, E, take and transport
metallic device, W, W, NE, NE, NW, SW, W, N, NE, NW, N, W,
sacrifice frog, take and transport jade frog, take and transport
gems, N, SW, NW, NE, take and transport piece of machine, SW, SE,
go rubble, drop transporter, W, W, D, take and break iron pyrites,
take diamond and take pyrites, U, E, E, take transporter,
transport diamond, D, E, N and the jungle area is complete.

IN TIME MACHINE: Push or press plate to move to other zones,

though these are random and you have no control over which zone
you will be taken to. Just keep trying till you get the one you
want. There are two options when exiting northwards: the shingle
beach means you're in the undersea area, the chalk hollow means
you're in the Roman area. There are two options when exiting
southwards as well: the large cave is the jungle area and the ante
room is the futuristic area.

THE UNDERSEA AREA: N, N, NW, climb into boat, D, take aqualung, N,

N, N, SE, U, SE, D, N, E, fill aqualung, W, S, NW, take black
pearl, NW, N, N, N, off lamp, N, N, on lamp, take and transport
glowing metal object, transport black pearl, E, take and transport
doubloons, E, E, U, wait, wait, E, N, N, give newspaper to
spiderman in exchange for spray paint, take remote control, S, S,
W, D, W, W, W, off lamp, S, S, on lamp, S, S, S, S, S, S, U, S, S,
drop aqualung, S and the undersea area is now complete.

THE ADVENTURE DEVELOPMENT AREA: This is reached from the time

machine by pushing the button while carrying the remote control
and the iron pyrites. Give the pyrites to the jester, W, E, take
piece of machine, E, S, U, transport piece.

THE FUTURISTIC AREA: E, take geiger counter, W and N back to

machine. Now go to...

THE ROMAN AREA: NE, E, move churns, take and transport ring, W, W,
examine straw, take battery, E, S, S, push plate till you go back
to...
THE FUTURISTIC AREA: E, drop geiger counter, E, SE, NW, SW, spray
paint, 8875, S, take and transport device, N, NW, SW, S, S, S,
take and transport ingot, N, N, N, NW, W, W, N, E, insert battery,
W, S, E, E, touch plate, S, press 3, press 1, press 2, press 2,
press 4, press 1, N, W, touch plate, S, S, S, touch plate, N, take
and transport crystal orb, NW, NW, take cigar, NW, NW, return to
time machine and use the phone, dialling 1611919 (P=16, A=1 etc),
then back to the droid and say perseverance, N, take and transport
unit, S, SE, SE, SE, S, touch plate, N, N, N, E, SE, NE, NW, NE,
NW, W, W, S, SE, SE, take and transport Roman coins and Cretan
coins, NW, NW, N and N back to the machine. Push plate till you
reach...

THE ROMAN AREA: and make sure you still have the cigar with you.
Go north till you can take the sword and shield, then smoke the
cigar, transport laurels, S, S, S, W, W, N, NE, kill and skin
minotaur, take and transport piece of machine. THE END.

SOME BRIEF NOTES:

Saying Yes to Mordon's request causes the cupboard in the annexe

to open up.

The blowpipe is made up of the bamboo, berries and thorns.

In the cave beyond the waterfall in the jungle area, the south-
west exit isn't given in the location description. It's still
there though. Also, in the location where you get the crystal orb,
there's a north-west exit that's not indicated.

The octopus cannot see you if you turn your lamp off.

The phone call tells you 'All that glitters is not gold', a
reference to Fool's Gold, or iron pyrites, and from this you
deduce that this is what the jester wants.

When you spray the paint on the invisible barrier you see the
deactivation code, 8875.

When the droid repeats the word 'PASS', you are meant to work out
that this is the clue to the password needed for the adamantium
barrier. 'P' is the 16th letter of the alphabet, 'A' the first and
'S' the 19th, making 1611919. As the program only accepts the first
four digits of any inputs, you need only dial 1611 to learn of
'perseverance', which is certainly something you need in order to
get through this frequently illogical adventure.
 THE NEVERENDING STORY

Part One

ROUTES:

To find the branch go NE, E, S, SW, W, N from campfire.

To find the stone go NE, E, SW from campfire.

To find the horn go NE, E, S, SW from campfire.

To reach northern edge of great desert go NE, E, S, SW, W, SE from

campfire.

To find village go NE from campfire then continue E till you reach

village.

To find Morla go N from base of tower.

ROUTINES:

To attract Falkor, BLOW HORN.

Take Falkor when in possession of Auryn and he will stay with you.

To cross desert, FLY SOUTH when you have Falkor with you.

To enter tunnel in mountains, LIGHT BRANCH at campfire then LIGHT

THORNS at tunnel.

To get Crystal, go down when thorns have burnt then SMASH BOX
while carrying stone.

To get fragments of broken glass you must be carrying the leather.

To find leather, enter hut in village.

DROP CRYSTAL in room with Strange Machine in: you will be told how
to pass the Sphinxes.

To pass Sphinxes, WAIT till they blink then go south.

GENERAL TIPS:

Do not waste time in the swamplands.

Do not visit Morla when Artax is with you as the program will
crash in a blaze of coloured squares.

Do not try to pass the Sphinxes till they blink.

 Part Two

ROUTES:

To find Glowglobe go N to enter gate of Spook City then go E.

To find rope go N to enter gate of Spook City then go W.

To find apple go E from the rope.

To find ruined building go N from the apple.

To find paper go N from ruined building.

To find church (and book) go E from ruined building.

To find well go D, SE, W from ruined building.

To find kitchen go E, S from well.

To find pantry (and tin) go E from kitchen.

To find storeroom go N, E, E, N from kitchen.

To find web go S, SE, SW, D from storeroom.

To find dungeon guard area go W, SW from web.

To find locked cell go E from dungeon guard area.

To find torture chamber go W from dungeon guard area.

To find pouch go D, D at well and also you can go E when you have
unlocked the locked cell.

ROUTINES:

In ruined building, REMOVE PLANKS to reveal stairway.

Carry Glowglobe when you first go underground to provide a source

of light, though once you are in the tunnels you may drop it and
all will stay light as long as you do not return to the surface.

To pass the web, CUT WEB when carrying small knife.

To go down well, TIE ROPE to hook and then climb down.

To kill rats in storeroom, OPEN TIN then DROP TIN at entrance to

storeroom.

To unlock cell you need the iron key from the storeroom.
To pass the torturer you need to find the pouch then TAKE POUCH
and then TAKE COIN. Now when in torture chamber, DROP COIN and go
W to take golden key.

When in possession of golden key go back to main gate of city then

go S, E to find Auryn and Falkor. TAKE AURYN and TAKE FALKOR to
complete part two.

GENERAL TIPS:

Be careful where you go at the start as it is very easy to get too

close to the Nothing and be destroyed.

Do not go E from church unless carrying Glowglobe as you will be

pushed into an open grave and unless you have the globe all will
be in darkness.

To return to top of well, go DOWN from pouch then UP.

Part Three

ROUTES:

From bottom of main stairs go U, E, E, NE, U, W, W, W, SE, U, E,

E, E and U to door to Empress's quarters.

To find Empress go E, E once you have entered door.

ROUTINES:

To enter Tower, UNLOCK DOOR with golden key then go E.

To enter door to Empress's quarters, SAY PLEASE.

To complete task, just be carrying Auryn when you finally meet the
Empress.

Solution by John Wilson

 THE PAWN

Meet Kronos first, accept task and then ask 'What is the
wristband?'

Show note to palace guards to deliver it.

In gardens, look in fountain, examine bushes, look under mat. You

can unlock shed with metal key from jeans.

In shed, look under and on workbench. Take hoe and rake.

Put chit and coin in jeans pocket. Use them to buy whisky from
Honest John.

To stop guru laughing, hide wristband with your shirt.

To remove boulder, tie hoe and rake together with shirt and lever
boulder.

Climb over rockfall.

Carefully drop guru's bowl on plateau, put some snow in it and

take it back to guru. Listen to his clue. Go to tree stump and
look in to find pouch. Mix colours together to produce a white.

Wooden key opens door in tree.

To lift floorboards, first close door.

In house near lift, take cushion to find coin. On stove is a tea

pot.

Take carrot from kitchen. Wear the hard hat.

Get lumps of lead with trowel.

In room with freshly papered walls, tear paper wall with spiky
boots.

Pull handles to open cupboard and tie rope to hook before climbing
down it to ledge below.

Knock five times on door to get porter outside then give him
whisky.

Try knocking down the cream doors.

Slide door to open and close lift.

Melt snowman with the white.

Push blue pedestal to reveal a niche. If key isn't there then
adventurer must still be on the loose somewhere.

Long slender key opens door in ice tower.

To rescue princess, tie rope to four-poster bed, open window, get

princess and climb down rope.

Don't bother rescuing the princess.

If you have the legless horse, get him to carry all your
equipment. If you've rescued the princess, put her on the horse.

Look under carpet in office to find safe.

Give guru's rice to alchemist.

Take armour from adventurer. Wear it to get past short-sighted

dragon.

Push weak wall up the shaft.

Use slender key to open safe, then search it to find ballot paper.

Vote for Gringo.

Plant pot plant in plant pot with trowel. If you like.

Say to devil 'What is tomes?' to be given a mission to kill

Kronos.

Cast a spell on tomes in alchemist's store room.

Throw potion bottle at Kronos to kill him.

Use aerosol to capture Kronos's soul after he's killed (PRESS

NOZZLE).

Examine ice table in ice tower to find a prism.

Pull wheelbarrow. If you must.

You can take the limbecks and flasks if you like.

To use platform, wear Kronos's clothes and be careful how many

objects you carry. Go down when on platform to go to hell.

In hell, show aerosoul to devil to get rid of wristband.

To pass dragon, shine white at shadows then point at shadows.

Dragon will then eat the 13 hobbits instead of you!
Buy bottle of beer from Honest John and give it to Jerry Lee
Lewis.

Solution by Richard Hewison

 PHAROAH'S TOMB

CLIMB SLOPE, GET HORN, N, GET MATCHES, N, MOVE ROCK, Y, ENTER

TOMB, DROP MATCHES, E, E, E, GET CLOAK, E, RUB LAMP, GET SLAB, W,
GET FAN, S, S, GET ICE, D, E, STAND ON SCALES, W, U, W, W, GET
RING, N, OPEN DOOR, WEAR CLOAK, WEAR RING, ENTER TUNNEL, GET
MATCHES, E, E, S, S, S, E, DROP MATCHES, W, N, ENTER TUNNEL, E, S,
W, S, S, BLOW HORN, DROP HORN, GO THROUGH DOOR, W, GET ROD, S, RUB
RING, GET SHIELD, S, E, W, N, E, E, N, N, DROP CLOAK, DROP RING,
GET KEY, GET LADDER, GET CANDLE, E, N, W, W, W, DROP ROD, DROP
SHIELD, N, ENTER TOMB, E, E, S, S, S, E, DROP LADDER, DROP CANDLE,
N, N, PULL LEVER, S, D, S, S, N, W, E, S, S, W, W, GO THROUGH
DOOR, W, GET MASK, E, S, USE KEY, GET STATUE, N, GO THROUGH DOOR,
E, E, N, N, W, E, S, WAVE FAN, D, GET BRICK, U, N, W, E, S, N, W,
U, N, N, W, N, W, W, W, W, DROP STATUE, DROP MASK, DROP BRICK,
DROP FAN, N, ENTER TOMB, E, E, S, S, S, E, GET LADDER, GET
MATCHES, GET CANDLE, D, DROP LADDER, LIGHT CANDLE, USE MATCH, S,
S, S, GET BELT, W, S, S, GET PLANK, N, N, W, S, S, LIGHT CANDLE,
USE MATCH, S, S, E, E, E, S, E, OPEN BOX, USE KEY, GET NECKLACE,
W, S, DROP KEY, GET RAM, N, W, N, USE PLANK, N, N, E, E, E, N,
CLIMB LADDER, W, N, N, N, W, W, W, W, DROP BELT, DROP NECKLACE,
DROP RAM.

Solution by Wyn Gravelle

 PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM

Part One

Take the tribune and examine it, ignore the ringing phone at
first, drop the tribune, examine your desk, open the drawer, take
all but the sandwich, close the drawer, examine the statue, wait
till the phone rings again and LIFT HANDSET this time, then wait
till Gloria arrives, SAY YES, take and examine the envelope, then
drop it and open your door, go down, HAIL TAXI and when he asks
"Where to?" type 45 WESTERN BLVD. Enter the apartment block, enter
the elevator, JEMMY DOOR, drop the jemmy, examine the photo, open
the bag, take the matches, close the bag, examine the window and
unbolt it, go down, take the switchblade, go east and HAIL TAXI
again. Examine the matches, and this time ask to go to 35 E LAKE,
PAY DOORMAN, ORDER BOURBON, say LOOKING FOR SILVIA, ENTER DOORWAY,
ENTER DRESSING ROOM, examine the table, take and examine the menu,
wait till you're captured, then wait till they leave you tied up
in the manager's office. Type CUT BONDS BLADE (which may sound odd
but nothing else seems to work!), climb through the window, go
east, hail another taxi and say FOLLOW THAT CAR. You'll be given
your code word for part two, which is CAPONE.

Part Two

CAPONE is the code word. Enter the building, go up four times,

then east and ring the bell. SAY GLORIA, SAY WHY, SAY WHY, SAY
WHY, SAY WHY, SAY YES, SAY WHERE, SAY WHEN, SAY WHERE (or SAY
WHEN), SAY WHERE, SAY YES, INVENTORY, EXAMINE SCRAP, SAY GOODBYE.
Go west, down four times, leave the building, unlock the car,
SWITCH LIGHTS, START ENGINE, DRIVE AWAY. Go EAST, SOUTH, SOUTH,
EAST, EAST, EAST, SWITCH LIGHTS, START ENGINE, FOLLOW CAR. Go
SOUTH, WEST, WEST, SOUTH, WEST, WEST, then LEAVE CAR and READ
SIGN. Go east twice, lift the handset, say BEECHWOOD 7173 PLEASE
and when Gloria answers say HARBOUR WHARF WEST. Go west, leave the
bar, open the door, go north three times and hide, then east
twice, CLIMB STAIRS CAREFULLY, CLIMB STAIRS QUIETLY, hide again,
LISTEN five times (exciting stuff, this), FOLLOW, go east three
times, SHOOT and SHOOT again, and game over!

Solution by John R. Barnsley

 QUANN TULLA

(Re-released under the title Federation)

1) To start: OUT, E, GET MASK, WEAR MASK. The mask cannot be

removed while on the ship, but must be discarded on the planet
before entering the lake or it activates the force-field.

2) The key to unlock the cupboard is beyond the air vent, to

enter which the ladders need to be present (but not carried).

3) To enter the electrical room, wear the Shoc-Cape.

4) To leave own ship press blue button in cockpit, and wear badge
to cross the docking tube.

5) When unlocking the cupboard, take everything except the

lightstick - and do not drop this!

6) The 3 Quann databanks have to be accessed to enable any

progress and this is done by inserting the Infradat Card. The
1st Databank gives a game message only - do not insert card
anywhere else!

7) When entering room with crane in it, you have to have the lead
ball. To destroy crane, ROLL BALL at it. IN to enter
satellite.

8) SQUEEZE GLUE at probe before taking one cred note.

9) Carry lit cigar into hygiene room to get rid of probe, then
get sulpha tablet.

10) To open Interlock 1, insert one cred note into Speaktalk

machine.

11) Once past Interlock 1, go directly to Quann Terminal 2 and

insert Infradat card to turn it off before temperature falls
too low. Directions are: E, E, E, N, N. (Ignore the sign as
upon examination it is seen that it has been tampered with).

12) Drop sulpha tablet onto grill to destroy it - will then fall
through the hole and can get static disrupter. Note: this
happens every time it passes over hole. To avoid it, go SW
from icy corridor.

13) The phone box and coin are red herrings.

14) Don't carry Displacer through negative energy field: it will

explode.

15) Boosterpak must be worn when first going through Interlock 2.

16) Magnet boots need to be worn north of exi-tube.

17) Search lockers south of Terminal 2; search machinery in

wrecked shuttle engine room; search seat in shuttle cockpit;
search draw on bridge; search dust east of exi-tube; search
pool between Data Silos.

18) To destroy blast-doors, PUSH DROID after inserting battery.

Must wear cufflinks.

19) North of hull: don't go north if you don't have the sponge. To
get rid of Sharpshot tracer, SQUEEZE SPONGE.

20) The Remnote holds code for operation manuals. SAY "XXXX" to
library computer.

21) Blow Blowpipe to kill Highdome 1. Shield must be worn here.

22) Turn off Quann Terminal 3 before going through Interlock 3.

23) If you have the static disrupter and the Limpetbomb, they will
join into an Emploder Disc. This will destroy the ship when
taken into engine room control, which requires key to open
door. Once in, bomb will auto-arm.

24) Give Thinkslip to Quann main computer.

25) Need Securipass to enter Engine Drives.

26) Once ship is going to explode, go to teleport room by Drives

and say Tele. Need to wear Teleport Bracelet. Also require
lightstick and water (unless you have drunk water). Also need
manuals.

27) Drink water after teleport to planet, if you haven't already.

28) Throw lightstick when being chased by troops.

29) Search Empire tents.

30) From rain forest go up and need a gun to go north past ambush.
Search cupboard in dummy ship.

31) When entering lake, don't have Airmask but do have Aqualung
on. Before entering sphere, get Photonpack. Insert it to win.

Solution by 8th Day Software

 THE QUEST FOR THE GOLDEN EGGCUP

(The Quickie Solution)

In God's Temple, open the cabinet, examine the bath, look under
the bed, get all available objects and drop all through the hole
in the fountain. Give beans to guard, get everything he drops and
enter hut. Crossing maze from foot of steps: N, W, W, E, LOOK IN
BAG, GET KEY, W, S, N, N. Sit on seat with fluffy cover, examine
straw, ring bell and jump onto raft. Give bottle to Wongo, get
cage and go back to maze to catch bird. Climb tree and enter tree
to find burrow. Put 15 useless objects in burrow to get 3rd egg
(the others are at the start and in the white tower).

If any of your objects are stolen by the other characters they

will end up at the Dwarf Hole which is north-east of the bag in
the maze.

Wave wand at chasm to cross. Use key to unlock gates to the Temple
of Doom. Free bird to defeat guard. Drop three eggs in treasure
room to get the Golden Eggcup.

Show card to ferryman to recross river. Crossing maze, south: S,

W, N, S. Give Golden Eggcup to complete adventure.
 THE QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL

THE PROBLEMS:

1) Unlocking the door of the castle.

2) Getting past the French guard.

3) Getting past Eugene.

4) The oak door in the castle.

5) To pass the rabbit.

6) To get the jester's hat.

7) To deal with the Knight who says "NIC".

8) To find the spade.

9) To find the pink shrubbery.

10) To see in the dark.

11) To find the Holy Hand Grenade.

12) To find the Book of Armaments.

13) To find the piece of paper.

14) To find the Phrase Book.

15) To find the baseball glove.

16) To find the wedge.

17) Where to dig.

18) To find the Holy Grail.

19) What to do with the Holy Grail when you've found it.
THE SOLUTIONS:

1) You need the key from the first location.

2) You must have the baseball glove.

3) Wear the jester's hat.

4) Have the wedge to keep it propped open.

5) Requires grenade, paper, Book of Armaments and Phrase Book.

READ BOOK then THROW GRENADE (but see footnote 4).

6) Beyond the Knight who says "NIC": S, E, S, W, W, W.

7) Give him the pink shrubbery (but see footnote 1).

8) At the dead end next to the muddy junction.

9) In the kitchen in Camelot.

10) Use the lamp from the first location - but don't drop it!

11) Dig at the very muddy verge.

12) Beyond the Knight who says "NIC": E, N.

13) From outside the forge go N, N, D, D, W, W, S, S, E, U, W, D.

14) In a dripping cellar in Camelot.

15) In the cesspit near the muddy junction.

16) East and south from the long wide tunnel.

17) At the very muddy verge.

18) After killing rabbit go E, S, S, E, D, S, D, S, E, N, N.

19) PUT GRAIL ON THRONE in the Throne Room.

FOOTNOTES (or should that be feetnotes?):

1) If giving the pink shrubbery fails to turn the Knight who says
"NIC" into the Knight who says "CIN", thus allowing you past,
then this is because you have heard too many creaking sounds
when walking through the forest. A counter is set in motion
when you enter the forest, and if you register more than five
creaking sounds then you cannot solve the problem of the
Knight so you must start again or resume a game saved before
you entered the forest area and find a less creaky route
through.

2) The Knight with Three Heads is fairly harmless, though will

sometimes eat the wedge if you happen to be carrying it.
Presumably he starts with the thin end of the wedge.

3) After finding the Holy Grail in the cave network, don't go

west from the magnificent cavern when heading for the exit as
the Sorcerer lurks here and a second meeting with him will not
be to your advantage.

4) Nor will a second meeting with the rabbit do your health much
good, so be fully prepared before you cross its path.
 QUESTPROBE III

TORCH: Talk to examiner, enter shack, get

candle, S, fly, enter tarpit, give
candle to Thing, get watch, leave
pit, flame off, switch.
THING: Hold breath, wait 15, wait 10
(sinking down tarpit), feel around,
smash machinery, W, N, N, E (wall
of fire), light candle, examine
fire, W, S, S, E, S, switch.
TORCH: Throw high flame at tarpit (for a
smoke screen which will stop Torch
being shot down when flying), fly
hills, fly hills, flame off, enter
cave, examine boulder, shoot high
flame at boulder, flame off, get
pebble, drop pebble down shaft, N,
switch.
THING: Look, get pebble, throw pebble hard
up shaft, switch.
TORCH: Examine watch, wait 50 (to restore
energy), examine watch, enter cave,
enter shaft, D, D (though any two
commands will make you fall), flame
on nova, look, N, W, N, N, E,
examine watch, absorb flame four
times (to restore energy), enter
fire, E, E, E, feel around, enter
hole, flame on low (ignore the
door), examine lever, push lever
left (the hurricane blowing down
the shaft is now a strong wind),
flame off, enter hole, W, W, W,
examine watch, enter fire, W, S, S,
E, S, get candle (from Thing),
extinguish candle, get Thing, flame
on high, enter hole, fly up shaft,
fly up, fly up, fly up, flame off,
N, wait 50, fly valley, fly castle,
flame off, dig (to find a red
herring heavily disguised as a
purple worm), S, S, drop Thing,
switch.
THING: Close eyes, enter tent, get cannon,
leave tent, open eyes, N, N, drop
cannon, enter cannon, switch.
TORCH: Enter Latveria, enter shop, get
gunpowder, E, E, N, N, load cannon,
aim cannon at Blob, fire cannon at
Blob, shoot high flame at Blob,
flame off.
 Switch now to see that Thing is in
the castle entrance where he must
stay for the moment, so save the
game before exploring the south.
Switch back again. Fly hills, fly
hills, flame off, examine watch,
wait 15, wait 10, enter cave, enter
shaft, D, D, flame on nova, fly
down shaft, light candle, N, W, N,
N, E, absorb flame, enter fire, E,
throw high flame down tunnel (or
east), switch.
THING: Earthquake causes statue to fall,
S, get Alicia Masters. Return to
Chief Examiner who says
"Congratulations! Save this
password: MAEGEN!"
 REBEL PLANET

ADVERTS On pneuma-tube, examine them for

clue to hotel room.
AGRICULTURAL STATION Ignore it.
AIRLOCK To get in and out of the Caydia.
This is where the robot valet is.
From Caydia press IH to open Inner
Hatch, S to get in, IH to close
Inner Hatch and OH to open Outer
Hatch.
ALCOVE Needs halmkey to unlock it.
ALLOY STRIP In cargo hold, BEND STRIP to make
tweezers (set entry for BATTERY).
ANALGESIC/AMPOULE TALK TO VALET and you're given the
card, ampoule and tickets. When man
at hotel desk is shot, INJECT
AMPOULE INTO MAN.
ARCADIANS When they confront you, GIVE
TICKETS and they'll leave the
wrench.
ARCADION Third planet to visit; location of
queen computer.
ARCESS See entry for CARD.
ARSENAL/ARMOURY On Arcadion, EXAMINE ARSENAL to
reveal various infernal objects.
Take the Elmonite.
BARS On jail cell door. BEND BARS WITH
WRENCH and CLIMB THROUGH HOLE.
BATTERY REMOVE BACK of limcom and it falls
out. Can only be replaced if you
have the tweezers: INSERT BATTERY.
See entry for ELMONITE.
BED In cabin on Caydia. LISTEN.
BIBLE In hotel room on Halmuris. EXAMINE
CABINET then EXAMINE BIBLE to find
phone number.
BLANKET In hotel room on Halmuris. EXAMINE
BED. Use it against the killer
robot.
BOMB In Arcadion arsenal. Ignore it as
it's a gravity bomb, no use on a
planet.
BONE Cut glass case in museum with laser
to get it, and GIVE BONE to wolf to
get into caves.
BOOK SEARCH POLICER in interrogation
room, then READ BOOK. Vague clues
about disc and deltractor but no
other importance.
BOOTH 1 Visiphone booth. INSERT CARD to use
phone. In the booth east of the
location with a sewer cover, INSERT
DISK instead and floor slides back
to show another cover.
BOOTH 2 On Halmuris, near hotel. INSERT
CARD IN PHONE and when asked for a
number type CEN 737 (obtained from
bible in hotel room). You'll be
told to go to university and bring
crystal.
BOOTH 3 Outside university on Halmuris.
When you arrive you hear it
ringing. ANSWER PHONE and you'll be
told to tap crystal with fork to
open doors.
BOTTLE Of Halmurian brew. Found in alcove,
give it to museum guard to be
allowed past. Only allowed past
once. Don't drink it yourself, as
this wastes it.
BRANCH No apparent use.
BREW See BOTTLE entry.
BUTTONS 1 On limcom. IH and OH control
airlock (Inner Hatch, Outer Hatch);
PS gives Personal Status, e.g.
energy etc; SS gives Ship Status.
BUTTONS 2 In interrogation cell. EXAMINE
DESK/CONSOLE. PRESS BLUE to reveal
passage for escape, PRESS YELLOW to
open grille at end of passage and
don't PRESS RED as it sounds the
alarm.
CABINET In hotel room. Examine to find
bible.
CABINETS In museum. CUT CLASS with laser to
get bone, but don't try this at the
indigenous species exhibit or the
guard kills you.
CABLE CUTTERS CUT FENCE with them.
CAPSULE Fuel capsule in lite-kube at start.
Will refuel a Dormian rat-trap, but
no other use!
CAR Give password to Dorado to be
allowed to GET CAR, which takes you
back to the spaceport.
CARD Obtained from valet at the start.
INSERT CARD for use at dispensers
and phones, also at computik to get
tube pass. GIVE CARD at customs to
pay taxes. Useful object!
CAVE 1 Shallow cave for crag-snapper.
Can't be entered. PUSH JOYSTICK at
shadow location to reach gorge,
then north to cave.
CAVE 2 PUSH JOYSTICK at branch location to
reach it. Need bone to pass wolf.
VIEW SCANNER to find staff inside
cave. Don't use jetpack to return.
CAYDIA Your ship. Use airlock to leave and
enter (though preferably not while
in space).
CELL 1 Prison cell. See entry for BARS.
CELL 2 Interrogation cell. See entries for
POLICER and BUTTONS.
CODE To get into queen computer, clues
given by Dorado and Man 2, and
possibly the paper from Tropos.
Whatever, there is room to
experiment here, but the code is
101-010-101.
COFFEE From dispenser in university
library. Mirror has warning. INSERT
CARD to get coffee, and DRINK
COFFEE - end of game, you are re-
educated to like Arcadians. No
other use for coffee.
COMPUTER Object of game is to destroy the
queen computer on Arcadion. See
PANEL entry to get into building.
Use Elmonite to destroy computer
and end game.
COMPUTERS In university at admin level. Can't
be used.
COMPUTIK Ticket machine on pneuma-tube
platforms on Halmuris. INSERT CARD
to get tube pass.
CONDUIT Route from interrogation cell. See
entry for BUTTONS 2.
CONSOLE In interrogation cell, see BUTTONS.
CONTAINERS In cargo hold. Forget them.
COSMOP Store. Can't take lite-kube in. Use
card to buy strobe, deltractor and
rope gun.
COVER 1 Outside phone booth. Leave it
alone: you're arrested if you try
to lift it.
COVER 2 In phone booth. INSERT DISK IN
PHONE to reveal it, and LIFT COVER
with deltractor to fall into sewer
system.
CRAG SNAPPER EXAMINE EXHIBITS in museum's
indigenous exhibits section to be
told of the singing crag snapper.
See CAVE 1 entry for location. At
cave, SING and crag snapper leaves.
CREVICES At CAVE 1. See CRAG SNAPPER and
JOYSTICK entries. Ignore small
crevice, take the mind probe and H-
cap, and ignore the metal lump and
broken missile.
CRYSTAL Beneath museum, past killer robot.
To get into and out of university,
TAP CRYSTAL WITH FORK.
CUSTOMS Only at Tropos. GIVE CARD or PAY
TAXES to get past, then GO COMPLEX.
CUTTERS See CABLE CUTTERS.
DELTRACTOR See COVER 1 and COVER 2.
DISK See MAN 1 in Tropos hotel.
DISPENSER 1 H-cap dispenser on ship. INSERT
CARD, and don't forget to GET CARD
back again. Only works if you don't
already have an H-cap in inventory
or in kube.
DISPENSER 2 See COFFEE.
DOOR 1 To bedroom at Zoddi. Open with key
from hotelier to get in or out.
DOOR 2 To museum cellar. See BREW.
DORADO Meet him above the agricultural
station on Halmuris. See HEAD 1
entry to reach him. Give password
and he tells you that the code
number you want is a palindrome,
and then he gets you a hover car.
DROIDS Ignore them.
ELMONITE See ARSENAL entry. Examine it to be
told to implant battery to prime
it. Take it to the computer before
you do this otherwise it explodes
at once. IMPLANT BATTERY then leave
location to end game.
ENERGY Yours. Press PS to check it. If
low, go to regeneration unit (ENTER
UNIT) on Caydia. May need to top up
protein afterwards.
EXHIBITS In museum. See BONE and CRAG
SNAPPER entries.
FENCE At tundra on Halmuris. CONNECT PAK
with wire and CUT FENCE with cable
cutters, then GO THROUGH GAP.
FORCE FIELD Around the computer building on
Arcadion. You need the 9-digit
palindromic binary code number to
turn it off. VIEW PANEL three
times, and you'11 see 101/010/101.
FORK In alcove at foot of hotel stairs.
Tap crystal with it.
FUEL At dome-shaped rock in tundra.
Examine it to find tin of jet fuel.
If you have the jetpack, FIT JUICE,
WEAR JETPACK. Only enough for four
jumps. Use one to wolf's cave, two
to get to and from the gorge and
one to reach the ledge with the
head on it. See JOYSTICK entry.
FUEL CAPSULE See CAPSULE entry.
GLOW CABLE See FENCE.
GORGE Route to cave. See JETPACK entry.
GRAVITY BOMB Ignore it.
GRENADE Ignore it.
GRILLE To escape from interrogation cell,
see BUTTONS 2 entry.
GUARD 1 At museum. See BREW to get past -
once only.
GUARD 2 At armoury. Kill with laser.
GUN Rope gun. FIRE GUN to fire a rope.
Gun is dropped when fired but can
be picked up and used again. Only
use is to get out of sewers at
opening: FIRE GUN, CLIMB ROPE.
HALMKEY Opens the alcove. Examine the
stairs to find it.
HALMURIS Second planet to visit, there's a
lot to do here and time may well
run out so use the retard time
facility. You don't have to, but
you'll need to plan very carefully
indeed if you don't.
HALWOLF Blocks cave. Give it the bone.
HATCHES See AIRLOCK entry.
H-CAP Replaces protein for you. Press PS
to check, and if protein is low EAT
H-CAP. Using the regeneration unit
can lower your level, as can moving
around and one or two other
actions.
HEAD 1 At derelict building. WEAR PROBE to
be transported to other side of
mountains. No way back. Only route
to Dorado.
HEAD 2 At queen computer. Shouts at you.
Ignore it.
HOTEL 1 On Tropos. See entry for MAN 1.
Once he's dead you can't get back
in.
HOTEL 2 At Zoddi on Halmuris. See HOTELIER.
HOTELIER On Halmuris. See ADVERTS for clue.
Say ZODDI SPECIAL and get room key.
HOVER CAR Given by Dorado, returns you to
spaceport.
INDIGENOUS SPECIES Exhibit in museum. See CRAG
SNAPPER.
JET JUICE See FUEL.
JETPACK In kube at start. See FUEL and
JOYSTICK.
JOYSTICK Once jetpack is fuelled, PUSH
JOYSTICK to take you to any
available new location. See entries
for LEDGE, GORGE and CAVE 2. If you
do it at the wrong place you've
wasted one shot of fuel and cannot
finish (unless you cheat!).
KEY To hotel room. See ADVERTS to get
clue.
KILLER ROBOT Below museum. THROW BLANKET at it.
KUBE Carries lots of objects for you.
DROP XXXX IN KUBE and GET XXXX FROM
KUBE, though some items won't go
in. There's also a limit to the
number it can carry, and it's not
allowed into the cosmop. At the
start it contains the jetpack and a
fuel capsule. EXAMINE KUBE to check
contents.
LASER SWORD A weapon. ACTIVATE LASER first,
then FIRE LASER (or KILL XXXX). You
must de-activate it afterwards or
it explodes. In an emergency it's
best to have it activated as you
may not have time to do this and
fire it too. Use it to kill the
guard at the armoury and the
policer, and to cut open the museum
case for the bone. On Tropos you
must hide it in the kube to avoid
arrest. Apparently unlimited
ammunition.
LEDGE In tundra. See entries for HEAD 1
and JOYSTICK. Use jetpack at
narrowing valley location.
LIBRARY Can't get at books etc. See entry
for COFFEE.
LIGHTS Red lights at force field
protecting computer.
LIMPET MINE Ignore it.
LIMCOM See BUTTONS 1 entry. Keep wearing
it, but remove it to get the
battery. Also warns you if your
energy or protein levels are
dangerously low.
LITTER There's a chance you'll be arrested
if you drop things on Tropos.
LUMP OF METAL In large crevice. Ignore it.
MAN 1 At hotel on Tropos. Someone shoots
him. See entries for AMPOULE and
DISK. After getting disk, GO DOOR
or EAST. If you go west into
lounge, the patrol arrests you or
kills you. Once the man's dead, you
can't get back in.
MAN 2 Professor at university. TALK TO
MAN and he tells you the digits 101
and about the fence and Dorado.
MAN 3 At Underground HQ on Tropos. See
SEWERS to reach him. When he asks
who sent you, say SAROS and he
gives you a piece of paper and
returns you to the streets.
MESSAGES In space from UFO. No translation,
just answer NO to question about
evading them. If you say YES you'll
be arrested on Tropos for evading a
police cruiser.
METAL Lump in large crevice. Ignore it.
MIND PROBE See entries for CREVICES and HEAD
1.
MINE See LIMPET MINE.
MIRROR In university library. Warns you
not to drink coffee. Heed the
warning.
MISSILE Broken, in crevices. Ignore it.
MUSEUM On Halmuris. See separate entries
for BONE, CRAG SNAPPER, GUARD 1,
KILLER ROBOT, WIRE and CRYSTAL. The
British Museum was never like this!
MUSIC In cabin on Caydia. LISTEN and you
go to sleep till something
interrupts, e.g. landing or
messages from space.
ORBS Above temple door. Clue on paper
seems to refer to these, but ignore
them. Seems like pure malice on the
programmer's part!
PACK See JETPACK entry.
PANEL With lights, outside queen computer
building. See entries for CODE and
FORCE FIELD.
PANTANIUM Pantanium power pack. See JETPACK.
PAPER Given by man in Underground HQ, it
may be a clue to one of the three-
digit numbers, and seems to refer
to the orbs above the temple door,
but... see ORBS entry.
PASS Tube pass for pneuma-tube travel.
See COMPUTIK. Can't enter tube
without one. Sometimes they are
collected on the tube, in which
case you'll need to get another
one.
PASSAGE Escape route from interrogation
cell. See entry for BUTTONS 2.
PASSWORD For Dorado. See entries for SHADOW
and STAFF. It is 'bitter sea'.
PATROL In hotel on Tropos. Best avoided,
and must be avoided after man in
hotel has been killed. Cannot kill
them.
PHASER Forget it.
PHONE BOOTHS On Tropos, see entry for COVER: no
calls possible on Tropos. On
Halmuris, used twice for
instructions on getting into
university. See entries for BOOTHS
1-3.
PHONE NUMBER On Halmuris to contact man. See
BIBLE and BOOTH 2.
PHONIC FORK See FORK.
PHOSPHATE STROBE Buy it in cosmop. SWITCH ON STROBE
in sewers to be safe from serpents.
No need to switch it off again.
PHOTON GRENADE See GRENADE entry.
PNEUMA-TUBE Halmuris transport system. See
entries for COMPUTIK, ADVERTS and
TUBE PASS. WAIT on platform till
tube arrives, then ENTER TUBE. WAIT
till proper destination is reached,
then LEAVE TUBE or OUT. Only goes
in one direction.
POLICER In interrogation cell. KILL POLICER
with laser. Best to have laser
activated before you leave the
prison cell.
PROBE See MIND PROBE entry.
PROFESSOR See MAN 2 entry. Your university
contact.
PROTEIN See H-CAP entry.
QUEEN COMPUTER See COMPUTER entry.
REGENERATION UNIT On Caydia. Use it if your energy
gets too low. May need to boost
protein after use.
RIVER In tundra. Ignore it.
ROBOT 1 Valet, in Caydia's airlock. TALK TO
VALET on Tropos to get card,
ampoule and tickets. Again on
Halmuris to get scanner.
ROBOT 2 See KILLER ROBOT entry.
ROCK Dome-shaped rock. See entry for
TIN.
ROPE GUN See GUN.
SAROS The group who sent you on your
mission. The password at
Underground HQ on Tropos is
'SAROS'.
SCANNER See ROBOT 1 to get it, and CAVE 2
to use it.
SCOOTER In Caydia's hold. Forget it.
SCREENS On Caydia. No great importance.
SERPENT In sewers, see STROBE.
SEWER COVERS See entries for COVER 1 and COVER
2.
SEWERS See entries for COVER 1, COVER 2
and SERPENT. Go through sewers to
reach Underground HQ. See also GUN
and MAN 3.
SHADOW TALK TO SHADOW. Asks 'Where is
zeven?' and gives the password for
Dorado if you GIVE STAFF.
SLEEP See MUSIC.
SNAPPER See CRAG SNAPPER.
SPY MISSILE Forget it.
STAFF In CAVE 2, has seven metals on it,
see SHADOW.
STRIP See ALLOY.
STROBE See PHOSPHATE STROBE.
SWORD See LASER.
TEMPLE See ORBS.
TICKETS See ROBOT 1 and ARCADIANS.
TIN Of jet juice. EXAMINE ROCK to find
it (dome-shaped rock). Examine it
for details of attaching and
quantity. See JETPACK.
TROPOS First planet you land on.
TUBE PASS See PASS.
TUBE (TRAIN) See PNEUMA-TUBE.
TUNDRA Through fence on Halmuris. Last
part of Halmuris to visit. See
FENCE.
TWEEZERS See ALLOY and BATTERY.
UFO See MESSAGES. A police ship. Don't
try to evade.
UNDERGROUND The people to meet. See entries for
MAN 1-3, and BOOTH 2-3.
UNIVERSITY To get in, see BOOTH 2-3.
VALET See ROBOT 1.
VISIPHONES See PHONE and BOOTH entries.
WIRE Found below museum, see FENCE.
WOLF See HALWOLF.
WRENCH Left by Arcadians. See BARS entry.
ZELTA See BLANKET.
ZEVEN See SHADOW and STAFF.

Solution by Jim Magee

 RIGEL'S REVENGE

ANDROID At the bridge. SHAKE CAN and SPRAY

CAN to get rid of it, and READ
NUMBER on its chest.
APPARATUS In hut. EXAMINE APPARATUS, EXAMINE
INSTRUCTIONS.
AUTOMATIC WEAPONS Can do nothing but try to avoid
them.
BARRICADE (1) At Jewellery centre. EAST gets you
past.
BARRICADE (2) West of crossroads. Avoid it.
BARS In flat. PULL BAR HARD, PRESS RED
BUTTON, BEND BAR. Throw everything
including clothes and medikit
through window (THROW XXXX THROUGH
WINDOW), then NORTH and you're in
the alley.
BED LOOK UNDER BED, MOVE BED, MOVE BED.
BENCH In plaza, see 'CAN'.
BODY Elliott's body at start of game.
EXAMINE BODY, GET SATCHEL.
BOMB In crater after robocopter attack.
Threatens to explode several times,
finally does so at start of part
two. Frightens soldiers away from
hut in part one.
BONE In desert. THROW BONE to small dog
and dog pack then chases it and you
into park near robotank.
BRIDGE In part two. See 'ANDROID' for how
to get on. INSERT CARD to get
through gate into compound. Ditto
to get back out.
BUNGALOW CLIMB LAMP to find it then keep
going east. See also under 'LIGHT',
'PORCH' and 'UNIFORMS'.
CAMP Rebel camp in part two. If you go
in, your face and uniform number
don't match: The End.
CAN Can of spray paint. LOOK UNDER
BENCH in plaza. Use on android.
CANAL Poisoned, full of dead fish, so
avoid it. JUMP CANAL: The End.
CARD See 'IDENTICARD'.
CARETAKER Robot, wont let you on grass in
park till distracted by the dogs.
CASE EXAMINE DUSTBINS at warehouse gates
to find it, then OPEN CASE to find
dinghy and flare.
CELLS In building near end of game. Can't
open doors so IN to get back into
duct.
CHECK POINT To get past requires rifle and
Rigellian uniform, and you must be
right behind the platoon.
COPSE DIG to find light guide which
Elliott told you about.
CRATER Only appears after robocopter has
attacked. See entry for 'BOMB'. UP
twice to get out.
CUBE See 'DISARMING DEVICE'.
CUPBOARD In tank, shaken open by
robocopter's attack.
DESERT Behind hotel. Make one move only
from 'west town perimeter' to find
bone, then FOLLOW TRACKS to get
back.
DETECTOR In cupboard in tank. TURN DIAL:
off-bomb-mine. Must WEAR HEADPHONES
and set dial to 'mine' to cross no-
man's-land and reach the hut.
Directions should be E, S, E, SE,
E, S, E, SE, E.
DINGHY Red herring.
DIPSWITCHES On cube. Paper from soldier has
number '13' on it, which in binary
is '1101', so set switches 1, 3 and
4 (which is only correct if you
read it backwards. Slight
mistake?).
DISARMING DEVICE In shaft LOOK OPENING, FIRE GUN AT
SOLDIER. Drop all objects except
light guide, PUSH MESH, CRAWL
NORTH, EXAMINE SOLDIER, EXAMINE
PAPER, EXAMINE CUBE, OPEN PANEL,
EXAMINE PANEL, CONNECT GUIDE TO
PANEL, PRESS EXECUTE, PRESS ONE,
PRESS THREE, PRESS FOUR, PRESS
EXECUTE, WAIT (till sphere is
removed automatically), GET SPHERE,
IN. You can now put the sphere in
the satchel and go via the sewer
till you get out and end the game.
DOCUMENTS EXAMINE SEATS in vehicle to find
them. READ DOCUMENTS and identicard
falls out.
DOG, SMALL See entries for 'BONE' and
'CARETAKER'.
DOG PACK See 'BONE' and 'CARETAKER'. Move or
it kills you.
DOMINATOR See 'TANK'.
DOOR (1) In hotel. EXAMINE DOOR to reveal
wire. UNTIE WIRE to OPEN DOOR
safely. OPEN DOOR again to leave
room.
DOOR (2) At east end of alley. OPEN DOOR
puts you back in jewellery centre.
DUCT Ventilation duct in building. See
'GRILLE' to get in. Must CRAWL in
whichever direction inside duct.
DUSTBINS See 'CASE'.
ELLIOTT Dies at start but gives some
directions and tells you where the
light guide is so note what he
says. See 'SATCHEL'.
ENERGY When your energy is low you will
die unless you PRESS GREEN BUTTON
on medikit. You also need to do
this to be sure of crossing gap in
walkway.
FLARE In case, used to destroy monster.
FLAT To escape, see 'BARS'.
GAP In walkway. JUMP GAP, but see
'ENERGY' first.
GAS (1) In part one, east from the
pedestrian walkway or west from the
north end of the plaza puts you
into the gas and you're dead.
GAS (2) In part two, once you've gone down
the ladder into the sewers you are
gassed if you go back up.
GATE On bridge in part two. See
'ANDROID' and 'IDENTICARD'.
GOGGLES Must WEAR GOGGLES for much of part
one and in sewers in part two. Clue
is on loading screen. GET GOGGLES
to start. If it gets too bright,
REMOVE GOGGLES.
GRILLE EXAMINE IVY to find it. UNSCREW
GRILLE with screwdriver, then IN to
get to ventilation duct.
GUIDE See 'LIGHT GUIDE'.
GUARDS At first mesh in duct LOOK THROUGH
OPENING to find that it's a guard
room, so go on past.
GUN See 'BED' to find it. To charge it,
use apparatus in hut: INSERT GUN,
PULL LEVER, GET GUN. Use the gun
near the end to FIRE GUN AT SOLDIER
in the laboratory. Also carry gun
in suburbia in part one to avoid
being mugged.
HATCH In tank. EXAMINE PANEL to find
switch, PRESS SWITCH to open or
close hatch. You must find the
switch before the robocopter
appears as there's not enough time
to examine the panel and press the
 switch.
HUT At end of part one and start of
part two. To reach it you must
cross no-man's-land at end of part
one. See 'DETECTOR'. Must be
wearing Rigellian uniform or
soldiers shoot you, and also be
carrying bomb. INTRODUCE BOMB when
it asks you to. To get into hut in
part two, GET BOMB at once, drop it
outside the hut then go one move
away. It explodes and blows the
door off. Only important thing in
hut is apparatus on wall.
IDENTICARD See 'DOCUMENTS' to find it, see
'BRIDGE' to use it.
INSTRUCTIONS Examine them to learn how to charge
gun.
IVY EXAMINE IVY to find grille, but
cannot be climbed.
JETCYCLE Red herring.
LABORATORY At end of duct. This is where cube
is. LOOK THROUGH OPENING to see
soldier, then FIRE GUN AT SOLDIER,
PUSH MESH, NORTH. Time is short
once you're in. Also see entry for
'SPHERE'.
LADDER From generator room to sewer. Once
down, don't go back up. See
'TRAPDOOR' and 'GAS (2)'.
LAMPS Street lamps in part one. CLIMB
LAMP for clue to bungalow.
LEVER Part of apparatus in hut. See
'GUN'.
LIGHT On bungalow porch. Must be put out
before you try to GET UNIFORM. To
do this, THROW XXXX AT LIGHT, where
XXXX is an object you don't need,
e.g. the rubble. You must examine
the pile of uniforms first - time
is very tight here.
LIGHT GUIDE See 'ELLIOTT' and 'COPSE' to get
it. Has two buttons: Memory and
Execute. PRESS MEMORY for more
instructions. See also entry for
'cube'.
MEDIKIT EXAMINE SINK in flat to find it.
Has red and green buttons. Red
button only works once as a
stimulant, green works several
times to restore your energy. It
won't work if you don't need it.
See 'BARS' and 'GAP' in particular.
MESH Openings in duct are covered. PUSH
MESH to move it. You can GET MESH
but serves no purpose.
MINE DETECTOR See 'DETECTOR'.
MINE FIELD See 'DETECTOR'. Anything dropped
here lands on a mine and it
explodes. Locations form a grid two
wide and three deep. All diagonals
and boundary locations are
recursive. East in two locations
leads to middle left-hand location.
Exit is on bottom right-hand side.
MONSTER In sewer, PULL RIPCORD on flare to
destroy it.
NET No escape: restart.
NIGHT-SIGHTS See 'GOGGLES'.
NO-MAN'S-LAND WEAR UNIFORM and EXAMINE SIGN to
learn of mine field. Set detector
to 'mine' and WEAR HEADPHONES. See
'DETECTOR'.
PACK OF DOGS See 'DOG PACK'.
PAINT See 'CAN'.
PANEL (1) In tank, see 'HATCH'.
PANEL (2) On cube, see 'CUBE'.
PAPER Soldier in lab has it. Number 13 on
it is clue to dipswitches. See
'DIPSWITCHES'.
PATCH Forget it.
PILE Pile of uniforms on porch. Must
EXAMINE PILE before you break light
and get on the porch. GET RIGELLIAN
UNIFORM and leave the porch at
once. Time is short.
PLASMA RIFLE In vehicle. Don't use it, the
barrel is bent, but you must have
it to pass the checkpoint.
PLATOON To pass checkpoint, wait to one
side of service road till platoon
is level with you (i.e. sound of
marching is east or west) then at
once go east or west, follow them
through the checkpoint and leave
them as soon as you are through.
PORCH See entries for 'LIGHT', 'PILE' and
'BUNGALOW'.
REBEL CAMP See 'CAMP'. Stay out.
RIFLE See 'PLASMA RIFLE'.
ROBOCOPTER In part one go north from
crossroads to recent camp to get it
to appear, then at once go and get
into the tank. See 'TANK', 'HATCH'
and 'CRATER'.
ROBOTANK Blocks path in park in part one.
Caretaker won't let you on grass to
pass it. See 'BONE' and 'DOG'.
Caretaker chases dogs away and they
all get shot up at the barricade
leaving you to walk on the grass to
your heart's content.
ROBOT CARETAKER See 'CARETAKER'.
RUBBLE Can GET RUBBLE at start location,
at location with screwdriver and
elsewhere, despite it not being
mentioned in the text. It has no
use other than to throw at the
light on the porch.
SATCHEL See 'BODY' to get it. You can WEAR
SATCHEL, also PUT XXXX IN SATCHEL
and just GET XXXX to retrieve
object. LOOK IN SATCHEL to see
what's there. Carries a lot though
some things, e.g. the suit, won't
fit in.
SCREWDRIVER Needed for grille, found in
suburbia once you've climbed lamp
post and gone east towards
bungalow.
SEATS In vehicle, see 'DOCUMENTS'.
SEWER See 'LADDER' and 'MONSTER'. You
also need the goggles. To map sewer
maze try dropping objects: they
seem to vanish but GET ALL
retrieves them if you then check
your inventory.
SHAFT See 'DUCT'.
SINK UNIT See 'MEDIKIT'. Go UP onto sink to
reach bars and get out of flat.
SLOT (1) In gate on bridge. See
'IDENTICARD'.
SLOT (2) In door in building in sealed
compound. Forget it.
SMALL DOG See 'DOG'.
SOLDIER In lab near and of game. See 'GUN'
and 'PAPER'.
SOLDIERS (1) At hut at end of part one. See
'UNIFORMS' and 'BOMB'.
SOLDIERS (2) See 'PLATOON'.
SPACEPORT Keep out.
SPHERE The detonator. To be taken via
sewer to end game. Very heavy.
Carry nothing extra into lab or you
won't be able to pick it up. See
'CUBE' to get it.
SPRAY Paint - see 'CAN'.
START To start just GET GOGGLES - the
loading screen told you they were
there.
STIMULANT See 'MEDIKIT', press red button,
only works once.
SUBURBIA Have gun to avoid being mugged.
Don't drop anything. CLIMB LAMP to
find your way.
SUIT You start with a utility suit but
must exchange it for a uniform,
then discard first suit when
changed.
SWITCH Controls hatch in tank.
SWITCHES See 'DIPSWITCHES'.
TANK Where to find mine detector. See
'CUPBOARD' and 'HATCH'.
TRANSMITTER In hut at start of part two. Ignore
it.
TRAPDOOR In generating room. OPEN TRAPDOOR
and LOOK TRAPDOOR to find ladder.
TUBE Empty tube left when flare has been
fired. Of no apparent use.
UNIFORMS EXAMINE PILE before you break the
light on the porch. GET RIGELLIAN
UNIFORM and leave porch before you
put it on. Wear it to reach hut at
end of first part, and to pass
checkpoint in part two.
VEHICLE See 'DOCUMENTS'.
VENTILATION SHAFT See 'SHAFT'.
WALKWAY See 'GAP'.
WINDOW In flat, see 'BARS'.
WIRE On door in hotel. Booby trap. UNTIE
WIRE.

Solution mainly by Jim Magee

 ROBIN OF SHERLOCK

1) To enter convent you need the nun's habit.

2) To stay in convent you will need the lighter and must remain
silent.

3) In convent: EXAMINE DESK, EXAMINE PANELS, EXAMINE MACHINERY,

visit dungeons and EXAMINE CAN.

4) Return to forest, find and examine garden gnome, go to open

window in side of large Smurph house and LISTEN.

5) PRESS REDIAL on phone and police should arrest nuns and

godfather.

6) DROP CARD in ticket office to obtain ticket (then type LOOK).

7) Follow Yellow Brick Road and EXAMINE ROAD where you meet
Dorothy.

8) Get the Oil Lamp from the east of Friar Tuck (or his remains).
Lamp prevents nightfall from causing problems.

9) Set of Keys will unlock Hurn's sheds if you type ENTER.

10) In KFS building find knife, box and hat. Wear hat to get into
castle via tradesman's entrance. Box contains evidence, so
EXAMINE BOX.

11) When you find the Dead Watson, EXAMINE WATSON then READ PAPER.

12) To get gold for peasant, ROB BISHOP, TAKE GOLD then go south
till you meet peasant again.

13) If captured by Gisborne you must USE VASELINE (found in part

2) to escape.

14) Hansom Cab is found in one of Hurn's sheds in NW corner of

part 2.

15) To prevent Grandma blasting you, find Sheriff in castle and

when he runs away take the flag he leaves behind. Now visit
Grandma.

16) At 3 bears' house, talk to bears and to Goldilox, then enter

house. EXAMINE BOWL. The evidence you need to stop them
hanging her is to be found in the purple shed in part 3. When
you have found the empty packet, EXAMINE PACKET and return to
3 bears bearing (ho-ho) the packet.
17) In a clearing in part 2 you will find a bookcase. EXAMINE
BOOKCASE, go down to dungeon and find Toto, then type WAIT. If
Dorothy is with you and if you have the train ticket then she
will take the ticket and go with Toto to see the wizard.

18) Hurn the Hunter (alias Moriarty) is to be found by the Mystic

Rock in part 3. Question him and watch for a slip to reveal
his true identity.

19) Now if you have the cape, box, paper, have talked to Grandma
and received an anonymous phone call, PRESS REDIAL at Hurn's
cottage in part 3 and police should break into cottage and
allow you to enter.

20) Go upstairs, OPEN DOOR in bedroom and Hurn will fall out of
Mystic Wardrobe.

21) Go downstairs and when Lestrade asks you what it all means say
MORIARTY SWAPPED HURN and it should all be over.

GENERAL TIPS:

1) Talk to cabbie to learn of theft of his cab.

2) Talk to Dorothy to learn of kidnap.

3) To use toilets, INSERT 10p.

4) Do not enter any water as a great monster lurks in the depths.

5) Watch out for any routine where noun is WINDOW, which is read
by the program as WIND, because BREAK WIND causes the program
to crash with a "Swear not" warning.

FOR ADULTS ONLY:

1) EXAMINE MARIAN and find a hairpin. Now **** MARIAN.

2) Try KISS GOLDILOX.

3) Try WEAR CLOTHES when carrying Marian's clothes.

4) For more fun with Marian take her clothes and hide them
somewhere away from the river, then get all your men and
Dorothy and go to the pool or wherever Marian is, and provided
she is still naked just type LOOK continually. Note, though,
that she only goes swimming at the start of the adventure.

5) At different points in the game, try KISS DOROTHY or try

asking her about the kidnap.

SOME ODDITIES: Try typing HERC, MENT, FERG and JUDI.

 ROBIN OF SHERWOOD

Stand on a prisoner and examine the grating till you hear

footsteps. Grab leg, strangle guard, examine guard, get sword,
undo bolt, open grating. (If you fall during any of this, just
start over again.) Go out and don't worry about losing sword. Go
door, go battlements, go door, go right door, go window. From here
you should start to map the forest area. Some of the events are
random, but when you've established roughly where they happen, do
the following:

JOHN LITTLE Get quarterstaff, attack John.

WATERFALL Go waterfall, get Albion, get bow,
get quiver, go waterfall.
OUTLAW'S CAMP Wait for messenger, SAY FOLLOW, go
to Nottingham, shoot arrow, get
(silver) arrow.

You can now escape the castle as before or TAKE SHERIFF HOSTAGE
then RELEASE SHERIFF. Go to Castle Belleme, go door, go south,
kill Belleme with arrow, untie Marion, examine body, get
Touchstone, examine body, get arrow, SAY FOLLOW, go north, go
door, go statue, examine eyes, get gold, down, go to hidden cave,
search bushes (Marion must be with you), go cave, go north, get
Siward, go south twice, then you must go to the tree and the
locations where you may find the serf or Gregory (random elements
here, I'm afraid). Serf should be south of where you met John
Little, the tree two moves east of there, and another meeting
point two moves east again.

IF GREGORY Stop Gregory, examine cart, examine

sacks, get gold (and if carrying
too much then leave gold at camp).
IF SERF Stop serf, enter cart, this takes
you to Nottingham.

At Nottingham, wait till night falls, go battlements, go left

door, drop Siward, kill Siward, examine chest, get holy crest,
examine chest, get Touchstone, examine chest, get gold, go door,
go right door, go window.

Now go to outlaw's camp to collect your other gold, or waylay

Gregory if you haven't already. Take all gold to Kirklees Abbey,
knock on door, give gold to nun (to get Touchstone), go to
Templars' Camp with Holy Crest, give crest to Templars (to get
Touchstone), go to Herne's Tree, climb tree and examine it (to
find Touchstone).

You should now have silver arrow and six touchstones, so take them
all to the Stone Circle or Rhiannon's Wheel and drop them to
complete the game.
 THE SERF'S TALE

This started off life as yet another version of Colossal Cave, but
several changes got made along the way so apologies for any
repetition. For elaboration of some of the points below, see the
solution for Colossal Cave earlier in the book.

GETTING STARTED E, U, examine the straw, get coin,

put coin, D, W, N, N, E, E, SE, SE,
SE, SE and you now have the map and
keys from the dead body. Retrieve
the map and examine it, then PUT
MAP. Go W, N, N, N, N, N, NW, NW,
Get the lamp, flask and sandwiches,
S, S, S, S, fill the flask, S, S,
retrieve the keys, open the
grating, PUT KEYS, D, W.
COIN Helps you recharge your lamp.
KEYS Unlock the grating and the gold
chain.
SANDWICHES Feed troll.
FLASK Fill with water and pour on
seedling twice. Then fill with oil
to oil door.
BIRD AND CAGE Cage needed to catch bird, though
it won't work if you're also
carrying the black rod. The bird is
fed to the snake.
SNAKE Feed the bird to it.
DISC 1 With XYZZY on it, SAY XYZZY to be
transported back to deposit
treasure.
DISC 2 In Y2 room, with GLUPH on it. As
above. This disc can be carried.
SAY PLOVER and taken to dark room.
BLACK ROD Scares bird. WAVE ROD to make
bridge where needed.
AXE When the first dwarf appears and
throws an axe at you, you must GET
AXE and THROW AXE back again, then
remember to GET AXE to pick it up
again. You may need to throw it
more than once to see off a dwarf.
If you don't see them off, one will
eventually see you off.
GRIMOIRE Carrying this allows you to type
EVAS MAR for a RAM save, and
EROTSER MAR to restore a RAM-saved
game.
CLAM Needs trident, then PRISE CLAM.
Pearl rolls away so go after it and
pick it up.
PILLOW When you have the figurine, drop
the pillow first to catch the
figurine, which otherwise shatters.
FIGURINE Shatters if dropped, but not if you
drop the pillow first to catch it.
SEEDLING Pour water on this twice to turn it
into a beanstalk... but don't water
it again.
SPELUNKER Read it.
TROLL Feed it with sandwiches to be
allowed to cross bridge. Note that
you can only go on the bridge
twice.
DRAGON KILL DRAGON. With your bare hands?
Yes! Then GET RUG.
DRAGON SCALE Red herring.
RUSTY DOOR Oil the door to open it.
BRASS OAK DOOR You can examine it but you can't
open it.
PLAQUE This is in the dark room.
MAP Needed to help you find the
weighstation.
PIRATE Sometimes appears and steals your
treasure, which is left in the
treasure chest in the maze. If you
take the chest, this stops.
PROP OR TIMBER This is not mentioned in the text,
but is found on the south-west edge
of the chasm. TAKE PROP. If you
then EXAMINE BRIDGE it disappears,
but when you get to the troll's
bridge type TAKE PROP again to get
it back. Note that if you try to
examine or cross the troll's bridge
before taking the prop, it will
disappear completely from the game.
You need it to prop the roof in the
tunnel which is north-west of the
tunnel with a bend in it: PROP
ROOF.
SCARAB You must have the golden eggs with
you to get this. TAKE SCARAB, PLACE
EGGS. Go back to the giant's room
and eggs can be recovered if you
SAY FEE, SAY FIE, SAY FOE, SAY FOO.
CHAIN Needs key. CLIMB CHAIN, UNLOCK
CHAIN.
EMERALD & PYRAMID Go to the Y2 room, get on the disc,
SAY PLOVER, GET EMERALD, PUT
EMERALD, E, GET PYRAMID, READ
PLAQUE, S, SAY PLOVER and you're
back in the Y2 room.
TREASURES Silver bar, nugget, jewel, diamond,
figurine, conch, eggs, trident,
spices, chain, emerald, pyramid,
pearl, rug, pirate's chest, scarab.
Deposit the first 15 in the
building which the disc takes you
to, then go to the star chamber
where you found the pirate's chest.
From there, follow the directions
you've been given (N on rod, SW on
Spelunker, W on door, SE on plaque)
and say MAGE DEN (on scarab) to
complete the game.

NOTE:

1) Take the gold nugget to the location below the grate to

discover the (old) address of Smart Egg Software, who wrote
the game, and a message from them to software pirates.

2) HELP tells you of Nigel and Said, the two founders of Smart
Egg Software, and typing NIGEL or SAID gets a further helpful
response.

3) There are no gloves in the game, and the volcano door cannot
be opened.

4) Treasure chest cannot be opened.

5) There is no reward, as in some versions, for completing the

game without having to resort to getting new batteries for the
lamp. When you are warned that the lamp is flickering, you
have plenty of moves to get to the battery location.
 SHADOWS OF MORDOR

You can play this game in various ways, as Frodo, as Sam, or as

both characters. This solution assumes that you're Frodo.

START Make your way to the cliff by going

S, E, E, N, E and if you don't meet
Smeagol on the way just WAIT till
he turns up.
SMEAGOL HIT SMEAGOL WITH SWORD when he
appears, then when he falls to the
ground SAY TO SAM "TIE ROPE TO
SMEAGOL". When Smeagol complains
and asks you to release him you
must SAY TO SMEAGOL "NO". He will
offer to act as a guide, so SAY TO
SMEAGOL "PROMISE" and when he
reluctantly agrees you should UNTIE
ROPE and SAY TO SMEAGOL "FOLLOW
ME". He should follow you from now
on, but if he doesn't it may be
because he's tired so go back and
find him and SAY TO SMEAGOL "REST".
CLIFF There are two ways down. Both
require you to CUT TREE WITH SWORD.
This command may need repeating,
but eventually you'll be left with
a stump and a branch.
(1) Take branch and use it to lever
boulders to edge of cliff, then
LEVER ROUND ROCK OVER CLIFF to send
the lighter one over the edge. Tie
rope to remaining (LUMPY) boulder
and CLIMB DOWN ROPE to ledge below.
When your companions arrive, PULL
ROPE to release it then tie it
round the other boulder and CLIMB
DOWN ROPE to the bottom. PULL ROPE
to retrieve it.
(2) LEVER STUMP OVER CLIFF then go
down hole made by cutting the tree.
HOLD OUT CRYSTAL to enable you to
see, or cut branch into twigs and
light twigs with match. Go through
tunnels till you come out on the
ledge where you TIE ROPE TO STUMP,
then CLIMB DOWN ROPE and PULL ROPE.
BASE OF CLIFF/SWAMP Go to northern edge of swamp and
DROP ALL. Go to the four logs and
SAY TO SAM "DRAG LOG". Go back to
edge of swamp and SAY TO SAM "DROP
LOG". Do this for all four logs and
BUILD RAFT - which is why you
 retrieved the rope after coming
down the cliff.
RAFT/CROSSING SWAMP SAY TO SAM "GET ALL", SAY TO SAM
"GET ON RAFT" then get on it
yourself and POLE RAFT with the
branch to the other side. SAY TO
SAM "GET OFF RAFT" then POLE RAFT
back across again for Smeagol and
repeat the procedure for him.
Finally you GET OFF RAFT and PULL
ROPE to retrieve it.
OTHER SIDE OF SWAMP Make your way to the Rough Paved
Highway by following Smeagol's
advice. If a Black Rider enters
then do nothing; if you stay still
he should fly off again. If an Orc
enters just leave the location
immediately to avoid it.
ROTTEN WOODS You may have to WAIT here a few
turns till the exit to the east
opens up. Then go E, SE, E, SE, S
and WAIT till Skinny Orc appears.
If you happen to meet him on your
way there, try to ignore him as
there's a chance that a Black Rider
might appear.
SKINNY ORC KILL ORC WITH SWORD as soon as he
appears, and repeat command if
necessary, or alternate this
command with SAY TO SAM "KILL
SKINNY ORC WITH SWORD". Note that
you have to specify to Sam which
Orc to kill or he gets confused,
especially if, as is possible,
other Orcs appear at this point.
When the Skinny Orc is dead EXAMINE
ORC to learn about the length of
fishing line, and TAKE LENGTH. Then
head for the Water Hole.
WATER HOLE TAKE PARCHMENT, and if you want a
laugh don't leave at once but wait
and listen to the conversation
between the bathing Orcs.
STOUT ORC When asked for your pass, GIVE
PARCHMENT, then when you've been
given the all-clear go S, S, W, S
to the Overgrown Hollow. If Smeagol
vanishes on the way, don't worry as
he should reappear with something
useful: "a plump young coney".
OVERGROWN HOLLOW When you arrive, GO FISHING,
provided you're carrying the length
of line. If Sam has it then SAY TO
 SAM "GO FISHING" and repeat if
necessary till you catch something.
If you WAIT then Faramir should
appear, causing Smeagol to run off.
FARAMIR When he asks what you are, SAY TO
FARAMIR "HOBBITS" and he should be
pleased to see you. When he leaves
you should continue waiting until
he returns and gives you some
rations, then SAY TO FARAMIR
"THANKS". However, while you're
waiting you may encounter...
AN ENRAGED OLIPHANT If this turns up while you're
waiting at the Overgrown Hollow,
simply going north, waiting and
returning south should cause it to
go away again.
PLUMP YOUNG CONEY This is a young rabbit, very tasty
to eat, but it has to be cooked
first. CUT BRANCH WITH SWORD till
you get a pile of twigs, then DROP
TWIGS. OPEN BACKPACK, GET PAN, PUT
CONEY IN PAN, GET SALT, SPRINKLE
SALT ON CONEY, PUT SALT IN
BACKPACK, OPEN MATCHBOX (or SAY TO
SAM "OPEN MATCHBOX"), GET MATCH,
LIGHT MATCH, MAKE FIRE, PUT PAN ON
FIRE, EXAMINE PAN, GET PAN and
finally EAT RABBIT till it's all
gone. Then put the pan back in the
pack and close the pack up.
WATERFALL You now need to meet up with
Smeagol again so go to the
waterfall location and GO WATERFALL
before going SE to meet Smeagol.
When he tell you he's hungry just
give him the fish you caught
earlier, and SAY TO SMEAGOL "EAT
FISH" (some people can't work
anything out for themselves). Now
go back through the waterfall to
the Dark Shadowed Highway (south of
the Waterfall).
DARK SHADOWED HIGHWAY Keep an eye open for Black Riders
and remember to stay still if they
are present. Go E, SE to the Pale
White Bridge, then go NE and WAIT
till Frodo starts acting strangely
and heads east. Once he's done
that, go up the Twisted Staircase
(N, U, W, U, E) to meet the Red-
Eyed Wolf.
RED-EYED WOLF To be allowed to pass safely, SAY
TO SAM "DROP BREAD" and when the
wolf has eaten it go NE to the
entrance to the Yawning Black
Tunnel.
YAWNING BLACK TUNNEL Go east into the tunnel and HOLD
OUT CRYSTAL to provide light. Make
your way through tunnels by going
S, SE, NE then CUT WEB WITH SWORD
and go on S, NE, NE, E. At this
point you should hear a voice
coming from a Cocoon, so EXAMINE
COCOON and GET COCOON before going
north and south-east to the Narrow
Tunnel Mouth.
SPIDER/NARROW TUNNEL MOUTH Somewhere during your travels
through the tunnels you should have
met the spider, and as soon as you
do just type in the word GALADRIEL
to send it scuttling off. The
spider should now be waiting to the
east, so SAY TO SAM "GO EAST AND
ATTACK SPIDER WITH SWORD", then
WAIT and go east yourself to meet
(fingers crossed) a live Sam and a
dead spider. Then go north and west
to the Sturdy Iron Door.
STURDY IRON DOOR Here you can CUT COCOON WITH SWORD
and then WAIT till a platoon of
Orcs appears and rushes through the
door.
RESTING You should do this regularly to
keep your strength up, and don't
forget to SAY TO SAM "REST" and SAY
TO SMEAGOL "REST".
EATING EAT when you're carrying the bread,
or EAT RATIONS when carrying the
rations. Do this fairly regularly
too. Sam will follow your example
without being told, but Smeagol
will only eat fish which is why you
must catch one at the Overgrown
Hollow. Note that there are several
fish: slippery ones, ugly ones etc.
BOX OF SOIL WITH MAGICAL Sam carries this around, but as to
GROWING PROPERTIES its purpose....?

Note that there are other locations, other characters and other
routines. This is just one of several ways of getting through the
game.
 THE SORCEROR OF CLAYMORGUE CASTLE

GO MOAT, TAKE BREATH, SWIM DOWN, GET TOWEL, SWIM DOWN, SWIM EAST,
U, GET CRATE, OPEN CABINET, S, GET PERMEABILITY SPELL, S, PUSH
EAST, CAST SEED, W, PUSH SOUTH, GET STAR, D, CAST LYCANTHROPE, GO
HOLE, GET STAR, GO HOLE, WALK UP, N, DROP STAR, DROP STAR, PULL
WEST, GET METHUSALEH SPELL, GET UNRAVEL SPELL, E, N, E, CAST
UNRAVEL, W, GET BRICKS, W, PULL LEVER, DROP WOOD, GO DRAWBRIDGE,
DROP BRICKS, E, E, E, GO CHANDELIER, CAST WICKED QUEEN SPELL, GO
BALLROOM, W, N, GO DRAIN, TAKE BREATH, SWIM DOWN, SWIM DOWN, SWIM
DOWN, SWIM DOWN, LOOK BOTTOM, CAST BLISS, GO DRAWBRIDGE, E, E, E,
GO CHANDELIER, CAST LIGHT SQUARED SPELL, GET STAR, GO LOFT, GET
POTION, THROW CRATE, JUMP, W, S, WRING TOWEL, PUSH EAST, GO DOOR,
D, GO LAVA, S, GET STAR, GET DIZZY DEAN SPELL, N, N, U, U, W, DROP
STAR, DROP STAR, DROP STAR, PUSH EAST, GET DUST, W, DRINK POTION,
PUSH DOWN, THROW DUST, LOOK DRAGON, GO HOLE, GET STAR, GET FIREFLY
SPELL, W, GET STAR, U, DROP STAR, DROP STAR, DROP STAR, N, E, GO
CRATE, GO HOLE, GET METAL, GO HOLE, GET DOWN, W, W, GO DRAWBRIDGE,
LOOK BATTLEMENTS, GET BRICK, CAST DIZZY DEAN SPELL, THROW BRICK,
AT CAN, E, E, GET CAN, OPEN CAN, WITH METAL, LOOK CAN, DROP
METHUSALEH, DROP FIRE SPELL, DROP CAN, DROP METAL, DROP TOWEL, S,
GET STARS, N, W, GO DRAWBRIDGE, W, DIG, W, CAST PERMEABILITY
SPELL, CAST FIREFLY SPELL, DROP STARS, CAST YOHO SPELL, GO
DRAWBRIDGE, E, E, GET FIRE SPELL, W, GO DRAWBRIDGE, W, N, CAST
FIRE SPELL, AT TREE, LOOK ASHES, E, GO DRAWBRIDGE, E, E, S, GET
STAR, GET STAR, N, GET TOWEL, GET METHUSALEH SPELL, E, GO
CHANDELIER, GET MIRROR, GO BALLROOM, W, GO FOUNTAIN, GET STAR,
CAST METHUSALEH SPELL, GO CENTREPIECE, GO SHAFT, GET STAR, CAST
YOHO SPELL, DROP STARS, SCORE!

NOTE: Certain random elements have been built into this adventure,
so before throwing the brick or entering the fountain, save game.
 SHERLOCK

At the start of the game take the lamp and get Watson to follow
you to platform three at Kings Cross. You should catch Lestrade in
time, so board the same train as him and follow him round on the
first morning in Leatherhead as you will overhear many of the
alibis and also be able to pass the police in front of the Jones
and Brown houses.

In Basil's bedroom closely examine window, piano and gramophone

and compare findings with his alibi. Closely examine bookcase to
find passage to clothes then closely examine clothes to reveal
true identity of woman on sofa. Ask Daphne to tell you about
Tricia Fender to back up your ideas on the real identity of the
woman on the sofa. Closely examine the sandstone bridge for a
further clue to the case.

In Brown's study open the drawer and closely examine the drawer
for the note and the bank book. Closely examine bank book. Ask
cook to tell you about Basil for news of fight. Open Basil's safe
after midnight to avoid being shot.

In Tricia Fender's house (which is opened sometime on the Tuesday

morning). Open safe for clue to main crime and get Tricia to tell
you about the clothes to discover real name and identity of woman.
Be at bridge at 9am-10am and when Lestrade arrives closely examine
river to discover gun.

Go to Lestrade on Monday afternoon and say to him that the Major

was in the opium den at Slater Street. He won't believe you. Go to
Slater Street wearing Chinese disguise at night and enter opium
den. At about midnight the Major should arrive. Take off disguise
and the Major should confess his addiction. Go out to Slater
Street and await Lestrade's arrival, which will result in the
Major being cleared.

At Basil's house, wait till 10am on Wednesday outside the window

for Basil to leave. Quickly enter and take note from fire. Get
another note from the bin, and a third after closely examining the
dustbins outside his back yard.

Codes (Ripped notes):

A=I B=N E=U F=M G=D H=E I=V K=S L=O M=K N=H P=G Q=D R=B S=H T=R
U=T V=W W=L X=P Y=P

Codes (Singed note):

A=M C=R D=B G=D I=O K=T L=W O=P P=L R=U S=A U=E W=S X=N Y=T Z=Y

Now read messages backwards.

To reach Old Mill Road you must have done the following: Proved
the Major innocent; found the gun; proved to Lestrade that Mrs
Brown killed herself; prove Basil's and Tricia's involvement
together; prove that Tricia Fender was blackmailing Mr & Mrs
Brown; prove Basil's alibi false; prove Mrs Jones killed Tricia
Fender; prove Tricia had the plans and she gave them to Basil;
carry all three notes and know the contents of the message.

THEN: Prove Basil has the plans; prove the sale location is at Old
Mill Road; that the sale is at 2.30pm. You should now be taken to
Old Mill Road.

On the way back you must get out of the police cab the moment it
arrives in Leatherhead. Go north to platform one. Say to Lestrade,
"Follow me". Go north to see Basil and the Agent get on the train
then go south and into police cab. Say to driver "Go to Kings
Cross station". When you arrive with Lestrade and Watson go NE to
platform one and wait for the 6.26 train. Climb in and leave when
it reaches Victoria station at 6.41. As you do so, Basil and Agent
should arrive so enter LOOK to see shoot-out.

NOTE: Some events can be done in different orders.

Solution by James Elliott

 SPIDERMAN

LIZARDMAN Take acid and calcium to lab and

MIX, then go to Lizardman and DROP
CALCIUM.
SANDMAN Go to Sandman and GO ROOF then
EXAMINE CRIB twice.
HYDROMAN Go to Penthouse and lower
thermostat twice (maybe more) then
return to Hydroman who is now a
block of ice and take ice block
back to Penthouse and raise
thermostat then EMPTY AQUARIUM.
BIO-GEM Stand next to its location and cast
web at bio-gem.
LIFT SHAFT On each floor of lift shaft EXAMINE
NICHE. Also when told in lift shaft
that you can't go up, PUSH UP.
RINGMASTER CLOSE EYES, PUSH KNOB, TURN KNOB,
OPEN EYES.
WEB FLUID To make the web go to lab carrying
torn paper (painting) and exotic
chemicals then make web (formula is
on back of painting).
MYSTERIO When you face him FEEL NORTH and
FEEL SOUTH to get gems.
THE FAN Cast web at fan till RMS of fan is
down to between 50-20 then cast web
at button, GO FAN and DOWN five
times.
OCTO & ELECTRO Get Octo then hit Electro. If your
Spider sense tingles towards
Electro then you can jump out of
the way of his fire.
PAINTING Pull painting in penthouse.
DESK Open it to get gem.
BASEMENT To reach basement from fan keep
moving down.
PRESSES Go to computer room, start
computer. Go to scales room in
basement and drop desk, couch,
aquarium, Octo, Electro, ice statue
and Doc Connors. Go to computer
keyboard and type RUN or START
PRESSES. Return to basement to get
paper and open and read paper to
get gem.
MADAME WEB Don't try to defeat her but ask her
instead to do things such as SCAN
ELECTRO, SCAN SANDMAN.
GEMS Can be found: Lizard Man, Electro,
Octo, Hydroman, desk, niches in
shaft, Mysterio, behind and in
front of fan, Ringmaster, Sandman
(crib) and Bio-gem.
 TWIN KINGDOM VALLEY

THE AMULET Received in exchange for diamond

given to guard when you escape from
the dungeon. Allows Princess to
recognise you when you rescue her
from her dungeon, so be sure amulet
is not in holdall when you do this
or she won't see it.
THE ARMOURY Take the broad sword if possible,
otherwise the next strongest weapon
available. See WEAPONS entry for
relative strengths. Wait here till
giant enters as he will then take
the rest of the weapons and carry
them with him. This not only
prevents the guards from getting
them, but allows you to ask the
giant for a replacement weapon
later if you lose your main weapon
in a fight.
BAGS OF GOLD Two of these, each adding 50 points
to your score. One is found on the
spiral stairs, four moves east and
one move down from the hall of the
Forest King, and the other is in a
very narrow shaft, down and north
from the first bag.
BAGS OF SILVER There are three of these, each
worth 25 points. They could be
almost anywhere, and are often
picked up by other characters, so
the only answer is to go looking
for them. Not easy, but there's no
alternative.
BALL OF GOLD Worth 65 points, this is found in
the throne room close to the east
tower in the castle's upper levels.
BEER Some in the Sword Inn, naturally
enough, and more in the castle's
cellar. DRINK BEER when you find
it, or better still FILL JUG with
it for drinking later. Has the
effect of quenching your thirst and
increasing your strength at the
same time.
BONES ROOM See entry for THE DUNGEON.
BRASS KEY Found in the cabin, this is needed
for the brass grate in the
clearing, and the brass door south
of the large hall in the castle.
When these two have been opened,
give the key to the giant for
 safekeeping as you may need it
again if someone steals the master
key, allowing them to lock all
unlocked locks.
BROAD SWORD Usually there's one of these in the
armoury. A handy weapon, second
only in strength to the long wooden
staff. If you come across a guard
carrying one then you could be in
trouble as two or three blows can
see you off. Ideally you should
have one yourself and give one to
the giant as a spare. Ideally.
BRONZE KEY Obtained from the witch in the maze
of twisty passages by giving her
the crystal ball. This opens the
three bronze doors you should find,
then give it to the giant for
safety's sake in case someone goes
round closing them again with the
master key.
CRYSTAL BALL Found in a room just beyond the
brass grate entrance to the halls
of the Forest King. Give it to the
witch.
CUT DIAMOND Go east and down from Watersmeet to
find a cave with a cut diamond in
it. If you could drop it in the
beer you'd presumably get a half-
cut diamond. But don't do that,
instead give it to the guard who
should arrest you the first time
you go into the hall of the Forest
King. He will give you something in
return and also allow you to wander
freely around. The guard then
stores the diamond in the treasure
room, allowing you to steal it back
again towards your points total.
DESERT KING He wanders around a lot and turns
up all over the place. His crown is
worth 90 points so hit him with the
strongest weapon you have. If you
don't come across him then you'll
have to go looking as you need
every treasure you can get.
DIAMOND RING Only worth 12 points - but if
you're 12 points short at the end
you can't finish. Rats! It can be
hard to find, too. It belongs to a
dwarf who is usually to be found
somewhere near the spiral stairs
where the bags of gold are,
 although if you leave it till late
on in the adventure he sometimes
seems to disappear completely,
taking his ring with him. Double
rats! To get the ring you must
attack the dwarf till he's dead,
which usually means running after
him as he'll try to escape from
you. Use your best weapon to finish
him off quickly.
DOORS Bronze keys open bronze doors, and
so on. There's also a master key
which will open and close anything:
handy if you've got it, not so
handy if someone else has. There
are also some secret doors, and
you'll never be aware of their
existence as they don't appear till
you drink at Watersmeet.
THE DRAGON He guards the master key in the
north turret, and can only be
defeated with the long wooden
staff. HIT DRAGON WITH STAFF should
produce results, provided your own
strength is fairly high at the
time.
THE DRAWBRIDGE A convenient quick route from the
desert area to the castle's
entrance hall, but the drawbridge
only remains down if you are
carrying the uniform outside the
holdall.
THE DUNGEON To escape from here give the cut
diamond to the guard. If you don't
have the diamond with you then
there's no other way to escape so
you'll unfortunately have to QUIT
and start again.
THE DWARF See entry for THE DIAMOND RING.
THE FISSURE To cross this, you need to wave the
rod.
FLINT STONE Found in the quarry to the west of
the starting location. You must go
and get it quickly before someone
else does, as you need it to light
your lamp. Note that you may need
to relight your lamp later, so keep
the flint.
THE GIANT Behind the bronze door that's north
and down from the large hall you
should find an ill giant. Opening
the door releases him, and he
should then follow you round. There
 are one or two places he doesn't
like, in which case you might
suddenly find he's no longer with
you, but he never wanders too far
away. To make him well again, take
him to Watersmeet where he will
have a swim which does wonders for
him. Then keep him with you as much
as possible. He will automatically
attack any opponents and also
attract most of the blows they
deliver. Don't worry, he can take
it. He can also take objects when
instructed and give them back to
you when you ask.
THE GOLD KEY Found in the small kitchen between
two secret doors (see entry for
DOORS if you don't know about the
secret ones), this opens the one
gold door and is also worth 15
points.
THE GORILLAS Hit them with whatever weapon you
have, to drive them off. They
cannot be killed, and will always
reappear, so just make sure they do
you as little damage as possible.
THE GUARDS You cannot run away from a guard
who's carrying a weapon without
suffering a blow from him first. A
guard with a good weapon can
therefore do you considerable
damage, if you only have a dagger
or knife. Try to get the strongest
weapon you can, as soon as you can.
See entry for WEAPONS for relative
strengths. HIT any guard you come
across once you're well armed, and
if he runs away go after him and
finish him off, otherwise he will
rest somewhere and regain his
strength, then come after you again
later.
THE HALL OF THE FOREST KING On your first visit you will be
thrown into a dungeon, from which
you can bribe your way out, but
then after that you can move around
here freely.
THE HOLDALL Found in the sloping maze, which
you enter from the narrow fissure
east of Watersmeet. This takes you
into a cave, and west takes you
into the maze. Go north to get the
holdall, then south and south to
 get back to the cave. The holdall
allows you to carry extra objects,
but take care what you put inside.
A lit lamp is not a good idea. The
amulet and uniform should also be
kept outside, for different
reasons. The command FILL HOLDALL
lets you go through your inventory
and type a simple 'Y' or 'N' to say
whether you want them in the
holdall or not. Not everything may
fit, as even a holdall can't HOLD
ALL.
JEWELLED GOLD CROWN Carried by the Desert King, who you
must kill to get at it. It's
treasure only, and worth 90 points.
LARGE GUARD Usually encountered just after
you've been into the armoury and
equipped yourself with weapons,
which is just as well given that
he's tougher than other guards and
can inflict serious damage on you.
You must HIT GUARD and hope the
giant arrives immediately to give
you a hand. You must see off this
guard and then recover your
strength, otherwise he can kill you
off if he pounces unexpectedly, or
weaken you so much that you cannot
survive.
LONG WOODEN STAFF The strongest weapon, but also
fragile and will probably break at
some stage. Use it only when you
have to. It's the only weapon that
will defeat the dragon, so once
you've got it then it's best to
find the dragon and see it off
before the staff breaks. The staff
is in the west turret, for which
you need a silver key.
THE LURKERS More of a nuisance than anything.
Not given to walloping you with
weapons, but will steal bags of
silver and wander off with them. If
you're a bag of silver missing, try
roaming the desert looking for
lurkers.
MAPPING Important in any adventure, but
doubly so here. Not only because
it's a vast adventure and easy to
get lost in, but also because at
one late stage of the game you need
to drop your lamp and find your way
 round in the dark, so it's
essential you have a good map.
THE MASTER KEY Will open any doors that cannot be
opened with brass, bronze, silver
or gold keys. There is more than
one master key. One starts off to
the north of the chamber near the
spiral stairs where the dwarf
lurks, and another near the
entrance to the south turret, but
they do tend to get taken and
moved, and to get to the second one
you first have to defeat the
dragon.
METAL DOOR Can be opened with the brass key.
THE OIL The flickering of your lamp warns
you that your oil is shortly about
to run out. Unlike some adventures,
you can safely move round in the
dark, as long as your mapping has
been good and you know where you're
going, but of course you won't be
able to see any treasures that you
might be passing. The oil to
replenish your lamp is in the
cauldron in the workshop.
THE OIL LAMP Found in the cabin at the start,
this is full and ready to light -
you just need the flint. Can be
refilled and relit whenever it runs
out, so keep your flint and find a
supply of oil. Don't put a lit lamp
in your holdall. Keep the lamp at
all times, except towards the end
of the game when you do need to
drop everything at one stage to get
a particular object, and travel in
the dark for a while.
THE PRINCESS Rescue her and the King will reward
you later. She is in a dungeon
beyond one of the bronze doors
close to the large hall, going
down. Be sure to carry the amulet
when you rescue her, but not in the
holdall where she wouldn't be able
to see it and therefore wouldn't
recognise you.
THE QUARRY Two moves west from where you
start, the quarry contains the
flint - needed for lighting your
lamp. Go there fairly quickly,
before someone else takes the flint
and you have to waste time trying
 to find who's got it.
RETRIEVING THE DIAMOND Having handed over the cut diamond
to the guard to bribe your way out
of the dungeon, you need to
retrieve this to get your maximum
score. Easy. He puts it in the
treasure room, beyond the silver
door near the dungeon.
RIVER OF GOLD Runs through chamber where the
Secret of Life is to be found.
Although you can't drink it, you
can fill your jug with it, which
adds 100 points to your score. If
this takes you up to 824 points,
you can then claim the Secret of
Life. If not, you've missed a
treasure somewhere. You can EMPTY
JUG if you like, and watch the gold
drain away into the ground. If you
like.
SCORING 10 Silver dagger
12 Silver key, diamond ring
15 Gold key
25 Bags of silver (3)
50 Bags of gold (2)
65 Ball of gold
80 Large diamond
90 Staff of gold, jewelled crown
100 Jug of gold
175 Treasure chest
200 Secret of life
1024 Total
SECRET OF LIFE In chamber in sloping maze. Go N,
N, E, E from the cave which leads
into the maze from the canyon. You
must full your jug with gold, and
if you then have 824 points you can
GET LIFE and LOOK LIFE, provided
you're only carrying one object at
the most - how can you carry the
Secret of Life with your arms full?
SHORT WOODEN ROD You need to wave the rod to create
a crystal bridge in the right
place, which is the fissure you
cannot otherwise cross. Once done,
you can drop the rod as it's not
needed again. If you can't find it,
it's in the passage beyond the
metal door in the cave that you
step into from the canyon down to
the Halls of the Forest King. Got
that?
SILVER DAGGER Worth 10 points, although you have
to give it to the witch in the east
turret to get the staff of gold. So
how do you keep the 10 points? Give
it to her and find out. You can
find the silver dagger once you've
killed the dwarf and collected the
two bags of gold nearby. You can
then go north through the shafts to
the weak stairs, which will
collapse if you wait long enough,
allowing you to fall through to the
location with the silver dagger.
SILVER KEY Opens the several silver doors in
the game. It's your reward from the
king once you've rescued the
princess, but you have to go back
to the hall to claim it.
STAFF OF GOLD Held by the witch in the east
turret. To get it give her the
silver dagger. Worth 90 points.
STONE JUG Found empty in the cabin at the
start - fill it as soon as you find
a stream. Drinking is one way to
restore your strength, though a
better way is to find somewhere
safe and just WAIT while your
strength builds up again. Water is
more useful for quenching your
thirst, which you'll need to do at
regular intervals. If you pass a
source of water, always DRINK the
contents of your jug and refill it,
as there's no way of knowing how
close it is to being empty. If
you're told that you're thirsty,
then you only have a few moves in
which to drink before you die, so
it's vital to keep the jug topped
up. It's also vital to keep the
jug, as you'll need it right at the
end of the adventure.
STRENGTH This begins at 190, and you must
keep it as high as possible. Going
for a swim at Watersmeet always
restores it to maximum value. If it
starts to get low then find
somewhere safe (lock yourself in a
room, perhaps) and WAIT. Each WAIT
adds three units to your strength.
Drinking water or beer also
restores you, but keep these for
when you're thirsty, if possible.
 Getting walloped by a guard
obviously depletes your strength,
and a few blows with a heavy weapon
like a mace can kill you. You need
maximum strength for tackling some
of the worst opponents.
THE SWORD INN An appropriate place for drinking
beer, but that's it.
TREASURE CHEST If you've discovered this then the
end of the game is in sight, but
you've still to do lots of things
just right if you're to get there.
The chest is in the south turret,
for which you need the master key,
for which you need to kill the
dragon, for which you... etc etc.
You have to take the chest back to
the cabin, but it's so heavy that
you have to drop everything else in
order to lift it. Including the
lamp. You therefore now need an
accurate map, and accurate inputs,
to get all the way from the south
turret to the cabin in the dark.
Then go back to the south turret,
pick up all the objects again, and
if you can do all this without
getting thirsty, without losing
your way or losing your strength,
then you deserve the Secret of
Life, which is the next thing you
have to find.
TWISTY WOODEN STAIRCASE This will collapse under you if you
WAIT on it, but don't worry, it's
meant to happen! Be warned, though,
that it's only meant to happen
after you've killed the dwarf, and
got his diamond ring and the two
gold bags.
THE UNIFORM In the guard room north of the
large hall, this must be carried
outside the holdall if the
drawbridge between the castle and
the desert is to remain down.
WATER There are several sources, but the
stream is the best one as you have
to pass it frequently anyway as you
move to and from the cabin to
deposit treasure. Always stop here,
drink the contents of your jug and
refill it. You never know when your
jug is going to run out, and if you
get thirsty you only have a few
 moves in which to drink before you
die. Drinking also boosts your
strength, but as water is so
precious it's best to WAIT to get
your strength up.
WATERSMEET Reached by going west through the
canyon, swimming here restores your
strength to the maximum of 190
instantly. This also works wonders
for sick giants. Furthermore, if
you DRINK here this for some reason
opens several secret doors in the
adventure. If you never drink at
Watersmeet you'll be wandering
round the adventure forever,
looking for these otherwise
inaccessible locations.
WEAPONS Always carry the strongest weapon
you can, and try to make sure that
the giant carries a good reserve
supply for you too, in case of
accidental drops and breakages. If
you meet a friendly creature with a
better weapon than you've got, then
ask for it. The order of strength
is long wooden staff, broadsword,
mace, axe or hammer, dagger, knife
and finally sundry other objects
like keys and crowns, which can all
be used instead of bare hands if
nothing else is available.
WITCH IN EAST TURRET She has the staff of gold, which
you need. No point in asking
politely, she'll probably put a
spell on you. Give her the silver
dagger and see what happens - don't
worry, you'll be able to get it
back.
WITCH IN MAZE This witch has the bronze key, and
to get it off her you must give her
the crystal ball.
WITCH'S MAZE Getting into this maze of twisty
passages is easy, getting out a
little trickier. Most paths will
eventually lead you to the witch,
who has a bronze key that you need,
then go S, E, S, N from there, or
you can go W, W, W, S which takes
you to the bones room or dungeon,
if you know how to escape from
there.
WOODEN CABIN North of the start, it contains a
key, jug and lamp, and is also the
place to bring your treasure back
to.
WORKSHOP West and north of the castle's main
entrance is the workshop, and in
the workshop is a cauldron, and in
the cauldron is a seemingly endless
supply of oil for your lamp.
Whenever your lamp starts to
flicker, head for the workshop.
 URBAN UPSTART

THE BOOK In Arthur's Bookshop you find, to

your amazement, a book! Called
Teach Yourself to Fly, you need to
read this before you can complete
the adventure, but leave it in the
bookshop once you've read it.
THE BOOTS In the cardboard box in the cellar
of the deserted house. Need to wear
these to cross the building site
without sinking into the mud. I
swear I've done it without wearing
the boots, which is said not to be
possible, but I wasn't able to
carry any objects with me so it
wasn't much use.
THE BUILDING SITE To cross this you must be wearing
the boots. Explore it fully,
especially any pipes you might find
lying around. If you go south into
the unfinished building and
discover you can't go north again
to get out, just LEAVE instead.
THE CAR Ignore it, as any attempt to
examine it, take it or enter it
results in you being thrown in jail
by the ever-vigilant Scarthorpe
police. Whatever happened to a fair
trial?
CARDBOARD BOX You need the scissors to open the
box, from which you take whatever's
inside it, and leave the box
behind.
THE CHEESE Found lying around in the park,
which doesn't make it sound very
appetising, you can eat it if you
wish, but that only results in a
visit to the hospital. If you're in
jail you can still eat the cheese
and get taken to the hospital,
which is a good way of escaping...
well, not that good as you need to
hang on to the cheese in order to
use it to bait the rat trap.
THE CHIP SHOP ENTER/LEAVE to get in and out.
There's a red herring on the
counter. Or is it a red herring?
No, it's a real red herring. For
the hard of herring, you must
LISTEN to the music coming from the
back of the shop, which is Come Fly
With Me, another subtle clue to
 your eventual means of escape.
Don't miss the message on the
screen when the music stops.
DESERTED HOUSE To get in through the door you need
to EAT FOOD and DRINK MILK first,
to build up your strength.
THE DUNGAREES WEAR DUNGAREES before leaving the
house to avoid being arrested for
indecent exposure. You must always
be wearing something outside the
house, to avoid arrest, even if
it's only the old hat. I suppose it
depends where you wear it.
THE DUSTBINS Examine them to find a letter.
THE FIVER To get this you need your
servicecard and your servicecard
number. Hang onto it till almost
the end of the game, when you will
be asked for it at the appropriate
moment.
THE FLYING SUIT Must be wearing this in order to
escape. EXAMINE PIPES in building
site to find it.
THE FOOD Found outside the empty church. Eat
it outside the deserted house.
FOOTBALL FAN The first adventure lager lout,
GIVE LAGER TO FAN allows you to get
the object lying at his feet. Note
that GIVE LAGER is not enough.
THE HOSPITAL Plenty of ways to get in, such as
being mugged, catching pneumonia,
eating cheese or drinking lager,
but only one way to get out. That's
through the main entrance on the
charmingly named Amputation Road,
but you need to be wearing the
white coat that you find in the
hospital.
THE HOUSE To get out of your own house you
need to be wearing the dungarees,
and you also need the large key
from the living room in order to
unlock the front door. You should
also take the lager and the
scissors with you.
THE JAIL It's fortunately as easy to get out
as it is to get jailed in the first
place. Leave your cell and WAIT by
the sergeant till he leaves the
room.
THE LAGER In the fridge in your kitchen. GIVE
LAGER TO FAN when you encounter the
football fan.
THE LARGE KEY Found in your living room, it
unlocks your front door. Then drop
it inside the house, as dropping
things outside often results in
getting your collar felt by the
Scarthorpe Sweeney.
THE LETTER EXAMINE DUSTBINS round the back of
someone's house, then READ LETTER
when you find it.
THE LORRY Leave it alone or you'll get
arrested.
THE MILK In the car park. Can be fed to the
swarm of cats that follows you
around if you carry the red
herring, but its real purpose is to
give you some strength before you
try opening the door to the
deserted house.
THE OLD HAT This may seem to have no great
purpose at first, but it's there
outside the jail in case you get
arrested for indecent exposure.
Obviously if you escaped you'd only
get thrown straight back in again,
unless there was an item of
clothing available for you to wear.
A hat seems an odd choice, but, as
mentioned elsewhere, it depends
where you wear it. And on your hat
size.
OFFICIAL PAPERS Found in the town hall, you need to
GIVE PAPERS TO OFFICER towards the
end of the game.
THE PLANE When you've done everything
necessary, you'll be allowed to get
to the runway where the plane is
waiting. Here you ENTER PLANE,
INSERT SMALL KEY IN PANEL and, the
final command, TAKE OFF.
THE RAIN Staying out in the rain too long
results in a visit to the hospital.
To get through the rainy locations,
which you need to, you must OPEN
UMBRELLA.
THE RATS Once inside the deserted house you
come up against the rats. To deal
with these you must PUT CHEESE IN
TRAP before entering, then DROP
TRAP when inside.
THE RAT TRAP To get this, give the lager to the
fan. When it's been baited with
cheese you can, of course, use it
to trap rats.
THE RED HERRING Almost certainly the first 'red
herring' joke in adventure-game
history. Does this fish that you
find on the counter in the chip
shop have a purpose, or is it a red
herring? If you pick it up you gain
a point, which you lose again if
you drop it. This suggests it has a
purpose, but it doesn't. You don't
need maximum points to get through
the game, and in fact it's
impossible to score the maximum 22
and finish. If you carry the red
herring round with you a swarm of
cats follows you wherever you go.
Drop it and they stop.
THE RED SCARF Leave it where it is, as any
attempt to take it results in your
arrest - you're obviously meant to
think it'll help you deal with the
football fan, but it won't.
THE RED TAPE Found at the top of the hill near
the hospital, this allows you to
enter the town hall. Once you've
got the official papers, you can
drop the red tape.
THE SCISSORS Found in your own store room, hold
onto these till you're ready to cut
the string round the cardboard box
in the deserted house.
SCORING The maximum of 22 points referred
to is misleading, as it cannot be
scored. You can get through with a
minimum of 19 and a maximum of 21.
You get points for picking up
useful objects, then once you've
used them you retain the point when
you drop them again. See the entry
for THE RED HERRING for the
explanation of that point. You swap
the lager for the rat trap, and
don't get an extra point for it,
and you can also get through the
game without needing the old hat,
for which there's also a point.
SERVICECARD READ LETTER from the dustbins and a
servicecard also falls out, as well
as a note of the phone number to
ring to learn the code number
you'll need in order to use it.
INSERT CARD in the machine outside
the bank, and enter the code which
you get by dialling Freephone
 77722. Take the fiver that comes
out, but no need to take the card
again as it's now served its
purpose.
THE SMALL KEY Found down by the canal, keep hold
of this till the very end of the
game when you INSERT SMALL KEY IN
PANEL.
THE TOWN HALL To get past the official you must
be carrying the red tape.
THE UMBRELLA Found by the bus shelter, which
incidentally you can EXAMINE to be
told 'Ring 54321 for a good time'.
OPEN UMBRELLA in the rainy
locations to prevent you catching
pneumonia.
THE WHITE COAT If you wake up in the hospital bed,
which can happen quite often in
this game, take two moves south to
find the white coat, and wear it.
You can now get out of the hospital
through the main door. You can also
drop your dungarees, if you'll
pardon the expression, because as
long as you're wearing the white
coat you won't need them. You must
wear something in the outside
locations to avoid arrest for
indecent exposure, and it might as
well be the white coat in case you
find yourself back in the hospital.
 VALKYRIE 17

Go to the unfinished bedroom, examine the rubble and get a brick.

Smash the case in the infirmary and get the stethoscope. Wear it
to OPEN SAFE. Get the box and the necklace but don't open the box
as its radioactivity soon kills you. You can't wear the necklace
though you can get and wear both the wig and the dress later.

Get the snowshoes and sheets and at the end of the corridor go out
onto the window ledge, along the ledge and into room 21, then into
the dressing room. Read the book about skiing. TIE SHEETS to make
a rope then TIE ROPE to the bed and go down. Wear the snowshoes
and go for the skis, then go to the ski hut and get the ski poles
- which are in the picture though not in the location description.
Go back to the top of the slope, remove your shoes and wear the
skis, then go down the slopes. You need the various skiing objects
and to have read the book to do this.

Leave the box outside the butchers for the moment, get the string
and go and pawn the necklace to get some money. At the cable car,
TIE STRING to the lever then ENTER CAR and PULL LEVER to go back
up. Go back into the hotel via the main doors, PAY BILL at
reception and take your one grotnik change. Go to the bar, buy a
drink and give it to the girl. The drink, that is. Your money's
now gone, the girl goes but leaves her handbag behind. Get and
open this and the key to room 20 falls out.

Go to room 20 and read the newspaper, which tells you about a

skier being killed, a blonde being sought and a uranium theft. Get
and wear the bulletproof vest, get the grotnik and the tin of
foam. Go out and get the mirror from the corridor and return to
the town via the cable car. You should have the box, mirror and
foam down in the town by this stage.

Pick up the box again and go into the butchers. GIVE BOX and GET
LAMB. Get the bottle (of poison) from the apothecary, go to the
fountain and POUR POISON. The piranha fish are killed, so get the
can, drink the lemonade, get the ringpull, go to the promenade,
INSERT RINGPULL in the telescope, TURN TELESCOPE and you'll see
Schloss Drakenfeld.

Go to beside the lake, SWIM to get to the boat, go down to the

cabin and get the aqualung.

Go to the taxi rank, and at this point you must have with you the
lamb, aqualung, mirror and foam. ENTER TAXI and say SCHLOSS to be
taken to Drakenfeld. Go to the north-south alley and MOVE
DUSTBINS. Go into the sewer, watch the picture to check the water
level and WEAR AQUALUNG just before water rises to top. Don't do
it too soon as the air is limited, but then again don't do it too
late or...
In the small chamber the rats pounce and eat the lamb, giving you
time to get past them. SEARCH CORNERS in the basement and get the
gun with the bullets and silencer. Go to the ground floor and use
the lift. Note that if you go to the reception the gun is taken
from you and you are put out. Go into the lift and PRESS X, where
X is the relevant button: 3, 2, 1, G or TOR OFFNEN (DOOR OPEN).
You want to go to Floor 2 (and after leaving the lift on this
floor the doors jam and cannot be re-opened). In the east-west
corridor, SPRAY CAMERA to put the camera out of action. Go to the
small landing and KILL GUARD (or he will eventually kill you).
SEARCH GUARD to get the pass, go to the east end of the corridor
and INSERT PASS at the steel door. The password is DRAKENFELD.

In the security room, PUT MIRROR and the beams are shut off. SHAKE
PEDESTAL to get the diamond. Leave the room, SHOOT MAN (with
monocle... er, that is to say, the man has the monocle, you don't
shoot him with it), and go to the foot of the stairs. SHOOT GUARD,
go through the door and to reception where you can now safely get
escorted out and have your gun confiscated.

Luckily for you the taxi is still there, so ask it to take you to
TOWN. Go back to the hotel via the fountain (IN, which somehow
magically transports you to the hotel lobby) as the diamond is
stolen if you use the cable car. In the bar, even if the barman is
not present, GIVE DIAMOND and you will be helped to escape.

NOTE: There is at least one other alternative way of playing the

game. After opening the girl's handbag and taking the key to room
20, you can FOLLOW GIRL to the shower room, then KILL GIRL (to
discover who she is), HIDE BODY (in shower) and then go up to room
20. Then towards the end, when you have got the diamond and enter
the taxi, instead of going to the town ask to be taken to the
AIRPORT. When you are dropped off, go south four times, in, W,
move straw, get parachute and can, wear parachute, E, fill plane,
open doors (as per picture rather than text), get in, start the
plane, take off and fly east. You will see the barman beckoning
you, so jump out, go to the bar and GIVE DIAMOND to the barman. If
you play the game the other way, without killing the girl, then if
you try to use the plane you will either crash or be killed by the
girl when you land. As has been seen, though, you can still
successfully finish the game in this other way.

Solutions by Jim Magee and Allan Phillips

 THE VERY BIG CAVE ADVENTURE

Part One

W, N, S, WAIT, SAY NO, GET PENNY, N, EXAMINE DOOR, INSERT PENNY,

E, GET WELLIES, WEAR WELLIES, GET KEYS/BOMB/LAMP/BOTTLE/FOOD,
EXAMINE SPRING, GET WATER, S, THROW BOMB AT BULL, S, S, UNLOCK
GRATE, D, LIGHT LAMP, W, GET CAGE, W, DROP LAMP/KEYS/BOTTLE/FOOD,
READ WORD, SAY COMMODORE, DROP CAGE, GET LOG, SAY COMMODORE, U,
DROP LOG, E, GET LAMP, U, DROP LAMP, GET LOG, W, DROP LOG, E, GET
LAMP, W, DROP LAMP (and so on and so on, yawn, till the log forms
a bridge over the chasm).

E, S, GET CAN, N, D, OPEN CAN, DROP CAN, W, N, GET TABLE, S, W,

EXAMINE SIDEBOARD, OPEN DRAWER, GET RED KEY, E, E, N, GET SILVER
BARS, S, GET CAN, UP, UP, E, EXAMINE/UNLOCK PILLAR (this is the
exit to part two but don't use it yet).

DROP RED KEY, DROP CAN, E, E, SAY COMMODORE, DROP SILVER

BARS/TABLE, SAY COMMODORE, GET FOOD/BOTTLE/KEYS/ROD, U, GET ZX81,
W, DROP ROD/ZX81/FOOD, W, D, W, W, W, W, D, S, S, S, ENTER CAR,
PUSH BUTTON (and get yourself driven to Gotham City).

E, S, EXAMINE BUBBLES, GET CANISTER, N, W, N, IN, W, EXAMINE DESK,

OPEN BOX, GET PELLET, E, OUT, S, W, S (as long as the newsboy is
still referring to a jester on the loose), IN, WAIT (till the
jester appears), OPEN VALVE (and you end up in the heart of Gotham
City again), DROP CANISTER, W, N, N, EXAMINE WALL, U, SWITCH ON
SEARCHLIGHT, D, S, S, IN, GET NAIL FILE, OUT, S, E, IN, GET TIARA,
OUT, N, (then wait till That Man returns and takes you back to the
Bat Cavern).

N, N, W, WAIT, WAIT (etc till the troll starts to eat cornflakes,

then wait some more till he drops the packet), DROP KEYS, GET
PACKET, EXAMINE PACKET, DROP PELLET, WATER PELLET (which destroys
the troll, the art critic and the sophisticated parser), LOOK, GET
GOBLET, E, U, E, E, E, E, U, E, E, E, SAY COMMODORE, DROP
TIARA/NAIL FILE/GOBLET/PAINTINGS, SAY COMMODORE, U, W, W, D, W, W,
W, W, D, W, GET KEYS, E, S, S, GET UTILITY BELT, N, N, U, E, E, E,
E, E to enter the Space Invaders game. There's no way round this
apart from continually going right and left and firing until you
beat the aliens.

EXAMINE CHARACTERS, OPEN AIRLOCK, GET MOON CRYSTAL, W, U, E, E, E,

SAY COMMODORE, DROP MOON CRYSTAL, SAY COMMODORE, U, W, DROP
PACKET, GET ROD/FOOD, D, D and Part One should now be complete so
SAVE GAME with your total money raised so far £131,000 and a
little loose change.

Solution to Part One by John R. Barnsley

 Part Two

The objects required from Part One are the rod, bottle, food and
utility belt. At the start just go west and examine and touch
everything in sight until Trixie takes over.

At the restart EXAMINE CURTAINS at least twice, then EXAMINE

PANELS and EXAMINE CURTAINS again till you discover a small table.
Examine this three times to find a golden key, white glove and a
decanter. WEAR GLOVE and DIAL FILE (on the utility belt) to obtain
the file which enables you to FILE CHAIN and take the table. Get
the key and open the little door revealed by examining the
curtains. Get the decanter and drink the liquid in order to change
your size. Before going north make sure you've got everything
you'll need, as in a few moves time it'll be impossible to return.
Now go north till you can go no further, getting or examining
every rabbit in sight, till Trixie appears again.

At the second restart you are at last in Part Two proper. In the
Mattress Room the exits are randomly chosen if you try to go
north, south, up or down, but east and west are OK. However, keep
trying north, south, up, down till you arrive at the Large Low
Room. From here go north to the Dead End Room. In here you can SAY
MUD to return to the Wellie House, or SAY BRAN to get to the small
chamber that leads to the Dark Room.

In the French Cheese Room you should EXAMINE WALL and GET PIECE
(of broken plate). This can then be used to open the gate in the
room with all the broken crockery on the floor, and when you have
opened the gate you can drop the plate and go east to examine the
gravel in the building site to find the diamond.

The East Pit contains water and the West Pit contains a plant.
WATER PLANT twice then DIAL PARAQUAT to kill it and CLIMB PLANT to
the Giant Room. Here you get the record which you'll need to
destroy the hairy figure on the bridge, and also find the path
that leads to the Oaken Door.

To open this door you need to DIAL SLEDGEHAMMER, which provides

you with a dehydrated sledgehammer, then WATER SLEDGEHAMMER, SMASH
DOOR (twice), go north and get the golden eggs.

At the chasm GIVE RECORD to the hairy figure, go one location

south and type FEE FIE then return to the chasm and WAVE ROD.

To stop the rumbling noises in the Vast Chamber DIAL BICARBONATE

and as a reward you will be given a snuff box.

In the alcove you will need to DROP ALL in order to enter the
tunnel that leads to the small chamber. In the chamber GET EMERALD
and SAY BRAN to be taken to the Dead End, which is the only way to
get the emerald out. Now get everything from the alcove, go back
to the Dead End, drop everything bar the lamp and SAY BRAN to go
back to the small chamber. Go north-east while still carrying the
lamp, but to get the platinum brick out of the small chamber go
west through the tunnel while carrying only the brick. If you SAY
BRAN the brick will not be transported with you.

In the Large Room you need the jemmy to open the clam, the jemmy
being found in the caves on the other side of the chasm. JEMMY
CLAM then go down to find the pirate and his chest. Kill the
pirate by giving him the food.

To kill the wombat in the Barren Room you should drop the pirate's
chest and then OPEN CHEST for the ferret to appear and chase off
the wombat, allowing you to get the gold chain.

Ignore the warning about the Ming Vase as if you drop it on the
cushion you will lose it.

To get the dresser to the Dead End, use the same boring procedure
that moved the log in Part One. Do not stain the dresser with the
kit at the Dead End, as you'll then be unable to pick it up, but
wait instead until you've dropped it at the Wellie House and stain
it then.

Solution to Part Two by John Wilson

 ADDRESSES

These are the latest addresses (and in some cases phone numbers)
of companies who publish or have published Spectrum adventure
software.

ABSTRACT CONCEPTS
As for Delta 4

ACTIVISION-MEDIAGENIC
Blake House, Manor Farm Road, Reading, Berkshire RG2 0JN
(0734-311666)

ATLAS ADVENTURE SOFTWARE

24 Maes y Cwm, Llandudno, Gwynedd LL30 1JE

COMPASS SOFTWARE
111 Mill Road, Cobholm, Great Yarmouth NR31 0BB

CRL
9 Kings Yard, Carpenters Road, London E15 2HD (01-53302918)

DELTA 4
The Shieling, New Road, Swanmore, Hants SO3 2PE (04893-5800)

DOMARK
22 Hartfield Road, London SW19 3TA (01-780-2222)

DUCKWORTH
43 Gloucester Crescent, London NW1 7DY (01-485-3484)

EIGHTH DAY
18 Flaxhill, Moreton, Wirral, Merseyside L46 7UH (051-677-1581)

ELECTRONIC ARTS
Langley Business Centre, 11-49 Station Rd, Langley, Nr Slough,
Berkshire SL3 8YN (0753-49442)

ESSENTIAL MYTH
54 Church St, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire GL20 5RZ

GILSOFT
2 Park Crescent, Barry, South Glamorgan CF6 8HD (0446-732765)

INCENTIVE
Zephyr One, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, Berkshire RG7 4QW
(07356-77288)

INFOGRAMES
Mitre House, Abbey Road, Enfield, Middlesex EN1 2RQ (01-364-0123)
INTERCEPTOR
Mercury House, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, Berkshire RG7 4QW
(07356-71145)

LEVEL 9
PO Box 39, Weston-Super-Mare, Avon BS24 9UR (0934-814450)

MAGNETIC SCROLLS
1 Chapel Court, London SE1 1HH (01-403-4325)

MANDARIN
Europa House, Adlington Park, London Road, Adlington,
Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 4NP (0625-878888)

MARLIN GAMES (Linda Wright)

19 Briar Close, Nailsea, Bristol BS19 1QG (0272-856605)

MASTERTRONIC
As for Virgin Games

MELBOURNE HOUSE
As for Virgin Games

MOSAIC
Gorley Firs, South Gorley, Hants SP6 2PS (0425-57077)

PLAYERS
Mercury House, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, Berkshire RG7 4QW
(07356-77421)

PRECISION
33 Holst Close, Stanford-Le-Hope, Essex SS17 8RB

RAINBIRD
74 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1PS (01-631-5373)

RIVER SOFTWARE (Jack Lockerby)

44 Hyde Place, Aylesham, Canterbury, Kent CT3 3AL (0304-840319)

SMART EGG
8 Paston Place, Brighton BN2 1HA (0273-693622)

TARTAN SOFTWARE (Tom Frost)

61 Bailie Norrie Crescent, Montrose, Angus, Scotland DD10 9DT
(0674-74259)

TOPOLOGIKA
PO Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough PE7 3RL (0733-244682)

TYNESOFT
Addison Industrial Estate, Blaydon-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear
NE21 4TE (091-414-4611)
U.S. GOLD
Units 2/3, Holford Way, Holford, Birmingham B6 7AX (021-356-3388)

VIRGIN GAMES
2-4 Vernon Yard, Portobello Road, London W11 2DX (01-727-8070)

ZENOBI SOFTWARE (John Wilson)

26 Spotland Tops, Cutgate, Rochdale, Lancs OL12 7NX

OTHER USEFUL ADDRESSES

ADVENTURE CODER
3 West Lane, Baildon, Nr Shipley, W. Yorks BD17 5HD

ADVENTURE PROBE
24 Maes y Cwm, Llandudno, Gwynedd LL30 1JE

OFFICIAL SECRETS
PO Box 847, Harlow, Essex CM21 9PH

SPELLBREAKER
19 Napier Place, South Parks, Glenrothes, Fife KY6 IDX
 ADVENTURES ON THE SPECTRUM

Mike Gerrard

The book no Spectrum-owning adventure lover can afford to be

without. In its 128 pages you'll find masses of information about
adventure clubs and fanzines, how to write and sell your own
Spectrum adventures, how to solve adventures, and so on. There's a
section for newcomers too.

The book also includes fun solutions to over 40 of the most

popular Spectrum adventures.

(Thinks - does this mean 41? No, there are 43 of them!)

The solutions include Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Shadows of

Mordor, Rigel's Revenge, The Serf's Tale, The Big Sleaze, The
Boggit, Bugsy, Guild of Thieves, The Pawn, Rebel Planet, Sherlock,
Matt Lucas, Valkyrie 17, Castle Blackstar and dozens more.

MIKE GERRARD is the popular adventure columnist for Your Sinclair

magazine, and has also written several other adventure-related
books - The Adventurer's Notebook, The Adventurer's Companion and
The Spectrum Adventurer (all published by Duckworth). He has
written adventure columns for Dragon User, MSX Computing, Personal
Computer News, Amstrad PCW and Your Computer magazines. In
addition he's written two adventures of his own - The Odyssey
(published by Duckworth) and One of Our Wombats is Missing (Zenobi
Software).

ISBN 0 95151930 1 Published by

Mike Gerrard
PRICE £4.95 Net in U.K. Only PO Box 7
Ramsey
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire PE17 2UZ