This is an enormously large, complicated, rambling adventure in
which you can easily get lost and never be heard of again. Although
you can get hints on line, by just typing "hint", people still seem
to have difficulty with this game, mainly because they don't know
which order to follow (there are so many possibilities), get
confused (you get moved at random to strange locations), or even
forget what they are meant to be doing. Perfectly understandable:
but this is one of the greatest adventure classics of all time and
it merits serious attention.
There is a pesky Jester who will make your life misery with silly
riddles and worse. If he changes you into an alligator, wait till
you turn human again and remember to "take all", to recover your
items. If he puts a red ball on your nose, remove it or you'll run
out of air. He appears at odd times and does odd things, which
differ everytime you play. He will give you on random occasions a
slate, a scroll and a funny paper - read them, each provides a clue,
also different every time you play.
There is an obnoxious bug which gets in your way when you least need
it: to get rid of it, type "Yawn".
It is advisable to make some sort of map, because you'll be coming
backwards and forwards and you don't want to waste too much time
looking for places and things.
Finally, the object of the game is to lift the curse and find the 24
objects needed to toss into the cauldron, followed by speaking a
magic word. So, let's get going. Read the descriptions of each
room and examine each object as you get it. Although you don't have
to explore or do certain things in any particular order, I hope the
following directions will be useful to you. Save often.
THE PROLOGUE
NE, S, W, E, W, look, get under the table, get out, take scrap.
THE CASTLE
You start at the Great Hall. There is no need to pick up the items
on the floor, since they came in the box with the game and you can
physically look at them, but you can examine them if you like. What
we are going to do right now is to explore the castle as far as we
can, picking up what we can and solving whatever puzzles we can.
Go N to the Entrance Hall and read the proclamation; note the
portcullis and the bell, but don't do anything about it just now.
Instead, go S to the Great Hall, S to the Audience Chamber, S to the
Throne room. Get the *sceptre*, sit on the throne, snap fingers,
stand up, S, get candle. Might as well explore this area.
The Secret Passage
------------------
Go S to the Tee, E to the Top of the stairs, D to the Bottom of the
stairs. N leads to a Crypt, but the trapdoor above cannot be opened
from this side. S leads to the Dungeon.
D from the Dungeon leads to the Oubliette: get the *cap*.
The Jester will appear and ask you a riddle - the answer is
TRIPLET. Back up at the Dungeon, SE leads to a Cell: note the
cobwebs. SW from the Dungeon is the Torture chamber; open and
examine everything till a *metronome* drops down. Get it.
Now go NE, N, U, W to the Tee. Go W to the Forebuilding. If the
Jester drops a scroll at this point, examine it. It's an anagram
and it reads ENTER LIBRARY THEN TOUCH ARMOR THRICE.
SW from here you get to the Donjon; D takes you back to the
Forebuilding, U takes you to the Solar. Take the key and the Jester
will ask you another riddle. Answer Y. W takes you to Dimwit's
Room; go S to the Closet, take the cloak and the glove. N, E, U,
U: note the fly. D, D, D, NE, E to Tee.
The Rebus
---------
Go N along the secret passage, all the way to the Great Hall. From
here you can go in many directions: D leads to such a large
complex, we'll leave it for now. Go U instead to the Balcony. The
Jester may appear and if you find you can't breathe, remove the red
nose. Go S to the Gallery, examine rebus. Go S to the Closet, get
bag, press button, N, examine rebus - you will see that the button
has removed one of the animals and exposed a bit more of the
picture. Back S, U to roof. Nothing here but we just had to have a
look; this is one of the locations to which you can be transported
randomly, when you least expect it. By the way, you can get out of
such transportations by typing "Undo"... and crossing your fingers!
D, N, N, D to the Great Hall.
Main Floor
----------
Go N then E to Banquet Hall. Here is the cauldron into which you
have to toss the 24 items to end the curse. Drop here the sceptre,
the metronome and the cap. You can also drop here all the items you
don't need; there are so many in this game, it's advisable to drop
here as many as you can and as often as you can, so that you are
free to take up more in distant locations.
Go NE into the Scullery and get the straw, go D and S, get the
walnut, go U, W and W to the Entrance Hall. From here, W leads to
the Parlor - note the lobster. W leads to the Torch room, but don't
bother because the torches are red herrings. S leads to the Formal
gardens - note the flamingo. SW leads to a door to the West Wing,
for which you don't have the key yet. NE, E, E to the Courtyard.
The East Wing
-------------
From here go SE to the door to the East Wing and unlock it with the
iron key (you can drop it now). Once inside, go N to the Library
and read the Encyclopedia: type "read about..." to find out about
things. Try "read about Jester" and make a note of his name. You
can come back here any time you wish to know about something or
somebody - if you type "hint" you can find out everything you can
read up in this book. Type "Touch armor thrice" and you'll get a
*lance*. S.
From here, S leads to a Chapel: open the trap door to use as a
shortcut to the Crypt. E leads to the Guest Rooms (get the wand)
and E leads to the Servant's Quarters. Go up to the Jester's room.
You can open the large and the small doors. To the N you'll come to
the Pyramid room, where you'll find some goggles. Get them and wear
them. Leave and go S through the small door and you'll enter into
the Tower of Bozbar puzzle. You can look this up in the
Encyclopedia - you can also find the answer to the puzzle if you
type "hint" or "help", but I'm sure you'll figure it out quite
easily. You have to move all the ugh weights once to the left
column and once to the right column, going each time back to the
Pyramid room (there are three different rooms here depending on
whether the weights are on the left, center or right columns) to
get the cup with the potion and the *manuscript*.
Get back to the Banquet Hall and drop the lance and the manuscript
everything but the candle. And now to get the key for the West Wing.
Go to the Entrance Hall and push the doorbell. The Jester will
appear with another stupid riddle, the answer is TIME.
Outdoors
--------
From the Entrance Hall go N to Inner Bailey and get worm. You might
get the funny paper at this point - read it. NW to Causeway, NW to
Barbican, U, turn wheel, D, NW to Drawbridge, NW to Outer Bailey -
note the tree stump. If you go NW you'll see huge oak gates which
you won't be able to open just now. From the Outer Bailey, go SW to
Garrison. Open locker and take the key and the poster. NW. Best
get back to the Castle now, so head SE all the way to the Entrance
Hall and E to the Banquet Hall.
The West Wing
-------------
Here, drop everything but the steel key and then go S, W, W, SW;
unlock the door with the key, drop the key and open the door. W to
West Wing - try going W and the Jester will ask another riddle.
We'll come back to it in a moment. For now, go S and get the
*dumbbell*. SW leads to the Steam room, but there is nothing in it.
Get back to the Banquet Hall and drop the dumbbell by the cauldron.
Pick up the goggles and wear them, get the wand and the walnut. Go
W, W, wave the wand at the lobster, get the nutcracker, S, SW, W, W.
Use the nutcracker on the walnut and show the walnut to the Jester.
Eat the walnut. Now the way W is open, though we don't need to go
through just yet. Drop the nutcracker and go N. Read instructions
and type "Play Peggleboz". Have a bash and, if you can't manage,
exit the screen and type "hint" to find the solution. When you've
completed the puzzle a secret door will open to the N. Go N to the
Games Room and read the description. Since you are wearing the
goggles, you will be able to see where the bill has actually been
secreted. Type "point to..." and "hat", "shoe" or whatever, to get
the *bill*. Go back to the Banquet Hall, drop everything and get
the candle.
The Village
-----------
W to the Entrance Hall, N to Inner Bailey, and NW all the way to the
Outer Bailey. NE to the Bend, SE to Village Gate, E to Shady Park.
From here go N to URS Office, answer BOOKKEEPER to the riddle and
get the coin. S. S leads to a Church, nothing in it; so go E to
Village Center. S takes you into the Post Office; pick up the
package, read the address and open it. Inside, a pigeon and perch.
N. N from here leads to an empty Courtroom; so go E to the
FrobozzCo Headquarters. Go D and press the button (this should
affect the rebus). Go S, stand on stand, get off stand, get *violin*,
stand on stand, get off stand. Now go E to the Theatre. SE leads
to the North Shore and the Red Dock, but there is no need to
continue. Go Back to the Philharmonic Hall and then N. U, E to
Back Alley and N to the Magic Shop. Get the ring and go back to
FrobozzCo HQ. E leads to the FrobozzCo Offices - go up to 19th
floor, S, get the *t-square*, N, down again. Go all the way back to
the Banquet Hall and drop everything, and make sure you have the
candle and the glove.
If you haven't read the funny paper, do so now and remember what it
says. First we will go S, SE, E, S to the Chapel, D to the Crypt.
Look under whatever slab the funny paper mentioned and go down. You
will see the Oracle - note the depression. OK, that's that done.
Back to the Great Hall, time we went...
Underground
-----------
From the Great Hall go D to the Lower Hall and D again to Lowest
Hall. S, examine door, wear glove, turn dial to 920 - you'll hear a
click. Open the door, S, get *stock certificate*. N, N get the
passages and read the notice. S. D to Pits - note the lantern. Go
all the way up to the Banquet Hall and drop everything but the
candle. Back to Lower Hall.
N to laboratory, get *screwdriver*, go N to the Testing Room and note
the booths. S, S, get toboggan, E, note snake. E leads to the West
Shore and the Royal Yacht, but we won't go through here yet. Go
back to Banquet Hall, drop everything but the candle; get the coin,
the cloak and the package.
The Maze
--------
Go back to Lower Hall and this time head SW to the Underground
Highway, S to Exit, W and examine blueprint (and examine the actual
blueprint which comes with the game). Go W to room 47. From here
go SW, SE, W, W, install the northwest-southeast passage in NW wall,
NW, NW, NE, NE, NE, NE, install north-south passage on N wall, N, W,
SW, SW, SW, W, NE. You should now be in room 17. Drop the perch.
Wear the cloak and you'll find yourself in the Plains. Go N/W;
around here till you find a soldier on horseback (the Knight).
Drop the pigeon and then remove cloak. You should now be in room 17
with the Knight. Take the pigeon and type "Soldier, W then N
twice", drop pigeon and get it. You find yourself in your 0 with
the Knight. Type "Soldier, S twice then E", drop pigeon and get
it. Take all (this includes the *hardhat*) and come back out the
way you came.
The Crossroads
--------------
Go E to the Exit and take the road S to Crossroads. Go E and you'll
meet the Jester, who wants to know his middle name (remember, you
saw it in the Encyclopedia). Tell him and get the anti-pit bomb.
W. S to Toll Booth, put coin in the basket, S, E, D, take all the
orbs, back to the Crossroads.
We'd better go now to Lower Hall, D, D to pits, throw bomb at pits
and get the lantern. Back to Banquet Hall to drop all but the
candle.
Back to the Crossroads. Go W, W, W, S, SW to Fork and all the way W
to the Wharf and N to Casino. Sit down and you will enter a game.
Keep pressing enter and reading the messages until the Jester
discards a Trebled Fromp, then choose Undertramp and a card number
and do this two more times. You win a broom. Stand, S, E to...
The Fishing Village
-------------------
Go N to Inquisition, take all, look at your number and when it is
called, type "Executioner, behead me". You get chucked out.
Examine box to find the squid repellent pill. Now go S, S, SE to
Warning Room, read sign, go NE. Read all the doors - if you can't
figure it out, type "hint" and get the answer. Open the correct
door, go in and take the shovel. Go D to the Fork and back to Great
Hall.
Time for more work. Go S into the Secret Passage to the Tee, go E
and find the Cell, sweep cobwebs with the broom and get the *flask*.
Back to Great Hall and to Banquet Hall. Drop all but candle and
shovel. Read the slate if you had not done so before. Go to the
stump, stand on it and jump the required number of times in the
specified directions. Dig with the shovel, open the chest and get
the *crown*.
Go to Banquet Hall and drop all but the candle, take cap and wear it
and get the squid repellent and pigeon and perch. Go to Lower Hall
and find the Royal yacht.
The Lake
--------
Stand on yellow dock and enter yacht. Examine controls: press
white button. D, examine bathysphere, open it, drop repellent, in,
close the door, examine the controls, turn the light on, put hand in
hole and get the repellent. Pull lever down. Type "Wait" till you
see the ruby at the bottom of the lake, drop repellent, get ruby,
push lever up, wait till you are in the hold. Drop the ruby, take
hand out of hole, open the door, out, get ruby.
Go up and press the green button. Leave the yacht and the green
dock, go W, W, answer MUSIC to the riddle and you will get a
*diploma*. E, S, E (you'll see a fly), NE (you'll see a fox), N to
Base of Mountain, U, get *amulet*, push boulder. Go N to the
Grotto, push button, NE. Drop all but pigeon and candle. SW to
Grotto, D, take grave and candle, take pigeon. You get wisked back
to the Shrine. Put gravel in bowl, then go to the Grotto and D
twice more, going through the same rigmarole to put two more lots of
gravel in the bowl (remembering to describe the gravel when you type
the instructions). Touch the elixir, take all and go to the Base of
Mountain. N to Stable, get *saddle* and rooster, S, S, get fox, SW,
get fly and NW to yatch. Get back to the Castle by pressing the
yellow button. Go to the Banquet Hall and drop everything (even the
candle) but the fox and the rooster, get the worm.
Go to West Wing and go W (remember the walnut?), enter the gondola
and examine controls. Press right button to go to...
Fenshire
--------
Keep typing "Wait" till you get to the other hangar. Leave gondola
and go S, E to Ruined Hall - note vase. N to Marsh and give all to
the Jester. Not that simple. Drop all but rooster, go N, drop
rooster, go S, take fox, go N take rooster, drop fox. Go S, take
worm, drop rooster. Go N, drop worm, go S, get rooster, go N with
rooster. You end up in the hanger, get the hexagonal block. Go S,
E, S to Hothouse, play game (type "Hint" if you can't manage) and
you get a *fan*. Go back to hangar, get in the gondola, press left
button and wait till you get to the hangar and then go to Banquet
Hall. Drop everything. Take time now to go and get the fly in the
castle by going to the secret passage, to the Forebuilding and up to
the Parapet. Take the fly back to the Banquet Hall.
The Oracle
----------
Take the candle, the amulet (and wear it), the ruby, the pigeon and
the perch and the wand, go to East Wing, to the Church and D twice
to the Oracle.
Drop perch. Put ruby in depression. Examine the Oracle. Examine
the amulet. You will see four eyes: they can be all closed, all
open, one open, two open and so on. In each position, the Oracle
leads to different places.
The next move is tricky, so save your game. The cycle in which the
eyes change is 10 moves, and what you are about to do takes 13
moves. Therefore, time yourself so that, by the time you get back,
all the eyes will be closed. Wait as necessary (try setting off
when there is only one eye open), then go U, U, N, W, NW, W, D, SE,
wave wand at snake, open cage, get rope, drop pigeon and get
pigeon. Check the amulet and, if all the eyes are closed, enter
Oracle.
The Crag
--------
D, tie rope to spire, D, get *easel* and *landscape*, drop pigeon
and get pigeon. Take them to the Banquet Hall and drop the easel,
landscape and wand. From here on, hang on always to the candle,
pigeon and amulet (wearing it), whatever else you drop or pick up -
I won't mention these essential items any more but will take it for
granted that you will always retain them. I will also say "Use
pigeon" to mean drop it and pick it up to get to the Oracle.
Get the toboggan, the hexagonal block and the orbs, go back to the
Oracle, wait till only one eye is open and enter Oracle.
The Glacier
-----------
Drop toboggan and sit on it. You wind up at a mirror-like lake.
Look at each orb in the mirror. Drop it if you can see nothing.
Keep the orb in which you can see a maiden. Throw an orb E so that
you end W. Get off toboggan and go W. Get *scale model*. Use
pigeon. You find yourself before the Oracle.
Now that you have the right orb, go to the Crag once more (no eyes
open), press the button, go SE, D, and put the orb on the altar.
You get a rose. U, NW, SW, put hexagonal block in hole, S into Iron
Mine, get the sapphire and use pigeon.
Take time to go to Fenshire again. On the way to the gondola, drop
everything in the Banquet Hall and get the hardhat (wear it) and the
lantern. When you get to Fenshire, go S and E and put the rose in
the vase. A new passage opens to the E, get the stepladder and get
back to the Oracle.
Antharia
--------
Wait till all 4 eyes are open and enter Oracle. Go E into Mine, N,
N, press button, NW, get *quill pen*. Go back outside the Mine, W,
SW to the Stadium - note club. SE, E, turn lantern on, up. An
obnoxious bird will take the candle or the lantern and drop it down
the precipice. Go SW to Icky Cave. Cough and the witches will
appear, greet one by name (Sickly or Prickly) and they
will give you a 9-gloop vial and tell you their request. NE,
examine nest and get the *silk tie*. Leave cave, go down and get
the candle and the lantern. Turn the lantern off. Use pigeon.
At the Oracle, drop everything but the ladder. Wait till there are
3 eyes open and enter the Oracle.
Foot of Statue
--------------
Go SW, S, W to Hut. Read poem (there are gaps). Drop ladder and
climb it, open trap door, U to Attic. Press button and examine
trunk. D, E, N, NE, SE, E, read the sign and go NE to Shack. Take
vial and Gamboz will cast a spell on you - you are hungry. Use
pigeon.
At the Oracle, get everything you might have left here and go to
Banquet Hall, drop everything, get the wand and bag, vials, cap and
cup with the potion. Go to Formal Gardens, wave the wand at the
flamingo, drop wand, get flamingo and go to Testing Rooms. Put the
flamingo in one of the booths, go into the other, open the bag and
drop it, wait till flamingo comes to life and you turn into a
flamingo yourself, eat food. Get all your stuff.
Oasis
-----
Go to yacht, wear cap, press green button. Go S, W, ride camel,
take him to the Stream (to the W of the yacht) to drink and from the
Edge go S, SW, SE, SE, NE to Oasis. Get off the camel. See "hints"
if you cannot work out how to get 6 gloops in the 9-gloop vial.
Take the vial to the witches, now they want earwax, of all things.
Go to the Pits, keep going down then up till you get to the ear of
the Brogmoid. Drink the potion out of the cup and listen - the
fungi turns out to be missing someone. Make a note of the name.
Return to Castle and go to the Rebus.
Now it is completely visible, but back to front. Type "hint" if you
can't interpret it. The words fill the gaps of the poem you read.
Go to Banquet Hall, drop everything but the essentials and the
potion, take ring and sapphire.
Go back to Oracle, wait till 3 eyes are open, and travel to the Foot
of the Statue. Go SW to View, W and U all the way to On Top of The
Wolrd. Drink the potion, call the name of the fungus the other
fungi gave you and take the little fungus which turns up.
Back to View, SE, S, D to Quarry. Wear ring and you drop
everything, take sapphire, remove ring and get the key. Go to the
Attic, unlock the trunk, take the notebook and the fly. Read the
notebook. Go get all your stuff, leaving the pigeon for last, when
you will be back at the Oracle.
Go to the Pits, all the way down to the ear and drop the fungus. Go
in and take earwax. Take it to the witches, and then go to the
Stadium to get the *club*.
Use the pigeon to get to the Oracle. Take everything to the Banquet
Hall drop it and take the three flies. Use pigeon to get to Oracle.
Wait till 2 eyes are open and enter Oracle. Go N, NE, NE, take last
fly, SW, NW, SW. You will see a toad. Type "Otto, give me the
spyglass". He will want the flies, so give them to him and ask
again for the *spyglass*. Use pigeon to get back to Oracle. Go to
the Banquet Hall. Consult the scrap of parchment (see the docs
which came with the game) put the 24 items in the cauldron (if
you have any problems, type "hint" to see the complete list) and
say the magic word from the notebook (next to the kettle).
Now you can go outside the castle and all the way NW to the oak
gates, which will now open, and see the end of the game. Phew, I'm
exhausted!
