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| Genre: | Unknown Genre Type |
| Publisher: | Acornsoft |
| Cover Art Language: | English |
| Machine Compatibility: | Acorn Electron |
| Release: | Professionally released on Cassette |
| Available For: | Acorn Electron & BBC Model B |
| Compatible Emulators: | Elkulator 1.0 (PC (Windows)) |
| Original Release Date: | 1st February 1984 |
| Original Release Price: | £9.95 |
| Market Valuation: | £4.55 (How Is This Calculated?) |
| Item Weight: | 64g |
| Box Type: | Cardboard Box (Decorative) |
| Author(s): | Peter Killworth |
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Cassette
Classic Adventure Solutions Archive
27th May 2023
Old-fashioned and cerebrally challenging. Much more of a puzzle game than a story and this style is my preferred one.
Acorn User
1st February 1984
I only hope another adventurer comes along soon to help out as my lamp is going dim and that damn giant spider is still around here somewhere. Read Review
Full Instructions
Introduction
"The adventuring trade just isn't what it used to be," you reflect gloomily. "Nobody seems to need a trusty sword or a keen intellect any more."
You're down to your last silver piece, and there's tomorrow's dinner yet to be found. Sitting at the inn you contemplate earning an honest living for a change. Perhaps a steady income wouldn't be too boring, after all...
Suddenly, a cold draught and the slam of the door distract you from your train of thought, and seconds later, a tall-silver-haired figure in a black cloak slips on to the bench next to you...
So begins your magical adventure, with wizardry and hocus pocus of all kinds, booby traps and fiendish riddles to be unravelled along the tortuous route to the Magic Ring of Power. Your reward is to keep the treasure that you find on the way.
The Story So Far
Speaking in a whisper, the wizard reveals his purpose.
"I understand you're a professional, ahem, adventurer?"
You nod, a little doubtfully.
"That's good. I have a little, er, job I need doing. Would you be interested? The remuneration would be adequate."
Again you nod - this is beginning to sound interesting.
"About a week ago," begins the wizard. "One of the local upstart warlocks - curse him! - sneaked into my castle and made himself at home. He's booby-trapped the entire place and, worst of all, he found my Ring of Power. I must have it back! (His voice quivers with rage and emotion.)
You feel a little more confident now. Booby traps, rings - you're on comfortable ground here. The wizard, his face now restored to its former colour, stares piercingly at you. "Can you do it?" he asks. "Can you get my ring back for me?" You nod cautiously.
"Good. Now some words of advice. You can keep any treasure you find, and consider that your payment. Knowing that wretched warlock, you'll probably have to keep the treasure in the safe if we're ever going to get that ring back."
("We?!" you mutter to yourself...)
"Er, can I have some decent equipment?" you ask hopefully.
"Equipment? What for?! Go as you are! Are you ready?" roars the wizard.
"Well, er, yes, but..."
"Off you go then!" shouts the wizard, and before you can ask him for any more useful information, such as the whereabouts of the safe and the booby-traps for example, you find yourself flying headlong through the air in the direction of the wizard's castle.
Beginning A Game
Once loaded, you will be asked whether you want to start from the initial position or from a saved position on tape - select either I or S as prompted then press RETURN. The first time you play, you will want to start from the initial position.
The game starts with a description of your immediate surroundings - make a mental note of these before setting off with a command such as WEST, if you want to try going West, or NE to go Northeast.
The computer only looks at the first four letters of any word you type, so that the command NORTHEAST must be typed in as NE to distinguish it from NORTH (or N - there are various abbreviations you will pick up as you go).
The computer becomes your eyes and hands. It will tell you what you can see and what is happening around you. You must tell it, in return, what to do (It prompts you with a colon)). Use command of one or two words (in upper case).
Some General Advice
Tunnels bend sometimes, so going north from one room doesn't necessarily involve entering the next room from the south.
Some areas are not lit, and moving in the dark is rather dangerous, so you will need a light source. Some objects (and treasures!) can have special properties, as you'll find out: some of them are a help and some a hindrance. Nothing in the text is a red herring, so read all the text carefully for clues to other puzzles.
"Eh?" means the computer didn't recognise something vital in what you said: try something else. "I don't understand that!" means something less vital wasn't understood. If the computer needs more information, it will ask for it. So if you meant to say EAT BOOK, but only typed BOOK, the computer will reply "What do you want to do with the bookk?", to which you can reply EAT, for example.
Useful Words
Part of the fun is finding out which words are understood! However, a short list of those you might not guess is given here:
To move in some direction, try something like MOVE UP, CLIMB, SOUTH.
To get or drop a book, for example, try GET BOOK, TAKE BOOK, DROP BOOK, etc. GET, TAKE and DROP alone pick up or drop the first object the computer sees.
To get a full description of the room you are in, use LOOK.
To get a list of your possessions, use INV (for INVENTORY).
ON and OFF may be useful (Hint!).
To stop altogether, use QUIT or STOP.
To SAVE a game for later, use SAVE.
Score
Points are scored both for picking up treasure and depositing it in the safe - you score most, obviously, for depositing it in the safe. There are also other ways of scoring points. During the game you can display your score at any time by entering SCORE. The maximum score is 250; consider yourself an expert if you score more than 200 points.
Load/Save Position
During the course of the game, you may wish to save a game (for example, before trying something dangerous). Simply type SAVE (RETURN). The filename for a saved position is always "INIT" so you will need to keep track of which "INIT" is which!
On replaying you can then request the saved position by selecting S at the start of the program.
Loading
CHAIN"" (RETURN)
Solution
Notes
- The maximum score is 250
- You have to collect the following 12 treasures: TIARA, NECKLACE, FIGURINE, VASE, PORTRAIT, COIN, SCULPTURE, DIAMOND, BROOCH, CLOCK, MINK, CUSHION
- You have to solve 6 riddles to discover the final password; make a note of your answers in the order you give them
- You must not use your lamp unnecessarily, as there is just enough power to complete the adventure
Walkthrough
You start south of the Wizard's Castle, which stands on a hill above a vast forest to the south. Go NW (to the west of the castle), W (lost in dense forest), W (bald spot in forest - see a large gold coin), TAKE COIN, E (wandering lost in a dense forest), U (to top of tree), D (south of castle), NW (west of castle), NE (north of castle - see a small hole in castle wall), S (to cubbyhole - see a small battery lamp), TAKE LAMP, N, SE, SW, ON (lamp), N (as you go north a portcullis crashed down behind you). You are now in a guard room where "SOS" is scrawled on the wall - when you type SOS at any of the locations where there are "dots and dashes" you will be returned to south of the castle.
N (maze of white rooms), OFF (lamp, it is now pitch black but you can now see a luminous arrow pointing northeast), ON (lamp), NE, OFF, ON, N, OFF, ON, SE (now in a rough wooden ante room), N (a portcullis crashes down blocking the route back to the south - you are in a vast open courtyard with three circular exits each with a curtain of shimmering light, and steps to the northwest; you can see the Ring of Power which is out of reach).
W (through a shimmering light to an alcove), NE (wishing well - note what sign says, also see a three-foot long black metal rod with a hole in one end), TAKE ROD, THROW COIN (into well, you can retrieve the coin later - see a hidden exit to the north is revealed), N (note dots and dashes), WAIT (until a bear is at the south end of the corridor), N (bear shambles northeast, you are at the south end of the corridor), NE (winding passage), NW (bear is at south end of corridor, and you are at the north end), N, D (bear's bedroom), TAKE CAN (of red paint), SW, NW (square room of pure marble - to the north is an exit which pulses red and blue with a dim sign displaying a riddle - "What gets wetter as it dries?") say TOWEL (the north exit emits a loud fanfare and the sign says you may pass), TAKE CONTRAPTION, N (square room of pure marble - a sign says "Little Nancy Etticoat, with a white petticoat and a red nose, the longer she stands the shorter she grows), say CANDLE, TAKE BOOK (entitled "Scary Stories for Little Bears"), TAKE TIARA, S, S (north gateway), THROW BOOK (the little bear grabs it, sees the title and runs off), S, S, NE (winding passage), TAKE NECKLACE, NW, N, NW, N, N (large sitting room), SIT (in big chair - too hard), SIT (in middle chair - too soft), SIT (in small chair which is just right but your weight breaks it to reveal a hole underneath), D (tiny cell), TAKE FIGURINE, DIG (earth collapses but the rod (if carried) holds the roof up and you are now south of the castle).
N (guard room), N, NE, N, SE, N (courtyard - a voice asks if you are ready to take the Ring of Power yet), NO, OFF, DROP FIGURINE, DROP NECKLACE, DROP TIARA, OPEN CAN (of red paint), ON, N (alcove), N (awesome corridor of doom - see the letter "G"), W (see the letter "L"), W (see the letter "O"), W (see the letter "O"), W (see the letter "P" and a mirror on the west wall in which you see a creature behind you), THROW CAN (the creature thinks the red paint is blood, swallows it, chokes and disappears), S, S, S, TAKE BOX (which begins to tick), W, W, W, RUB MIRROR (a glowing gap appears), N (low damp wooden chamber with dots and dashes on floor - also see a valuable Ming Vase), TAKE VASE, W (bottom of well - see your gold coin and a wooden bucket), TAKE COIN, TAKE BUCKET (it is stuck), TAKE BUCKET (still stuck), TAKE BUCKET (this time is comes free of the mud).
E, NE (square room of pure marble - the sign says, "What does everyone overlook?"), say NOSE, N (see a portrait and a sign saying "A rich man has and wants more of, a fat man has and doesn't want, a poor man wants and can't get?"), say POUNDS, TAKE PORTRAIT, N (base of steep winding staircase), U (hear a baying sound), U, E (narrow ledge above forest), JUMP (the contraption enables you to land safely but it is destroyed - it starts raining), U (to top of tree), D (to clearing - small boat to the north), N (into boat before it drifts away - see a cushion), OFF (lamp), DROP CONTRAPTION, TAKE CUSHION, WAIT (if necessary, until you are warned the boat is filling with water), BAIL BOAT (need bucket, rain stops and the wind blows you to south of the castle), DROP CUSHION, N, ON (lamp - now back in guard room), N, NE, N, SE, N (courtyard), NO, OFF (lamp), DROP PORTRAIT, DROP COIN, DROP VASE, DROP BUCKET, ON (lamp), E (alcove), E (maze of jet black passages [*]), N, E, TAKE CASE (it starts to tick), NW, N, TAKE SCULPTURE, N, NE, W (small cylindrical cubicle marked "maze exit"), say RAINBOW (transported to south of a gateway marked "Danger! Giant's Shooting Gallery. Proceed with Caution"), N, NW, NE, SE, NE, NW, SW, DROP BOX, DROP CASE, NW, NE, NE (square marble room - a sign says "Lives in Winter, Dies in Summer and grows with its roots upwards".), say ICICLE, N (see a diamond and a sign which says "The beginning of eternity, the end of time and space".), say the letter E (should now hear a loud bang), TAKE DIAMOND, S, S (shooting gallery - the giants have been scared off by the explosion), SE, SW (see pieces of debris, a valuable antique clock and a valuable jewelled brooch), TAKE CLOCK, TAKE BROOCH, NW, SW (see a mink stole), TAKE STOLE, NE, NE, NE, N, N, U (flight of steps to landing), E (pinnacle far above south entrance of castle), OFF (lamp), JUMP (you land on the cushion you should have placed here earlier), TAKE CUSHION.
N (guard room), ON (lamp), N, NE, N, SE, N (courtyard), NO, OFF, U, ON (lamp - see a vaulted stone chamber and wall safe), GLOOP (the letters found in the awesome corridor of doom - the safe opens), W (into the safe, this is where you drop the treasures), DROP STOLE, E, OFF (lamp), N (a fine spray falls over you and your possessions and you feel rejuvenated - the lamp tingles (must be turned off) and the mangled cushion is restored to its former glory, as you are in the room containing "Ye Olde Fountain of Youth" - do not bring the mink stole into this location), S, ON (lamp), W, DROP CUSHION, DROP CLOCK, DROP BROOCH, DROP SCULPTURE, DROP DIAMOND, E, D (courtyard), NO, TAKE VASE, TAKE COIN, TAKE PORTRAIT, TAKE NECKLACE, TAKE TIARA, TAKE FIGURINE, U, W (into safe), DROP VASE, DROP COIN, DROP PORTRAIT, DROP NECKLACE, DROP TIARA, DROP FIGURINE. E, D (courtyard), say YES (as you have now deposited all the treasures in the safe you are told you are worthy but first you must say the password which is made up of the first letters of the answers to the riddles in the order you answered them), say TCNPIE to see the final congratulatory message.
[*] To map the maze of jet black passages you wave the rod which emits a puff of different coloured smoke in each room. The colours are those of the rainbow in the order of the spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet), however you will lose your rod digging out of the room underneath the bear's chair and so you may have to map this maze first of all. Use SOS at the locations where there are dots and dashes to take you south of the castle.
Miscellaneous
This game was mentioned in the following articles:
- Castle Of Riddles
- Castle Of Riddles
- Castle Of Riddles (Acornsoft)
- Castle Of Riddles
- Castle Of Riddles
- Castle Of Riddles (Acornsoft)
Screen Designers
The following utilities are also available to allow you to edit the supplied screens of this game:
Cheats
Download
A digital version of this item can be downloaded right here at Everygamegoing (All our downloads are in .zip format).
| Download | What It Contains |
|---|---|
 | A digital version of Castle Of Riddles suitable for Elkulator 1.0 (PC (Windows)) |
 | A digital version of Castle Of Riddles suitable for Elkulator 1.0 (PC (Windows)) |
 | A digital version of Castle Of Riddles suitable for Elkulator 1.0 (PC (Windows)) |
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