INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLAYING THIS ADVENTURE GAME

Welcome to the world of detective/adventure games! I hope you'll have
fun solving this rather delicate case. The only thing you need is a
sharp mind, and perhaps the complete Agathe Christie collection of
detective novels, or the complete Conan Doyle collection of Sherlock
Holmes stories.

This game is a kind of interactive novel. You play the role of Pete
Sharpeye, the famous private eye, who is called to assist the rather
simple minded police inspector, mr. Dumb Blind.

The main difference between a detective book and a detective adventure
game is that you in reading a book cannot take active part in the
solving of the crime, whereas you are the detective when you play the
game on the computer. This, I think, is a great challenge, not only the
the player, but also to the game constructor. This game is my first
attempt in the field of detective writing, so please excuse the minor
bugs, which you may find during the game. If you detect some bugs I
shall be happy to learn them.

How to play.

The playing of the game is quite simple. You just type your commands at
the prompt: "What now?". These commands can be a variety of English
sentences and they can be very complex too! Here are some (hypothetical)
examples:

OPEN CHEST
ASK THE BUTLER ABOUT THE BODY
TURN CLOCK
GET THE KNIFE AND EXAMINE IT
WEAR THE BIG GLOVES
FIRE THE GUN AT THE BIG DOG
TURN ON THE TELEVISION AND THE RADIO

etc....

The game takes place in an old Victorian house in London. You move
around by typing N (for NORTH), S (for SOUTH), etc. If you hit the
'?'-key you will get an overview of the function keys and the numeric
key pad, which have been re-programmed to some special commands. If you
want to see which (obvious) exits there are available you can do this by
typing LIST EXITS. You can also redirect the output to a printer by
using the command SCRIPT. You turn the printer off by the command
UNSCRIPT. Sometimes HINTS are available by hitting the F10-key or just
by typing 'H' (for HELP).

I have made it a bit easier for you to move around in the house. If you
e.g. type GO LIBRARY the programme will take you there. However, you
cannot e.g. type GO 1ST FLOOR. Here is a list of the rooms to which you
can move:

The kitchen, the livingroom, the library, the bedroom and the cellar.

IMPORTANT!

When you have collected all the clues you can type: SOLUTION and you
will be asked who killed Jane. However, YOU WILL ONLY GET ONE CHANCE! If
you answer wrong you lose the game, so consider your answer carefully.
You cannot type SOLUTION before you have all the clues (= a score of
100). Do NOT attempt to do it before you have gained a score of 100 as
you then will lose the game!.
At this point it should be obvious who the killer is. If your answer is
correct you will get a reconstruction of the murder and a background of
the motive.

Some pieces of advice:

1) Make a map! and indicate where you find the different clues. This
could be important in the solving of the murder.
2) Use your imagination. Some of the puzzles are easy, some of them are
very difficult.
3) Remember that this game is written in the "old detective style", so
it is not certain that the most obvious suspect is the murder
(murderess), or perhaps s/he is, who knows? I do but I'll not tell you!
4) Examine everything! and read the descriptions of the various rooms
and objects closesly. There might be some clues in these, which in the
end will make it clear who has committed the crime.

Credits:

This game was written with the QEdit editor and compiled with the
AGT-system. Both these systems are SHAREWARE, which means that you are
allowed to try them for a trial period, AND THEN YOU MUST PAY FOR THEM.
However, the price for e.g AGT registration is US$ 20.00 (1991 level).
This is VERY cheap for such a great programme. Qedit costs approx. US$
60.00, but this is also very cheap. Both programmes are available
through various Computer Clubs, CompuServe, Computer Stores and
Electronic Bulletin Boards.

Join the growing group of adveture writers! It is only your imagination
which sets the limits!!

I hope you have fun.

My address is:

Christian Andersen
Callisensvej 33, 1
DK-2900  Hellerup
Denmark

in case you wish to report any bugs or have any questions, ideas or
comments to improve the game.

I have previously written the following games:

1) The McLosky House.
2) Quest for Fire.
3) The Rescue of the Fair Princess From the Evil Baron Krauss' Hands.
4) The Escape From Prison Island.

If you are interested in these games, please send me (on the above
address) a stamped envelope and a 5 1/4" Double Sided Diskette (IBM) for
each of the games.

Yours faithfully,

Christian Andersen