This is the help file for INFOMENU.PAS, containing story descriptions and
all help text. Note that story descriptions do not have to be segregated
from the help topics; they may be interspersed with one another.

The format of the story descriptions is as follows:

Line 1:    {.DAT or .Z? file name}

  This is the filename portion of the .DAT or .Z? file, without the
  extension, enclosed in {}. E.g., for Nord and Bert, line 1 would be
  {NORDANDB}. For Adventure, it would be {ADVENT}. InfoMenu assumes any
  line beginning with { is a new section, so do not begin any other
  lines with it.

Line 2:    Story Title

  This is the full title of the story as you want it to appear on the
  menu. E.g., "Zork Zero: The Coconut of Quendor".

Line 3:    Teaser

  This is a one-line teaser, which will appear at the bottom of the main
  menu when that story's name is highlighted. It may be any length you'd
  like, but InfoMenu will only display the first 51 characters.

Lines 5ff: Story description

  This is a detailed introduction to the story. It may be as many lines
  long as you'd like, but InfoMenu will display only the first fourteen.
  Recommended maximum line length is 64 characters, though InfoMenu will
  display longer lines.


The format of the help sections is as follows:

Line 1:    <Topic Title>

  This is the title of the help topic, as you wish it to appear in the
  help menu which is invoked via F1. It must be enclosed in <>. InfoMenu
  assumes that any line beginning with '<' is a help topic title, so
  make sure no other lines begin with '<'.

Line 2:    Teaser

  This is a one line brief description of what this topic is about. It
  will appear at the bottom of the help menu.

Line 3ff:  Contents

  This is the help topic text. It may be any number of lines long,
  however, for asthetic reasons, it is recommended that lines be no
  longer than 72 characters.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
{AMFV}
A Mind Forever Voyaging
And you thought you were just like everyone else.
Welcome  to  the year 2031  -  a world on the  brink  of  chaos.
With  civilization collapsing around them,  the world's  leaders
have  in desparation proposed the Plan to restore sanity to  the
world order.  Untried, the Plan could save the world, or  plunge
it into a thousand years of darkness.

You are PRISM, the world's first sentient computer.   Your  task
is to test the Plan is a simulated world of tomorrow.   Will the
Plan  work,   or  will it spell death for humanity?   The  world
awaits your decision; the future of mankind rests in your hands.
                          --------
1985 by Steve Meretzky                            Advanced Level
{ADVENT}
Adventure
The adventure that started it all!
Here  is  the grandfather of them  all  - the original Adventure
story that gave birth to interactive fiction.

You're  an adventurer, exploring the  recesses of the mysterious
cavern known as Colossal Cave. Your object is to collect all the
treasures,  and escape with your life. Along the way, you'll en-
counter characters which have become legends in the world of in-
teractive  fiction: knife-throwing dwarves, twisty little mazes,
and - of course! - the crusty old pirate with his chest of trea-
sures. If you've never played the original, enjoy it now!
                          --------
ca. 1977 by William Crowther and Don Woods
{ADV}
Adventure B01
Bigger and better than the original!
Here  is  Adventure B01, an  expanded,  550-point version of the
classic adventure game, with more locations, more treasures, and
an  even  more Colossal Cavern. If  you thought the original was
tough, take a crack at this version!
{ARTHUR}
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur
Excalibur's gone, and a usurper's on the throne!
King  Uther  is dead, the country  in  chaos. With Saxons at the
border,  England stands on the precipice of war. Clamoring for a
king,  the  people embrace a  usurper, who steals Excalibur, and
with it the throne.

You are Arthur, the rightful heir. Young and inexperienced, with
only  Merlin  as your guide, you  must  prove yourself worthy to
rule and regain your throne.
                          --------
1989 by Bob Bates
{BALANCES}
Balances
The world is off balance - after the Great Change.
This  is an "interactive short story" intended as an epilogue to
Infocom's  Enchanter  trilogy.  It  borrows  heavily  from  that
trilogy  to create a small story in  which your first goal is to
discover just what the heck the goal of the story is.
                          --------
1994 by Graham Nelson
{BALLYHOO}
Ballyhoo
Big time suspense under the Big Top!
You stick around after the show in the big top,  hoping to catch
a free after-hours performance.   But  instead,  you  overhear a
mysterious conversation:  the  circus owner's daughter has  been
kidnapped!   Could  it be an inside job?   You set out to rescue
the damsel in distress,  but  the odds aren't in your favor - an
outsider in a defensive close-knit community,   trying to find a
girl you've never met, in a place you know nothing about,  among
bizarre  people who want nothing to do with you.   Every  circus
has its underside, but few are as dangerous as this.
                          --------
1986 by Jeff O'Neill                              Standard Level
{BEYONDZO}
Beyond Zork
Hunt the Coconut of Quendor!
All  the  enchanters in the Southlands of  Quendor  have  disap-
peared.   Monsters roam the countryside,   and  the taverns  are
filled with disturbing rumours and unsavory characters. A simple
peasant  like yourself knows better than to get involved in  the
affairs of wizards, but such is your fate.   Drawn into a web of
fantasy and magic,   your strength and power grow with every en-
counter,  until the most fabulous treasure of all  -  the fabled
Coconut of Quendor  -  lies within your grasp.   If only you can
survive long enough to claim it!
                          --------
1987 by Brian Moriarty
{BORDERZO}
Border Zone
International intrigue behind the iron curtain.
Washington and Moscow drive the Cold War,  but  here is where it
is fought:  at the front,  in countries like Frobnia and Litzen-
burg,   where  strangers are suspect and all  actions  observed,
where  innocent travelers are snared in the web of international
espionage.   You will play three different characters (an Ameri-
can businessman,  an Eastern spy and a Western spy)  involved in
the  assassination attempt of an American ambassador.   Can  you
stop the assassination and prevent World War III?
                          --------
1987 by Marc Blank
{BUREAUCR}
Bureaucracy
What could be simpler than a change of address?
Your first day at your new job.  Your spiffy new apartment would
be,  well,  spiffy,  if  only your furniture would arrive.   The
moving crew has assured you it would be here any time,  but  you
know how that goes.    And you've got that seminar in Paris this
very afternoon,   so you'll need to leave as soon as you get the
money order your boss has mailed you. Unless, of course, there's
some problem with the mail.  You'd use your new U.S. Excess card
if the bank hadn't sent it to  your  old  address,  despite  the
change of address card you filled out when you moved.  Well, the
bank's just down the street;   it shouldn't take more than a few
minutes to straighten that out, right?
                          --------
1987 by Douglas Adams and W.E.B. Morgan
{CURSES}
Curses
You're set to go but you can't find the @!#$ map!
Ah,  holiday  at last! You've been  looking forward to this trip
for  weeks,  and you're all packed.  Except  for one detail: you
can't find that blasted tourist map of Paris you saved from your
last visit five years ago.

Your  goal is simply to find the map. But if you're not careful,
along  the  way you may find  out how realistic Tarot cards are,
whether sixth century politics has any bearing on your life, and
if modernist poetry is really good for you.
                          --------
1993/4 by Graham Nelson
{CUTTHROA}
Cutthroats
A race to sunken treasure - but trust no one!
You are a daring deep-sea diver holed up on Hardscrabble Island,
a  dying  little  seaport  all but forgotten.   The  tiny island
offers little in the way of  entertainment  or  diversions,  and
diving off the treacherous reefs has long since lost its  charm.
So when a note  is  slipped under your bedroom door offering you
the opportunity of a lifetime, you're ready to take the plunge.

True,  your  cohorts are untrustworthy.   Granted,  keeping  the
sunken  treasure  a  secret is practically impossible on such  a
small island.   Naturally,  diving alone in new areas is danger-
ous.   But  if you can keep your head and get the treasure,  the
riches will more than offset the risks you have to take.
                          --------
1984 by Michael Berlyn and Jerry Wolper           Standard Level
{DEADLINE}
Deadline
12 hours to solve a murder!
The  coroner  ruled it suicide,   and  all the evidence  agrees.
Still,  there's something nagging at you about the case,  an un-
uneasiness bred of long years of police detection work,  and you
didn't  get  to  be  Chief  of  Detectives  by not trusting your
instincts.

You soon discover that many people wanted the victim dead.   Now
all you have to do is discover which one did it.  And why.
                          --------
1982 by Marc Blank                                  Expert Level
{ENCHANTE}
Enchanter
A spectacular spellbinders' showdown!
For generations the power of the  Enchanters has held the forces
of evil at bay.  But now a new power has arisen, darker,  bolder
and more powerful than any the Circle has encountered before,  a
power beyond the might of the Circle to control.   But from ages
ago,  the Enchanters had foreseen this.   And now,  the task has
fallen to you,  an apprentice magician,  to infiltrate the  for-
tress of the evil warlock Krill,  to spy out his domain,  and to
to wrest, if you can, this Dark Lord from his throne.
                          --------
1983 by Dave Lebling and Marc Blank               Standard Level
{HITCHHIK}
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Don't Panic!
Get  ready to take a trip you never thought possible. You are on
the  verge  of becoming Arthur Dent,  a simple if unworldly chap
whose  house  is, unluckily, being bulldozed  to  make way for a
bypass. Not that it matters, really, since the Earth is about to
be destroyed for somewhat similar purposes. If you survive these
twin  disasters, you'll travel with  Ford Prefect, your peculiar
friend and neighbour, to the most unusual corners of the Galaxy.
So  prepare to have your mind boggled, your wits tested and your
concept  of reality thrown for a  loop by The Hitchhiker's Guide
to  the  Galaxy. Don't forget your  towel,  and above all, Don't
Panic!
                          --------
1984 by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky          Standard Level
{HOLLYWOO}
Hollywood Hijinx
You could inherit millions - or die trying.
As a child, you spent most of your summers with your Aunt Hilde-
garde and Uncle Buddy.  What memories!  Uncle Buddy was a Holly-
wood big-shot,  Aunt Hildegarde his loving (and very rich) wife.
They  had  no children of their own,  but  you and your  cousins
loved their house, their parties, the Hollywood memorabilia, and
them.   Sure,  Buddy and Hildy were a bit eccentric  -  but that
only added to their charm.

Aunt Hildegarde kept the house when Uncle Buddy passed away. And
now that she's suddenly died, you remember her unusual will. You
will  inherit  the entire estate - worth millions - if  you  can
spend just one night in the house and on the grounds, and find a
treasure or two.  But if you can't, then you inherit nothing.
                          --------
1987 by Dave Anderson                             Standard Level
{INFIDEL}
Infidel
A lost pyramid, riches - and revenge.
All  around  you the desert stretches to the limits of the hori-
zon.  Was it foolishness or your own stubborn pride that brought
you to this pass?    Somewhere  nearby,  lies the pyramid,  what
would be the great discovery of your life.   But  you  crew  has
has deserted you, and now death seems the more likely fate.

But it's too late to retreat now.   Your reputation is at stake.
Driven onward against desperate odds you slog out into the burn-
ing sands.  Can you survive the mysteries of the lost pyramid?
                          --------
1983 by Michael Berlyn                            Advanced Level
{JOURNEY}
Journey
An evil blight. A missing wizard. You the only hope.
A  shadow  of  evil  has fallen  over  the  land.  The crops are
blighted, the earth parched. Disease and famine ravage the once-
prosperous people, whose hope of salvation fades with each pass-
ing day. In desparation, with barren winter looming on the hori-
zon,  you have been dispatched to discover, if you can, the wiz-
ard Astrix, and to persuade him to save your people.
                          --------
1989 by Marc Blank
{LEATHER}
Leather Goddesses of Phobos
Save the earth from a fate worse than sex.
Don't let anyone tell you that nothing  ever  happens  in  Upper
Sandusky, Ohio,  because on this day in 1936 you're snatched out
of your favorite Upper Sandusky bar - kidnapped  by  minions  of
the evil Leather Goddesses of Phobos,  who  are plotting to turn
the Earth into their  own  private  pleasure  palace.   You  are
brought back to Phobos as preparations continue to enslave every
man and woman on Earth.

If you succeed in escaping the clutches of  the  Goddesses,  you
will begin an odyssey the likes of which  you  have  never  even
imagined -  a naughty,  bawdy,  rowdy,  rousing  and very,  very
amusing  romp  across the solar system to collect the  materials
you'll need to ultimately defeat the  Leather Goddesses and save
humanity from their dastardly plan!
                          --------
1986 by Steve Meretzky                            Standard Level
{LURKING}
Lurking Horror
Nightmares beyond your imagining.
It's 8 p.m., and you've got just two things on your mind  -  the
twenty-five page paper that's due in the morning, and how you're
going to get to  a  computer terminal in the middle of the worst
blizzard to hit G.U.E. Tech in over a hundred years. The strange
rumours of a rash of recent student disappearances, while unset-
tling, hardly merited your attention, or so you thought. But now
you're trapped in a maze of buildings late at night,  and events
begin to take a macabre turn.   Suddenly, you find yourself face
to face with an ancient horror lurking just below the surface of
a quiet little campus, and a life and death struggle with occul-
tic forces beyond your deepest nightmares.
                          --------
1987 by Dave Lebling
{MINIZORK}
Mini Zork
Zork Lite!
This  is  a  mini  version of Zork  1,  put  out by Infocom as a
sampler  in  the early 1980s. It  contains  only a subset of the
locations,  puzzles and descriptions of the full version, and is
probably mostly of interest only as a collector's item.
{MOONMIST}
Moonmist
A ghostly mystery.
Mysteries are intriguing  enough  for  a  famous  young American
detective like yourself.    But the letter you received  from  a
friend in England was positively irresistable.   Tresyllian Cas-
tle - the  old,  dark,  hauntingly beautiful castle where Tamara
lives - was haunted, and someone was after Tamara's life!

So  you were hardly suprised  to find yourself bound for Britain
and a journey to the English moors.  But events soon take a turn
toward  the  unexpected  when you stumble across a secret panel,
and  a  trail of riddles leads you to a hidden treasure somebody
thinks is worth killing for. And if you're not careful, the next
ghost haunting Tresyllian castle could be yours.
                          --------
1986 by Stu Galley and Jim Lawrence           Introductory Level
{NORDANDB}
Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head Nor Tail of It
It's a punny, punny world.
There's panic in Punster, and only you can stop it.  Punster has
been  strangely besieged by a malady that has affected  language
itself  and  forced  the good people of Punster  into  hilarious
submission.  And it's up to you to set things right.

To  do  it,  you'll  need not an elvish sword but a rapier sharp
wit,  a velvet smooth tongue,  and a mind like a steel trap,  as
you  battle  your  way  through  cliches,  idioms,  spoonerisms,
homonyms and other verbal witticisms.   With your command of the
hackneyed  phrase you'll find  yourself locked in mortal  combat
with a peck of pickled puzzles, and even a 1950s sitcom,  trying
try to cut the mustard in these eight vignettes as you come face
to face with the ugly situation engulfing the people of Punster.
Good luck!  Punster is counting on you.
                          --------
1987 by Jeff O'Neill
{PLANETFA}
Planetfall
Risk your life - on Stellar Patrol?
After ten  thousand years of barbarism,  a new Galactic Union is
born.   Its  Stellar  Patrol once again reaches out into the un-
known to bring peace and to reunite the galaxy.  You're a fifth-
generation  Patrolman,  and a descendent of one of its founders.
You joined the Patrol  to  see  the  galaxy,  but  as  an Ensign
Seventh Class,  all  you've  seen for the past year is the other
end of your mop, and you're beginning to wonder if you're really
cut out for the  Patrol.

Then one day, unexpectedly, your ship explodes...
                          --------
1983 by Steve Meretzky                            Standard Level
{PLUNDERE}
Plundered Hearts
Peril, romance and adventure on the high seas.
Proper women don't travel  half way around the world unescorted,
and  a  week ago you wouldn't even have considered it.  But with
the unexpected news from the West Indies of your father's sudden
illness you were forced to throw caution to the winds and under-
take the long, dangerous journey to the New World alone.

And now, the worst has happened.    Your ship has been attacked,
and you've been carried off by dashing pirate captain  Jean  Le-
Fond to a fate unknown.   But more than your honor is imperiled,
for your father will die if you cannot reach him in time.
                          --------
1987 by Amy Briggs
{SAMPLER1}
Sampler
Taste-test four Infocom classics!
This  is  the first of  two samplers Infocom released, providing
interactive   samples  of  three  Infocom  classics  -  Infidel,
Planetfall  and  Zork I - along  with a transcript from Witness,
and Mark Lebling's famous Catch a Butterfly tutorial.
{SEASTALK}
Seastalker
Dive deep into danger in an untested submarine.
There's  something down there,  something terrifying. Now you've
got  to face it ... because now only you can save the Aquadome -
the world's first undersea research station.

The  alarm sounds and your submarine, the Scimitar, stands wait-
ing.  But not so fast - you  haven't even tested the Scimitar in
deep  water, and the crew at the  Aquadome may have a traitor in
its  ranks. So be careful!  You have terrifying possibilities to
consider,  mysteries  to  unravel,  life-and-death  decisions to
make!  And if you challenge the  deep without all your wits, you
just might wind up as shark bait.
                          --------
1984 by Stuart Galley and Jim Lawrence        Introductory Level
{SHERLOCK}
Sherlock: Riddle of the Crown Jewels
You must save the world's most famous detective.
In just 48 hours will begin the greatest celebration London has ever
seen  -  Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria's  Golden  Jubilee.  And  its
climactic  event,  a royal procession  through the streets of London
with the Queen reigning over all resplendent in the Crown Jewels.

But the Jewels are stolen, and a baffled Scotland Yard has called on
Sherlock  Holmes to solve the crime before the government falls into
international  disrepute.  But suspecting a  deadly trap, Holmes has
turned the investigation over to you, his cohort Dr. Watson.

Now  the  trail of clues leads  ever  deeper into mystery, until you
come  face to face in a  final confrontation with the most dastardly
of  foes,  Holmes' arch nemesis Dr.  Moriarty. All you have left are
your wits, but will they be enough to save Sherlock Holmes?
                          --------
1988 by Bob Bates and Challenge, Inc.
{SHOGUN}
Shogun
A struggle for power in mythical Japan!
The  year is 1600, and the powerful Catholic empire of Spain and
Portugal  is locked in a death struggle with the upstart Protes-
tant nations of England and Holland.

After  hundreds  of years of anarchy,  Japan  was unified by the
great  warrior Nakamura, who ruled with  an iron hand. But Naka-
mura  has  died, and Japan is once  again poised on the brink of
civil war.

You  are John Blackstone, resourceful English seaman, and Pilot-
Major  of the Dutch trader-warship  Erasmus, on a secret mission
of  trade  and plunder. Unexpectedly,  fate  tosses you into the
center  of the struggle to rule  Japan, and you must choose your
friends and confidants carefully if you wish to survive!
                          --------
1989 by Dave Lebling and James Clavell
{SORCERER}
Sorcerer
Rescue a magician lost in a doomed kingdom!
For  your  victory  over  Krill,  you  were  made  an apprentice
magician,  and  awarded a seat on  the Circle of Enchanters. But
recently  Belboz,  the most powerful  Enchanter  in the land and
your   mentor,  has  been  acting  strangely,  and  now  he  has
disappeared  entirely.  If  his powers  were  being  used by the
forces of darkness, who knows what would result. In the midst of
Hellhounds,  amusement  parks, mazes, and  flumes,  only you can
defeat the evil demon Jeearr and bring Belboz home.
                          --------
1984 by Steve Meretzky                            Advanced Level
{SPELLBRE}
Spellbreaker
Break a mysterious curse!
In Spellbreaker, third in the Enchanter trilogy, an unknown evil
causes magic to fail and threatens your world with annihilation.

You  owe  your  position as leader of the esteemed Circle of En-
chanters to your consistently brilliant use of magic.    But now
magic itself has become unreliable and frighteningly unfamiliar.
The very foundations of the kingdom are threatened.

In  a  perilous journey through  the  black foundation of magic,
from  the Zorkian underworld to the far reaches of uncharted di-
mensions, you must search for the source of  the  unmaking.  The
outcome  is  uncertain when Evil's dark purposes are at last ex-
posed in the final confrontation.
                          --------
1985 by Dave Lebling                                Expert Level
{STARCROS}
Starcross
A challenge issued eons ago that only you can meet!
It's the year 2186,  and you are destined to rendezvous  with  a
gargantuan starship from the outer fringes of the galaxy.   Upon
docking with the strange craft,  you must succeed in gaining en-
try  to  its mysterious interior.  Once within, you will explore
as startling,  complex and engaging a world as any in  Infocom's
universe, and come face to face with other-worldly beings,  both
helpful and harmful.  But the great starship serves a far larger
purpose than mere cultural exchange.   It  conveys  a  challenge
that was issued eons ago,  from  light-years away - and only you
can meet it.
                          --------
1982 by Dave Lebling                                Expert Level
{STATIONF}
Stationfall
Floyd is back in the boffoid sequel to Planetfall.
It's been five years since your planetfall on Resida.  Your hero-
ics in saving that doomed world resulted in a big promotion,  but
your life of dull scrubwork has been replaced by  a  life of dull
paperwork.   But  today Lady Luck is once again about to rear her
ugly head, as you find yourself amidst the administrative maze of
Deck Twelve on a typically exciting task: an emergency mission to
Space Station Gamma Delta Gamma 777-G 59/59 Sector Alpha-Mu-79 to
pick  up  a supply of Request for Stellar Patrol Issue Regulation
Black Form Binders Request Form Forms...
                          --------
1987 by Steve Meretzky
{SUSPECT}
Suspect
You're guilty - until proven innocent.
You're not sure who's who. But one thing is certain - someone is
dead. And now they're pointing fingers at you.

You  have  walked into a hotbed  of deceit and trickery. And now
they're  accusing  you of something  you couldn't have done. But
they  have the proof. "You're a killer," they say. And until you
can prove them wrong, you're guilty as charged.

But  no one wants to help  you. You're an outsider, a struggling
journalist  looking for a good story. And only an outsider could
be so rude as to accept an invitation to the social event of the
season. Then spoil it all.
                          --------
1984 by Dave Lebling                              Advanced Level
{SUSPENDE}
Suspended
Only your wits can save the world.
The  planners  said it would  never happen. The Filtering Compu-
ters,  they  said, were fail-safe.  Nothing  could go wrong, and
your  five-hundred-year  cryogenically-induced  sleep would pass
without event.

But  now you've been unexpectedly awakened years ahead of sched-
ule. The great Filtering Computers have gone awry, the planet is
in  chaos,  and you're the last  thing standing between life and
death  for millions of residents on the planet's surface. You're
the last backup system, and you have only a few hours to restore
balance  to  a world gone out  of  control, before they pull the
plug on you.
                          --------
1983 by Michael Berlyn                              Expert Level
{TRINITY}
Trinity
Journey to the dawn of the atomic age.
You're just an American tourist in London, strolling through the
famous  Kensington Gardens on this, the  last day of your London
vacation.  Unfortunately,  it's also the  first day of World War
III,  and  only  seconds remain  before  an H-bomb vaporizes the
city.   Suddenly,  you  find  yourself  suspended  in  a  secret
universe,  a plane somewhere between fantasy and reality, as you
travel  back  to the dawn of the  atomic  age with the course of
history in your hands.
                          --------
1986 by Brian Moriarty                            Standard Level
{WISHBRIN}
Wishbringer
The legendary stone that makes dreams come true.
As a postal clerk in the small seaside village of Festeron, your
life has been quite ordinary. But when you're asked to deliver a
strange  envelope  to  an even stranger  magic  shop on the out-
skirts  of  town,  things  become  quite  extraordinary  indeed.
Embarking  on  a search for a  kidnapped  cat, you find yourself
running  for your life in a  town turned into a nightmare world.
Once-quiet  Festeron has become the home  of great evil, and its
fate now rests in your hands.
                          --------
1985 by Brian Moriarty                        Introductory Level
{WITNESS}
The Witness
Speak up, or be silenced!
Dead:  one  gilt-edged society dame. And  now it looks like some
two-bit  grifter is putting the  screws to her multi-millionaire
old  man.  All in all, a  pretty typical Angeleno clan for these
days.  But then the shakedown turns ugly, and you're left with a
stiff  and a race against the clock to nail your suspect ... if,
that is, you don't cash in your chips ahead of time!

As  Chief Police Detective you're  up against your toughest case
to  date: a sordid family affair that may land everyone from the
knockout heiress to the poker-faced Oriental butler in the slam-
mer  before  it's over. And the  only testimony you can trust is
that of your own eyes - because you're The Witness.
                          --------
1983 by Stuart Galley                             Standard Level
{ZORK0}
Zork 0: The Coconut of Quendor
Save the Flathead Empire!
It's  been  90 years since  Megaboz cursed Lord Dimwit Flathead,
and  today the empire is in chaos. From all over the empire, ad-
venturers  have flocked to Flatheadia, drawn by the reward prom-
ised  to the one who reverses the curse - half the wealth of the
kingdom.  But none has succeeded and  now you are the last hope.
All  others  have fled. You alone  know the secret of the Curse,
but will it be enough?
                          --------
1988 by Steve Meretzky
{ZORK1}
Zork 1: The Great Underground Empire
Treasures, monsters, dangers and discoveries!
Your  journey has begun, in this, the story that started it all.
Enter  the  ruins of an  ancient  empire buried far underground,
where   you'll   find  yourself   confronted   with  perils  and
predicaments  ranging  from the mystical  to  the macabre as you
strive  to discover the Twenty Treasures of Zork and escape with
them and your life.
                          --------
1980 by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling               Standard Level
{ZORK2}
Zork 2: The Wizard of Frobozz
The hit sequel to Zork.
Journey to a long-hidden region of the Great Underground Empire,
as  you  descend  into  new  depths  of  the subterranean realm,
exploring  ruins  dominated by the  frivolous Wizard of Frobozz.
Exiled  years before, the Wizard is still a force to be reckoned
with,  as he attempts to confound your quest with his capricious
powers.
                          --------
1981 by Dave Lebling and Marc Blank               Advanced Level
{ZORK3}
Zork 3: The Dungeon Master
A land where nothing is as it seems!
Your  greatest challenge beckons as you take the final step down
into  the  very heart of the  Great Underground Empire. Here you
face  the final test of your wisdom and courage. To survive, you
must  discover why you have been  led into the perilous ruins of
this  once-great empire. Your odyssey culminates in an encounter
with  the Dungeon Master himself, and  your destiny hangs in the
balance as he oversees your ultimate triumph - or destruction!
                          --------
1982 by Dave Lebling and Marc Blank               Advanced Level
{ ------------------ End of Descriptions --------------------- }
<About InfoMenu>
Introduction to and help for InfoMenu.
Welcome  to  InfoMenu,  the  menuing  system  for Infocom-format
interactive  fiction!  If  this is  the  first  time you've used
InfoMenu, please refer to the section on Configuring InfoMenu to
get InfoMenu up and running.

InfoMenu   provides  a  complete,  mouse-aware,  point-and-shoot
environment for running Infocom-format interactive fiction, with
extensive   online  helps.  It  should  work  with  any  of  the
third-party  Infocom-format  story  interpreters,  such  as Mark
Howell's   ZIP.EXE  or  InfoTaskForce's  INFOCOM.EXE  (both  are
available on the Internet via anonymous FTP from ftp.gmd.de). It
will  even  work with Infocom's Type  6 games, such as Arthur or
Shogun, and non-Infocom format games as well.

                          Requirements

To  run  InfoMenu  you must have  MS-DOS  3.31 or later, with at
least  280k  free memory (InfoMenu itself  will run in less, but
won't  have  enough memory left to  run  any of the stories). Of
course,  it'd  be  nice if you  had  at least one Infocom-format
story  to run, but it's  not absolutely necessary; InfoMenu will
run  fine  without one, though in  that case about all you'll be
able to do is look at the pretty help screens.


                         The Main Menu

When  InfoMenu  first  starts, it displays  a  menu with all the
Infocom-format  stories it can find. From this main menu you can
do many things.

First,  of course, you can run  any of the stories which appears
on  the  menu, either by using  the  arrow keys to highlight the
story,  then  pressing ENTER, or  by double-clicking on the name
with the mouse.

In  addition, you can select and run any Infocom-format Type 1-5
story file via the browse menu,  which is invoked with the right
mouse button,  by pressing F4,  by typing  Alt-B,  or by double-
clicking on Browse at the bottom of the screen.    This is espe-
cially useful if you wish to run an  Infocom-format  .DAT or .Z
file which doesn't appear in the main menu.

You   may  access  the  help  system   by  pressing  F1,  or  by
double-clicking  on HELP at the bottom  of the screen. This will
bring  up  a menu allowing you to  select from a variety of help
topics,   ranging   from  help  with   InfoMenu  itself,  to  an
introduction to the world of interactive fiction, to tips on how
to talk to or solve a story, and more.

Pressing  F2,  or double-clicking on Story Info at the bottom of
the  screen,  will pop up a  multi-line description of the story
whose  name  is highlighted on the  menu,  providing you with an
introduction to what that story is about.

Pressing F3 brings up the configuration menu. See the section on
configuring InfoMenu for more information.
<Credits and Other Legalities>
Copyright notice and author availability.
InfoMenu was written by Calvin Culver, and is copyright 1994 by
Culverware, Inc. All rights are reserved.

InfoMenu  is  donorware.  It  may  be  distributed  and used for
non-commercial  purposes free of  charge. However, this software
represents a couple hundred hours' work, so if you find InfoMenu
useful and would like to make a small donation, you may do so to
the following address:

                        Culverware, Inc.
                         W6999 King Rd.
                   Poynette, Wisconsin 53955

The author may be contacted either through the above address, or
by e-mail at any of the following:

                     calvin.richter@sil.org
                      culver@macc.wisc.edu
                   ctrichte@students.wisc.edu
<Configuring InfoMenu>
How to set up InfoMenu
                         (INFOMENU.CFG)

Before  it  can be used, InfoMenu must  know  a few of pieces of
information.  You supply this  information via the configuration
window,  which  is brought up by  pressing  F3, typing Alt-C, or
double-clicking on Config at the bottom of the screen.

The Interpreter:

First,   InfoMenu  must  be   told  which  Infocom-format  story
interpreter  you wish to use. Type  in the full drive, directory
and      filename     (with     extension).     For     example:
C:\GAMES\INFOCOM\ZIP.EXE.

The Data Directories:

When  InfoMenu  starts up, it scans  your  hard disk looking for
.DAT  or  .Z  files.  It  looks  in  three  directories,  in the
following  order:  the directory you  were  logged into when you
started    InfoMenu   (the   "current    directory")   and   two
user-configurable directories, the First .DAT Directory and the
Second .DAT Directory.

If  you  keep  your  .DAT  and  .Z  files  together  in the same
directory,  and you will be logged  into that directory when you
start  InfoMenu, you may leave both of the .DAT Directory fields
in the configuration menu empty.

The First Data Directory:

Usually,  you  will keep all your  .DAT and .Z files together in
the  same directory. If that is not the directory from which you
will  be starting InfoMenu (i.e., the "current directory"), then
enter the location of your .DAT files here.

The Second Directory:

If  you have a second directory  where you keep some .DAT files,
enter  it  here. This will be  especially  useful in cases where
most  of  the  .DAT files reside  on  a read-only drive (e.g., a
CD-ROM  or a network drive). For  example, most of my .DAT files
are   on  CD-ROM,  which  is  my  E:  drive,  in  the  directory
\INFOCOM\DATA,  but I have some additional files I've downloaded
from  BBSes.  I place these new .DAT  files on my C: drive in my
\GAMES\IF  directory,  then in the  configuration menu I specify
E:\INFOCOM\DATA for the First .DAT Directory and C:\GAMES\IF for
the Second.

Please  note  that InfoMenu checks  for duplication of .DAT file
names,  so  that a story does not  appear  more than once in the
main  menu.  Thus,  for  example,  if  you  have  two  copies of
CURSES.DAT,  one  in each of  your  Data Directories, there will
still  be  only  one  menu entry  for  Curses.  Be aware that in
checking  for  duplicates  InfoMenu  only  compares the filename
portions  of  the .DAT file. So  if,  for example, you have both
HITCHHIK.Z3  and HITCHHIK.DAT, only one will appear in the menu.
If  you  wish  both to appear, you  must  change one of the file
names to something else.

Story1 - Story6:

These fields allow you to specify the name of other programs you
would  like  to  able to run  from  the main menu. Specifically,
these  are  intended  for  the  Infocom  Type  6 stories Arthur,
Journey, Shogun and Zork Zero. Since these stories require their
own  interpreters, you will need to specify the drive, directory
and  name of their executable files here  in order to be able to
run them from InfoMenu. Do so in one of these fields.


When  you've  supplied the information  InfoMenu needs, click on
OK. InfoMenu saves the configuration information in INFOMENU.CFG
for  use  the  next  time  it  runs.  Any  time  you  change the
configuration,  you  must  exit  and  restart  InfoMenu  for the
changes to take effect.

The configuration information is saved in the directory that was
current  at the time InfoMenu was started. Thus, for example, if
a  network user brings in CURSES.DAT from home, and places it in
a  subdirectory  off her home  directory,  she need only specify
that   directory  in  the  configuration  menu,  then  save  the
configuration.  As  long as she  always starts InfoMenu from her
home  directory,  InfoMenu will always  find  CURSES. And if she
always  starts  InfoMenu  from  the  directory  where CURSES.DAT
resides, she need not even change the configuration.

<The InfoMenu Help File>
What's it for and what do I do with it?
                         (INFOMENU.HLP)

InfoMenu  requires  that  it  be able  to  find  its  help file,
INFOMENU.HLP  in  order  to run. The  help  file is a plain text
file, containing the story descriptions and help text you access
from InfoMenu's main menu.

The Help Text:

Most  likely, you will never need to modify any of the help text
contained  in  INFOMENU.HLP. If you  wish, however, you may edit
the  help  text  or  add new help  topics.  If  you do, you must
observe  a  few simple rules on  the structure of the help file.
For details, see INFOMENU.HLP.

The Story Descriptions:

Initially, INFOMENU.HLP comes with story descriptions for all of
the  Infocom  stories, plus a handful  of  others. These are the
descriptions  which  appear on screen when  you  press F2 at the
main menu. It is not necessary that there be a description entry
for  every  story  InfoMenu finds;  if  InfoMenu  doesn't find a
description,  it will display that  story's filename in all caps
on the menu, and so inform the user if F2 is pressed.

If  you  wish  to  add descriptions  for  new  stories  you have
acquired, you may do so using any standard plain text editor. Be
sure,  however,  to observe the  Help File formatting rules. For
details, see INFOMENU.HLP.

If INFOMENU.HLP is inaccessible to  you for modification  (e.g.,
it resides on a CD-ROM or network  drive)  simply make a copy of
it in your home directory, and  modify it there.  Then just make
sure  you're  logged  into  that  directory  when  you  start up
InfoMenu;  since  InfoMenu  always looks  first  in  the current
directory  for  its help file, it  will use your copy instead of
the original.
<Error Messages and Other Problems>
When things don't work right.
You may get an error message from, or experience a problem with,
InfoMenu  for  one  of several  reasons.  This section describes
these error messages, and suggests possible corrections.

Couldn't find INFOMENU.HLP!

  InfoMenu  must be able to find its help file, INFOMENU.HLP, in
  order  to run. Make sure you  have INFOMENU.HLP either in your
  current  directory  or  in  the  directory  where INFOMENU.EXE
  resides.

Couldn't find any stories!

  InfoMenu  couldn't  find any story  files.  Story files have a
  file  extension of .DAT, .Z3 or  .Z5. From the main menu press
  F3  to  bring up the configuration  menu, and make sure one of
  the  directory  entries points to  the  location of your story
  files. Then click on OK to save your changes, exit and restart
  InfoMenu.

Unauthorized tampering detected - aborting!

  You  have  a  corrupted  version  of  INFOMENU.EXE.  Solution:
  replace it with a good copy.


Other problems you might encounter include:

InfoMenu found some of my stories, but others don't appear on
the menu:

  1)  You  may be referring to  Arthur,  Journey, Shogun or Zork
     Zero.  Most Infocom-format interactive  stories can use the
     interpreter  you've  specified  on  the  configuration menu
     (press  F3).  A few stories,  however,  such as Journey, et
     al.,  are  Infocom  Type  6  format  and  require their own
     interpreters (the .EXE files that came with them). From the
     main  menu press F3, move to one of the "Story1" - "Story6"
     fields, and enter the drive, path and full filename of that
     story's    executable   file    (e.g.,   C:\INFOCOM\ARTHUR\
     ARTHUR.EXE).  Click  on OK to  save your changes, then exit
     and restart InfoMenu.

  2)  If  you have a few  additional story files not kept in the
     same  directory as the rest, make sure the second directory
     entry  in  the configuration menu  (press  F3 from the main
     menu)  points  to  there.  Then click  on  OK  to save your
     changes, and exit and restart InfoMenu.

  3)  Make sure the interpreter you specify in the configuration
     menu  (press  F3) points to  an  existing story interpreter
     (e.g., C:\INFOCOM\ZIP.EXE, where ZIP.EXE actually exists in
     C:\INFOCOM).  If InfoMenu doesn't find the interpreter file
     you  specified,  it will not display  any of the .DAT or .Z
     files it finds.

  4)  InfoMenu can display no more  than thirty eight stories in
     its  main  menu at a time. If  it finds more than this, the
     rest  are still there, just not showing. Highlight the last
     story  showing on the screen, then  press the down arrow or
     page down to see more.

I highlight a story and press ENTER, but it doesn't run.

  Make sure you have enough free memory before running InfoMenu.
  For  most  of the stories you will  need  a minimum of 250k. A
  few,  such as Trinity and A  Mind Forever Voyaging, require at
  least  290k. And the Type  6 stories (Arthur, Journey, Shogun,
  and Zork Zero) need a minimum of 380k.

  Also,  make  sure the Interpreter  field  in the configuration
  menu points to a valid Infocom-format interpreter.

I tried to exit InfoMenu by clicking on the close button then
changed my mind by selecting Cancel, but the screen didn't come
back.

  This  is  a bug in the program  design.  I am aware of it, and
  hopefully  it  will be fixed in  the next version. For now, to
  bring back the menu screen, press F4 and then ESC.


If  you  think  you find any  other  bugs in the program, please
report  them  to any of the  addresses listed in the Credits and
Other Legalities section.
<About Interactive Fiction>
Just what is "interactive fiction", anyway?
Interactive  fiction is a story in  which YOU are the main char-
acter.  Your own thinking and  imagination determine the actions
of  that character and guide the story from start to finish. You
talk  to  the story, typing in  full  English sentences, and the
story  talks right back, communicating  entirely in vividly des-
criptive  prose.  You actually shape  the  course of the story's
events  through  your choices. And  you  have hundreds of alter-
natives at every step.

Each  work of interactive fiction presents  you with a series of
locations,  items,  characters,  and events.  You  can move from
place  to place, use the objects you find, and interact with the
other characters, to affect the outcome of the story. An import-
ant element of interactive fiction is puzzle-solving. You should
think  of a locked door or a  ferocious beast not as a permanent
obstacle,  but merely as a puzzle to be tackled. Solving puzzles
will  frequently  involve bringing a  certain item with you, and
then using it in the proper way.

In most interactive stories time passes only in response to your
input.  You  might  imagine  a clock  that  ticks  once for each
sentence  you type, and the story  progresses only at each tick.
Nothing  happens until you type a  sentence and press RETURN (or
ENTER),  so  you can plan your  turns as slowly and carefully as
you want.

To measure your progress, most stories keep track of your score.
You  may get points for solving puzzles, performing certain act-
ions,  or  visiting certain locations. A  perfect score is to be
striven for, but of course having fun is much more important.

To  help  you select the  proper adventure, most Infocom stories
are rated according to difficulty of play.

Introductory  Level stories are perfect for those who are new to
the  world  of interactive fiction,  with puzzles and challenges
designed  to  whet your appetite and  start  you on your journey
into this amazing form of computerized entertainment.

For  those with some adventure experience  who desire a bit more
challenge,  there is the Standard  Level, Infocom's most popular
level of interactive fiction. Here the difficulty is turned up a
notch,  with  intriguing puzzles to  provide days of fascinating
play.

If  you're  already experienced in  interactive fiction, you may
wish  to  try your hand at  the Advanced Level. With puzzles and
difficulties designed to challenge the hardiest adventurer, this
level is not for the beginner or the faint of heart.

And  for  those  seeking the  ultimate  in interactive intrigue,
there is the Expert Level. With puzzles and suprises unsurpassed
in  the world of electronic adventures,  make sure your wits are
sharp  and you puzzler ready, because  it doesn't get any harder
than this.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

   The following is a complete list of all Infocom stories:

  Zork 0: The Coconut of Quendor            Infidel
  Zork 1: The Great Underground Empire      Lurking Horror
  Zork 2: Wizard of Frobozz                 Moonmist
  Zork 3: The Dungeon Master                Nord and Bert
  A Mind Forever Voyaging                   Planetfall
  Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur           Plundered Hearts
  Ballyhoo                                  Seastalker
  Beyond Zork                               Shogun
  Border Zone                               Sorcerer
  Bureaucracy                               Spellbreaker
  Sherlock: Riddle of the Crown Jewels      Starcross
  Cutthroats                                Stationfall
  Deadline                                  Suspect
  Enchanter                                 Suspended
  Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy          Trinity
  Hollywood Hijinx                          Wishbringer
  Journey                                   Witness
  Leather Goddesses of Phobos
<Starting and Stopping an Interactive Story>
Getting into and out of an interactive story.
Starting a story:

To  start  a story, use the arrow  keys on the keyboard to high-
light  the  name of the story,  then press RETURN (or ENTER). Or
simply double click on the title with your mouse.

Alternatively, if you you have a story that you wish to run, but
it  doesn't appear on the InfoMenu  menu, you can use the browse
menu  to locate it, and run it from there. Press F4 or the right
mouse button to bring up the browse menu.

Saving and Restoring:

It  will  probably  take you many  days  to complete each story.
Using the SAVE feature, you can continue a story at a later time
without having to start over from the beginning, just as you can
place  a  bookmark  in  a  book  you  are  reading.  SAVE puts a
"snapshot" of your place in the story onto your disk. You should
also   save  your  place  before  (or  after)  trying  something
dangerous  or tricky. That way, even if you get lost or "killed"
in the story, you can return to your saved position.

To save your place in the story, type SAVE at the prompt (>) and
then  press RETURN (or ENTER). Then press RETURN again to accept
the  default  name and location for the  save file, or type in a
different one and press RETURN.

You  can  restore a saved position any  time you want. To do so,
type  RESTORE  at the prompt and  press RETURN (or ENTER). Press
RETURN again to accept the default name and location, or type in
an  alternative one and press RETURN.  You can then continue the
story  from the point where you  used the SAVE command. Try typ-
ing LOOK for a description of where you are.

Quitting and Restarting:

If  you want to start over  from the beginning, type RESTART and
press  the  RETURN (or ENTER) key.  (This is usually faster than
quitting and restarting from the DOS prompt.) Just to make sure,
the  story will ask if you really want to start over. If you do,
type Y or YES and press the RETURN (or ENTER) key.

If  you  want to stop entirely,  type  QUIT and press the RETURN
key.  Once again, the story will ask  if this is really what you
want to do.

Remember:  when  you RESTART or QUIT, if  you want to be able to
return  to  your current position, you  must  first use the SAVE
command.
<Communicating with Interactive Fiction>
How to get a story to do what you want.
In  interactive stories, you type your commands in plain English
each  time you see the prompt (>). The stories usually act as if
your  commands begin with "I want to...," although you shouldn't
actually  type  those words. You can  use  words like THE if you
want, and you can use capital letters if you'd like; the stories
don't care either way.

When  you  have finished typing a  command, press the RETURN (or
ENTER)  key.  The story will  then  respond, telling you whether
your  request  is possible at this  point in the story, and what
happened as a result.

Most  stories recognize your words by the first six letters, and
all  subsequent letters are  ignored. Therefore CANDLE, CANDLEs,
AND CANDLEstick would all be treated as the same word.

To  move around, just type the  direction you want to go. Direc-
tions  can  be abbreviated: NORTH to N,  SOUTH  to S, EAST to E,
WEST  to  W, NORTHEAST to NE,  NORTHWEST to NW, SOUTHEAST to SE,
SOUTHWEST  to  SW, UP to U and  DOWN  to D. Remember that IN and
OUT,  or  ENTER and EXIT, will  also work in certain places, and
some  stories also recognize PORT  (P), STARBOARD (SB), FORE (F)
and AFT.

Works  of interactive fiction understand many different kinds of
sentences. Here are several examples. (Note these objects do not
necessarily appear in any particular story.)

> WALK NORTH
> DOWN
> NE
> GO UP
> TAKE THE RED CANDLE
> READ THE SIGN
> LOOK UNDER THE BED
> LIGHT THE CIGAR
> TURN THE DIAL
> PLAY "CHOPSTICKS"
> PUSH THE BLACK BUTTON
> DIG IN THE GROUND
> PUT THE STICK IN THE HOLE
> GIVE THE FLY TO THE FROG
> LOOK INSIDE THE CAGE
> CALL 555-1212
> TURN THE BICYCLE NORTH

You  can use multiple objects with certain verbs if you separate
them by the word AND or by a comma. Some examples:

> TAKE BOOK AND KNIFE
> DROP THE YELLOW BALL, THE SPOTTED FROG, AND THE PEANUT
> PUT THE LADYBUG AND THE SPIDER IN THE JAR

You can include several sentences on one input line if you sepa-
rate  them by the word THEN or by a period (note that each sent-
ence will still count as a turn). You don't need a period at the
end  of  the input line. For example,  you could type all of the
following at once, before pressing the RETURN (or ENTER) key:

> READ THE SIGN. GO NORTH THEN TAKE THE CROWBAR AND MALLET THEN
  GO SW. GET THE STRING.

If a story doesn't understand one of the sentences on your input
line,  or if something unusual happens,  it will ignore the rest
of your input line (see the section on "Common Complaints").

The words IT and ALL can be very useful. For example:

> TAKE THE APPLE. POLISH IT. PUT IT IN THE BOX
> CLOSE THE HEAVE METAL DOOR. LOCK IT
> TAKE THE SHOE. EMPTY IT. PUT IT ON
> TAKE ALL
> TAKE ALL EXCEPT THE WET EGG AND THE KEY
> TAKE ALL FROM CABINET
> DROP ALL BUT THE PENCIL

The  word ALL refers to every visible object except those inside
something  else. If there were an apple on the ground and an or-
ange inside a cabinet, TAKE ALL would take the apple but not the
orange.

There  are  three kinds of questions  that you can ask: WHERE IS
(something),  WHAT  IS  (something), and  WHO  IS (someone). For
example:

> WHO IS LORD DIMWIT?
> WHAT IS A GRUE?
> WHERE IS EVERYBODY?

In  many interactive stories, you  will meet other characters as
you  play. You can "talk" to some  of them by typing their name,
then  a  comma, then whatever you want  to say to them. Here are
some examples:

> LOIS, HELLO
> FRED, GIVE ME A BOWLING BALL
> SALESMAN, TELL ME ABOUT THE PLATYPUS
> WILLY, PUT ON THE GLOVE THEN THROW THE BALL
> HARRY, TAKE THE GUN. SHOOT THE PENGUIN

Notice that in the last two examples you're giving a person more
than one command on the same input line. But remember: Most peo-
ple  don't  care for idle chatter.  Your deeds will speak louder
than your words.

Interactive  stories will try to guess what you really mean when
you  don't give enough information. For example, if you say that
you  want to do something, but not what  you want to do it to or
with,  a  story  will sometimes decide  that  there  is only one
possible  object  you could mean. When  it does so, it will tell
you. For example:

> UNLOCK THE DOOR
(with the key)
The door is now unlocked.

If  your  sentence  is ambiguous, the  story  will  ask what you
really  mean. You can answer most  of these questions briefly by
supplying the missing information, rather than typing the entire
input  again. You can do this only at the very next prompt. Some
examples:

> CUT THE ROPE
What do you want to cut the rope with?
> THE KNIFE
As you cut the rope, you hear a loud crash in the tent.

or

> TAKE THE BUTTERFLY
Which butterfly do you mean, the delicate magenta butterfly or
the fat yellow butterfly?
> DELICATE
The delicate magenta butterfly flutters away as you reach for
it.

Infocom stories recognize between 500 and 1000 words each, newer
stories  even more. These are nearly  all that you are likely to
use  in  your commands. However, a  story will use many words in
its  descriptions  that it will  not recognize in your commands.
For example, you might read, "The full moon is bright and clear,
and  the  apple trees cast eerie  shadows." If the story doesn't
recognize  the word MOON or SHADOWS in your input you can assume
they  are not important to your  completion of the story, except
to provide you with a more vivid description of where you are or
what is going on.

<Special Commands>
Some special commands useful in most stories.
There  are  a number of commands  which have special meanings to
most  stories.  You can use them  over  and over as needed. Some
count  as  a  turn, others do  not.  Type  the command after the
prompt  (>)  and press the RETURN  (or ENTER) key. Note: not all
stories will recognize all of these.

AGAIN - The story will respond as if you had repeated your prev-
ious  command.  For example, typing  SHOOT  THE MONSTER WITH THE
LASER  GUN then typing AGAIN would  be like shooting the monster
twice in a row. You can abbreviate AGAIN to G.

BRIEF - This command tells a story to give you the full descrip-
tion  of a location only the first  time you enter it. On subse-
quent  visits,  the  story will tell  you  only  the name of the
location  and  the objects present. This  is  how the story will
normally  act  unless you tell it  otherwise with the VERBOSE or
SUPERBRIEF  commands.  The SUPERBRIEF command  tells  a story to
display  only the name of a place  you have entered, even if you
have  never been there before. In  this mode, the story will not
even  mention  which  objects are  present.  Of  course, you can
always get a description of your location and the items there by
typing  LOOK.  In SUPERBRIEF mode,  the blank line between turns
will  be  eliminated.  This mode is  meant  for  players who are
already  very  familiar with the  geography. The VERBOSE command
tells  a  story  that you want  a  complete  description of each
location  and the objects in it every time you enter a location,
even if you've been there before.

DIAGNOSE  - The story will  describe your physical condition and
tell you whether you need food, drink or sleep.

HINT  -  Some interactive stories  provide  online hints for the
various  puzzles you will encounter. While it may be tempting to
use  this feature in those stories in which it is available, try
to  avoid  the  urge  unless  you're  really,  really stuck. The
satisfaction  to  be  derived from  a  story  comes from solving
difficult  problems  on  your  own.  The  hint  feature on those
stories  that support it may be disabled by typing HINTS OFF. In
many stories, HINTS and HELP are synonyms for HINT.

INVENTORY  - the story will list  what you are carrying. You can
abbreviate INVENTORY to I.

LOOK  - this tells a story to describe your location in full de-
tail. You can abbreviate LOOK to L.

OOPS  - If you accidentally mistype  a word, such that the story
doesn't understand the word, you can correct it on the next line
by  typing OOPS and the correct  word. Suppose, for example, you
type  PUT  THE LETTER INTO THE  NAILBOX  and were told "[I don't
know  the  word 'nailbox']". You  could type OOPS MAILBOX rather
than retyping the entire sentence.

QUIT  -  This lets you stop the  story. If you want to save your
position before quitting, follow the instructions in the "Start-
ing and Stopping" section. You can abbreviate QUIT to Q.

RESTART  - This stops the story  and starts over from the begin-
ning.

RESTORE  - This restores a position made using the SAVE command.
See the "Starting and Stopping" section for more details.

SAVE  - This puts a "snapshot"  of your current position on your
storage  disk. You can return to  a saved position in the future
using  the RESTORE command. See the "Starting and Stopping" sec-
tion for more details.

SCORE  - The story will show your current score and assign you a
ranking based on that score.

SCRIPT - This command tells your printer to begin making a tran-
script of the story as you venture onwards. A transcript may aid
your memory but is not necessary. Turn it off with UNSCRIPT.

SUPERBRIEF - See BRIEF above.

TIME  -  This  gives you the current  time  of  day. TIME can be
abbreviated to T.

UNSCRIPT - See SCRIPT above.

VERBOSE - See BRIEF ABOVE.

$VERIFY - Use this command if you suspect your story is damaged.
If  the  story reports damage,  repeat the command several times
and, if possible, on another computer. If the story ever replies
positively,  the data is intact and  you must look elsewhere for
the source of any problems you are encountering.

VERSION  - The story responds by  showing you the release number
and  the serial number of your copy of the story. Please include
this information if you ever report a "bug" in the story.

WAIT  - This will cause time in the story to pass. Normally, be-
tween  turns, nothing happens in the story. You could leave your
computer,  take  a  nap, and return  to  the  story to find that
nothing  has changed. You can use WAIT  to make time pass in the
story  without  doing anything. For example,  you can wait for a
specific  time,  or  wait for an  event  to happen, etc. You can
abbreviate WAIT to Z.


In  addition,  most interactive  stories support vocabulary spe-
cific  to that story. For a list of these commands, see the doc-
umentation for that story.
<Common Complaints>
When a story complains about what you typed.
An  interactive  story will complain if  you type a command that
confuses  it  completely.  It will then  ignore  the rest of the
input  line.  (Unusual events, such  as being attacked, may also
cause  a  story  to ignore the  rest  of your command, since the
event  may have changed your situation drastically). Some of the
complaints you may encounter are:


1. This story doesn't know the word "__________."

The  word you typed is not  in the story's vocabulary. Sometimes
using a synonym or rephrasing will help. If not, the story prob-
ably doesn't know the idea you were trying to get across.


2. You used the word "__________" in a way that I don't
   understand.

    - or -

   I can't use the word "________" here.

The  story knows the word you typed, but couldn't use it in that
sense.  Usually  this is because the  story  knows the word as a
different  part  of speech. For example,  if you typed PRESS THE
LOWER BUTTON, you are using LOWER as an adjective, but the story
might know LOWER only as a verb, as in LOWER THE FLAG.


3. There was no verb in that sentence!

Unless  you are answering a question,  each sentence must have a
verb (or one of the special commands).


4. There aren't enough nouns in that sentence!

This usually means your sentence was incomplete, such as EAT THE
BLUE or PUT THE BOOK IN THE.


5. There are too many nouns in that sentence!

An example is PUT THE SOUP IN THE BOWL WITH THE LADLE, which has
three noun "phrases", one more than many interactive stories can
digest in a single action.


6. I beg your pardon?

You pressed the RETURN (or ENTER) key without typing anything.


7. You can't see _________ here!

    - or -

   I can't see any "________" object here!

The  object you indicated was either  not present or not access-
ible to you (e.g., it may be present but in a closed container).


8. The other object[s] that you mentioned isn't [aren't] here!

You  referred to one or more  objects in the same sentence, some
of which aren't present or accessible.


9. You can't use more than one object at a time with "_______".

You can use multiple objects (that is nouns or noun phrases sep-
arated  by  AND or a comma), or  the  word ALL only with certain
verbs.  Among the more useful of  these verbs are TAKE, DROP and
PUT.  An  example  of a verb  that  will  NOT work with multiple
objects  is EXAMINE; you couldn't say EXAMINE ALL or EXAMINE THE
BOWL AND THE SWORD.


10. You can't go that way.

There is no passage or exit in the direction you tried to move.


11. That sentence didn't make sense. Please reword it or try
    something else.

The  sentence  you typed may have  been  gibberish, such as TAKE
ROPE  WITH READ. Or you may have typed a reasonable sentence but
used  a  syntax that the story  does not recognize, such as WAVE
OVER THE MOUNTAIN. Try rephrasing the sentence.
<Tips for Novices>
Advice for users new to interactive fiction.

1.  Draw a map. When you  begin an interactive story, you should
first  become  familiar  with  your  surroundings. Explore every
location  carefully. Note any interesting  objects and all exits
from  the  location. As you explore, it  is  a very good idea to
make  a  map  of the geography.  Even  the  most experienced and
capable  adven-  turers find it wise  to make a map showing each
location,  the  directions connecting  it to adjoining locations
and any inter- esting objects there.

2.  Read  the  story carefully. There  are  clues in many of the
descriptions  of locations and objects. Also check labels, books
and  other items. Many objects in the story can be picked up and
are needed to solved puzzles.

3.  Most objects that you can  pick up are important for solving
one  or  more of the puzzles you'll  run into in the story. Exa-
mine and take all objects you come across.

4.  Save  your  place  often. That way,  if  you  mess up or get
"killed",  you won't have to start  over from the beginning. See
the section on "Starting and Stopping an Interactive Story".

5.  Unlike  lesser  "adventure games",  there  are many possible
routes  to  the end of most  works  of interactive fiction. Some
puzzles  have  more than one solution;  others  don't need to be
solved  at  all. Sometimes you will  have to solve one puzzle in
order  to  obtain the item(s) or  information  you need to solve
another.  So if you ever find yourself stuck on a given problem,
it  may be that there is  another puzzle somewhere else you need
to solve first.

6.  You  may find it helpful to  go through a story with another
person.  Different people may find  different problems easy, and
can often complement each other.

7.  Don't  be afraid to try something  bold or strange - you can
always  save your position first if you want (see the section on
"Starting  and  Stopping  an  Interactive  Story").  Trying  the
bizarre can be fun and will often give you a clue. For example:

   > GIVE THE MAGIC GERANIUM TO THE WOLF
   The wolf considers, for a moment, eating the geranium
   instead of you.  Then he decides the better of it. He comes
   closer and closer.

In addition to learning something about the culinary preferences
of  wolves, you have a clue  that perhaps feeding something else
(a steak?) to the wolf would be more useful.

8. Some Infocom stories support online hints. If you really find
yourself stuck, try typing "HINT" at the story prompt and follow
the  instructions  to see the hint  of your choice. But only use
this  as a last resort. The satisfaction of an interactive story
comes from solving the puzzles on your own.

9.  You  can word a command in  many  different ways. If one way
doesn't  work  -  or if the  story  didn't understand - then try
another.  See  the  section  on  "Communicating with Interactive
Fiction"  for examples and tips on how to talk to an interactive
story.

