JACK OF HARTZ GENERAL INFORMATION: This game is freeware and started life as a parody of another AGT game I downloaded from the Net, but gradually evolved into something a bit different. JOH is a medium-length text fantasy/adventure which contains puzzles ranging from quite straightforward to fairly obscure, 8 characters with whom to interact, and 47 locations to explore. I assume anyone playing this is familiar with how text adventures work, so I'll keep the instructions brief. INSTRUCTIONS: EXAMINE - abbreviated to X WAIT - Z (I can't remember if this was standard with AGT). EXTINGUISH - EXT LIST EXITS - now shortened to EXITS or EXI In some places (not many...ummm, actually 2 places) hints are available by typing HELP. In this game it is important to LISTEN and sometimes to SMELL. SEARCH is *not* the same as EXAMINE; and it is sometimes useful to LOOK BEHIND, LOOK UNDER, and LOOK IN things. CONVERSING WITH GAME CHARACTERS: Use the form TALK TO , or LISTEN for further info. Similarly, use GIVE XXX TO YYY if you want to offer anyone anything. I haven't catered for SHOW XXX TO YYY or TELL YYY ABOUT ZZZ. If you want to offer edible objects to game characters, try FEED . MOVING ABOUT THE GAMEWORLD: Examine each location carefully, as many clues are hidden in the text. As well as the usual directions for movement (N, S, etc.) there are other ways to progress through JOH - for example SWIM, JUMP, DIVE, CRAWL, SIT, STAND and many other activities could move you somewhere else in the game. DEATH AND DYING: On a few occasions you might "die"; but don't worry, this is only a minor setback. I've done away with the usual "resurrection" rigmarole of AGT, so you will be able to RESTORE (if you have a previously-saved game) and continue ever onwards... SPECIAL COMMANDS: The game uses a number of special commands for various "housekeeping" chores. These are usually standard for most adventure games, specifically: HELP May (or may not) give you a hint. SCORE Will summarize your progress, so far. INVENTORY (I) Will display a list of the items you are carrying, and those items you are wearing. BRIEF Will cause location descriptions to be brief. VERBOSE Will cause location descriptions to be verbose. LOOK (L) Will give you a full (verbose) description of your current location. SAVE Will save the current game status on disk. RESTORE Will restore a previously saved game from disk. SCRIPT Causes output to go to both the screen and a printer (using the LP1 port). UNSCRIPT Causes output to go to the screen only. QUIT (Q) Quits the current game session. Always exit using QUIT. Bev Truter November 1999