Hints for Adventure 660 (Adventure 4+)
by Arthur DiBianca
hint file version 1.0 (9/12/97)
######################################
These hints are based on Mike Arnautov's 660-point ADVENTURE4+, version
10.06. They are organized like a UHS file or Infocom's InvisiClues.
The questions are all listed together first. I've included a few fakes.
Try to read the answers item by item to avoid getting more information
than you want.
I am assuming that readers do not have previous experience with
Crowther and Woods's 350-point Adventure or its various descendants.
Many of the hints given here will also apply to those earlier games.
I've tried to be complete, but I expect I've missed some details.
If you have any questions or suggestions, send an email to .
Enjoy!
Question List
=============
A. General Questions
Can I restore my saved games without having to wait?
I'm dying of thirst? What do I do?
I'm running out of light! What can I do?
What do I do about these little dwarves?
A pirate stole my treasure. How can I get it back?
What should I do with the dwarf's horn?
B. Above Ground
What am I doing here?
How do I get into the cave?
How do I get past the wizard's gate?
What's the meaning of the wooden notice?
C. Hall of Mists and Vicinity
How do I get past the snake?
How can I keep the bird from being frightened?
How do I get past the dragon?
How do I get the Persian rug?
How do I get the gold nugget out of the cave?
What does the hollow voice mean?
How do I get across the fissure?
How do I navigate the maze of passages, all different?
How do I navigate the maze of passages, all alike?
What does the message in the sandstone chamber mean?
How do I get the flute from the shadowy figure?
D. Anteroom and Vicinity
What are the magazines for?
How do I get out of Witt's End?
How do I get the tusk out of the very low room?
How do I navigate the maze of passages with streams?
How do I turn the spoon into a treasure?
What is the rope in the chapel for?
How can I get out of the giant's dungeon?
What do I do in the giant's living quarters?
How do I get past the spider?
How do I get the mask in the thieves den?
How do I get the orb from the cellar?
What do the images in the orb mean?
What is the crypt for?
How do I get into the storage room in the tower?
How do I get past the dwarves at the top of the stairs?
What is special about the chalice?
E. Bedquilt and Vicinity
Can I get around the Bedquilt area more easily?
How do I keep the vase from shattering?
How do I get a light source into the room past the emerald?
What do I do with the clam?
How do I get past the quicksand?
How do I cross the reservoir?
How do I get the sword in the stone?
How can I keep from losing objects in the valuation room?
F. The Plant and Beyond
What do I do with the little plant?
How do I get past the rusted door?
How do I get past the ogre?
How do I get past the sheets of slime?
How do I get out of the maze of ice tunnels?
G. The Troll and Beyond
How do I get past the troll?
How do I get back across the wooden bridge?
Is there anything to do in the volcano room?
What do I do at the minotaur statue?
How do I get away from the gooseberry goblins?
How do I get through the fog?
What is the pentagram for?
How can I get the starstone after I drop it?
How can I get back past the basilisk?
How do I get out of the catacombs?
How do I get the skeleton's sceptre past the bridge?
What is the Djinn's word for?
H. The End Game
The cave is closing! What should I do?
The cave has closed. What's going on here?
I'm surrounded by gray mist. What do I do?
I'm back at end of road again. What do I do?
I. Super Spoilers
What are all the magic words?
What are all the treasures?
How do I get all the points?
Questions and Answers
=====================
A. General Questions
--------------------
Can I restore my saved games without having to wait?
- With the MS-DOS version, you can change your computer's time to
be more than 30 minutes past the save time. Or you can change the time
in the save file to be earlier. Changing the byte at position 0C (hex)
to a value of 0 always seems to work for me.
I'm dying of thirst? What do I do?
- Drink some water.
- There are various places in the game (including the building) that
make good water sources. You can also carry one drink's worth in the
bottle.
I'm running out of light! What can I do?
- You could make sure you finish the game before your lantern dies.
- You could buy some batteries in the 'all different' maze.
- You could use the apporopriate magic words. They will give your lamp
a one-time boost good for several hundred moves.
- Harnessing electricity is a kind of sorcery.
- There are a couple of words you may have seen that suggest a famous
person often associated with electricity.
- They're found in the Sorcerer's Lair. Type them as separate commands.
- Drop your lamp first.
What do I do about these little dwarves?
- If you could just get them on your side, you could have one heck
of a party.
- But they're set in their ways.
- The first dwarf that attacks you drops an axe. Get it, then throw it
whenever there are dwarves attacking you.
- Throwing the sword works, too.
- Eventually, you'll also learn a magic word that you can use to defeat
them.
A pirate stole my treasure. How can I get it back?
- Actually, you need this to happen, or you won't be able to get his
treasure chest.
- After he steals from you, go find his chest in the 'all alike' maze.
He won't steal from you after you get it.
What should I do with the dwarf's horn?
- A bunch of dwarves attack you when you blow it.
- The right magic word might get rid of them.
- But it doesn't get you anywhere. I would suggest discarding the horn.
B. Above Ground
---------------
What am I doing here?
- As an adventurer of some ambition, you are trying to collect a bunch
of treasures in the small brick building without getting killed.
- If you do, you might get a nice reward.
How do I get into the cave?
- There are two ways.
- The obvious way is to unlock the grate with the keys from the building.
- You will also learn a couple of magic words that will let you teleport
in and out from the building.
How do I get past the wizard's gate?
- The gate is hinged on both sides.
- First, you have to undo the hinges with some sort of screwdriver.
- A certain treasure would make a good screwdriver.
- I'm lying--there's no way past that I know of.
What's the meaning of the wooden notice?
- I would read it as 'To those who come after me: this is the place to
-- the s--'.
- It's not important until much later in the game. I'd better not reveal
the answer just yet.
C. Hall of Mists and Vicinity
-----------------------------
How do I get past the snake?
- You can't subdue it yourself.
- You need the help of another animal.
- Catch the bird in the cage, then 'drop bird' or 'free bird' in the
Hall of Mt King.
How can I keep the bird from being frightened?
- It's afraid of something you're carrying.
- It's afraid of your black rod. Drop it in another room before trying
to catch the bird.
How do I get past the dragon?
- Just attack it.
- Yes, with your bare hands.
- Don't you wish all the monsters were this wimpy?
How do I get the Persian rug?
- Roll it up first.
How do I get the gold nugget out of the cave?
- Rather than carrying it up the steps, use a magic-word exit.
What does the hollow voice mean?
- It's saying a magic word.
- The word will teleport you between the Y2 room and the building.
This is usually the quickest way to get from the cave to the building
and back.
How do I get across the fissure?
- Wave the rod. (Nothing really suggests this specifically, as far as I
know.)
How do I navigate the maze of passages, all different?
- The names of the locations are subtly different.
- By making a grid and noting where each direction leads from
each location, you can build a map. It's a hassle, though.
- Actually, you don't need to go into this maze to finish the game with
all the points.
- I haven't mapped it all out myself. From the west end of long hall,
you can go 'south, east, west, south' to get to the vending machine.
- 'north, east, east, east, down' should get you back out.
How do I navigate the maze of passages, all alike?
- This is probably the most famous maze in all of computer gaming. You
should feel honored just to be lost in it.
- To distinguish the rooms from each other, drop various objects in them.
- Then you can make a grid and chart out which directions go from where
to where.
- The main thing is to get the pirate's treasure chest and any treasures
he's stolen from you.
- From the west end of the Hall of Mists, you can go south, east, south,
south, south, north, east, east, northwest to get to the chest. Then go
southeast, north, down to get out of the maze.
What does the message in the sandstone chamber mean?
- Translate it by moving each letter back one in the alphabet.
- This method works for translating the dwarves' speech, too.
How do I get the flute from the shadowy figure?
- Is the figure trying to attract your attention?
- Have you seen it in more than one place?
- It seems familiar.
- It looks a lot like you.
- It is you. Go to the mirror canyon for an explanation.
- There is no flute, of course. I made that up.
D. Anteroom and Vicinity
------------------------
What are the magazines for?
- They are traditionally associated with a last lousy point.
- Getting them at Witt's End gives you that point.
How do I get out of Witt's End?
- If you go west sixty-five times, you'll get to the anteroom. It
always feels longer on the way back.
- Wait--maybe it's 165 times.
- Actually, just wander around, going any direction except west.
After a few moves, you should get out.
How do I get the tusk out of the very low room?
- There's no way to get it through the slit.
- The only way out is down into the sewer, although you seem to die
when you go there.
- Actually, if you go back up from the shaft and then down again, you'll
be able to get into the sewers.
- You'll find anything you lost down the shaft (or in the cellar), plus a
spoon.
- Make sure to find your way out before you drown, and before
the rats get you.
How do I navigate the maze of passages with streams?
- I must say, I roll my eyes at the solution to this one.
- The game's hint suggests that you're somehow offending the dwarves,
I guess.
- You've just left the sewers. Maybe it's that nasty smell.
- 'wash', then wander around until you get out.
How do I turn the spoon into a treasure?
- 'epns' seems like it ought to be a magic word.
- But it's not.
- Did you try polishing it?
- I guess the spoon is just worthless.
What is the rope in the chapel for?
- Climb it.
How can I get out of the giant's dungeon?
- 'lift flagstone', then go south, then climb up.
- Of course, you probably lost some stuff when you got thrown in, and
the trick is getting it back.
What do I do in the giant's living quarters?
- You could bring the food with you. Then he'll eat it and kick you
back out. But that doesn't get you anywhere.
- What else might the giant enjoy?
- Bring the nest with you. While he's eating the eggs, you can do what you
like. Of course, the nest is a treasure, so you'll need to get it back
somehow. See the troll question for more help.
- The room description doesn't actually say so, but you can go south, too.
How do I get past the spider?
- Kill it with the sword.
- But surely you don't have the sword yet.
- You'll have to engage the help of a nearby friend.
- The owl will eat the spider for you. Summon him with 'hoot'.
- Your light scares him away. Turn it off first.
- To get the documents, just cut the web with your axe.
How do I get the mask in the thieves den?
- The game says you can't.
How do I get the orb from the cellar?
- If you could only get past the portcullis.
- Or the slab.
- Or the drain. Which is it?
- It's none of these. The actual solution seems obscure, frankly.
- Get the orb, then drop something else. If it goes down the drain,
get it later in the sewer.
- If you drop the sword, the wizard gives it back to you when he kicks
you out.
What do the images in the orb mean?
- They're visions of things that will happen as you play the game.
What is the crypt for?
- That's where the vampire shows up. I hope you found the crucifix and the
holy water.
- To summon the vampire, you need the wizard's help.
- There are several ways to invoke the wizard's help. One of them involves
the little bird. Read the description carefully.
- Sorry, I'm lying again. I don't know of anything to do in the crypt.
How do I get into the storage room in the tower?
- No way that I know of.
How do I get past the dwarves at the top of the stairs?
- You could attack them from above.
- First you'd need to get on top of the tower from the outside.
- But you can't. I don't know of any way to get past them.
What is special about the chalice?
- If you fill the chalice and then drink, some strange things happen.
- But whatever you do, you end up losing the chalice, which is a treasure.
- It's fun to try, but I don't think you can help the princess
successfully. Just treat the chalice like any other treasure.
E. Bedquilt and Vicinity
------------------------
Can I get around the Bedquilt area more easily?
- In some places, you can type the name of an adjacent room
to get to it. That can help avoid the problem of crawling around and
winding up back where you started from.
How do I keep the vase from shattering?
- You need to cushion its fall.
- Before you drop it, drop the pillow from the soft room.
How do I get a light source into the room past the emerald?
- If you could carry a light source into the plover room, that would do
it. But nothing will fit in from the west.
- Are there any other ways to get to the plover room?
- Yes, actually. Typing 'plover' in the Y2 room will get you there.
'plover' will get you back, too.
- I have no idea how anyone is supposed to figure this out.
What do I do with the clam?
- You can pick it up.
- You can open it.
- What would be a good tool for clam prying? Think of sea-related things.
- 'open clam' while you're carrying the trident.
- A pearl rolled out. Go down to the cul-de-sac and get it.
How do I get past the quicksand?
- Create a bridge.
- Read the game's responses carefully.
- When you wave the rod here, although nothing obvious happens, you
create a bridge through the quicksand. You have to wave the rod again
to get back.
How do I cross the reservoir?
- A full-sized yacht would help.
- No dice. You can't get across it from the south.
- Read the game's hint.
- You can get to the north side by going down the whirlpool in the
waterfall cavern. Make sure not to take anything but your lamp.
- Hit the gong to summon Darwin, whom you can ride south.
How do I get the sword in the stone?
- Like the game's hint says, you're just not strong enough.
- Someone with bulging muscles could probably pull it out.
- Eat the mushroom from the dank cave.
How can I keep from losing objects in the valuation room?
- Don't drop them there.
F. The Plant and Beyond
-----------------------
What do I do with the little plant?
- It seems to want water.
- Bring water in your bottle, then 'water plant'.
- Do it once more for good measure. Now you can climb up to the hole.
- Maybe you should try watering it a third time?
How do I get past the rusted door?
- It just needs a little oil.
- Fill your bottle with oil from the east pit in the Twopit room,
then 'oil door'.
How do I get past the ogre?
- The game's hint warns against hand-to-hand combat.
- Throw something.
- The axe isn't good enough.
- Throw the sword. Its name is 'Thrower', after all.
How do I get past the sheets of slime?
- Fight the green slime with something green.
- Throw the vial from the spherical room.
How do I get out of the maze of ice tunnels?
- Map the maze. The passages are all straight.
- Don't miss the sculpture.
- Look at your map upside down. It spells a five-letter word.
- Go to the 'This way out' room and use that word.
G. The Troll and Beyond
-----------------------
How do I get past the troll?
- Throw him a treasure.
- You'll need one you can reclaim.
- Throw him the nest.
- Remember the words in the Giant room?
- Type them, one after another. You should get the response 'Done!' at the
end.
- The eggs then return to the Giant room.
- Make sure you don't reclaim them until you've finished with the area
past the bridge. Otherwise the troll will take revenge on you.
How do I get back across the wooden bridge?
- You need help. Something scary.
- The bear can help.
- Free him, then 'get bear'.
- Use the keys to unlock the chain.
- Feed the bear first.
- Try to cross the bridge, then 'drop bear'.
Is there anything to do in the volcano room?
- Not in the original 350-point version of Adventure.
- Here, yes.
- Make a bridge. You know the routine.
- You need something to protect you from the fumes. How about a
mithril ring?
- You can turn the sword into a ring. Use a magic word.
- It's the word written on the stone you found the sword in.
What do I do at the minotaur statue?
- There's a hint at a dead end elsewhere in the cave.
- You need to use the proper tool.
- The proper tool can be found in the tool room.
- Not the rags. The proper tool is a magic word.
How do I get away from the gooseberry goblins?
- Are you familiar with the myth of Cadmus?
- I think he sowed something and grew an army of soldiers, although his
soldiers ended up fighting each other.
- He sowed dragon's teeth, as I recall. You can just throw them.
How do I get through the fog?
- The game's hint suggests a question that is answered differently in
different places.
- 'Do I need to have my lamp on?' is a good question.
- Not here.
What is the pentagram for?
- Use it to imprison summoned beings.
- You can imprison the London Dry Djinn in it.
- Drop the flask here, then open it, then free the Djinn.
How can I get the starstone after I drop it?
- It has strange spatial properties.
- It's sort of in two places at once. One location (the one not where you
drop it) is where it's real.
- So when you drop it in the building, it's not really there. Note that
you don't get points when you drop it there.
- You need to drop it somewhere else outside.
- Remember the wooden notice? The last word was 'starstone'.
- The Djinn will take care of the giant for you.
How can I get back past the basilisk?
- Use the old mirror trick.
- That metal plate ought to do fine.
- But it needs polishing.
- 'rub plate' while you're carrying the rags. Then carry the
mirror past the basilisk.
How do I get out of the catacombs?
- They're hard to map, since they change from game to game.
- I think it works like this. The first time you go through the catacombs,
any sequence of eighteen moves will get you back to 'Y2?'. That sequence
determines the layout of the catacombs. When you reenter, you have to
move the same way, or you end up kind of going backward. If you like,
you can play around with dropping objects and see what I mean. I usually
just go straight west the first time. Then I reenter, go west eleven or
twelve times, then wander around a little until I get to the portal.
- After I leave the area past the portal, I just go straight west until
I'm back at 'Y2?'.
How do I get the skeleton's sceptre past the bridge?
- You need to leave it behind and get it later.
- Leave it in the safe. You can also enter the safe from the room with
vaulted ceiling.
- How do you open the safe? The game's hint suggests a skeleton key.
- Use the magic word the skeleton gave you.
- The word changes from game to game. (There are four total.) Make sure
you use the right one.
What is the Djinn's word for?
- It seems to defeat dwarves. Of course, it also sometimes destroys your
weapons and even gets you killed. Follow the Djinn's advice.
H. The End Game
---------------
The cave is closing! What should I do?
- You should feel happy, since it means you've found all the treasures and
are preparing to head to the end game.
- Just wander around until the cave closes.
The cave has closed. What's going on here?
- You need to get out of the repository.
- Breaking the mirror doesn't work.
- There's one kind of object here you haven't seen before.
- The rods with red marks (not stars) are actually dynamite.
- Blow up the northeast area.
- Drop one of the red-mark rods in the northeast area, then go southwest,
then 'blast'.
- If you could get one of those lamps lit, you could go through the hole.
- I don't know of any way to light them.
- Just ride the unicorn.
I'm surrounded by gray mist. What do I do?
- That's it! You've won!
- Not really. You need to magic-word your way out of here.
- There are sixteen magic words in the game. Note that 'plover' is not
considered a magic word.
- Just say them in the right order. The game will respond 'Ok.' after
each one.
- Remember the Djinn's story about Ralph Witt?
- Ralph Witt liked the idea of reverse alphabetical order.
- Say the words in reverse alphabetical order.
I'm back at end of road again. What do I do?
- First, you'll notice that the locations are connected backward.
- There's one other small change.
- The five-inch slit is now a five-foot slit.
- Go ahead. Go on in.
I. Super Spoilers
-----------------
What are all the magic words?
- I just can't bring myself to reveal them here. I think the hints in
this file tell you all you need to find them, though. Remember, there
are sixteen individual words, and 'plover' is not one of them.
What are all the treasures?
- There are thirty-two treasures in all:
bag of pieces of eight (beach)
crown (safe)
nugget (nugget of gold room)
diamonds (west side of fissure)
silver (N/S passage)
jewelry (south side chamber)
coins (west side chamber)
treasure chest (dead end in maze of passages, all alike)
nest of golden eggs (Giant room)
trident (cavern with waterfall)
helmet (Morion room)
vase (Oriental room)
emerald (plover room)
sceptre (east end of Audience Hall)
yacht (southern edge of reservoir)
pyramid (Dark room)
pearl (cul-de-sac)
rug (secret canyon)
spices (chamber of boulders)
beads (balcony above treasure chamber)
chain (barren room)
spyglass (south end of Jonah room)
sculpture (ice tunnels)
bracelet (room with translucent walls)
casket of opals (very small chamber)
orb (cellar)
tusk (bones room)
chalice (recess in the beams)
sapphire (living quarters)
crucifix (thieves den)
starstone (narrow basalt shelf)
ring (created by player)
How do I get all the points?
- Points are gained as follows:
20 for getting into a dark area of the cave for the first time
10 for getting to beach
10 for getting to Sorcerer's Lair
10 for getting to Valley of the Stone Faces
8 for freeing Djinn
15 for getting to Audience Hall
7 for discovering each treasure (224 total--Note that the tusk is not
considered discovered until you drop it in the building.)
8 for leaving each treasure in the building (256 total)
16 shortly before 'cave closing' notice
16 for getting 'cave closing' notice
19 for getting to repository
16 for getting to gray mist
23 for getting to end of road in the end game
16 for winning
659 total? Oh, yes,
1 for getting magazines at Witt's End
660 total.
- Points can be lost as follows:
10 lost for reincarnation
20 lost for taking a hint
