Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Game Over

Charles510 · Post Post #866 (isolation #400) » Fri Oct 16, 2020 7:50 pm

>restart
We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) >

Your score is 10 of a possible 400, in 20 turns.
Do you wish to restart? (Y is affirmative): > Y

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 0

THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
Infocom interactive fiction - a science fiction story
Copyright (c) 1984 by Infocom, Inc. All rights reserved.
Release 59 / Serial number 851108

You wake up. The room is spinning very gently round your head. Or at least it would be if you could see it which you can't.

It is pitch black.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #868 (isolation #401) » Fri Oct 16, 2020 9:14 pm

Bedroom Score: 10 Turns: 7

THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
Infocom interactive fiction - a science fiction story
Copyright (c) 1984 by Infocom, Inc. All rights reserved.
Release 59 / Serial number 851108

You wake up. The room is spinning very gently round your head. Or at least it would be if you could see it which you can't.

It is pitch black.

>turn on lights
Good start to the day. Pity it's going to be the worst one of your life. The light is now on.

Bedroom, in the bed
The bedroom is a mess.
It is a small bedroom with a faded carpet and old wallpaper. There is a washbasin, a chair with a tatty dressing gown slung over it, and a window with the curtains drawn. Near the exit leading south is a phone.
There is a flathead screwdriver here. (outside the bed)
There is a toothbrush here. (outside the bed)

>get up
Very difficult, but you manage it. The room is still spinning. It dips and sways a little.

>take gown
Luckily, this is large enough for you to get hold of. You notice something in the pocket.

>wear gown
You are now wearing your gown.

>open pockets
Opening your gown reveals a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is, a buffered analgesic, and pocket fluff.

>take aspirin
You swallow the tablet. After a few seconds the room begins to calm down and behave in an orderly manner. Your terrible headache goes.

>examine room
Bedroom
The bedroom is a mess.
It is a small bedroom with a faded carpet and old wallpaper. There is a washbasin, a chair, and a window with the curtains drawn. Near the exit leading south is a phone.
There is a flathead screwdriver here.
There is a toothbrush here.

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 17, 2020 12:36 am

Bedroom Score: 10 Turns: 10

>take screwdriver
Taken.

>Take toothbrush
As you pick up the toothbrush a tree outside the window collapses. There is no causal relationship between these two events.

>Look out window
As you part your curtains you see that it's a bright morning, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the meadows are blooming, and a large yellow bulldozer is advancing on your home.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #872 (isolation #403) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 8:27 am

Front of House Score: 10 Turns: 23

>take all
telephone: You pick up the receiver. A moment later, the dialing tone is suddenly cut off. Glancing through the window you can't help but notice the large old oak tree of which you are particularly fond crashing down through the phone cable. Shouldn't you be taking more interest in events in the world around you? While you've got it...?

>exit
You rush down the stairs in panic.

Front Porch
This is the enclosed front porch of your home. Your front garden lies to the south, and you can re-enter your home to the north.
On the doormat is a pile of junk mail.

>take all
loose pile of junk mail: You gather up the pile of mail.

>read mail
There are many pieces of mail. Most are from some computer company called Infocom which wants you to buy their games. Hidden underneath is an official letter from the local council, dated some two years ago and inexplicably not delivered till now, explaining that a demolition order has been served on your home. The date of demolition is today's date.

>exit
Front of House
You can enter your home to the north. A path leads around it to the northeast and northwest, and a country lane is visible to the south. All that lies between your home and the huge yellow bulldozer bearing down on it is a few yards of mud.

Mr. Prosser, from the local council, is standing on the other side of the bulldozer. He seems to be wearing a digital watch. He looks startled to see you emerge, and yells at you to get out of the way.
The bulldozer rumbles slowly toward your home.

>lie down
You lie down in the path of the advancing bulldozer. Prosser yells at you to for crissake move!!!

>wait
Time passes...

The bulldozer thunders toward you. The ground is shaking beneath you as you lie in the mud.

>wait
Time passes...

The noise of the giant bulldozer is now so violently loud that you can't even hear Prosser yelling to warn you that you will be killed if you don't get the hell out of the way. You just see him gesticulating wildly.

>wait
Time passes...

With a terrible grinding of gears the bulldozer comes to an abrupt halt just in front of you. It shakes, shudders, and emits noxious substances all over your rose bed. Prosser is incoherent with rage.

Moments later, your friend Ford Prefect arrives. He hardly seems to notice your predicament, but keeps glancing nervously at the sky. He says "Hello, Arthur," takes a towel from his battered leather satchel, and offers it to you.

>wait
Time passes...

Ford glances uncomfortably at the sky. He offers you the towel again.

>wait
Time passes...

Ford seems oblivious to your trouble, so you ask "Ford, what about my home?" He looks startled, then guilty. He starts to say something and stops. He starts to say something else and stops. Suddenly he seems to see the bulldozer for the first time, stops starting to say things and starts.

He seems to come to a momentous decision, says he has something of Earth-shattering importance to tell you, and stresses the importance of a quick drink at the Horse 'n Groom.

Pointing toward Prosser, you exclaim "But that man wants to knock my house down!" Ford goes off for a quiet word with Prosser. From where you're lying, you cannot hear what's happening, although they seem deeply engrossed in conversation.

>wait
Time passes...

Ford and Prosser stop talking and approach you. Ford says that Prosser has agreed to lie in your place so that the two of you can go off to the Pub. Reluctantly, Prosser steps forward and lies down in front of the bulldozer. You stand up.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #874 (isolation #404) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 8:38 am

Front of House Score: 10 Turns: 24

>follow ford
But Ford Prefect is right here!

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 17, 2020 11:24 am

Country Lane Score: 10 Turns: 25

>south
Country Lane
The road runs from your home, to the north, toward the village Pub, to the west.
Ford enters from the north.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #880 (isolation #406) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 5:58 pm

Country Lane Score: 10 Turns: 26

>save (filename: Ircher2)
Ok.

>east
You can't go that way.

"Come along, Arthur," says Ford impatiently, and enters the Pub.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #882 (isolation #407) » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:20 am

Pub Score: 10 Turns: 27

>enter pub
Pub
The Pub is pleasant and cheerful and full of pleasant and cheerful people who don't know they've got about twelve minutes to live and are therefore having a spot of lunch. Some music is playing on an old jukebox. The exit is east.
Ford Prefect is here.
There is a barman serving at the bar.
Behind the bar is a shelf. It is full of the sort of items you find on shelves behind bars in pubs.

Ford buys lots of beer and offers half to you. "Muscle relaxant..." he says, impenetrably.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #884 (isolation #408) » Mon Oct 19, 2020 4:02 pm

Pub Score: 15 Turns: 29

>take beer
Just drink it!

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>drink beer
It's very good beer, brewed by a small local company. You particularly like its flavour, which is why you woke up feeling so wretched this morning. You were at somebody's birthday party here in the Pub last night.

You begin to relax and enjoy yourself, so when Ford mentions that he's from a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, not from Guildford as he usually claims, you take it in your stride, and say "Oh yes, which part?"

>

Charles510 · Post Post #886 (isolation #409) » Mon Oct 19, 2020 4:26 pm

Pub Score: 20 Turns: 30

>drink beer
It is really very pleasant stuff, with a very good dry, nutty flavour, some light froth on top, and a deep colour. It is at exactly room temperature. You reflect that the world cannot be all bad when there are such pleasures in it.

Ford mentions that the world is going to end in about twelve minutes.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #888 (isolation #410) » Mon Oct 19, 2020 4:42 pm

Pub Score: 20 Turns: 30

>Ford, What About The World Ending
I don't know the word "world".

>

Charles510 · Post Post #890 (isolation #411) » Mon Oct 19, 2020 4:43 pm

Pub Score: 20 Turns: 31

>wait
Time passes...

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Post Post #892 (isolation #412) » Mon Oct 19, 2020 4:46 pm

Pub Score: 20 Turns: 32

>wait
Time passes...

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Post Post #894 (isolation #413) » Mon Oct 19, 2020 4:54 pm

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 33

>drink beer
There is a distant crash which Ford explains is nothing to worry about, probably just your house being knocked down.

>save threebeers
Ok.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #896 (isolation #414) » Mon Oct 19, 2020 8:05 pm

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 34

>buy peanuts
However much you clear your throat, wave your forefinger, or wiggle your eyebrows, the barman pays no attention, but carries on wiping another part of the bar.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #898 (isolation #415) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:00 am

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 35

>attack ford
You are obviously letting things get to you. You should learn to relax a little.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #900 (isolation #416) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:05 am

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 44

>wait
Time passes...

>wait
Time passes...

>wait
Time passes...

>

Charles510 · Post Post #902 (isolation #417) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:08 am

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 44

>exercise patience
I don't know the word "exercise".

>

Charles510 · Post Post #904 (isolation #418) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:09 am

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 47

>wait
Time passes...

>

Charles510 · Post Post #906 (isolation #419) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:19 am

Country Lane Score: 25 Turns: 48

>exit

Country Lane
The road runs from your home, to the north, toward the village Pub, to the west.

You see the huge bulldozer heaving itself among the cloud of brick dust which is all that remains of your home. As you start up the lane, a small dog runs up to you, yapping.

Ford hurries after you.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #908 (isolation #420) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:24 am

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 49

>north
You reach the site of what was your home. It is now a pile of rubble. Mr. Prosser looks sheepishly triumphant, a trick few people can do, as it requires a lot of technically complex deltoid muscle work.

Front of House
There is a huge pile of rubble to the north. A path leads around it to the northeast and northwest, and a country lane is visible to the south.

Mr. Prosser, from the local council, is standing on the other side of the bulldozer. He seems to be wearing a digital watch.

Ford hurries after you.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #910 (isolation #421) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:32 am

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 50

>prosser, what about my house?
Prosser explains the local planning regulations and says, by way of reassurance, that you will probably be rehoused within a couple of years.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #912 (isolation #422) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:36 am

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 51

>ford, what about my house?
"It's not a house, it's a home." (Footnote 2)

With a noise like a cross between Led Zeppelin's farewell concert and the eruption of Krakatoa, a huge fleet of Vogon Constructor ships flies overhead and announces that the Earth will be demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass in "two of your Earth minutes."

>

Charles510 · Post Post #914 (isolation #423) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:38 am

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 51

>ford, what is a hyperspace bypass?
I don't know the word "bypass?".

>

Charles510 · Post Post #916 (isolation #424) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:45 am

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 52

>ford, what is hyperspace?
He can't hear you above the noise.

The vast yellow ships thunder across the sky, spreading waves of terror and panic in their wake. The voice of the Vogon Captain slams across the country, insisting that the planning charts and demolition orders have been available at the local planning office in Alpha Centauri for fifty years and it's too late to start making a fuss about it now.

Throughout the noise, Ford is shouting at you. He removes a small black device from his satchel, but accidentally drops it at your feet.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #918 (isolation #425) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:54 am

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 53

>take device
Taken.

Fierce gales whip across the land, and thunder bangs continuously through the air in the wake of the giant ships. Ford fights to reach you, but the wind is too fierce. Further announcements from the Vogon Captain make it clear that demolition will begin in just a few seconds.

Through the blinding rain, you see lights flickering on the small device.

>save (filename: Ircher3)
Ok.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #920 (isolation #426) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:58 am

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 54

>smash device
Trying to break the electronic Sub-Etha signaling device accomplishes nothing.

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:04 am

>throw device at Ford
You missed.
The Earth is destroyed by the fleet of Vogon Constructor ships.

**** You have died ****

We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) >

Your score is 25 of a possible 400, in 54 turns.

Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game?
(Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT): >

Charles510 · Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:33 am

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 53

>restore Ircher3
Ok.

Front of House
There is a huge pile of rubble to the north. A path leads around it to the northeast and northwest, and a country lane is visible to the south.

Ford Prefect is here.
Mr. Prosser, from the local council, is standing on the other side of the bulldozer. He seems to be wearing a digital watch.

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:50 am

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 54

>inspect device
The electronic Sub-Etha signaling device is shaped like a small fist with an extended thumb. Various lights along its "knuckles" are currently blinking wildly, indicating a spaceship in the vicinity. It has two small buttons, a red one labelled "Call Engineer" and a green one labelled "Hitchhike." It bears a small label which reads "Another fine product of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation." Affixed to the Thumb is a lifetime guarantee.

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:14 am

>press red button
With a screech of ion brakes a Sirius Cybernetics Corporation Repair Robot pulls up on a bike from out of the Sub-Etha.
The Earth is destroyed by the fleet of Vogon Constructor ships.

**** You have died ****

We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) >

Your score is 25 of a possible 400, in 54 turns.

Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game?
(Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT): >

Charles510 · Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:31 am

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 55

Front of House
There is a huge pile of rubble to the north. A path leads around it to the northeast and northwest, and a country lane is visible to the south.

Ford Prefect is here.
Mr. Prosser, from the local council, is standing on the other side of the bulldozer. He seems to be wearing a digital watch.

>inspect device
The electronic Sub-Etha signaling device is shaped like a small fist with an extended thumb. Various lights along its "knuckles" are currently blinking wildly, indicating a spaceship in the vicinity. It has two small buttons, a red one labelled "Call Engineer" and a green one labelled "Hitchhike." It bears a small label which reads "Another fine product of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation." Affixed to the Thumb is a lifetime guarantee.

>press green button
Lights whirl sickeningly around your head, the ground arches away beneath your feet, and every atom of your being is scrambled, an experience you're probably going to have to get used to. You are in...

Dark

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:33 am

Spoiler:

Charles510 · Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:58 am

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 18

THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
Infocom interactive fiction - a science fiction story
Copyright (c) 1984 by Infocom, Inc. All rights reserved.
Release 59 / Serial number 851108

You wake up. The room is spinning very gently round your head. Or at least it would be if you could see it which you can't.

It is pitch black.

>turn on lights
Good start to the day. Pity it's going to be the worst one of your life. The light is now on.

Bedroom, in the bed
The bedroom is a mess.
It is a small bedroom with a faded carpet and old wallpaper. There is a washbasin, a chair with a tatty dressing gown slung over it, and a window with the curtains drawn. Near the exit leading south is a phone.
There is a flathead screwdriver here. (outside the bed)
There is a toothbrush here. (outside the bed)

>get up
Very difficult, but you manage it. The room is still spinning. It dips and sways a little.

>take gown
Luckily, this is large enough for you to get hold of. You notice something in the pocket.

>open pockets
It's hard to open or close the pocket unless you're wearing the gown.

>take aspirin
You can't see any aspirin here!

>take all
telephone: It dances by you like a thing possessed.
flathead screwdriver: It slips through your fumbling fingers and hits the carpet with a nerve-shattering bang.
toothbrush: You lunge for it, but the room spins nauseatingly away. The floor gives you a light tap on the forehead.

>exit
You miss the doorway by a good eighteen inches. The wall jostles you rather rudely.

>take all
telephone: It slips through your fumbling fingers and hits the carpet with a nerve-shattering bang.
flathead screwdriver: You lunge for it, but the room spins nauseatingly away. The floor gives you a light tap on the forehead.
toothbrush: It dances by you like a thing possessed.

>read
What do you want to read?

>exit
You miss the doorway by a good eighteen inches. The wall jostles you rather rudely.

>mr prosser, what about my house?
You can't see mr Prosser here!

>lie down
You are now in the bed.

>wait
Time passes...

>wait
Time passes...

>wait
Time passes...

>ford, what about my house
You can't see Ford here!

>save (Filename: Ircher4)
Ok.

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 20, 2020 12:06 pm

Spoiler:

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 4

THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
Infocom interactive fiction - a science fiction story
Copyright (c) 1984 by Infocom, Inc. All rights reserved.
Release 59 / Serial number 851108

You wake up. The room is spinning very gently round your head. Or at least it would be if you could see it which you can't.

It is pitch black.

>turn on lights
Good start to the day. Pity it's going to be the worst one of your life. The light is now on.

Bedroom, in the bed
The bedroom is a mess.
It is a small bedroom with a faded carpet and old wallpaper. There is a washbasin, a chair with a tatty dressing gown slung over it, and a window with the curtains drawn. Near the exit leading south is a phone.
There is a flathead screwdriver here. (outside the bed)
There is a toothbrush here. (outside the bed)

>get up
Very difficult, but you manage it. The room is still spinning. It dips and sways a little.

>take gown
Luckily, this is large enough for you to get hold of. You notice something in the pocket.

>wear gown
You are now wearing your gown.

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 20, 2020 12:09 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 5

>open pockets
Opening your gown reveals a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is, a buffered analgesic, and pocket fluff.

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 20, 2020 12:13 pm

Bedroom Score: 10 Turns: 6

>take aspirin
You swallow the tablet. After a few seconds the room begins to calm down and behave in an orderly manner. Your terrible headache goes.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #941 (isolation #437) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 2:16 pm

Bedroom Score: 10 Turns: 7

>examine fluff
You see nothing special about pocket fluff.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #943 (isolation #438) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 2:50 pm

Bedroom Score: 10 Turns: 8

>examine aunt
You can't see any aunt here!

>examine thing
Apart from a label on the bottom saying "Made in Ibiza" it furnishes you with no clue as to its purpose, if indeed it has one. You are surprised to see it because you thought you'd thrown it away. Like most gifts from your aunt, you've been trying to get rid of it for years.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #945 (isolation #439) » Tue Oct 20, 2020 5:06 pm

Bedroom Score: 10 Turns: 9

>call police
You explain your situation. The desk sergeant promises to send someone over soon, and says not to try anything crazy in the meantime, like lying down in front of the bulldozer. A moment later, the dialing tone is suddenly cut off. Glancing through the window you can't help but notice the large old oak tree of which you are particularly fond crashing down through the phone cable.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #948 (isolation #440) » Wed Oct 21, 2020 1:05 am

Bedroom Score: 10 Turns: 10

>Take all
telephone: The cable is down, remember?
flathead screwdriver: Taken.
toothbrush: As you pick up the toothbrush a tree outside the window collapses. There is no causal relationship between these two events. Shouldn't you be taking more interest in events in the world around you? While you've got it...?

>

Charles510 · Post Post #950 (isolation #441) » Wed Oct 21, 2020 4:41 am

Bedroom Score: 10 Turns: 11

>inventory
You have:
no tea
a toothbrush
a flathead screwdriver
your gown (being worn)
It looks like your gown contains:
a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is
pocket fluff

>

Charles510 · Post Post #951 (isolation #442) » Thu Oct 22, 2020 9:52 am

Spoiler:

Charles510 · Post Post #953 (isolation #443) » Thu Oct 22, 2020 2:54 pm

You went further last time, but the game was impossible to win at that point. If you go far enough you will see why it’s impossible.

Charles510 · Post Post #955 (isolation #444) » Thu Oct 22, 2020 3:07 pm

Charles510 · Post Post #958 (isolation #445) » Thu Oct 22, 2020 3:53 pm

Front Porch Score: 10 Turns: 13

>south
You make your way down to the front porch.

Front Porch
This is the enclosed front porch of your home. Your front garden lies to the south, and you can re-enter your home to the north.
On the doormat is a pile of junk mail.

>take mail
You gather up the pile of mail.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 10:28 am

Front Porch Score: 10 Turns: 14

>look under doormat
That's not important; leave it alone.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 10:35 am

Front of House Score: 10 Turns: 15

>south
Front of House
You can enter your home to the north. A path leads around it to the northeast and northwest, and a country lane is visible to the south. All that lies between your home and the huge yellow bulldozer bearing down on it is a few yards of mud.

Mr. Prosser, from the local council, is standing on the other side of the bulldozer. He seems to be wearing a digital watch. He looks startled to see you emerge, and yells at you to get out of the way.
The bulldozer rumbles slowly toward your home.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 10:49 am

Front of House Score: 10 Turns: 16

>lie in front of bulldozer
You lie down in the path of the advancing bulldozer. Prosser yells at you to for crissake move!!!

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 10:57 am

Front of House Score: 10 Turns: 17

>wait
Time passes...

The bulldozer thunders toward you. The ground is shaking beneath you as you lie in the mud.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 11:42 am

Front of House Score: 10 Turns: 18

>wait
Time passes...

The noise of the giant bulldozer is now so violently loud that you can't even hear Prosser yelling to warn you that you will be killed if you don't get the hell out of the way. You just see him gesticulating wildly.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 11:49 am

Front of House Score: 10 Turns: 19

>wait
Time passes...

With a terrible grinding of gears the bulldozer comes to an abrupt halt just in front of you. It shakes, shudders, and emits noxious substances all over your rose bed. Prosser is incoherent with rage.

Moments later, your friend Ford Prefect arrives. He hardly seems to notice your predicament, but keeps glancing nervously at the sky. He says "Hello, Arthur," takes a towel from his battered leather satchel, and offers it to you.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 11:55 am

Front of House Score: 10 Turns: 21

>wait
Time passes...

Ford glances uncomfortably at the sky. He offers you the towel again.

>wait
Time passes...

Ford seems oblivious to your trouble, so you ask "Ford, what about my home?" He looks startled, then guilty. He starts to say something and stops. He starts to say something else and stops. Suddenly he seems to see the bulldozer for the first time, stops starting to say things and starts.

He seems to come to a momentous decision, says he has something of Earth-shattering importance to tell you, and stresses the importance of a quick drink at the Horse 'n Groom.

Pointing toward Prosser, you exclaim "But that man wants to knock my house down!" Ford goes off for a quiet word with Prosser. From where you're lying, you cannot hear what's happening, although they seem deeply engrossed in conversation.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 12:42 pm

Front of House Score: 10 Turns: 23

>wait
Time passes...

Ford and Prosser stop talking and approach you. Ford says that Prosser has agreed to lie in your place so that the two of you can go off to the Pub. Reluctantly, Prosser steps forward and lies down in front of the bulldozer. You stand up.

>save watchthis
Ok.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 12:44 pm

Front of House Score: 10 Turns: 24

>take watch
You can't. It's not yours. It's Prosser's and it's private.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 12:48 pm

Front of House Score: 10 Turns: 25

>prosser, give me your watch
Looking confused, Mr. Prosser says, "I don't see any your watch here!"

>prosser, give me watch
"Leave me alone," Prosser whimpers miserably.
Ford, urging you to follow, hurries toward the country lane.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 12:51 pm

Country Lane Score: 10 Turns: 26

>follow Ford
In a state of anxiety and confusion you follow Ford down the lane...

Country Lane
The road runs from your home, to the north, toward the village Pub, to the west.
Ford Prefect is here.

"Come along, Arthur," says Ford impatiently, and enters the Pub.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #982 (isolation #457) » Fri Oct 23, 2020 1:01 pm

Pub Score: 10 Turns: 27

>enter pub
Pub
The Pub is pleasant and cheerful and full of pleasant and cheerful people who don't know they've got about twelve minutes to live and are therefore having a spot of lunch. Some music is playing on an old jukebox. The exit is east.
Ford Prefect is here.
There is a barman serving at the bar.
Behind the bar is a shelf. It is full of the sort of items you find on shelves behind bars in pubs.

Ford buys lots of beer and offers half to you. "Muscle relaxant..." he says, impenetrably.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #984 (isolation #458) » Fri Oct 23, 2020 1:25 pm

>drink
(lots of beer)
It's very good beer, brewed by a small local company. You particularly like its flavour, which is why you woke up feeling so wretched this morning. You were at somebody's birthday party here in the Pub last night.

You begin to relax and enjoy yourself, so when Ford mentions that he's from a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, not from Guildford as he usually claims, you take it in your stride, and say "Oh yes, which part?"

>drink
(lots of beer)
It is really very pleasant stuff, with a very good dry, nutty flavour, some light froth on top, and a deep colour. It is at exactly room temperature. You reflect that the world cannot be all bad when there are such pleasures in it.

Ford mentions that the world is going to end in about twelve minutes.

>drink
(lots of beer)
There is a distant crash which Ford explains is nothing to worry about, probably just your house being knocked down.

>drink
(lots of beer)
You can hear the muffled noise of your home being demolished, and the taste of the beer sours in your mouth.

You get drunk and have a terrific time for twelve minutes, are the life and soul of the Pub, tell some really great stories, make everyone laugh a lot, and they all clap you on the back and tell you what a great chap you are and then the Earth gets unexpectedly demolished. You wake up with a hangover which lasts for all eternity.

We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) >

Your score is 30 of a possible 400, in 30 turns.

Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game?
(Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT): > restore watchthis

Ok.

Front of House Score: 10 Turns: 23

Front of House
You can enter your home to the north. A path leads around it to the northeast and northwest, and a country lane is visible to the south.

Ford Prefect is here.
Mr. Prosser, from the local council, is lying in front of the bulldozer. He seems to be wearing a digital watch.

>

Charles510 · Post Post #986 (isolation #459) » Fri Oct 23, 2020 1:41 pm

Pub Score: 15 Turns: 29

>follow ford
But Ford Prefect is right here!

>wait
Time passes...
Ford, urging you to follow, hurries toward the country lane.

>follow ford
In a state of anxiety and confusion you follow Ford down the lane...

Country Lane
The road runs from your home, to the north, toward the village Pub, to the west.
Ford Prefect is here.

"Come along, Arthur," says Ford impatiently, and enters the Pub.

>enter pub
Pub
The Pub is pleasant and cheerful and full of pleasant and cheerful people who don't know they've got about twelve minutes to live and are therefore having a spot of lunch. Some music is playing on an old jukebox. The exit is east.
Ford Prefect is here.
There is a barman serving at the bar.
Behind the bar is a shelf. It is full of the sort of items you find on shelves behind bars in pubs.

Ford buys lots of beer and offers half to you. "Muscle relaxant..." he says, impenetrably.

>drink
(lots of beer)
It's very good beer, brewed by a small local company. You particularly like its flavour, which is why you woke up feeling so wretched this morning. You were at somebody's birthday party here in the Pub last night.

You begin to relax and enjoy yourself, so when Ford mentions that he's from a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, not from Guildford as he usually claims, you take it in your stride, and say "Oh yes, which part?"

>sleep
There's no bed here.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Post Post #988 (isolation #460) » Fri Oct 23, 2020 1:47 pm

Pub Score: 15 Turns: 29

>bartender, give me food
I don't know the word "food".

>

Charles510 · Post Post #990 (isolation #461) » Fri Oct 23, 2020 2:01 pm

Pub Score: 15 Turns: 30

>look
Pub
The Pub is pleasant and cheerful and full of pleasant and cheerful people who don't know they've got about twelve minutes to live and are therefore having a spot of lunch. Some music is playing on an old jukebox. The exit is east.
Ford Prefect is here.
There is lots of beer here.
There is a barman serving at the bar.
Behind the bar is a shelf. It is full of the sort of items you find on shelves behind bars in pubs.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Post Post #992 (isolation #462) » Fri Oct 23, 2020 2:05 pm

Pub Score: 15 Turns: 31

>inventory
You have:
no tea
a loose pile of junk mail
a toothbrush
a flathead screwdriver
your gown (being worn)
It looks like your gown contains:
a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is
pocket fluff

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Post Post #994 (isolation #463) » Fri Oct 23, 2020 2:07 pm

Pub Score: 15 Turns: 32

>buy tea
You're talking complete nonsense; pull yourself together.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Post Post #996 (isolation #464) » Fri Oct 23, 2020 2:10 pm

Pub Score: 15 Turns: 33

>examine bar
There is nothing on the bar.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Post Post #998 (isolation #465) » Fri Oct 23, 2020 2:15 pm

Pub Score: 15 Turns: 34

>examine shelf
On the shelf behind the bar is the usual array of bottles, glasses and soggy beermats, some packets of peanuts, and a plate of uninviting cheese sandwiches.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 2:19 pm

Pub Score: 15 Turns: 36

>bartender, give me peanuts
It doesn't look like the barman is holding peanuts.

>buy peanuts
However much you clear your throat, wave your forefinger, or wiggle your eyebrows, the barman pays no attention, but carries on wiping another part of the bar.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>buy cheese sandwich
The barman gives you a cheese sandwich. The bread is like the stuff that stereos come packed in, the cheese would be great for rubbing out spelling mistakes, and margarine and pickle have performed an unedifying chemical reaction to produce something that shouldn't be, but is, turquoise. Since it is clearly unfit for human consumption you are grateful to be charged only a pound for it.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 3:03 pm

Pub Score: 15 Turns: 37

>inventory
You have:
no tea
a cheese sandwich
a loose pile of junk mail
a toothbrush
a flathead screwdriver
your gown (being worn)
It looks like your gown contains:
a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is
pocket fluff

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 3:05 pm

Pub Score: 15 Turns: 40

>footnote 2
Bob Dylan, 1969.

>attack ford
You are obviously letting things get to you. You should learn to relax a little.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>who am I
You are Arthur Dent.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>what is the object of the game
That's for me to know and you to find out.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 3:13 pm

Pub Score: 15 Turns: 41

>where am I
You're in the Pub.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 3:19 pm

Pub Score: 20 Turns: 42

>drink
(lots of beer)
It is really very pleasant stuff, with a very good dry, nutty flavour, some light froth on top, and a deep colour. It is at exactly room temperature. You reflect that the world cannot be all bad when there are such pleasures in it.

Ford mentions that the world is going to end in about twelve minutes.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 3:39 pm

Pub Score: 20 Turns: 44

>who is ford
Good question.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>who is mr prosser
Good question.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 3:53 pm

Pub Score: 20 Turns: 45

>take towel
Taken.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 4:05 pm

Country Lane Score: 20 Turns: 52

>take all
peanuts: The barman snaps "Hands off until you pay for it!"

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>inventory
You have:
no tea
a towel
a cheese sandwich
a loose pile of junk mail
a toothbrush
a flathead screwdriver
your gown (being worn)
It looks like your gown contains:
a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is
pocket fluff

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>examine cheese sandwich
You see nothing special about the cheese sandwich.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>examine towel
It's covered with little pink and blue flowers.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>examine screwdriver
It looks like every other flathead screwdriver you've ever seen.

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

You hear sounds of panic from the street. You and Ford rush outside...

Country Lane
The road runs from your home, to the north, toward the village Pub, to the west.

With a noise like a cross between Led Zeppelin's farewell concert and the eruption of Krakatoa, a huge fleet of Vogon Constructor ships flies overhead and announces that the Earth will be demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass in "two of your Earth minutes."

In all the turmoil, you drop the thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is and it rolls away. It is the least of your worries. Anyway, you've been trying to get rid of it for years.

>examine mail
There are many pieces of mail. Most are from some computer company called Infocom which wants you to buy their games. Hidden underneath is an official letter from the local council, dated some two years ago and inexplicably not delivered till now, explaining that a demolition order has been served on your home. The date of demolition is today's date.

The vast yellow ships thunder across the sky, spreading waves of terror and panic in their wake. The voice of the Vogon Captain slams across the country, insisting that the planning charts and demolition orders have been available at the local planning office in Alpha Centauri for fifty years and it's too late to start making a fuss about it now.

Throughout the noise, Ford is shouting at you. He removes a small black device from his satchel, but accidentally drops it at your feet.

>examine Ford
You see nothing special about Ford Prefect.

Fierce gales whip across the land, and thunder bangs continuously through the air in the wake of the giant ships. Ford fights to reach you, but the wind is too fierce. Further announcements from the Vogon Captain make it clear that demolition will begin in just a few seconds.

Through the blinding rain, you see lights flickering on the small device.

>examine beer
You can't see any beer here!

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 4:10 pm

>take device
Taken.

>push green button
A matter transference beam is certainly a shock to the system. Too bad you didn't consume enough alcohol to withstand it.

**** You have died ****

We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) >

Your score is 20 of a possible 400, in 53 turns.

Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game?
(Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT): >

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 4:24 pm

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 31

>restore watchthis

Front of House
You can enter your home to the north. A path leads around it to the northeast and northwest, and a country lane is visible to the south.

Ford Prefect is here.
Mr. Prosser, from the local council, is lying in front of the bulldozer. He seems to be wearing a digital watch.

>south
Country Lane
The road runs from your home, to the north, toward the village Pub, to the west.

>enter pub
Pub
The Pub is pleasant and cheerful and full of pleasant and cheerful people who don't know they've got about twelve minutes to live and are therefore having a spot of lunch. Some music is playing on an old jukebox. The exit is east.
There is a barman serving at the bar.
Behind the bar is a shelf. It is full of the sort of items you find on shelves behind bars in pubs.

>buy cheese sandwich
The barman gives you a cheese sandwich. The bread is like the stuff that stereos come packed in, the cheese would be great for rubbing out spelling mistakes, and margarine and pickle have performed an unedifying chemical reaction to produce something that shouldn't be, but is, turquoise. Since it is clearly unfit for human consumption you are grateful to be charged only a pound for it.

Ford hurries after you.

>buy peanuts
However much you clear your throat, wave your forefinger, or wiggle your eyebrows, the barman pays no attention, but carries on wiping another part of the bar.

Ford buys lots of beer and offers half to you. "Muscle relaxant..." he says, impenetrably.

>take all
peanuts: The barman snaps "Hands off until you pay for it!"

"Drink the beer," urges Ford. "It will help cushion your system against the coming shock of the matter transference beam."

>drink beer
It's very good beer, brewed by a small local company. You particularly like its flavour, which is why you woke up feeling so wretched this morning. You were at somebody's birthday party here in the Pub last night.

You begin to relax and enjoy yourself, so when Ford mentions that he's from a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, not from Guildford as he usually claims, you take it in your stride, and say "Oh yes, which part?"

>drink beer
It is really very pleasant stuff, with a very good dry, nutty flavour, some light froth on top, and a deep colour. It is at exactly room temperature. You reflect that the world cannot be all bad when there are such pleasures in it.

Ford mentions that the world is going to end in about twelve minutes.

>drink beer
There is a distant crash which Ford explains is nothing to worry about, probably just your house being knocked down.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 4:29 pm

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 32

>take towel
Taken.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 4:33 pm

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 32

>save cheesybadness
Ok.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 4:37 pm

Country Lane Score: 25 Turns: 33

>exit pub
Country Lane
The road runs from your home, to the north, toward the village Pub, to the west.
You see the huge bulldozer heaving itself among the cloud of brick dust which is all that remains of your home. As you start up the lane, a small dog runs up to you, yapping.

Ford hurries after you.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 4:40 pm

Country Lane Score: 25 Turns: 34

>open inventory
You used the word "inventory" in a way that I don't understand.

>inventory
You have:
no tea
a towel
a cheese sandwich
a loose pile of junk mail
a toothbrush
a flathead screwdriver
your gown (being worn)
It looks like your gown contains:
a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is
pocket fluff

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 4:45 pm

Country Lane Score: 25 Turns: 35

>drop sandwich
Dropped.
The dog carries on yapping for a moment and then gulps uncomfortably.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 4:48 pm

Country Lane Score: 25 Turns: 36

>take sandwich
Taken.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 4:51 pm

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 37

>north
You reach the site of what was your home. It is now a pile of rubble. Mr. Prosser looks sheepishly triumphant, a trick few people can do, as it requires a lot of technically complex deltoid muscle work.

Front of House
There is a huge pile of rubble to the north. A path leads around it to the northeast and northwest, and a country lane is visible to the south.

Mr. Prosser, from the local council, is standing on the other side of the bulldozer. He seems to be wearing a digital watch.

Ford hurries after you.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 5:08 pm

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 38

>take watch
You can't. It's not yours. It's Prosser's and it's private.

>

Charles510 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 6:22 pm

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 39

>kiss prosser
This is family entertainment, not a video nasty.

With a noise like a cross between Led Zeppelin's farewell concert and the eruption of Krakatoa, a huge fleet of Vogon Constructor ships flies overhead and announces that the Earth will be demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass in "two of your Earth minutes."

In all the turmoil, you drop the thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is and it rolls away. It is the least of your worries. Anyway, you've been trying to get rid of it for years.

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 3:26 am

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 40

>kiss Vogon Constructor
This is family entertainment, not a video nasty.

The vast yellow ships thunder across the sky, spreading waves of terror and panic in their wake. The voice of the Vogon Captain slams across the country, insisting that the planning charts and demolition orders have been available at the local planning office in Alpha Centauri for fifty years and it's too late to start making a fuss about it now.

Throughout the noise, Ford is shouting at you. He removes a small black device from his satchel, but accidentally drops it at your feet.

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 3:40 am

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 42

>take device
Taken.

Fierce gales whip across the land, and thunder bangs continuously through the air in the wake of the giant ships. Ford fights to reach you, but the wind is too fierce. Further announcements from the Vogon Captain make it clear that demolition will begin in just a few seconds.

Through the blinding rain, you see lights flickering on the small device.

>press green button
Lights whirl sickeningly around your head, the ground arches away beneath your feet, and every atom of your being is scrambled, an experience you're probably going to have to get used to. You are in...

Dark

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 3:45 am

Spoiler:

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 4:11 am

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 32

>restore cheesybadness
Ok.

Pub
The Pub is pleasant and cheerful and full of pleasant and cheerful people who don't know they've got about twelve minutes to live and are therefore having a spot of lunch. Some music is playing on an old jukebox. The exit is east.
Ford Prefect is here.
There is lots of beer here.
There is a barman serving at the bar.
Behind the bar is a shelf. It is full of the sort of items you find on shelves behind bars in pubs.

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 4:47 am

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 32

>trade bartender aunt for peanuts
I don't know the word "trade".

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 4:56 am

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 33

>examine jukebox
You see nothing special about the jukebox.

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 5:12 am

Pub Score: 25 Turns: 34

>take jukebox
Nice try.

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 5:21 am

Country Lane Score: 25 Turns: 36

>exit
Country Lane
The road runs from your home, to the north, toward the village Pub, to the west.
You see the huge bulldozer heaving itself among the cloud of brick dust which is all that remains of your home. As you start up the lane, a small dog runs up to you, yapping.

Ford hurries after you.

>examine dog
The mongrel looks hungry.

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 5:25 am

Country Lane Score: 25 Turns: 37

>give cheese sandwich to dog
The dog is deeply moved. With powerful sweeps of its tail it indicates that it regards this cheese sandwich as one of the great cheese sandwiches. Nine out of ten pet owners could happen by at this point expressing any preference they pleased, but this dog would spurn both them and all their tins. This is a dog which has met its main sandwich. It eats with passion, and ignores a passing microscopic space fleet.

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 5:29 am

Country Lane Score: 25 Turns: 37

>take space fleet
You can't see any space fleet here!

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 5:34 am

Country Lane Score: 25 Turns: 37

>take fleet
You can't see any fleet here!

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 5:36 am

Country Lane Score: 25 Turns: 38

>examine dog
You see nothing special about the dog.

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 5:41 am

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 39

>north
You reach the site of what was your home. It is now a pile of rubble. Mr. Prosser looks sheepishly triumphant, a trick few people can do, as it requires a lot of technically complex deltoid muscle work.

Front of House
There is a huge pile of rubble to the north. A path leads around it to the northeast and northwest, and a country lane is visible to the south.

Mr. Prosser, from the local council, is standing on the other side of the bulldozer. He seems to be wearing a digital watch.

Ford hurries after you.

>

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 5:46 am

Spoiler:

Charles510 · Sat Oct 24, 2020 8:40 pm

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 40

>mr prosser, what is the time
Prosser shakes the digital watch. "Hasn't worked for months. I keep wearing it only because I think digital watches are neat."

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 4:06 am

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 41

>what is a watch?
Good question.

With a noise like a cross between Led Zeppelin's farewell concert and the eruption of Krakatoa, a huge fleet of Vogon Constructor ships flies overhead and announces that the Earth will be demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass in "two of your Earth minutes."

In all the turmoil, you drop the thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is and it rolls away. It is the least of your worries. Anyway, you've been trying to get rid of it for years.

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 1:10 pm

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 41

>take aunt
You can't see any aunt here!

>take device
You can't see any device here!

>press green button
You can't see any green button here!

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 1:19 pm

Front of House Score: 25 Turns: 42

>mr prosser, give me the watch.
Prosser is too preoccupied with recent events to give your remarks much consideration. He is running off and saying a number of things about his mother in a high voice.

The vast yellow ships thunder across the sky, spreading waves of terror and panic in their wake. The voice of the Vogon Captain slams across the country, insisting that the planning charts and demolition orders have been available at the local planning office in Alpha Centauri for fifty years and it's too late to start making a fuss about it now.

Throughout the noise, Ford is shouting at you. He removes a small black device from his satchel, but accidentally drops it at your feet.

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 4:19 pm

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 45

>take device
Taken.

Fierce gales whip across the land, and thunder bangs continuously through the air in the wake of the giant ships. Ford fights to reach you, but the wind is too fierce. Further announcements from the Vogon Captain make it clear that demolition will begin in just a few seconds.

Through the blinding rain, you see lights flickering on the small device.

>inspect device
The electronic Sub-Etha signaling device is shaped like a small fist with an extended thumb. Various lights along its "knuckles" are currently blinking wildly, indicating a spaceship in the vicinity. It has two small buttons, a red one labelled "Call Engineer" and a green one labelled "Hitchhike." It bears a small label which reads "Another fine product of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation." Affixed to the Thumb is a lifetime guarantee.

>press green button
Lights whirl sickeningly around your head, the ground arches away beneath your feet, and every atom of your being is scrambled, an experience you're probably going to have to get used to. You are in...

Dark

>save inthedark
Ok.

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 4:30 pm

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 47

>who am I
You can't hear anything, see anything, smell anything, feel anything, or taste anything, and do not even know where you are or who you are or how you got there.

>where am I
You can't hear anything, see anything, smell anything, feel anything, or taste anything, and do not even know where you are or who you are or how you got there.

>what am I doing
I don't know the word "doing".

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 4:45 pm

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 48

>look
Dark
You can see nothing, feel nothing, hear nothing, taste nothing, smell nothing, and are not entirely certain who you are.

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 4:51 pm

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 49

>north
You can hear nothing, taste nothing, see nothing, feel nothing, and are not even certain who you are.

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 4:56 pm

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 50

>inventory
You can hear nothing, taste nothing, see nothing, feel nothing, and are not even certain who you are.

It is of course well known that careless talk costs lives, but the full scale of the problem is not always appreciated. For instance, at the exact moment you said "what am i doing" a freak wormhole opened in the fabric of the space-time continuum and carried your words far far back in time across almost infinite reaches of space to a distant galaxy where strange and warlike beings were poised on the brink of frightful interstellar battle.

The two opposing leaders were meeting for the last time. A dreadful silence fell across the conference table as the commander of the Vl'Hurgs, resplendent in his black jewelled battle shorts, gazed levelly at the G'Gugvunt leader squatting opposite him in a cloud of green, sweet-smelling steam. As a million sleek and horribly beweaponed star cruisers poised to unleash electric death at his single word of command, the Vl'Hurg challenged his vile enemy to take back what it had said about his mother.

The creature stirred in its sickly broiling vapour, and at that very moment the words "what am i doing" drifted across the conference table. Unfortunately, in the Vl'hurg tongue this was the most dreadful insult imaginable, and there was nothing for it but to wage terrible war for centuries. Eventually the error was detected, but over two hundred and fifty thousand worlds, their peoples and cultures perished in the holocaust.

You have destroyed most of a small galaxy. Please pick your words with greater care.

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 4:57 pm

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 51

>smell
(darkness)
It does smell a bit. There's something pungent being waved under your nose. Your head begins to clear. You can make out a shadow moving in the dark.

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:01 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 52

>examine shadow
The shadow is vaguely Ford Prefect-shaped.

Vogon Hold
This is a squalid room filled with grubby mattresses, unwashed cups, and unidentifiable bits of smelly alien underwear. A door lies to port, and an airlock lies to starboard.
Along one wall is a tall dispensing machine.
In the corner is a glass case with a switch and a keyboard.
It looks like the glass case contains:
an atomic vector plotter

Ford removes the bottle of Santraginean Mineral Water which he's been waving under your nose. He tells you that you are aboard a Vogon spaceship, and gives you some peanuts.

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:08 pm

>ford, what is a vogon?
Ford seems deep in thought.

>break glass
The hold of the Vogon ship is virtually undamaged by the explosion of the glass case. You, however, are blasted into tiny bits and smeared all over the room. Several cleaning robots fly in and wipe you neatly off the walls.

**** You have died ****

We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) >

Your score is 33 of a possible 400, in 53 turns.

Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game?
(Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT): >

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:13 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 51

>restore inthedark
Ok.

Dark

>wait
You can hear nothing, smell nothing, taste nothing, see nothing, feel nothing, and are not even certain who you are.

>wait
You can see nothing, feel nothing, hear nothing, taste nothing, smell nothing, and are not entirely certain who you are.

>wait
There's nothing you can taste, nothing you can see, nothing you can hear, nothing you can feel, nothing you can smell, you do not even know who you are.

>wait
You can see nothing, feel nothing, hear nothing, taste nothing, and are not entirely certain who you are.

>smell
(darkness)
It does smell a bit. There's something pungent being waved under your nose. Your head begins to clear. You can make out a shadow moving in the dark.

>examine shadow
The shadow is vaguely Ford Prefect-shaped.

Vogon Hold
This is a squalid room filled with grubby mattresses, unwashed cups, and unidentifiable bits of smelly alien underwear. A door lies to port, and an airlock lies to starboard.
Along one wall is a tall dispensing machine.
In the corner is a glass case with a switch and a keyboard.
It looks like the glass case contains:
an atomic vector plotter

Ford removes the bottle of Santraginean Mineral Water which he's been waving under your nose. He tells you that you are aboard a Vogon spaceship, and gives you some peanuts.

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:28 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 52

>eat peanuts
You feel stronger as the peanuts replace some of the protein you lost in the matter transference beam.

>

Charles510 · Sun Oct 25, 2020 6:10 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 52

>eat peanuts
You can't see any peanuts here!

>

Charles510 · Mon Oct 26, 2020 4:28 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 53

>eat Ford Prefect
Stuffing Ford Prefect in your mouth would do little to help at this point.

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 27, 2020 7:43 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 53

>use screwdriver on glass
I don't know the word "use".

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 27, 2020 8:18 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 53

>ford, where are we
I don't know the word "we".

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 27, 2020 8:50 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 54

>where am I
You're in the Vogon Hold.

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 27, 2020 8:54 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 54

>talk to Ford
Hmmm ... Ford Prefect looks at you expectantly, as if you seemed to be about to talk.

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 27, 2020 9:07 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 55

>ford, where am I
Ford seems deep in thought.

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 27, 2020 9:14 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 56

>ford, follow me
Ford seems deep in thought.

It is of course well known that careless talk costs lives, but the full scale of the problem is not always appreciated. For instance, at the exact moment you said "use screwdriver on glass" a freak wormhole opened in the fabric of the space-time continuum and carried your words far far back in time across almost infinite reaches of space to a distant galaxy where strange and warlike beings were poised on the brink of frightful interstellar battle.

The two opposing leaders were meeting for the last time. A dreadful silence fell across the conference table as the commander of the Vl'Hurgs, resplendent in his black jewelled battle shorts, gazed levelly at the G'Gugvunt leader squatting opposite him in a cloud of green, sweet-smelling steam. As a million sleek and horribly beweaponed star cruisers poised to unleash electric death at his single word of command, the Vl'Hurg challenged his vile enemy to take back what it had said about his mother.

The creature stirred in its sickly broiling vapour, and at that very moment the words "use screwdriver on glass" drifted across the conference table. Unfortunately, in the Vl'hurg tongue this was the most dreadful insult imaginable, and there was nothing for it but to wage terrible war for centuries. Eventually the error was detected, but over two hundred and fifty thousand worlds, their peoples and cultures perished in the holocaust.

You have destroyed most of a small galaxy. Please pick your words with greater care.

Ford yawns. "Matter transference always tires me out. I'm going to take a nap." He places something on top of his satchel. "If you have any questions, here's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (Footnote 14). Ford lowers his voice to a whisper. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but you'll never be able to finish the game without consulting the Guide about lots of stuff." As he curls up in a corner and begins snoring, you pick up The Hitchhiker's Guide.

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 27, 2020 9:19 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 57

>footnote 14
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is also the name of a terrific work of interactive fiction by Douglas Adams and S. Eric Meretzky. But then again you must already know that, since you bought one.

>read guide
Try: CONSULT GUIDE ABOUT (something).

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 27, 2020 10:00 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 58

>consult guide about ford
The Guide checks through its Sub-Etha-Net database and eventually comes up with the following entry:

That is one of the Great Unanswered Questions. For a list of the others, consult the Guide.

>

Charles510 · Tue Oct 27, 2020 6:11 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 59

>consult guide about great unanswered questions
The Guide checks through its Sub-Etha-Net database and eventually comes up with the following entry:

That is one of the Great Unanswered Questions. For a list of the others, consult the Guide.

>

Charles510 · Wed Oct 28, 2020 6:36 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 60

>consult guide about vogons
The Guide checks through its Sub-Etha-Net database and eventually comes up with the following entry:

Vogons, whose specialties are bureaucracy and planet-smashing, are the most unpleasant race in the Galaxy. They wouldn't think twice about throwing someone into space, and wouldn't lift a finger to save their own grandmother from the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal. Also see the entries on Vogon poetry and the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.

>

Charles510 · Wed Oct 28, 2020 8:06 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 61

>consult guide about Vogon poetry
The Guide checks through its Sub-Etha-Net database and eventually comes up with the following entry:

Vogon poetry is so awful that even the Sarkopsi of Burphon XII, whose religion strictly forbids the taking of one's life, consider suicide a preferable alternative to a Vogon poetry reading.

>

Charles510 · Wed Oct 28, 2020 1:40 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 63

>where am I
You're in the Vogon Hold.

>inventory
You have:
no tea
The Hitchhiker's Guide
an electronic Sub-Etha signaling device
a towel
a loose pile of junk mail
a toothbrush
a flathead screwdriver
your gown (being worn)
It looks like your gown contains:
a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is
pocket fluff

>

Charles510 · Wed Oct 28, 2020 1:41 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 64

>look around
Vogon Hold
This is a squalid room filled with grubby mattresses, unwashed cups, and unidentifiable bits of smelly alien underwear. A door lies to port, and an airlock lies to starboard.
There is a satchel here.
Ford is in the corner, snoring loudly.
Along one wall is a tall dispensing machine.
In the corner is a glass case with a switch and a keyboard.
It looks like the glass case contains:
an atomic vector plotter

>

Charles510 · Wed Oct 28, 2020 1:46 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 66

>Place satchel in front of tall dispensing machine
That's easy for you to say since you don't even have the satchel.

>activate tall dispensing machine
You can't turn that on.

>

Charles510 · Wed Oct 28, 2020 1:49 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 69

>Grab satchel
Taken.

>put junk mail in satchel
Inspection reveals that the satchel isn't open.

An announcement is coming over the ship's intercom. "Ekonfiml mp wimbr girbx jw culp ofudd tefto soshorki si sfudzit oirbeftoshzitl mchotruimbi sosh oo tthau na rkontoyimbi le ha b oefti lcavi simbzitollgryimbz z ocavp wquifimollu ne hirbkwaerl okwai lfimtoytruerlimbimba ro t oi szitimbkonimbquivupfudkonirb oollcavkwaa rtoyollcava bimbeft oi ss ga boshe he hulpo sorktha."

>Inspect tall dispensing machine
The dispenser is tall, has a button at around eye-level, and says "Babel Fish" in large letters. Anything dispensed would probably come out the slot at around knee-level. It bears a small label which reads "Another fine product of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation."

An announcement is coming over the ship's intercom. "Efimi lgryimbd tw ctoyollerlcav oo sorkcaveftfudosho su nimbqui ooshw culpe hvupollfimimbo td t oerli stoyx ji sl merlimbthahuv oirbu ngrytruu nl mkonimbo terl ogryx jwrofima bw culpkwao tflu owrotrus gfudtruirbwrow cthar g ou nkono to ta bkwao tvupi le h oefti leftkono terla bwrod tw c ol mimbw ceftkonollvupgryfudl m."

>

Charles510 · Wed Oct 28, 2020 1:58 pm

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 46

>restore inthedark
Ok.

>smell
(darkness)
You can hear nothing, smell nothing, taste nothing, see nothing, feel nothing, and are not even certain who you are.

>

Charles510 · Wed Oct 28, 2020 2:02 pm

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 50

>wait
There's nothing you can taste, nothing you can see, nothing you can hear, nothing you can feel, nothing you can smell, you do not even know who you are.

>wait
There's nothing you can taste, nothing you can see, nothing you can hear, nothing you can feel, nothing you can smell, you do not even know who you are.

>smell
(darkness)
You can see nothing, feel nothing, hear nothing, taste nothing, and are not entirely certain who you are.

>follow shadow
I'm not convinced you're allowed to be playing with this computer.

>

Charles510 · Wed Oct 28, 2020 2:17 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 52

>smell
(darkness)
It does smell a bit. There's something pungent being waved under your nose. Your head begins to clear. You can make out a shadow moving in the dark.

>examine shadow
The shadow is vaguely Ford Prefect-shaped.

Vogon Hold
This is a squalid room filled with grubby mattresses, unwashed cups, and unidentifiable bits of smelly alien underwear. A door lies to port, and an airlock lies to starboard.
Along one wall is a tall dispensing machine.
In the corner is a glass case with a switch and a keyboard.
It looks like the glass case contains:
an atomic vector plotter

Ford removes the bottle of Santraginean Mineral Water which he's been waving under your nose. He tells you that you are aboard a Vogon spaceship, and gives you some peanuts.

>

Charles510 · Wed Oct 28, 2020 3:30 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 55

>grab satchel
Ford says, "Hey, Arthur, keep your hands off my satchel!"

>Open satchel
You can't. It's not yours. It's Ford's and it's private.

You begin to feel distinctly groggy.

>put junk mail into satchel
Inspection reveals that the satchel isn't open.

You begin to feel indistinctly groggy.

>

Charles510 · Wed Oct 28, 2020 3:34 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 56

>eat peanuts
You feel stronger as the peanuts replace some of the protein you lost in the matter transference beam.

>

Charles510 · Thu Oct 29, 2020 12:25 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 57

>Press button on dispenser
That sentence isn't one I recognise.

>press dispenser button
A single babel fish shoots out of the slot. It sails across the room and through a small hole in the wall, just under a metal hook.

Ford yawns. "Matter transference always tires me out. I'm going to take a nap." He places something on top of his satchel. "If you have any questions, here's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (Footnote 14). Ford lowers his voice to a whisper. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but you'll never be able to finish the game without consulting the Guide about lots of stuff." As he curls up in a corner and begins snoring, you pick up The Hitchhiker's Guide.

>

Charles510 · Thu Oct 29, 2020 10:07 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 58

>wake ford
Rather like trying to wake the dead.

>

Charles510 · Thu Oct 29, 2020 3:44 pm

In post 1150, Nancy Drew 39 wrote:/in

Go ahead Nancy, give a command!

Charles510 · Tue Nov 03, 2020 6:42 am

Here's a quick review of what we've done so far:

>smell
(darkness)
It does smell a bit. There's something pungent being waved under your nose. Your head begins to clear. You can make out a shadow moving in the dark.

>examine shadow
The shadow is vaguely Ford Prefect-shaped.

Vogon Hold
This is a squalid room filled with grubby mattresses, unwashed cups, and unidentifiable bits of smelly alien underwear. A door lies to port, and an airlock lies to starboard.
Along one wall is a tall dispensing machine.
In the corner is a glass case with a switch and a keyboard.
It looks like the glass case contains:
an atomic vector plotter

Ford removes the bottle of Santraginean Mineral Water which he's been waving under your nose. He tells you that you are aboard a Vogon spaceship, and gives you some peanuts.

>grab satchel
Ford says, "Hey, Arthur, keep your hands off my satchel!"

>Open satchel
You can't. It's not yours. It's Ford's and it's private.

You begin to feel distinctly groggy.

>put junk mail into satchel
Inspection reveals that the satchel isn't open.

You begin to feel indistinctly groggy.

>eat peanuts
You feel stronger as the peanuts replace some of the protein you lost in the matter transference beam.

>Press button on dispenser
That sentence isn't one I recognise.

>press dispenser button
A single babel fish shoots out of the slot. It sails across the room and through a small hole in the wall, just under a metal hook.

Ford yawns. "Matter transference always tires me out. I'm going to take a nap." He places something on top of his satchel. "If you have any questions, here's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (Footnote 14). Ford lowers his voice to a whisper. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but you'll never be able to finish the game without consulting the Guide about lots of stuff." As he curls up in a corner and begins snoring, you pick up The Hitchhiker's Guide.

>wake ford
Rather like trying to wake the dead.

>

Charles510 · Tue Nov 03, 2020 8:48 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 59

>grab satchel
Taken.

It is of course well known that careless talk costs lives, but the full scale of the problem is not always appreciated. For instance, at the exact moment you said "press button on dispenser" a freak wormhole opened in the fabric of the space-time continuum and carried your words far far back in time across almost infinite reaches of space to a distant galaxy where strange and warlike beings were poised on the brink of frightful interstellar battle.

The two opposing leaders were meeting for the last time. A dreadful silence fell across the conference table as the commander of the Vl'Hurgs, resplendent in his black jewelled battle shorts, gazed levelly at the G'Gugvunt leader squatting opposite him in a cloud of green, sweet-smelling steam. As a million sleek and horribly beweaponed star cruisers poised to unleash electric death at his single word of command, the Vl'Hurg challenged his vile enemy to take back what it had said about his mother.

The creature stirred in its sickly broiling vapour, and at that very moment the words "press button on dispenser" drifted across the conference table. Unfortunately, in the Vl'hurg tongue this was the most dreadful insult imaginable, and there was nothing for it but to wage terrible war for centuries. Eventually the error was detected, but over two hundred and fifty thousand worlds, their peoples and cultures perished in the holocaust.

You have destroyed most of a small galaxy. Please pick your words with greater care.

>

Charles510 · Tue Nov 03, 2020 9:42 am

In post 1157, brassherald wrote:Is... Is that a loss?

Spoiler:

Charles510 · Thu Nov 05, 2020 10:53 am

>smell
(darkness)
It does smell a bit. There's something pungent being waved under your nose. Your head begins to clear. You can make out a shadow moving in the dark.

>examine shadow
The shadow is vaguely Ford Prefect-shaped.

Vogon Hold
This is a squalid room filled with grubby mattresses, unwashed cups, and unidentifiable bits of smelly alien underwear. A door lies to port, and an airlock lies to starboard.
Along one wall is a tall dispensing machine.
In the corner is a glass case with a switch and a keyboard.
It looks like the glass case contains:
an atomic vector plotter

Ford removes the bottle of Santraginean Mineral Water which he's been waving under your nose. He tells you that you are aboard a Vogon spaceship, and gives you some peanuts.

>grab satchel
Ford says, "Hey, Arthur, keep your hands off my satchel!"

>Open satchel
You can't. It's not yours. It's Ford's and it's private.

You begin to feel distinctly groggy.

>put junk mail into satchel
Inspection reveals that the satchel isn't open.

You begin to feel indistinctly groggy.

>eat peanuts
You feel stronger as the peanuts replace some of the protein you lost in the matter transference beam.

>Press button on dispenser
That sentence isn't one I recognise.

>press dispenser button
A single babel fish shoots out of the slot. It sails across the room and through a small hole in the wall, just under a metal hook.

Ford yawns. "Matter transference always tires me out. I'm going to take a nap." He places something on top of his satchel. "If you have any questions, here's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (Footnote 14). Ford lowers his voice to a whisper. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but you'll never be able to finish the game without consulting the Guide about lots of stuff." As he curls up in a corner and begins snoring, you pick up The Hitchhiker's Guide.

>wake ford
Rather like trying to wake the dead.

>grab satchel
Taken.

It is of course well known that careless talk costs lives, but the full scale of the problem is not always appreciated. For instance, at the exact moment you said "press button on dispenser" a freak wormhole opened in the fabric of the space-time continuum and carried your words far far back in time across almost infinite reaches of space to a distant galaxy where strange and warlike beings were poised on the brink of frightful interstellar battle.

The two opposing leaders were meeting for the last time. A dreadful silence fell across the conference table as the commander of the Vl'Hurgs, resplendent in his black jewelled battle shorts, gazed levelly at the G'Gugvunt leader squatting opposite him in a cloud of green, sweet-smelling steam. As a million sleek and horribly beweaponed star cruisers poised to unleash electric death at his single word of command, the Vl'Hurg challenged his vile enemy to take back what it had said about his mother.

The creature stirred in its sickly broiling vapour, and at that very moment the words "press button on dispenser" drifted across the conference table. Unfortunately, in the Vl'hurg tongue this was the most dreadful insult imaginable, and there was nothing for it but to wage terrible war for centuries. Eventually the error was detected, but over two hundred and fifty thousand worlds, their peoples and cultures perished in the holocaust.

You have destroyed most of a small galaxy. Please pick your words with greater care.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 08, 2020 7:57 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 60

>open satchel
You can't. It's not yours. It's Ford's and it's private.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 08, 2020 10:43 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 61

>look
Vogon Hold
This is a squalid room filled with grubby mattresses, unwashed cups, and unidentifiable bits of smelly alien underwear. A door lies to port, and an airlock lies to starboard.
There is a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is here.
Ford is in the corner, snoring loudly.
Along one wall is a tall dispensing machine.
In the corner is a glass case with a switch and a keyboard.
It looks like the glass case contains:
an atomic vector plotter

>

Charles510 · Wed Nov 11, 2020 12:12 am

Here is a web version of the game you can try.

Charles510 · Fri Nov 13, 2020 8:10 pm

lol, that's a good one

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 6:49 am

did you get the babel fish?

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 5:36 pm

You sould do it in this thread

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 5:44 pm

I agree, go for it

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 5:49 pm

In post 1165, Charles510 wrote:Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 61

>look
Vogon Hold
This is a squalid room filled with grubby mattresses, unwashed cups, and unidentifiable bits of smelly alien underwear. A door lies to port, and an airlock lies to starboard.
There is a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is here.
Ford is in the corner, snoring loudly.
Along one wall is a tall dispensing machine.
In the corner is a glass case with a switch and a keyboard.
It looks like the glass case contains:
an atomic vector plotter

>

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 10:41 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 63

>inventory
You have:
no tea
a satchel
The Hitchhiker's Guide
an electronic Sub-Etha signaling device
a towel
a loose pile of junk mail
a toothbrush
a flathead screwdriver
your gown (being worn)
It looks like your gown contains:
pocket fluff

>take off gown
Okay, you're no longer wearing your gown.

>

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 10:43 pm

In post 1181, NoPowerOverMe wrote:/in

Go ahead NPOM give a command.

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 11:19 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 64

>look
Vogon Hold
This is a squalid room filled with grubby mattresses, unwashed cups, and unidentifiable bits of smelly alien underwear. A door lies to port, and an airlock lies to starboard.
There is a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is here.
Ford is in the corner, snoring loudly.
Along one wall is a tall dispensing machine.
In the corner is a glass case with a switch and a keyboard.
It looks like the glass case contains:
an atomic vector plotter

>

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 11:26 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 65

>flip switch
A recording plays: "Aw cchox jr gtruo to sorktoys g ox jfimo stoyw cerlwrod tchop w ou nosho timbolll mimbp wgryflu oerlflui sw cchoo thuvvups gi l okwakwahuvimbchos gd tulpfuda r."

>

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 11:30 pm

>type "english" on keyboard
The hold of the Vogon ship is virtually undamaged by the explosion of the glass case. You, however, are blasted into tiny bits and smeared all over the room. Several cleaning robots fly in and wipe you neatly off the walls.

**** You have died ****

We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) >

Your score is 33 of a possible 400, in 65 turns.

Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game?
(Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT): >

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 11:37 pm

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 45

>restore (filename:inthedark)
Ok.

>poke ford
I don't know the word "poke".

>

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 11:41 pm

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 45

>move ford
You can't see Ford here!

>

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 11:45 pm

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 46

>look
Dark
You can't hear anything, see anything, smell anything, feel anything, or taste anything, and do not even know where you are or who you are or how you got there.

>

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 11:52 pm

It goes back to where someone saved the game.

Here are the savefiles:
inthedark
cheesybadness
watchthis
ircher4
ircher3
threebeers
ircher2
ircher1

Charles510 · Sat Nov 14, 2020 11:54 pm

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 47

>say "Is anyone there?"
You can see nothing, feel nothing, hear nothing, taste nothing, smell nothing, and are not entirely certain who you are.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 8:31 am

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 50

>wait
You can hear nothing, smell nothing, taste nothing, see nothing, feel nothing, and are not even certain who you are.

>wait
You can see nothing, feel nothing, hear nothing, taste nothing, and are not entirely certain who you are.

>smell
(darkness)
It does smell a bit. There's something pungent being waved under your nose. Your head begins to clear. You can make out a shadow moving in the dark.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 8:39 am

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 51

>move N
You used the word "n" in a way that I don't understand.

>N
You can hear nothing, taste nothing, see nothing, feel nothing, and are not even certain who you are.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 8:49 am

>say Guide, respond
I don't know the word "respond".

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 8:56 am

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 52

>say. "Guide, can you hear me?"
You can hear nothing, taste nothing, see nothing, feel nothing, and are not even certain who you are.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:00 am

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 52

>flip switch
You can't see any switch here!

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:02 am

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 52

>search for door
You'll have to be more specific, I'm afraid.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:05 am

Dark Score: 25 Turns: 53

>search for door handle
I don't know the word "handle".

>smell
(darkness)
It does smell a bit. There's something pungent being waved under your nose. Your head begins to clear. You can make out a shadow moving in the dark.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:45 am

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 54

>look at shadow
The shadow is vaguely Ford Prefect-shaped.

Vogon Hold
This is a squalid room filled with grubby mattresses, unwashed cups, and unidentifiable bits of smelly alien underwear. A door lies to port, and an airlock lies to starboard.
Along one wall is a tall dispensing machine.
In the corner is a glass case with a switch and a keyboard.
It looks like the glass case contains:
an atomic vector plotter

Ford removes the bottle of Santraginean Mineral Water which he's been waving under your nose. He tells you that you are aboard a Vogon spaceship, and gives you some peanuts.

It is of course well known that careless talk costs lives, but the full scale of the problem is not always appreciated. For instance, at the exact moment you said "say guide, respond" a freak wormhole opened in the fabric of the space-time continuum and carried your words far far back in time across almost infinite reaches of space to a distant galaxy where strange and warlike beings were poised on the brink of frightful interstellar battle.

The two opposing leaders were meeting for the last time. A dreadful silence fell across the conference table as the commander of the Vl'Hurgs, resplendent in his black jewelled battle shorts, gazed levelly at the G'Gugvunt leader squatting opposite him in a cloud of green, sweet-smelling steam. As a million sleek and horribly beweaponed star cruisers poised to unleash electric death at his single word of command, the Vl'Hurg challenged his vile enemy to take back what it had said about his mother.

The creature stirred in its sickly broiling vapour, and at that very moment the words "say guide, respond" drifted across the conference table. Unfortunately, in the Vl'hurg tongue this was the most dreadful insult imaginable, and there was nothing for it but to wage terrible war for centuries. Eventually the error was detected, but over two hundred and fifty thousand worlds, their peoples and cultures perished in the holocaust.

You have destroyed most of a small galaxy. Please pick your words with greater care.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 3:49 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 55

>ford, what about earth
Ford explains that the Earth has been demolished. To cheer you up, he points out that there are an awful lot of little planets like that around, and the Earth wasn't even a particularly nice one.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 4:41 pm

Vogon Hold Score: 33 Turns: 56

>attack ford
You are obviously letting things get to you. You should learn to relax a little.

You begin to feel distinctly groggy.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 5:40 pm

>eat peanuts
You feel stronger as the peanuts replace some of the protein you lost in the matter transference beam.

>restart
We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) >

Your score is 33 of a possible 400, in 57 turns.
Do you wish to restart? (Y is affirmative): > y

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 0

THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
Infocom interactive fiction - a science fiction story
Copyright (c) 1984 by Infocom, Inc. All rights reserved.
Release 59 / Serial number 851108

You wake up. The room is spinning very gently round your head. Or at least it would be if you could see it which you can't.

It is pitch black.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 5:44 pm

Did you intend to restore the inthedark game or go back to the very beginning?

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 7:38 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 0

>smell
What do you want to smell?

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 8:44 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 1

>look
It is pitch black.

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Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 8:51 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 2

>open eyes
They are.

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Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 8:54 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 2

>look for light switch
That sentence isn't one I recognise.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 8:59 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 2

>flip light switch
It's too dark to see!

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:04 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 3

>stand up
Very difficult, but you manage it. The room is still spinning. It dips and sways a little.

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Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:11 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 4

>blink eyes
I don't know the word "blink".

>rub eyes
Fiddling with your eyes accomplishes nothing.

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Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:21 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 5

>exit room
You miss the doorway by a good eighteen inches. The wall jostles you rather rudely.

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Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:28 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 6

>grab and turn doorhandle
I don't know the word "doorhandle".

>open door
It is already open.

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Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:44 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 7

>exit door
You miss the doorway by a good eighteen inches. The wall jostles you rather rudely.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:46 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 7

>search for exit
You used the word "exit" in a way that I don't understand.

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Charles510 · Mon Nov 16, 2020 6:26 am

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 7

>move to door
That sentence isn't one I recognise.

>

Charles510 · Mon Nov 16, 2020 7:09 am

In post 1166, Charles510 wrote:Here is a web version of the game you can try.

I'm going to put this link in the OP too.

Charles510 · Mon Nov 16, 2020 11:22 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 7

>turn switch
It's too dark to see!

>

Charles510 · Wed Nov 18, 2020 11:08 am

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 7

>find switch
It's too dark to see!

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Charles510 · Wed Nov 18, 2020 11:57 am

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 8

>search all
It's too dark to see!

>

Charles510 · Thu Nov 19, 2020 3:46 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 9

>turn on light
Good start to the day. Pity it's going to be the worst one of your life. The light is now on.

Bedroom
The bedroom is a mess.
It is a small bedroom with a faded carpet and old wallpaper. There is a washbasin, a chair with a tatty dressing gown slung over it, and a window with the curtains drawn. Near the exit leading south is a phone.
There is a flathead screwdriver here.
There is a toothbrush here.

>

Charles510 · Fri Nov 20, 2020 9:11 am

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 10

>brush teeth
You have nothing to brush your teeth with.

>go back to sleep
I don't know the word "back".

>

Charles510 · Fri Nov 20, 2020 9:29 am

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 11

>take toothbrush
It slips through your fumbling fingers and hits the carpet with a nerve-shattering bang.

>brush teeth with toothbrush
You're not holding the toothbrush.

>

Charles510 · Fri Nov 20, 2020 9:35 am

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 12

>take toothbrush
It dances by you like a thing possessed.

>

Charles510 · Fri Nov 20, 2020 4:02 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 12

>say hello to toothbrush
You used the word "hello" in a way that I don't understand.

>

Charles510 · Sat Nov 21, 2020 1:16 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 13

>wear gown
You're not holding your gown.

>exit s
You used the word "s" in a way that I don't understand.

>S
You miss the doorway by a good eighteen inches. The wall jostles you rather rudely.

>

Charles510 · Sat Nov 21, 2020 8:49 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 15

>take gown
Luckily, this is large enough for you to get hold of. You notice something in the pocket.

>wear gown
You are now wearing your gown.

>

Charles510 · Sun Nov 22, 2020 5:36 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 15

>take item in pocket
I don't know the word "item".

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Charles510 · Sun Nov 22, 2020 5:39 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 16

>search pocket
You'll have to open it first.

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Charles510 · Sun Nov 22, 2020 5:42 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 18

>open pocket
Opening your gown reveals a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is, a buffered analgesic, and pocket fluff.

>search pocket
It looks like your gown contains:
a thing your aunt gave you which you don't know what it is
a buffered analgesic
pocket fluff

>

Charles510 · Wed Dec 02, 2020 6:15 pm

Bedroom Score: 0 Turns: 19

>take all items from pocket
There isn't anything to take!

>

Charles510 · Wed Dec 02, 2020 6:20 pm

>take screwdriver
It dances by you like a thing possessed.

Astoundingly, a bulldozer pokes through your wall. However, you have no time for surprise because the ceiling is collapsing on you as your home is unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new bypass. You are seriously injured in the process, but on your way to the hospital a fleet of Vogon Constructor ships unexpectedly arrives and demolishes the Earth to make way for a new hyperspace bypass.

Better luck next life.

We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) >

Your score is 0 of a possible 400, in 19 turns.

Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game?
(Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT): >