THE ORIGINAL ADVENTURE The Software Toolworks, 1982 ========================================= Solution by Exemptus - January 2022 Overview and general hints: --------------------------- This game is a commercial version of the Crowther & Woods Colossal Cave Adventure, based on Jim Gillogly's C port of the WOOD0350 source (coded as GILL0350 in Nathan Culver's Adventure taxonomy), but with some additions not found anywhere else, added by Walt Bilofsky, and published in 1982 for a number of CP/M family machines, such as the Heathkit H8, The Osborne 1, and a few months later, the IBM PC, under PC-DOS. These ports seem to be identical, so this solution is expected to be good for any of the released versions. As noted in the instructions for the game, differences with GILL0350 are: * There are a few more treasures to collect (exactly three of them) * Some additional rooms were added (a few, for the new treasures; they include new puzzles) * The ending has been slightly expanded * The Wizard admin logic is missing (as in practically all the domestic computer versions) * There is a new non-treasure object (the dictionary) which serves the purpose of providing clues to the new treasures, if used properly; probably counts as a puzzle. * The point count is now 375, up from 350, and the adventurer's ranks are changed a bit as well; the highest possible rank is Journeyman Wizard. There are other cosmetic changes also, as well as some minor user interface changes, such as a minimum turns count between saves. This version (code GIBI0375) has the distinction of being the only one known to have been "endorsed" by Crowther & Woods, who were even paid royalties. On successful completion of the game, you were issued a password (derived from your name) which served as proof of completion, and you could send it to The Software Toolworks for a "certificate of wizardness" with signatures from Crowther & Woods themselves. A few of these certificates are known to have been issued. Despite this, at the time I'm writing this, no full solution of the adventure seems to have ever been published or to be available on the Internet. Time to fix this gap. I will assume the reader is familiar with the puzzles and quirks of the WOOD0350 version or any of its direct descendants, and I will focus on the specific aspects of this version. Being a commercial game with some proprietary code, no source has even been available, and the game files (including savegames) are encrypted to discourage both pirates and cheaters, so there is no other easy course than to solve it the right way. Exactly like its classic predecessor, the game is deterministic except for the dwarves and pirate routines and a few directions. All game content in the WOOD0350 version is included here, so there is a finite time (measured in lamp turns) to store all the main treasures in the building. It can be extended by sacrificing a treasure (the coins), but of course this detracts from the max score. The difficulty with this version is *finding* the new treasures, since they are well hidden. A player familiar with WOOD0350 will probably collect the 15 treasures in that version, get the Last Lousy Point in Witt's End, and then wander the cave waiting for the closure announcement which heralds the endgame; but in vain, because the ending does not trigger unless 17 treasures have been stored, so two new treasures are missing. Finding these two is the tricky part, since they are well hidden, and one of them requires using four other objects in the game, three of which have other uses and will probably have been discarded. One of these is even a treasure (the golden chain). Once the 17 treasures have been collected, the endgame is triggered. It works roughly the same way as in WOOD0350, but there is a expanded sequence; fortunately it is straightforward to solve. The endgame part is now connected to the outside, and the player is expected to collect the last treasure from the endgame and deposit it at the building as well for the game to end optimally. Getting the maximum score requires not asking for help or clues, ever, even at the start when the game asks "Would you like instructions?" This is a bit mean, but at least is a quirk already present in the GILL0350 code. The walkthrough below achieves the maximum score, with a bit of luck, given the random appearances of the dwarves and the pirate, and some of the passages (from Bedquilt, for instance). Killing all six dwarves is not necessary at all and does not influence the score, but if they show up they shouldn't be ignored. Visiting the "different rooms" maze with the vending machine is not needed, and in fact the number of rooms visited is of no consequence. Odd directions such as "PIT", "Y2" or "BEDQUILT" (there are others) work nearby these rooms and can be used as shortcuts. The solution aims for reproducibility rather than economy, speed or logic, so it uses some moves to prepare for situations that players could know about only after they have come across them in former playthroughs. I will do my best to explain the logic of the moves where this is the case. Walkthrough: ------------ *** FIRST SECTION: GETTING INTO THE CAVE AND FIRST TREASURES [The game starts, like the classic version, welcoming us and asking whether we'd like instructions.] NO [This automatically gives us 5 points! We are standing at the end of a road] E [The building and treasure store; here we have food, keys, lamp and bottle] GET LAMP GET KEYS W S S S [The locked grate is here] UNLOCK GRATE D W GET CAGE [Needed to catch the bird] [This location (crawl over cobbles) is the last one in the beginning which is lighted; all cave locations from now on are dark and require the lamp to be on. The game is unforgiving with moving in the dark, and unlike many of the ports, it is guaranteed to be lethal, so no attempting to save moves that way.] W [It is pitch dark] ON LAMP [Just ON or OFF suffices, but we'll use the two words for clarity] [There is a rod here, the magic wand, but if we get it then we cannot catch the bird immediately after; first we get the bird, then the rod. Also, this is one of the magic word rooms, typing XYZZY here takes us to the building and vice versa.] W W [The bird is here] GET BIRD [With the cage] E E GET ROD PIT [This is a shortcut] D [Score is now 30, as a reward for entering the cave] W [Wide fissure] WAVE ROD [A magic bridge appears] DROP ROD [Not needed anymore] W GET DIAMONDS [Score is 32] [This is our first treasure. A small number of points are given for finding them but full points are only awarded by storing them at the building. Treasures are easy to distinguish from other objects: they are always described with an exclamation sign (e.g., "There are diamonds here!"). Besides, they are obviously valuable objects, but if the description does not have an exclamation sign, then it is not a treasure.] E E [Back at Hall of Mists] S [The nugget, another treasure; this one cannot be taken up the stairs] GET NUGGET [Score is 34] N N [A fierce green snake bars the way] GET FEATHER [This is a new one for Adventure veterans. Yes, it is possible to pluck a feather from the bird, when we have it caged. This is a new object, not present in other versions. It serves a purpose later, where it will be obvious by the situation that some kind of writing implement is needed to write in ink with, so at that moment the need for a quill feather will be apparent, and then the bird comes quickly to mind, but we are saving some time by doing it in advance.] FREE BIRD [It drives the snake away] DROP CAGE [Not needed any longer] DROP FEATHER [We'll retrieve it later] W [There are coins here!] GET COINS [Score is 36] E S [There is precious jewelry here!] GET JEWELRY [Score is 38] N [From this moment on, a dwarf could show up at random and throw an axe at us. He will always miss the first time; just take the axe and keep it with you. The walkthrough will assume an inventory slot is taken by the axe and will take this into account when juggling objects. Whenever a new dwarf appears, he will toss a knife instead, with a low probability of hitting, in which case we will have to reload, so save frequently or use snapshots with an emulator, as you wish. Provided he misses, we will need to throw the axe at him until we kill him. There are six dwarves that could appear this way, so keep count, as the axe is no longer needed after the sixth one is dealt with, and can be discarded.] N [There are bars of silver here!] GET SILVER [Score is 40] N [We are at Y2, which is a magic word room, and will be our main point of entry and exit from the caves from now on. The word PLUGH takes us directly to the building and vice versa from here. It will be advantageous to turn off the lamp before we teleport this way, as it has a fixed life in number of turns, and once the batteries are exhausted our hopes for a max score are quashed. Fortunately this version is fairly generous with the allocated time.] [We also note there is a Dwarvish dictionary here, another object that is new to this version. We can READ it, but it says nothing of importance. However, it will be significant for a later clue.] OFF LAMP PLUGH [Back at the building] DROP DIAMONDS [Score is 50] DROP NUGGET [Score is 60] DROP COINS [Score is 70] DROP JEWELRY [Score is 80] DROP SILVER [Score is 90] [We have the rank of Journeyman Adventurer, but the task is just started.] *** SECOND SECTION: BEYOND THE TROLL BRIDGE [We are now going to go for the most time-consuming, difficult treasures: the golden chain, spices, and the mining shares, which are exclusive to this version and also related to the troll bridge area. Doing this now is convenient, as we need to solve a number of puzzles along the way and open some paths that will be useful later on.] GET FOOD GET BOTTLE [We now have the lamp, keys, food and bottle of water, which is full] PLUGH ON LAMP [From now on, whenever we are carrying at least one treasure, a bearded pirate could jump at us and steal all the treasures we carry, in which case we'd have to hotfoot it to the Pirate's Lair within the maze to get them back. We will visit that place in good time, but you might have to adjust the walkthrough as needed when this happens. Some times will be more inconvenient than others, especially if we are in the middle of a task. The walkthrough will assume this happens at a more or less convenient time.] S S GET FEATHER [We will need it in our expedition] SW W [Score is 92; a fierce green dragon bars the way] KILL DRAGON [With what? Your bare hands?] YES [Congratulations! You have just vanquished a dragon with your bare hands!] [Another treasure, the Persian rug, is here and could be taken, but we won't for the time being, as there are other pressing matters to manage first.] N [Secret N/S canyon above large room] D S D [There is a plant here asking for water] [The plant needs to be watered twice (but no more) and will provide a necessary climb path to upstairs, which we will need to negotiate. Filling the bottle once empty can be done at a few places, which have water in their description, but not all the places where water or streams are mentioned are suitable. Luckily, there is a water source nearby.] WATER PLANT [It grows, but not enough] U W U N N [At the reservoir] GET WATER S S D S D WATER PLANT [It is a gigantic beanstalk now] [Before we go up, there is a rusty door upstairs that needs oiling, and we will therefore need to find some oil to fill the bottle with, but it is just on the neighbouring pit.] U E D [Bottom of East pit] GET OIL U W D CLIMB PLANT W [There is a large nest here, full of golden eggs!] [This is the source of one of the most infamous puzzles in the WOOD0350 version: the eggs are the only treasure that can be magically retrieved after giving it to the troll as a toll for the bridge. The inscription FEE FIE FOE FOO is supposed to be a clue, since the words are different from the "Jack and the Beanstalk" tale ones, and in fact sort of is, once we think about the meaning of the individual words, but it's so oblique that practically everybody solved the puzzle by trial and error.] GET EGGS [Score is now 94] N [There is a rusty door here, preventing access to further north] OIL DOOR [The door opens] [At this point, the usefulness of the bottle in the WOOD0350 version is over, and it could be discarded, but not here. We still will need it for a puzzle, and it will require water, so we'll need to fill it again.] N [There is a jewel-encrusted trident here! Score is 96] GET WATER [From the waterfall; we ignore the trident for now] W D [This passage is one-way] SW U [We are at the troll bridge now. Unless we throw the troll a treasure, we will not be able to cross it. This is what the eggs are for.] THROW EGGS DROP FEATHER DROP BOTTLE [We'll need these later] NE [Cross the bridge] NE E [Fork] NE E [There are rare spices here!] GET SPICES [Score is 98] W S SE S E [There is a hungry bear here, locked to the wall with a golden chain] FEED BEAR [The bear is now tame and will not attack] UNLOCK CHAIN GET CHAIN [Score is 100] GET BEAR [The bear is not a legit object; this command just makes it follow us. This is needed to chase the troll away on the way back, or otherwise another treasure would have to be sacrificed. Also, note that we do not drop the keys yet, even if they are no longer necessary in the WOODS0350 version: here they are.] W W N [Fork] W W SW [Try to cross the bridge, but the troll appears and bars the way] FREE BEAR [This scares the troll for good, and he never is back. It also prevents the bear from following us on the bridge, which would collapse it. From now on, we can cross the bridge as we please, although it will not be necessary to.] SW [Back at the other side] [Now we need to open a new way, which will allow us to get one of the treasures exclusive to this version. How to do this is not apparent at all, but there are hints pointing at this zone. A keen observer would note that the description of the bridge is different from the WOOD0350 one. While in the latter it says "a sign posted on the bridge", this game says "From a rusty hook on the bridge's handrail hangs a sign". There is a hook mentioned here, so it is natural to explore this.] GET SIGN [The sign comes off] HANG CHAIN [It is now dangling from the hook and down the chasm] GET FEATHER GET BOTTLE D [We come to a ledge, with no apparent exit. However, an opening is mentioned across the chasm wall. This area is new and only appears in this version.] JUMP [We are in the mouth of a tunnel] NE N W [There is a locked roll-top desk here] OPEN DESK [This requires the keys] DROP KEYS [No longer needed] [The desk reveals a number of mining share certificates and a dried-up inkwell. The inkwell cannot be taken as it's fixed to the desk. The shares are a treasure but they cannot be taken yes, and the game scolds us since they are not in our name. The obvious thing is to sign the certificates. The advance need for the quill and the water becomes apparent now.] POUR WATER [The ink is no longer dry and we can use it now] DIP QUILL WRITE SHARES [Awkward, but neither SIGN SHARES nor WRITE NAME work] DROP BOTTLE DROP FEATHER GET SHARES [Score is 102] SE SE S JUMP U [Back at bridge] GET CHAIN [And we are done. Now we can safely store the treasures in the building.] SW D SE [Oriental room; there is a delicate, precious Ming vase here! Score is 104] [The Ming vase will shatter once we drop it unless the pillow is in the same location, and since we would need to carry both, we are out of inventory room.] SE NE [Bedquilt] E U E U N [At Y2 again] OFF LAMP PLUGH DROP SPICES [Score is 118] DROP CHAIN [Score is 132] DROP SHARES [Score is 146] [This is a good time for a break. We have the rank "Seasoned Adventurer" now.] *** THIRD SECTION: THE PIRATE AND OTHER TREASURES [If the pirate has not shown up by now, we will try to force him to. It does not always work, but more often than not it does, when we approach his lair deep within the "alike rooms" maze. Remember that it will be necessary to be carrying at least a treasure for the pirate to show up successfully; otherwise, if we reach his lair, the pirate's chest will not be there, and we will be missing a treasure.] PLUGH ON LAMP S S SW W [Where the dragon and the rug were] GET RUG [Now we carry a treasure] N D S D CLIMB PLANT W [Giant room] FEE FIE FOE FOO [The eggs are back; try saying FUM instead for a laugh] GET EGGS N N GET TRIDENT [The trident is needed to get the pearl, so we'll proceed to that section now. If the pirate appears in the meantime, we'll just have to go directly to the maze.] W D [Large low room] SE SE NE E [Complex Junction] N [There is an enormous clam here, which cannot be opened without the trident] OPEN CLAM [A pearl comes out and rolls away out of the room] D D GET PEARL [Score is 148] U U S [Now it's time to go to the Pirate's Lair. First we have to make our way to the Hall of the Mountain King, as a reference.] U E U S [Hall of Mountain King] W W W [East end of hall] E [The entrance to the maze is here] [Fortunately, there are no changes to the maze in this version, so the usual way can be followed.] S E S S S N E [Brink of pit; this is the exit point from the maze] E [If the pirate has not shown up by now, either reload or start going in circles around the cycle W, S, E, which takes you to this same room again, but don't take too long. Reloading might be better.] NW [All our stolen treasures should be here, and the pirate's chest as well] GET CHEST [Score is 150] [You should also pick up all your treasures. If you have followed this walkthrough, you should not run out of inventory room: you should have the lamp, axe, chest, eggs, trident, pearl, and rug. If there are other objects here, you will have to trek to the building and back, but I will assume all is OK.] SE N [Brink of pit again] D [Bird chamber] DEBRIS [Shortcut] OFF LAMP XYZZY DROP CHEST [Score is 162] DROP EGGS [Score is 176] DROP TRIDENT [Score is 190] DROP PEARL [Score is 204] DROP RUG [Score is 218] [This score puts us in the Junior Master ranking, but there's more yet to do.] *** FOURTH SECTION: LAST TREASURES AND LAST LOUSY POINT PLUGH [Back at Y2] [A bit of tactical planning is needed now. At any random time after the moment we have come across the 17th treasure in the caves, the endgame sequence may be triggered, with the cave exits closing and a number of moves before we are transported to the endgame. Therefore it is wise not to leave the Last Lousy Point until the end, because otherwise we risk not being allowed the moves needed to get it, or worse, not being able to get back to the building and missing out on treasure points as well. So we'll get the Point first and then the remaining four treasures.] ON LAMP GET DICTIONARY S D BEDQUILT [Handy shortcut] E E [Anteroom; there are some back numbers of Spelunker Magazine here] GET MAGAZINE READ MAGAZINE [Score is 220] [In the WOOD0350 version, the magazine cannot be read because it is written in Dwarvish, but carrying the dictionary, of course, allows us to read it. Here we can find two clues to where the version-specific treasures are: "beneath the troll bridge" (we got that one already) and "The Dark-room" (not been there yet). The only purpose of the dictionary is to enable these clues. As in the classic version, the Last Lousy Point is won by leaving the magazines at Witt's End.] DROP DICTIONARY E [Witt's End] DROP MAGAZINE [Score is 221] E [To be repeated until back in the Anteroom again] [Exiting Witt's End is random and has a lowish probability, so it takes a number of attempts. In this version, going East seems to be the best bet, while in other versions North works. Apparently, North does not work on this one, but East does. If you spend 20 moves in this location, the game will offer a clue (which is "don't go West", as in the original), so just say NO to clues or else points will be detracted. If the lamp gets dimmer while in this predicament, it may be better to reload from a savegame and hope the random generator gives better odds this time. Just persevere and you will be out.] W [Bedquilt] W NW [You might need to repeat this command until you end up in the Oriental room] N W [Alcove] DROP LAMP DROP AXE [They cannot go through the east passage] E [Plover room; there is an emerald here!] [This is the Plover room, which is another magic word place, only this time is not obvious. The ordinary route here is through the alcove, that we used, but the passage does not allow the lamp to pass through, which is the reason this room is lighted. The other way in and out is via the magic word PLOVER, which takes us to/from Y2. The emerald cannot be taken out in this fashion, since it will never teleport with us, so we need to take it out through the Alcove. The reason to come to this room by teleport is because it is the only way to bring light to the next room. We'll do that in a moment.] GET EMERALD [Score is 223] W GET AXE GET LAMP NW S GET VASE [It's time now] SE E [Soft room] GET PILLOW W NE E U E U N OFF LAMP PLUGH DROP PILLOW [Do this first or the vase will shatter] DROP VASE [Score is 237] DROP EMERALD [Score is 251] [We are Associate Master rank now, and we have 15 treasures stored. Just two more and we are done.] PLUGH PLOVER NE [The Dark-room] ON LAMP [There is a platinum pyramid here!] GET PYRAMID [Score is 253] PUSH TABLET [The tablet swings open, allowing passage to rooms beyond] [This is another addition to this version, which will allow us to get the other new treasure. Remember the magazine mentioning the Dark-room in a mysterious fashion? That suggests investigating the room would be useful.] N [The Medieval room; there is a rusty sword embedded in the stone] [This is of course a puzzle. We can take the sword, which has a hilt encrusted with rubies, out of the stone, but this will trigger a mechanism that blocks the only way out. Down there is a cul-de-sac, but it is a red herring. The solution is pretty natural: since the sword is rusty and only the hilt is valuable, we can take just the hilt and leave the blade embedded in the stone, so the way out remains open.] BREAK SWORD [We get the hilt; score is 255] [From this moment on, the game could announce the caves are closing, which is the signal to trigger the endgame. If it happens before we have deposited the pyramid and hilt in the building and are back in the caves, then tough luck: we will have to reload. The idea of leaving these two for last is to minimize the moves needed for this.] E S [Plover room again] OFF LAMP PLOVER PLUGH DROP PYRAMID [Score is 269] DROP HILT [Score is 283] PLUGH [If the announcement hasn't happened yet, we are safe.] PLOVER [We could wait for closure anywhere in the caves, but the Plover room is convenient because it is already lighted, so we don't need to turn our lamp on again, just in case it is low on batteries. We just have to wait. This could take some time, so be patient.] NOTHING [Repeat] [Repeat the command NOTHING, which does effectively that (since there is no WAIT command) until you hear a sepulchral voice announcing the caves are closing. From this point on, we cannot leave the caves by any of the known exits, magical or otherwise.] NOTHING [Repeat until transported to the endgame] [It typically takes about 50 turns from the announcement to the endgame trigger, though I haven't bothered to keep count to see if this is random or fixed. If more than 50 turns pass and you have not been transported to the Repository, please check that your score is 283 points and you are rated Master Adventurer Class C, as this is the condition needed for this to happen. If not the case, something has gone wrong.] *** FIFTH SECTION: ENDGAME [We are at the NE end of the endgame repository, just like in the WOOD0350 version, with no objects at all and a score of 318 points. The solution is the same, with a slight extension.] SW [SW end; we see a locked steel grate here] GET ROD [Which is a dynamite stick, exactly as expected] [The idea is to drop the rod in the NE room and BLAST it, like in the original, and if we do this in the SW room instead, lava pours out and kills us. However, the blast does not finish the game.] NE DROP ROD SW BLAST [Score is 353] NE [There is a hole in the wall here] SE [The Main Office is here, with keys] GET KEYS N SW OPEN GRATE D [We are in the Treasure vault, with our prizes: a Wizard's hat and robe. The hat turns out to be the 18th treasure.] GET ROBE GET HAT [Score is 355] U NE SE S S [Open forest, so we are at the starting area again] E N E [Back at the building] DROP HAT [Score is 375] [End of game. You are granted Journeyman Wizard status, asked for a name to appear in your certificate, and given a 6-letter password generated from the name.]