A guide to the 1984 text adventure game
THE SEVENTH STAR
by David Hampton and Acornsoft
for the 8-bit BBC Micro computer
The game The Seventh Star was solved in 2016 by "ahope1". This document and the map that
accompanies it were created by "ahope1" and can be found at the Classic Adventure
Solutions Archive (CASA): http://solutionarchive.com/game/id%2C2027/
Document version 1.0
CONTENTS
a. Introduction
b. Walkthrough
c. Links
a. INTRODUCTION
Do you like science fiction that was current in the 1980s? Then you'll love The Seventh Star, a
text adventure game for the BBC Micro that was inspired by that decade's rash of genre-making
SF movies: some of your favourite characters make appearances in the game -- lightly disguised to
avoid copyright-infringement, perhaps, but still recognisable. (Somewhat more obscure are the
references to then-contemporary SF novels, which have defeated my Googling skills.)
The Seventh Star is a departure from Acornsoft's tradition of publishing very difficult games
that trace their origins back to the Phoenix mainframe computer at Cambridge University, where,
taking a break from solving mindbogglingly complex problems in physics and mathematics, students
would relax by solving mindbogglingly complex puzzles in early text adventure games instead.
The Seventh Star isn't as difficult as, say, Acheton, but it's not exactly a walkover
either. Fortunately, though, there are hints aplenty to aid the baffled -- just type *HELP in the
game whenever you're stuck, and you'll be directed to look up a hint that's specific
to the room you're in. The hints can be found online at CASA.
The Seventh Star stands apart from previous Acornsoft adventures in another way too: it's
funny. At least, it's supposed to be. I mean, the parser has some cute comebacks to misguided
player-input, and the other gags are the sort that would raise a chuckle from a nerdy adolescent.
And if you've bothered to seek out and read this guide, then you'll probably chuckle too.
b. WALKTHROUGH
You can't type in this walkthrough verbatim because there's some randomisation in the game
that needs to be taken into account, so watch out for my comments, which appear in square brackets
[like this].
[Walkthrough begins]
GET CROW
GET MICRO
GET BUCKET
N
JOE
BLOGGS
N
GET CARD
N
N
N
INSERT CARD
3013
GET MONEY
S
S
S
SE
JUMP E
JUMP E
N
GET WATER
S
JUMP W
JUMP W
NW
E
DROP CROW
BUY SCANNER
DROP MONEY
GET CROW
DROP MICRO
W
D
IN
S
GET UNIT
INSERT UNIT
E
SE
U
E
GET MICRO
W
SW
IN
USE SCANNER
S
E
W
S
S
THROW WATER
DROP BUCK
U
GET CANDL
D
N
N
N
OUT
NE
N
N
GET MATCH
NE
GET GRAT
DROP CROW
D
S
E
W
D
D
DROP SCAN
DROP MICRO
LIGHT CANDL
THROW CANDLE
D
GET TUBE
U
GET MICRO
U
E
E
U
W
W
S
SE
SE
GET BROW
NW
NW
W
D
S
E
E
U
IN
DROP BROW
OUT
W
W
S
S
SE
E
JUMP E
N
THROW COIN
********************** [Note password]
S
JUMP W
JUMP W
NW
W
IN
********************** [Enter password]
OUT
DROP MATCH
E
N
W
D
S
S
SEARCH
GET ROBOT
N
E
E
U
W
W
S
S
SW
IN
S
S
W
NE
BREAK LOCK
W
W
W
LOOK
S
E
GET WIRE
S
S
W
E
N
N
OUT
NE
N
W
D
S
E
W
D
D
DROP TUBE
DROP MICRO
DROP TAG
DROP WIRE
D
E
E
D
GET SAND
SE
S
SE
U
GET WIRE
GET TUBE
GET MICRO
GET TAG
U
E
E
U
W
W
S
S
NW
GIVE SAND
W
W
GET GLOV
E
E
S
E
DROP MICRO
GET MONEY
BUY CASE
OPEN CASE
PICK LOCK
GET ROD
DROP WIRE
GET MICRO
DROP TUBE
W
SE
JUMP E
JUMP E
GET BRANCH
N
N
E
VAULT FENCE
GET EGG
S
JUMP W
JUMP W
NW
SW
IN
S
S
W
S
SE
E
DROP EGG
S
E
NW
SE
E
N
SW
S
W
N
SW
S
RUB ROD
DROP ROD
DROP GLOV
N
N
S
E
N
NE
S
W
W
S
W
N
N
N
N
INSERT TAG
W
N
E
HELP
NE
DROP MICRO
SE
S
GET BLUE
N
NW
GET MICRO
HELP
SW
W
S
E
S
S
W
W
NW
N
NE
W
E
N
N
OUT
NE
W
IN
********************** [Enter password]
OUT
E
N
W
D
S
E
W
D
D
DROP MICRO
D
E
W
E
UNLOCK HATCH
E
N
N
W
SEARCH
GET INSTRU
EXAM INSTRU
E
S
S
W
W
N
SE
U
U
E
E
U
W
W
S
S
E
GET TUBE
W
SW
IN
S
S
W
NE
N
IN
PRESS BUTTON
BLOW TUBE
[Walkthrough ends]
c. LINKS
This document can be found at the Classic Adventure Solutions Archive (CASA):
http://solutionarchive.com/game/id%2C2027/
The accompanying map can also be found at the above address.
A disc-image of the game, suitable for playing in BBC Micro emulators, can be found at Stardot:
http://www.stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=11687#p146748
BeebEm, the BBC Micro emulator, for Windows:
http://www.mkw.me.uk/beebem/
BeebEm, the BBC Micro emulator, for Mac:
http://www.g7jjf.com/beebemmac.htm
A beginner's guide to interactive fiction (or text adventure games):
http://pr-if.org/doc/play-if-card/
Video playthroughs of BBC Micro text adventures:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ahope1/playlists
