Napoleon's Sandwiches
(SimSoft)
This two-part adventure was penned for the C64 and reveals many of
the problems when the Quill writing system is not used properly. Many
flags are not set once an event has occurred (especially in part
one), meaning that it is possible to repeat actions unnecessarily and
rack up scores well in advance of 100%. Additionally, the author does
not seem to have considered the need for synonyms, so guessing the
verb-noun combination plays a vital part.in solving this adventure.
Fortunately, though there are several red herrings, the plot is
basically linear and there's a degree of wit and a lack of spelling
mistakes which might have raised it to a higher level.
Part One
You start the game in your hovel where Pepe La Fete, ADC to Napoleon,
bursts in and instructs you to deliver the Emperor's missing lunch.
Leave hovel, west, get empty, leave hovel, examine sign (but ignore
the route it suggests otherwise you'll lose part of your inventory).
East, read notice, inventory, buy frog, tie frog, kiss frog (note
that despite tying the frog and, presumably, holding the string,
dropping the frog anywhere but the right place will see it hopping
off into the distance).
East x 3, examine Ivy (note the capital letter), call Ivy (she drops
a key into the water-butt), empty butt, examine butt, drink water (a
clue), drop frog, get frog, pull string (you now have the door key,
but ignore the door for the moment).
South x 2, examine peasant, get bottle, north x 2, unlock door,
examine cobwebs, east, examine cauldron, examine liquid, drink
liquid, get cauldron, fill bottle, inventory (you now have a bottle
of glue), west, south, east, examine remains, get charcoal, score
(10%).
West, north, leave, south x 2, enter inn, buy drink (the barman tells
you about the upstairs sleeping quarters, though they apparently
don't cost any money), drink beer, book room (the barman hands you
the key to room 2, but it does not appear in your inventory when you
arrive in the room).
Right, examine closet, open door, get coat, examine coat, examine
pockets (but leave the coins for the moment), left, sleep, down,
east, examine container, get container (overloaded), drop door (key –
you can't pick this up again, another fault in the game, but you
won't need it), get container, examine liquid, fill lamp, score
(20%).
West, leave inn, south, west, read names (another clue), mark
sandwiches (you draw a great big "N" on the pack), drop charcoal,
north, west, get bronze (coin), give coin (which one?), bronze coin
(note that "give bronze" does not work) – the urchin offers some
advice about where to sleep which should be remembered.
South (you drop your sandwiches, but, fortunately, you'd "marked your
package" – utterly pointless, but it takes your score to 26%), north,
west, enter courtyard, get cannonball, leave courtyard, west, examine
shrine, pray (another clue – you can try getting the flowers or
statue or breaking the latter, but it won't advance your cause).
West, get silver (coin), drop coat (if you'd tried wearing it, you'd
already discovered that it was too small), pay ferryman (with what?),
silver coin, get scroll, examine scroll, break seal, read scroll,
drop scroll, play whistle, drop whistle, board ferry, score (27% - an
extra one per cent for all this pointless palaver), drop cannonball.
South x 2, examine footprints, east x 2, get pots, bang pots (the
rats disappear), get rope, south (an aura demands release, but note
the composer), west, examine books, get manuscript, get Tschaikovsky,
open manuscript (another hint), drop Tschaikovsky, east, north, east,
get ladder, south, examine ferns (or moss), get key, drop rope, get
key, north, unlock door, drop iron key, score (36%).
West, west, south, examine chandelier, drop ladder, get cellar key,
north, east, light lamp, drop tinderbox, unlock door, open door, down
(despite the fact that the door is apparently to the north!), examine
wine, move rack, smash brick (and the aura now becomes a ghost which
drops a hip flask), get flask, up, extinguish lamp, drop lamp
("please be more specific" – why?), drop full, drop pots, drop cellar
key.
East x 2, get planks, east, give flask (and get a map in return),
west, south, get rope, read map, score (45%).
South x 2, west (note what the artilleryman drops), get canteen,
west, fix bridge, west, north, get bag, open bag, get meat, give
meat, east x 2, give water (and the hussar gives you a pass in
return), score (59%).
West x 2, south, east x 4, north, show pass, east, examine trough,
get object (you find a knife), score (68% - so, for doing relatively
little, your score has leapt some 23 points).
North, east, examine altar, pull rope, east, read tombstone, get
tools ("What tools?" I hear you cry – yep, they're not listed), get
hammer, drop map, get chisel, west x 2, south, east, enter school,
read blackboard, examine desk, open drawer, break drawer, drop
hammer, drop chisel, get apple, leave, score (69%).
West, south x 2, east, sleep, west, north, east x 2, south, pick
fruit, south x 2, get sundial (a joke), north x 3, west x 2, south,
give pear, give apple, mount horse, north, east x 2, south x 2, west,
south, cut rope (the balloon takes off and the code for part two is
revealed as FX1A T7P4, but who knows what your final score is as
that's your lot!).
Part two
Having entered the above code you find yourself captured by the
British and locked in a cell, minus your sandwiches.
Examine crack, get fluff, examine fluff, call guard, bribe guard (and
you're out), score (5%).
East x 3, get wine, open cupboard, get loaf, examine desk, open
drawer, get keys, read roster (but ignore the password – another red
herring, though a logical one), examine keys (they're on a ring and
numbered).
Here now follows one of the most ludicrous pieces of slipshod
programming ever encountered – presumably, the cell keys are on a
long piece of elastic! West x 2, examine door, unlock 2, open door,
east x 2, get keys, west x 2, enter cell, give wine (the prisoner
tells you about the only means of escape from the Chateau), unlock 2,
open door, leave cell, east, examine door, unlock 4, open door, east,
get keys, west, enter cell (a huge clue – remember "NEWS"), unlock 4,
open door, leave cell, east, drop keys, score (still 5% for all that
work!).
South, up, examine painting (oh, ho, ho, ho!), examine keyhole, west,
south, west, get paper, examine paper (a pass – note that taking any
other directions once you are in the entrance would see you back in
the cell and render the game unwinnable – and, key question, why
can't you actually leave the entrance? It must be the only one in
existence without a door!).
Get butter, get stub ("candle" is not accepted), north, examine
shelves, get cheese, south, east, get cutlery, get knife, make
sandwiches, drop knife, south (hmm, you need something extra), score
(17%).
Get china, get handkerchief, wave handkerchief, drop knife, drop
handkerchief, up, south, examine bed, get blanket, north, west,
south, examine equipment, get sheet, north, east x 2, south, get
curtain, examine clock, open clock, move hands, enter room, get box,
inventory (the candle has been replaced by a lantern), score (20%).
Leave room, north, east, examine belt, open pouch, get case, examine
case, open case (a compass), read schedule, west x 3, up, south, get
cross (oh, dear!), north, east, south, get tinderbox, north, east,
get coat, wear coat, open window, west x 2, down, east, down, south x
2, get tower key, get hors d'ouvres (aha,.a spelling mistake and you
can't get one anyway), north x 2, east, open door, enter office, say
dinner, get key, score (31%).
Leave, down, north, unlock armoury, get musket, get boots, wear
boots, leave, south, up, west, up, west, up, east, north, up x 2, get
rope, unlock door, enter room, climb out (note the view; that would
be the Clapham in France then!), unscrew hook, drop key, drop tower
key, get hook, climb in, open door, leave room, down x 2, south,
east, score (still 31%).
Climb out, screw hook (if you don't have the sheet, you'll land on
the Camp Commandant and the game becomes unwinnable), get sheet,
south, west, clear weeds, down, light candle ("light lantern" does
not work), east, get rings, east, south, examine dinghy, make sail,
board dinghy, score (45%).
South x 2, steal clothes ("you're not stealthy enough"), north, board
dinghy, east, north, give sword (you're offered the choice of gloves
or riding boots), gloves, wear gloves, east, inventory (you'll note
that your lantern is once again a glass box), get candle, inventory
(and now you have a lantern again – all unnecessary, since you'll
never need to light it!), score (still 45%).
South, climb down, look, get book, read book, south, get cage,
examine cage, score (49%).
North x 2, west, south, board dinghy, west, north (remember "NEWS"?),
north, east, west, south, catch ferret, score (61%).
South, west, east, north, south, board dinghy, south x 2, steal
clothes, get uniform, remove coat, wear uniform, west, jump aboard,
east, south, get thin, examine thin, read thin, open book, examine
thin ("Fraises du Bois Bleu" = blue wood strawberries), drop uniform.
South (the sentry demands a password), blue strawberries, east,
Napoleon's sandwiches (they're delivered and you've won – 100%).
A Wibble and Blim production for The Classic Adventures Solution
Archive.
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