===============================================================================
FAQ/Walkthrough for
ACORN'S QUEST
===============================================================================
GUIDE INFORMATION
-----------------
Author: Tom Hayes
E-mail: thayesguides(at)gmail(dot)com
System: ZX Spectrum
Updated: 29th March, 2011
Version: 1.1
CONTENTS
--------
1. Introduction
2. Walkthrough
3. Item List
4. Maps
5. Credits
6. Copyright Information
VERSION HISTORY
---------------
1.1: 29th March, 2011 (Submitted to solutionarchive)
1.0: 17th September, 2010 (First version)
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1. Introduction
===============================================================================
Acorn's Quest is an interactive fiction adventure that was made by AH Software
in 1984. You play as Acorn, a professional adventurer who has been given the
task of recovering the Chalice of Hope from a large cave system. The game has
over 70 different rooms to explore. Perhaps due to its large size, the parser
in some rooms is very strict and only accepts one type of command. For example,
in one room you need to bind reeds. Bundle, combine, tie or any other commands
do not work or even give a hint to the correct command. Despite this, Acorn
Adventure is fun to play and is full of interesting locations and puzzles.
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2. Walkthrough
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The game starts on the bleak hillside. Move EAST twice and NORTH to the sharp
scythe. GET SCYTHE. Move WEST twice, NORTH six times, WEST, NORTH, WEST, SOUTH
and WEST to the earthy cave. CUT ROOTS with the scythe. GET ROOTS. Move NORTH,
WEST, NORTH and EAST to the sand dunes. CUT REEDS with the scythe. DROP SCYTHE.
GET REEDS. Move WEST, SOUTH, EAST, SOUTH, EAST, SOUTH, EAST, SOUTH and EAST to
the low cave. GET ROPE. Move WEST, SOUTH twice and EAST twice to the limestone
cave. FILL BOTTLE with water dripping from the stalactites. Move NORTH to the
wide cave. GET SPADE. Move SOUTH and EAST to the carbobinferous cave.
BIND REEDS with the roots to make the bundle of reeds. SOAK REEDS in the pool
to make the lit torch. Move WEST twice and NORTH to the volcanic cave. LIGHT
TORCH in the geyser. Move SOUTH and WEST four times to the dank cave. GET
STONE. WET STONE with the bottle of water to get the whetstone. DROP BOTTLE.
Move EAST twice, NORTH, WEST and NORTH to the low dusty passage. DIG with the
spade to find a rusty dagger. DROP SPADE. GET DAGGER. SHARPEN DAGGER on the
whetstone. DROP STONE. Move WEST to the low musty passage.
GET BAR. Move EAST twice, SOUTH, EAST, SOUTH three times and WEST twice to the
wild goat. KILL GOAT with the razor-sharp dagger. DROP DAGGER. GET GOAT. Move
EAST twice, NORTH three times, EAST twice and NORTH to the wide cave. BEND BAR
in the rift to make a steel hook. TIE ROPE to the hook to make a grapnel. Move
SOUTH, WEST twice and NORTH four times to the southern edge of the fissure.
THROW HOOK across the fissure. CROSS ROPE to the northern edge of the fissure.
Move NORTH to the inner cavern. OPEN EMASES to move the large rock. ENTER
DOORWAY to move to the low tunnel. Move NORTH, WEST and SOUTH to the low cave.
GET CROWBAR. Move NORTH, EAST, SOUTH and EAST to the dragon's lair. FEED DRAGON
the dead goat and the dragon will sleep. CLIMB DRAGON to enter the upper
chamber. Move WEST to the cosy cave. GET SPIKE. Move EAST and SOUTH to the star
chamber to see a curious monkey. Say YES when he asks if you are enjoying the
adventure or the game will end. Move SOUTH to the high cavern.
HAMMER SPIKE into the wall with the crowbar. DROP CROWBAR. Move UP and EAST to
the narrow east/west passage to see a small hole in the north wall. DROP TORCH.
If you have any other items in the inventory, drop them here as well. CRAWL
NORTH into the crawl-way. Move NORTH twice and DOWN to the vault. GET CHALICE.
Move UP and SOUTH three times to the dark east/west passage. GET TORCH. Move
WEST, DOWN and WEST to the side cave. GET WOOD. MAKE CROSS from the broken
pieces of wood. Move EAST four times, SOUTH four times and WEST twice to the
primeval forest. CLIMB TREE. Move DOWN, WEST five times, SOUTH twice, EAST,
SOUTH, EAST, SOUTH, EAST and SOUTH seven times to the bleak hillside near the
chalice box. INSERT CHALICE in the box to complete the game.
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3. Item List
===============================================================================
30FT ROPE
Found in the low cave. It is tied to the steel hook to make the grapnel with
30ft rope.
BOX OF DOGGY CHOCS
Found in the side cave. They do not have to be used to complete the game, but
can be given to the timber-wolf one screen north of the tree in the primeval
forest.
BROKEN PIECES OF WOOD
Found in the side cave. They are made into a wooden cross.
BUNDLE OF REEDS
Made by binding the cut reeds to the long stringy roots. The reeds are then
soaked in the pool in the carboniferous cave to make the unlit torch.
CHALICE OF HOPE
Found in the vault. It is put in the chalice box on the bleak hillside.
CUT REEDS
Found by using the sharp scythe on the reeds in the sand dunes. The cut reeds
are binded to the long stringy roots to make the bundle of reeds.
DEAD GOAT
Found after killing the wild goat with the razor-sharp dagger two screens
west from the narrow valley. It is fed to the dragon in the dragon's lair to
make the dragon sleep.
FULL WATER-BOTTLE
Found by filling the water-bottle in the cave of limestone. It is used to wet
the smooth stone from the dank cave to make the whetstone.
GRAPNEL WITH 30FT ROPE
Made by tying the 30ft rope to the steel hook. The hook is thrown from the
southern edge of the fissure to make the rope span the fissure.
HEAVY CROWBAR
Found in the low cave. It is used to hammer the steel spike into the wall of
the high cavern.
LARGE BRASS KEY
Found in the dark cave. It is not used.
LIT TORCH
Made by lighting the unlit torch in the geyser in the volcanic cave. It is
used to provide light in some sections of the cave system.
LONG STRINGY ROOTS
Found by using the sharp scythe on the roots in the earthy cave. The cut
reeds are binded to the long stringy roots to make the bundle of reeds.
PIECE OF SEAWEED
Found on the sand dunes. It is not used.
RAZOR-SHARP DAGGER
Made by sharpening the rusty dagger on the whetstone. It is used to kill the
wild goat two screens west from the narrow valley.
RUSTY DAGGER
Found by digging with the spade in the low dusty passage. It is sharpened on
the whetstone to make the razor-sharp dagger.
SHARP SCYTHE
Found on the bleak hillside two screens east of the narrow valley. It is used
to cut the roots in the earthy cave and the reeds in the sand dunes.
SMOOTH STONE
Found in the dank cave. The full water-bottle is used to wet the stone to
make the whetstone.
SPADE
Found in the wide cave. It is used to dig in the low dusty passage to find
the rusty dagger.
STEEL BAR
Found in the low musty passage. It is bent in the rift in the wide cave to
make the steel hook.
STEEL HOOK
Made by bending the steel bar in the rift in the wide cave. The 30ft rope is
tied to the steel hook to make the grapnel with 30ft rope.
STEEL SPIKE
Found in the cosy cave. The heavy crowbar is used to hammer the steel spike
into the wall of the high cavern.
UNLIT TORCH
Made by soaking the bundle of reeds in the pool in the carboniferous cave. It
is lit in the geyser in the volcanic cave to make the lit torch.
WATER-BOTTLE
Available at the start of the game. It is filled with the water in the cave
of limestone to make the full water-bottle.
WHETSTONE
Found by using the full water-bottle to wet the smooth stone from the dank
cave. The rusty dagger is sharpened on the whetstone to make the razor-sharp
dagger.
WOODEN CROSS
The broken pieces of wood are made into the wooden cross. It is used to pass
the bat cave.
===============================================================================
4. Maps
===============================================================================
MAP 1: SOUTH MAP
----------------
_______ _______ _______
| Musty | | Dusty | | Musty |
|Passage|--|Passage|--|Passage|
|_______| |___ ___| |_______|
| *2
___|___ _______ ___|___ _______ _______
| Musty | | Musty | | Open | |Volcano| | Wide |
|Passage|--|Passage| |Cavern | | Cave | | Cave |
|_______| |___ ___| |___ ___| |___ ___| |___ ___|
| | | |
_______ _______ ___|___*1 ___|___ ___|___ ___|___ _______
| Dank | |Smooth | |Sdstone| | Large | |Marble | |Lmstone| |Carbon |
| Cave |--| Cave |--| Cave |--| Cave |--| Cave |--| Cave |--| Cave |
|_______| |_______| |_______| |___ ___| |_______| |_______| |_______|
|
___|___
| Low |
|Passage|
|___ ___|
|
___|___
| Cave |
|Entrnce|
|___ ___|
|
_______ _______ ___|___ _______ _______
| Wild | | Bleak | |Narrow | | Bleak | | |
| Goat |--|Hllside|--|Valley |--|Hllside|--|Scythe |------+
|___ ___| |___ ___| |___ ___| |___ ___| |___ ___| |
| | | | | |
| ___|___ ___|___ ___|___ ___|___ |
| | Bleak | |Chalice| | Bleak | | Bleak | |
+------|Hllside|--| Box |--|Hllside|--|Hllside|<-----+
|_______| |_______| |_______| |_______|
*1: The torch needs to be lit before the sandstone cave can be explored.
*2: Leads to the Sloping Passage on map 2.
MAP 2: NORTH-WEST MAP
---------------------
_______ _______ _______
| Side | |Vaulted| | Dark |
|Cavern |--|Cavern |--| Cave |
|___ ___| |___ ___| |_______| *4
| | __/
___|___ ___|___ ______u/
| Low | | Low | |Dragons|
| Cave | |Tunnel |--| Lair |
|_______| |___ ___| |_______|
|
_______ _______ ___|___
| | | Sand | | Inner |
|Seaweed|--| Dunes | |Cavern |
|___ ___| |___ ___| |___ ___|
| | |
___|___ ___|___ ___|___
|Narrow | | Sand | |N Edge |
| Beach |--| Dunes | |Fissure|
|___ ___| |_______| |___ ___|
| |
___|___ _______ _______ _______ ___|___*3
|Narrow | | Cave | | Maze | | Maze | |S Edge |
| Beach |--| Mouth | |Corridr|--|Corridr| |Fissure|
|___ ___| |___ ___| |___ ___| |___ ___| |___ ___|
| | | | |
___|___ ___|___ ___|___ ___|___ ___|___
|Narrow | |Earthy | | Maze | | Maze | | N/S |
| Beach | | Cave |--|Corridr| |Corridr|--|Passage|
|_______| |_______| |___ ___| |_______| |___ ___|
| |
___|___ ___|___ _______
| Maze | |Sloping| | Low |
|Corridr|-*2 |Passage|--| Cave |
|_______| |___ ___| |_______|
|
*1
*1: Leads to the Open Cavern on map 1.
*2: Leads to the N/S Passage on map 2.
*3: THROW ROPE after making the grapnel and then CROSS ROPE.
*4: Leads to the Upper Chamber on map 3.
MAP 3: NORTH-EAST MAP
---------------------
_______
|Hole in|
| Floor |
|___ ___|
__/d |
_______ ______u/ ___|___
| | | | |Crawl- |
| Ledge | | Vault | | way |
*1 |___ ___| |_______| |___ ___|
\__ | |
_______ \___|___ _______ ___|___
| Cosy | | Upper | | Vault | |Crawl- |
| Cave |--|Chamber|--| Door | | way |
|_______| |___ ___| |_______| |___ ___|
| |
___|___ _______ ___|___*2 _______
| Star | |Narrow | |Hole in| |Narrow |
|Chamber| |Passage|--| Wall |--|Passage|
|___ ___| |_______| |_______| |_______|
| __/d
_______ ___|__u/ _______ _______ _______
| Side | | High | | Damp | | Bat | | Outer |
| Cave |--|Cavern |--| Cave |--| Cave |--|Passage|
|_______| |___ ___| |_______| |_______| |___ ___|
| |
___|___ ___|___
|Bank of| | Cave |
| River | |Entrnce|
|_______| |___ ___|
|
___|___
| Thick |
|Forest |
|___ ___|
|
_______ ___|___
|Timber | |Primevl|
| Wolf | |Forest |
|___ ___| |___ ___|
| |
_______ _______ ___|___*3 _______ ___|___
|Scrub- | |Edge of| |Primevl| |Primevl| |Primevl|
*4-| land |--|Forest |--|Forest |--|Forest |--|Forest |
|_______| |_______| |_______| |_______| |_______|
*1: Leads to the Dragon's Lair on map 2.
*2: All inventory items must be dropped before crawling into the crawlway.
*3: CLIMB TREE before moving west to the edge of the forest.
*4: Moving west three times from the scrubland leads to the Seaweed on map 2.
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5. Credits
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- EMUZWin (http://kolmck.net/apps/EmuZWin_Eng.htm)
The emulator that was used to run the tape image for this game.
- GUEmap (http://www.cjmweb.net/GUEmap/)
A program that was used to map out the locations in this game.
- World of Spectrum (http://www.worldofspectrum.org/)
A website that hosts a massive amount of Spectrum-related material. The tape
image for this game was found here.
- ZX Modules (http://www.zxmodules.com/)
Hosts different applications for managing and editing Spectrum files. The ZX
Preview application was used to extract information from this game.
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6. Copyright Information
===============================================================================
This file is Copyright 2010-2011 Tom Hayes. As it can be difficult to keep
track of websites that haven't posted the latest version of this file, please
do not distribute it without my permission. Send an e-mail to me if you would
like to post this file on your website and you will likely receive a positive
response. If you do post the file, please keep it in its original form with all
of the sections intact and credit the author (Tom Hayes) as the writer of the
file. The latest version of this file can be found at www.solutionarchive.com.