JOKERS WILD
Phoenix Software, 1984
======================
Solution by Exemptus - May 2020
Overview and genberal hints:
----------------------------
This is a two-part compilation of an arcade game and adventure typical of the
ZX Spectrum games of Phoenix Software. The idea is to complete at least four
levels of the arcade game in order to get a code that allows access to the
adventure. Completing each of the four arcade levels also discloses clues which
are useful for the adventure.
The idea sounds reasonable; the implementation is not so hot. The arcade game is
so difficult that completing four levels tests the player's patience, so the
adventure is in danger of remaining unplayed. Since the latter is what we are
concerned about, I'll disclose all the clues and code here.
Clues (obtained in the arcade part):
1. When you have a gun,
Don't be flash -
Rob the juggler's tent
And have a bash.
2. If you find a ticker,
Watch your step!
3. If numbers don't work,
Try letters.
4. Fortune Favours the Brave!
5. '347265' makes the set!
6. If the 'orrors harrow you,
Then take heart!
7. Before you get depressed
And take the Plunge,
Get the Point
And make the Switch!
8. The Tracks in the Chamber
of Horrors, without Start
or End, prove One Good
Turn Deserves Another.
9. Don't trust women - they
are not what they seem!
Loading code: SHDC
The adventure is perfectly deterministic, but flawed: a couple of "guess the
verb" situations, some logic bugs, and the occasional typo. It turns out that
the clues offer useful advice, if a bit oblique. At least it is very short,
although the lack of logic in some instances can stump the player.
The four main directions and DOWN are recognised (but not UP: we never have to
go in that direction anyway), EXAMINE and READ work, and INV takes inventory.
There are a number of verbs only used once, some of them a bit arbitrary. The
inventory is unlimited due to a bug, meaning we can take all the objects in the
game if we want to. This does not offer any advantage, since the game is
strictly linear and taking objects does not lead to any shortcuts.
As a curiosity, there is a debugging facility hidden in the game. If we type
RECOGNISE it asks for a code, which is ABCDFISH. This will not be very useful to
the player, though.
Walkthrough:
------------
[We start outside the Bunko Booth.]
S
W
W
GET BOOK
READ BOOK [it's a ticket book - now we can enter the tents]
[The tents that require tickets are the Big Top, Hall of Mirrors and Chamber of
Horrors. Each can only be entered once, so we have to wait until later.]
W
W
S [The Ferris wheel - note it does not work]
N
N
N
N
W [We are told we need a woman who is not what she seems and we hear a noise]
E [Note we see the ferris wheel moving]
S
S [We see the Bearded Lady's tent is now open, but we will go there later]
S
S [A lever has been taken off and we see footprints]
FOLLOW FOOTPRINTS
GET STIRRUP
[Going W is instant death, but there is no need: we are only interested in the
stirrup.]
E
S
INSERT STIRRUP [Fits in place of lever and we automatically enter the car]
GET DIAMONDS
[The word is writen DIAMOMDS, but the game only admits it with the right
spelling. The railway timetable is of no use, so we can ignore it. Since the
game revolves around cards, it is no surprise that it has diamonds, and also a
club, a spade, and (kind of) a heart. In any case, with the diamonds we can now
solve another puzzle. First we have to pry a bit more into the death of the
Bearded Lady.]
N [We exit directly to the Crossroads]
N
W
W [So the badge means the Lady was a special agent, which is why she was killed]
GET BADGE
E
E
S
E
PICK LOCK [The badge is needed for this - presumably it has a clip]
S
[We find ourselves surrounded by ghosts who demand we give them 14 diamonds. But
we happen to have them.]
GIVE CARDS
DIAMOND [Note that GIVE DIAMOND fails here - just DIAMOND needs to be used]
[We are given a clue: "The 3rd and 12th owns the content to safety, with no
con." The 3rd and 12th letters are C and L, which means C-L-OWNS, so we go there
now.]
N
E
S
S
UNLOCK CHEST
GET SUIT [Here is the "take heart" of clue 6]
WEAR SUIT [This only works here, due to another bug]
[With the suit we can survive the Chamber of Horrors.]
N
N
E
E
ENTER
E
N [We are shot, but survive]
LIFT PIGMY [The word is misspelled, but this time the game needs it as written]
GET GUN [We have a flashgun now, which allows us to heed Clue 1]
W
[In this location we may follow Clue 8 and reveal a hidden trapdoor with TURN
WHEEL, which leads to a tunnel, which leads right outside the Bunko Tent. Why
this exists at all is anybody's guess, since it plays no part in the game and we
can ignore it completely. If it weren't possible to leave the Chamber of Horrors
through the normal entrance, this would have been understandable as an
additional puzzle, but that is not the case.]
S
W
W
W
W
W
N
N
W
W
GET CLUB [The balls serve no purpose]
E
E
S
S
E
E
E
ENTER
[We are in the Hall of Mirrors, which is of course a maze. Fortunately, not a
difficult one at all.]
S
S [Aha, a button]
PRESS BUTTON [We are told that the panel starts to close - we need to jam it]
THROW CLUB [We go through automatically]
FIRE GUN [The box opens]
GET MAP
EXAMINE MAP [The Vortex is hidden in the Ring, which is in the Big Top]
GET WEAPON
INV
[The weapon is described as A WEAPON WITH A PLUNGER. Must be of alien design. In
any case, this is important, because the map says that we need to set the
safety switch. Operating the weapon in the right way would be hard if it wasn't
for Clue 7, which describes the steps in an oblique way.]
N [We exit the Hall of Mirrors]
W
W
W
S
INSERT STIRRUP
GET DIAMONDS [We take a few more diamonds]
N
E
E
ENTER
N
GET SPADE
[We can ignore the meat, which is used W of this location for another unused
puzzle. The idea is to GET MEAT, W, SET COMBINATION, 347265, FEED TIGER, MOVE
TROUGH, D, N to exit through the same hidden tunnel we mentioned earlier, but
this serves no purpose at all. It is baffling because Clue 5 also is about this
and it is a lot of setup just for a red herring, but hey-ho. Note the trainer is
here as well.]
S
W [Here is the ring, but we can't dig because the elephant is in the way.]
BRIBE TRAINER
[There is no clue suggesting this, except perhaps Clue 4, but it would have been
far better if it had said "Fortune favours the bribe" instead. In any case, we
can pay the trainer to move the elephant for us.]
DIAMONDS
DIG
GET BOX
OPEN BOX
[We have found the Vortex, so now we need to destroy it, which is where the
obscure sequence of actions in Clue 7 comes handy.]
SWITCH SWITCH [Seriously]
POINT WEAPON
DEPRESS PLUNGER
[End of game.]
