The Basics :

To help you with the basics of playing the game, here’s a few basic commands to get you started.

Commands are entered at the > prompt at the bottom of the screen. These are only a small part of what the game understands – try whatever English commands seem appropriate at any given point. Note that the game only recognises the first six characters of each word.

Going Places:

Compass directions will get you most places – use E, W, S, N, NE etc.  (Out, In. Down and Up will also work in many places).

Typical Actions:

Lie Down – (you’ll find this useful when facing the bulldozer)
Get Up – (a good way to start the game)
Look – gives you a full description of your current location
Diagnose – gives you a report of your physical condition
Inventory – gives you a list of what you are carrying (abbreviates to I)
Wait – electronic equivalent of taking a nap
Get, Get All – lets you pick things up
Open – open something closed
Examine – fully describe an object
Drop, Drop All – put things down
Where is, What is, Who is – questions about places, things and people in the game

Communicating:

When you come across another character in the game, you can talk to them by entering their name followed by a comma, then the question, e.g.:

Ford, where are you going?
Marvin, give me the hammer

Control:

Save/Restore – don’t work in the Web version.
Restart will restart the game, after giving you your score
Quit will end the game, give you your score and end the Java session.
Brief will only describe a location fully the first time you enter it. Thereafter you’ll get a short description only Superbrief takes it further – you’ll only get the name of the place. Verbose switches off the effects of the Brief and Superbrief commands – you’ll get a full description each time you enter a location.
Score will give you your current score.