Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy
# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Various Info
Ok everyone, hang on to your seats (and your towels!); this isprobably goingto be the wildest adventure game you'll ever play...unlessInfocom comes outwith a sequel, which they just might do!
Before we get started, a few words of advice. This is not theonly way ofgetting through the game. Many of the problems and situations(such as thewhale's belly) have more than one solution. So, you might want tosave the gamefrom time to time, and experiment a little, to see if you canfind other waysof doing things (actually, it's wise to save the game anyway, incase you makea mistake). Also, consult the Guide frequently during play; you will gainsome usefulinsights to some of the objects you come across, and even somehelpfulinformation (sometimes). And remember, no matter how bad thingsmay look: DON'TPANIC! Here you are, mild-mannered Arthur Dent, about to start theworst day of yourlife, although you don't know that...yet! Actually, the day isalready gettingoff to a bad start, since you've just woken up in the dark, witha really badheadache (and it's all downhill from here). The first thing you need to do is stand up and turn on thelight. That's alittle better, anyway! Or maybe not, since you're having a hardtime gettingcoordinated. Grab the dressing gown and put it on, then look inthe pocket. Ah,an analgesic! Take that, then get the screwdriver and thetoothbrush, and headSouth to the porch (did you hear a tree fall? Rather omnious,isn't it?). Here you find something no modern home should be without: junkmail. Take themail, and go on outside. Uh-oh! There's a very big bulldozer onits way tolevel your home, and there's Prosser standing by, watching itall. Are yougoing to take this lying down? You bet you are! That's the only way to stop it: lie down infront of thebulldozer. No matter how close the thing gets, don't panic; itwon't run youover (of course, in a short time, it really won't matter whathappens to thehouse, but you don't know that yet). Just wait awhile until FordPrefect showsup (read the junk mail while you wait). Ford seems a trifle preoccupied with the sky, but he is awareenough of you totry and give you back your towel. Don't take it, or he'll leaveand you will bea lot worse off than you ever imagined (can things be worse thanthis? Theysure can!). Instead of taking the towel, ask Ford about your home. He willeventually cometo his senses, and realize what is going on. When that happens,he will be ableto persuade Prosser to take your place in front of the bulldozerwhile the twoof you head off to the pub to hoist a few. As soon as Prosser takes your place, go South and West to thepub. Buy acheese (?) sandwich while you wait for him to arrive (when youread thedescription, you'll understand about the "?"). WhenFord gets there, he'll buyyou a few beers. Drink only three of them. Around about the time you've finished the third one, therewill be a loudcrash. In fact, it's the sound of your home being demolished bythe bulldozer(that will teach you to trust anyone who wears a digital watch!).Don't takethat sitting down, leave the pub and return to where your houseused to be.Along the way, you'll see a starving dog. While you may wonder if anything could eat that sandwich andsurvive, give itto the dog, who will (amazingly!) enjoy it immensely, ignoring amicroscopicspace fleet that whizzes past (remember that fleet). Thencontinue on to theruins of your home (Ford will be right behind you). And just about now, to put a perfect ending to a perfect day(which has justbarely begun), the Vogon construction ships appear, to demolishthe Earth tomake way for a new Hyper-space Bypass (hmmm, maybe Ford wasn'tkidding when hesaid he was from another planet, or that Earth would be destroyedin a shorttime). Still, don't panic...wait until Ford drops the Sub-ethasignalling device.There won't be much time after that, so pick up the device, pushthe greenbutton (if you dropped the Aunt's thing, have no fear: it willturn up againlater), and you will be in....the dark. Get used to that, you'll be spending a lot of time therebefore this adventureis over. Notice that, at first, you can't do much. All your fivesenses seem tobe out of order. However, if you wait, and read the descriptionsverycarefully, you will see that eventually, it mentions only 4 ofyour senses. Theone that's missing is the one you can use. Keep this in mind, itwill come inhandy later. Right now, your nose seems to be working again, so smell.Sniff, sniff. Ugh!Whatever it is, it sure is strong! You are also now dimly awareof a shadow, solook at it. Well, well, it turns out to be Ford Prefect! And,looking around,you find yourself in the hold of a Vogon ship. Certainly betterthan being onEarth (or where Earth used to be). There's a glass case with an Atomic Vector Plotter inside, butdon't botherwith it yet. You have something else to do first, namely, obtaina Babel Fish.That shouldn't be hard, right? All you need to do is push thebutton on thedispensing machine, and you'll have one, right? Hehehehehehe! Those Babel Fish are pretty slippery characters (but, you mayhave found thatout already for yourself!). And the cleaning robots are certainlyno help; theyseem to have only one mission in life: grabbing your Fish awayfrom you. Well,we really can't let that happen! So, first thing to do is remove your gown and hang it on thehook. Now, waitfor Ford to curl up, then get the towel and the satchel. Put thetowel over thedrain, and the satchel in front of the robot panel. Now comes thepart thatdrives most people crazy: they don't know how to stop theupper-half-of-the-room cleaning robot. But, it's so simple: justput the junkmail on top of the satchel. Now you can push the button! Then step back and watch the RubeGoldbergshenanigans, which end with the Babel Fish stuck solidly in yourear (squish!).Bet you never thought outer space would be like this! However,now that youhave the Fish, you'll be able to understand anyone who talks toyou. By the way, somewhere along the line, you will get a messagethat one of thephrases you've used was instrumental in starting a war that wipedout most of asmall galaxy. There is nothing you can do about this; no matterhow you try, itwill come to pass. Rather unfortunate, isn't it? Even more unfortunate, sooner orlater, thesurvivors will figure out how that happened, and they will belooking forrevenge....but more about that charming prospect later. Right now, press the switch on the case. This will tell youwhat the code wordis that will open the case so you can snatch the plotter. Makecareful note ofwhat word is required; it is chosen randomly each time. Too badyou have tolisten to some pretty rotten poetry to get the word. Speaking of poetry, in a short while, you and Ford will behustled into theCaptain's quarters, and strapped into Poetry Appreciation Chairs(worser thingscould happen, but right now, you probably can't think of any).After the VogonCaptain has tortured you with the first verse, grit your teethand enjoy thepoetry. He will then, to your dismay, read you the next verse. While you could easily live without hearing it, in this case,you do need tolisten so you know the word to type in. Fortunately, after thesecond verse,you don't have to enjoy the poetry. Unfortunately, since yousurvived bothverses, the Captain is going to have you and Ford shoved out theairlock (youhave now found something worse than appreciating Vogon poetry). While Ford tries to talk the guard out of spacing the two ofyou, type in theword from the poem. You must put quotes around the word, or itwon't gothrough. Then get the plotter when the case opens. Now just waitawhile, andyou and Ford will soon be in the airlock, with very little timeleft. In fact, time has just run out, and there you are in thedepths of space.Lucky for you, the Guide explained how to survive all of 30seconds out there!Well, perhaps not so lucky, since, considering the vastness ofspace, it'squite improbable that another ship will come by to pick you upbefore the 30seconds run out. So naturally, 29 seconds later, the Heart ofGold (the HOG)comes past and picks you up. There you are in the dark again. Wait and watch the display,until it nolonger says you can't hear. Then listen, and you will hear thesound of thestar drive. Now it gets cute: the program will lie to you, andsay there is anexit to port. Don't you believe it! Go Aft instead, and you willbe in EntryBay 2. You can ignore the brochure, if you like. Go Aft again, and you're in the Fore End of the corridor.Here, Ford will findyou you, and take you up to the bridge, where you meet Zaphod andTrillian.Actually, you've seen them both before, at a party you attended ashort timeago. While you listen to the chatter between Zaphod and Ford, youcan begin todrop some items here. You can drop the plotter, screwdriver, gown, and signallingdevice. By thistime, everyone else has gone to the sauna, leaving you alone onthe Bridge withEddie, the shipboard computer. Don't mind Eddie, he's a littleover-protective,but he's a good sort at heart. In fact, you can pretty muchignore him, as wellas Marvin the Paranoid Robot, although Marvin will be importantmuch later on(depressing as that may sound). Ok, time to prepare for some pretty weird happenings! Firstyou'll need thespare improbability drive. So, go down, then Aft. Keep going Aft.The programwill tell you that the Engine Room is dangerous. It LIES! Don'tlisten to it,just keep going Aft. Eventually, you'll get there. Of course, as soon as you're there, you'll want to lookaround. The programwill tell you there is nothing to see. That, too, is a lie! Keeplooking, andyou'll find that there are some things to see here, especiallythe spare drive.Don't worry about the tools for now; you can leave them wherethey are. Once you have the drive, go back to the Fore End corridor,then head Portwhere you'll find the Nutrimat (try consulting the Guide aboutthe Nutrimat).Touch the pad, and you will be provided with a delicious (?) cupof advancedtea substitute. Fortunately, you don't have to drink it. Take thecup (ignorethe carton, it's useless) and return to the bridge. Drop the cup and the drive. Now, plug the small plug in to thesmallreceptacle, and put the plotter's dangly bit into the teasubstitute. Ok, youare about to have some pretty strange experiences, but before youthrow theswitch, some words of advice and caution. There are five scenarios (all rather short, but all of themimportant), thathave to be completed. They come up in random order, so each onehas its ownlittle section of the walkthru. The lead-in to each of them isthat familiardark area, where you have to wait until one of your senses isworking again.You will be in the dark area again when the scenario ends (andyou will have tolisten for the drive sound), which will then bring you back tothe HOG. Also, be aware there are times that you may briefly go back toone of thescenarios you have already completed. You just sort of bounce inand out ofthose, but you do have to spend time waiting in the dark. Icouldn't find a wayaround this, so you'll just have to live with it. Finally, it's agood idea tosave the game after you complete each scenario, just in case.With that said,it's time, so push the switch! The Bugblatter Beast When you come out of the dark,you find yourself in the Lair ofthe dreaded Bugblatter Beast.There are, perhaps, betterplaces you could wish yourselfto be in, considering that,among its many charms, theBugblatter has those tungsten-carbide vast-pain claws (perhaps hewas a dentistin a previous life). However, you are here for a purpose, so you'll just have to dosomething aboutthe Beast. Consulting the Guide tells you that Bugblatters areincrediblystupid, which is certainly the case. In the meantime, the Beastis bearing downon you, demanding your name. Don't be shy, introduce yourself,then run likeheck East out of the Lair. Pick up one of the sharp stones, and then cover your head withthe towel. OldBuggy is so dumb, he thinks that, since you can't see him, hecan't see you.But, this won't last for very long, so you have to fool him, andquickly. Luckyfor you, this isn't hard. Carve your name on the Bugblatter's memorial. When he sees thename there, hewill think he's already eaten you, which is why he can't see you(dumb may bean understatement here). The Beast will then curl up for a nap,leaving youfree (after removing the towel!) to re-enter the Lair and then goSouthWest. Here you will find the skeleton of some poor soul clutching aNutrimatComputer Interface Card. Take the card, and just wait around forawhile. Youwill be mistakenly captured as a Bugblatter Beast (talk aboutinsults!), butyou will eventually be freed, and have some other adventuresalong the way,before you find yourself back in the dark again. When you get back to the HOG, you can drop the asteroid paintchipper and theinterface card in the Fore End before going up to the Bridge(you'll need theinterface later, but there's no need to drag it around with younow). Once onthe Bridge, push the switch again, and you'll be back in thedark. Trillian The dark ends with something liquidy to the touch. In fact,you find yourfingers bathing in a glass of wine. Coming to your senses, yourealize that youare now Trillian, and you are at the party where you (she?) metboth Arthur anda mysterious man named Phil. Take a good look at Arthur, and you will see he has a hugeball of fluff onhis jacket. Just what you want, but your hands are full. Drop theplate you'reholding, and get the fluff. Open your handbag and put the fluffin it, then getthe plate again (otherwise, the pushy hostess won't leave youalone). Now, all you need to do is wait, trying not to be bored totears by Arthur'sfeeble attempts at conversation. Give Phil a look, and shortly hewill comeover, and take you out to his scooter. As you blast off,everything once againbecomes.....dark. Ford Now you find yourself standing in a country lane, holding asatchel. The placelooks familiar. In fact, it's the lane outside Arthur's home, andthis time youseem to be Ford Prefect. Those Vogons will be arriving soon, so there's not much time.Open thesatchel, and take the satchel fluff, the towel, and the sub-ethasignallingdevice. Go North, and there you will see Arthur lying in front ofthebulldozer. With a certain feeling of deja vu, you offer him the towel.However, insteadof taking it, he asks you about his home. You suddenly realizewhat is going on(not that it really matters, considering what will shortlyhappen!). In amoment of magnanimity (or possibly madness), you decide to takeArthurhitchhiking with you. But first, you have to deal with Prosser. Go over to him, andask him to liedown in front of the bulldozer. He'll make a little fuss, butyou'll manage topersuade him. Now, you and Arthur can hurry over to the pub, anddrink somebeer (remember to buy peanuts). Sit there, drinking your beer (no more than three!),meditating on why Arthuris taking the imminent demise of the world so calmly, until thehouse falls andArthur goes tearing out. Follow him to the ruins of his home. Drop the satchel, and putthe satchelfluff on top of it. Now wait. The Vogon ships will appear, thewinds will pickup, and you'll start fumbling with the device. Oops! You just dropped it! Fortunately, it rolls over byArthur, who picks itup and looks at it. Also fortunately, Arthur manages to push theright button,and everything becomes....dark. Zaphod You come out of the dark to find that you're now ZaphodBeeblebrox, the President of the Universe. In fact, you're on your way to steal theHeart of Gold(with a little help from Trillian). As your speedboat zooms towards its destination, search theseat carefully andyou will find seat fluff and a key. The key opens the toolbox,but you don'tneed to do that now. Just make sure you take the box; you mightbe needing itlater. Now, if you continue on your present course, you'll never makeit between thecliffs and the spire (or maybe you know that already). The trickis to make theauto-pilot do the hard work, so steer the boat towards the rockyspire. The spire gets closer...closer....closer....and then, at last!the auotpilotwakes up, just in time, and steers you to safety! Whew, that wasa close one.Ok, now you can stand up and go North to the Dais, where thededicationceremonies will be held. Wait around, enjoying the cheers of the crowd (read the bannerif you like),until Trillian appears. She will jump out of the crowd, and holda gun to oneof your heads. The guards are a little hesitant about what to do,so now's yourchance: tell them not to shoot. After a few moments, they will drop their rifles into apile..just what you'vebeen waiting for. Tell Trillian to shoot the rifles. As theweapons disappear,you and Trillian make a break for the HOG! You made it!!But...everything seemsto be getting....dark. The War Room Ah ha, fooled ya! I bet when you heard the sound of the stardrive, you thoughtyou were back on the HOG. But, surprise! you're in the War Roomof a mighty warfleet approaching Earth (at least you're yourself this time!). Hmmmm, looking around, you see an ultra-plasmic awl. Pick thatup, since itmight come in handy later. Now, take a good look at the aliens.They areVl'hurg and G'guvunt. Sound familiar? Ring any bells? Rememberthat smallgalaxy you pretty much wiped out with your careless words? Well, they finally figured out what happened, and now they areon their way toEarth to take revenge! (Uh oh) You can't really stop them, sojust wait aroundand hope for the best. The fleet gets closer and closer, and then arrives. Amazingly,the first thingthey see is....a huge dog happily munching a cheese (?) sandwich!The sight ofthis giant monster, contentedly eating, softens the hearts of theVl'hurgs andG'guvunts. With a new mission in life, they turn around and go home.Along the way, theytransport you back to the HOG. Unfortunately, since the aliensare microscopic,so are you.....and you end up materializing inside your own head!But wait....maybe there is a madness in this method, after all(or is that theother way around?). Move along the mazy of synapses (anydirection will do,they're all alike), until you come to the particle. Look at the particle, and you will see it's your common sense.If there's onething you surely don't need in THIS adventure, it's common sense,so take theparticle. Whoops! Everythig just went.....dark. Ok, now you should have collected the four fluffs, theultra-plasmic awl, thepaint chipper, the nutrimat computer interface, and the tool box.After you havedone the last scenario (whichever one that is), don't go back tothe Bridge.Pick up the interface, and go to the Nutrimat. It's tea time! Open the panel on the Nutrimat, remove the circuit board, andreplace it withthe interface. Now, touch the pad. With a clearer idea of justwhat it is youwant, the Nutrimat begins to have some problems. Its own limitedcircuitrycan't handle it (well, it's just a dumb machine, after all), soit ties intothe main shipboard computer. Don't spend time here watching the Nutrimat go through itsgyrations. Head forthe bridge, and plug the large plug into the large receptacle.The moment isalmost here: the HOG has arrived at the legendary lost planet ofMagrathea, andthe natives aren't friendly. In fact, they are sending up a bunch of missiles to vaporizethe HOG (hmmm,they really AREN'T friendly!). Now, push the switch on the sparedrive. Wow!Talk about improbabilities! The missiles have turned into a giantsperm whale! After accepting the congratulations of Ford, Zaphod, andTrillian (whoconveniently disappear into the sauna again), return to theNutrimat, where youwill find, at last, a cup of REAL tea. Get the cup (you will dropthe No Tea),but don't drink it!! Bring it to the Bridge. Drop the real tea (you will automatically pick up the No Tea).Remove thedangly bit from the tea substitute, and put it in the real tea.You have onemore little trip to make. First, however, drop everything you arecarryingexcept the Babel Fish and the Aunt's Thing (yes, you have itagain, you justcan't get rid of it). Push the switch on the Drive. After a short stay in the dark,you will findyourself in the whale's tummy (it may, however, take more thantry to get here,but you will make it eventually). There's a flowerpot here! Getthe pot, andput it in the Aunt's Thing. Now, wait around (you really don'thave a choice),and soon you will be in the dark again. Ah, back on the HOG at last. If you take inventory, you'llnotice you don'thave the Aunt's Thing. Don't panic! It will, as always, turn up.In themeantime, go around picking up the various fluffs. The Zaphodfluff, along withthe tool box, will be by the hatch. Trillian's, of course, is inher handbag,and Ford's is on the satchel, and the last one is in the pocketof your gown(unless you took it out earlier and dropped it somewhere). The Aunt's Thing has reappeared by now, so go up to theBridge. Take theflowerpot, plant all four fluffs, drop the pot, and wait awhile.When you see atiny sprout has formed, take the pot into the sauna. When youemerge, a changedman, you will also have a changed plant. However, there is another problem! The HOG has landed onMagrathea, but Eddie,overprotective as usual, has jammed the hatch shut. And, he's notgoing to openit, no matter how long it takes him to check for dangers on theplanet (whichwill be quite a few years). You are almost ready! First, eat the fruit from the plant(mmm, tasty!). Youhave a vision, and pay close attention to it: the vision showsyou what toolMarvin will need to open the hatch. This varies from game togame, and there isno way to know which one it is until you eat the fruit. That isalso why youhave to collect all those tools. Get the tool that you saw in thevision. If ithappens to be one you haven't seen yet, then you'll find it inMarvin's pantry. The trick now is to find Marvin, and he's in his pantry,behind the screeningdoor. First, get the real tea. You automatically drop the No Tea.But, youdon't have your common sense anymore, so....pick up the No Tea!Now, you haveboth Tea and No Tea at the same time!! Go to the Screening Door. Open it. The Door, impressed by yourbeing able tohave both Tea and No Tea will let you through! However, WAIT!!!Don't gothrough the door yet! If you set foot in the pantry, you will beoverwhelmed bydepression! So, that magic moment has arrived, the moment you'vebeen waitingfor ever since you left Earth: drink the real tea!! (Ahhhhhh,good to the lastdrop!) All right! Now you can go into the Pantry (yay)! Marvin willbe there, sulkingas usual. Tell him to fix the hatch. Marvin will grumble, but hewill agree toit, and tell you to meet him at the Hatch Access Space, with theproper tool,in twelve moves. As you already have the tool (thanks to the fruit), you can godirectly to theAccess space (drop everything but the tool and the Fish), andwait for Marvin.When he arrives and asks for the tool, give it to him. Marvinwill fiddlebriefly, and the hatch will slide open. Go out to the Hatch, and then down the Hatch. Wow! You havenow set foot onthe legendary lost planet of Magrathea, and........ And what comes next, will have to wait for the sequel (andlet's hope it isn'ttoo long a wait!!!)!