Excuse Me - Have You Got The Time? - Jean Childs (STAC adventure on Disk 916 for ST only) Solution by James Judge After being imprisoned by the mad scientist you and three friends finally escape, only to be roped into the scientist's time travel experiment. You start the adventure in his house. One of your friends has got a coin the scientist gave you and there's a panel of buttons in front of you and a lounge to the east. Your mission is to travel from time to time to get five objects. One of beauty, knowledge, bravery, achievement and friendship. In this section you must get a tape, camera, magnifying glass and find the machine and how to work it. START - Hall (0 points) East Examine Hi-Fi TO GET THE TAPE West Press Blue IT CHANGES THE ROOM TO THE EAST. THE YELLOW BUTTON TURNS IT BACK TO THE LOUNGE, THE BLACK TO WHERE THE TIME MACHINE IS AND THE OTHER THREE TO ROOMS WITH CLUES IN. East Examine Table TO FIND THE CAMERA Get Camera West Press Black East Examine Workbench TO GET THE GLASS. IGNORE THE FLASK. Get Glass Enter Workbench IN EACH ZONE THE MACHINE IS HIDDEN. Drop Flask and Camera Put Cassette into Slot Out INTO THE NEXT TIME-ZONE TIMEZONE 1 This takes place on a tropical island where you must find an object of beauty - a shell. The only problems with this zone is finding the shell and getting through the caverns. The shell is north east of the island (once there confer and take Tom's advice) and in the cavern ignore the bone, it's a fish bone. START - Clearing (10 points) South Get Stem East North East East Enter Boat YOUR FRIENDS PRODUCE SOME PADDLES East Get Sticks Examine Tree THIS TELLS YOU WHERE THE SHELL IS North East East Examine Lagoon YOU SEE THE SHELL Confer Tom TOM DIVES OVER THE SIDE AND GETS THE SHELL Get Shell North West Examine Hut Get Cassette Get Cassette West North East South Get Torch North East North West West West Drop Sticks North West Get Spade East South Light sticks YOU USE THE MAGNIFYING GLASS AND THE SUNLIGHT Light Torch IT HAS A LIMITED LIFE SO DON'T HANG AROUND North East South South West West YOUR TORCH GOES OUT Drop Torch West Give man glass THIS KEEPS HIM OCCUPIED. OTHERWISE HE FOLLOWS YOU EVERYWHERE AND YOU CAN'T USE THE TIME MACHINE Enter Rock THE MACHINE Drop Shell Drop Spade Put Cassette in slot Out TO ZONE TWO TIME-ZONE 2 This zone takes place in and around an Aztec temple and pyramid. Here you must get an object of knowledge in the form of a Codex. A couple of red herrings in this. The first is the mask, just ignore it and the second is the treasure room, ignore that as well. START - Road (50 points) South South South South West West West North West Get Spearhead East South South East Give priest Stem TO GET THE CODEX South YOU'RE NOW IN A ROOM WITH A SLEEPING MAN. HIS HEAD IS ON A BOX WHICH CONTAINS THE CASSETTE YOU NEED FOR THE MACHINE. Confer Dick Get Cassette North West West South Examine Statue IT'S THE MACHINE Enter Statue Drop Codex Insert Cassette Out TO ZONE THREE TIME-ZONE 3 This zone takes place during a war. Aeroplanes keep flying overhead and this is useful for a later puzzle. The hardest puzzle of the game is here (diffusing the bomb) and in this zone you must find something to represent bravery which is a medal. No problems with this zone except for one red herring which is the bucket, just leave it. START - Road (70 points) East East Examine Hole WHERE SIGNPOST USED TO BE Get Key South South South South WAIT UNTIL YOU HEAR THE PLANE IS OVERHEAD THEN West Get Cassette YOU ARE THEN CHASED OUT THE FIELD BY A BULL North North North North East East East Get Rod West South Examine Furniture Turn on Radio Turn on Radio Turn on Radio YOU WILL NOW SEE A NUMBER COMBINATION, NOTE IT DOWN. North West North Unlock door North East Open Desk Open Desk Get Pen Get Tortoise South West North North Examine Bomb YOU SEE A PANEL WHICH HAS GOT A1, B2 ON IT. THIS IS THE CLUE TO DIFFUSING THE BOMB. ONCE YOU OPEN THE PANEL YOU WILL SEE SIX WIRES ALL OF A DIFFERENT COLOUR. YOU MUST ADD UP THE NUMERIC VALUE OF EACH OF THESE COLOURS (IE BLUE=40 BECAUSE B=2, L=12, U=21 AND E=5 SO 5+21+12+2=40. IN SIMPLE TERMS: A IS THE FIRST LETTER OF THE ALPHABET SO IT IS 1, B IS THE SECOND SO IT IS 2 ETC.). ONCE YOU'VE GOT THE TOTALS LOOK AT THE NUMBERS YOU GOT FROM THE RADIO AND THEN PUT THEM IN ORDER. THIS IS THE ORDER YOU MUST CUT THE WIRES. Open Panel Cut Yellow Cut Purple Cut Orange Cut Green Cut Blue Cut Black West Up Up Up YOU SEE A FLAGPOLE Examine Flagpole YOU SEE THE MEDALLION Confer Harry HARRY CLIMBS THE POLE AND KNOCKS THE MEDAL INTO THE CHURCH Down Down Down East Get Medal South South South South East Examine Tree IT IS THE MACHINE Enter Tree Drop Tortoise Drop Spearhead Drop Key Drop Medal Get Camera Insert Cassette Out INTO ZONE FOUR TIME-ZONE 4 This is based near a mountain in Africa. You must climb the mountain and get proof of your doing so, this is your item of achievement. You must persuade a native to guide you to the top though. There is one red herring here and it is the sun lotion. START - Clearing (100 points) West West YOU SEE A LARGE TREE Climb Tree Take Photo THIS TAKES A SNAP OF THE MOUNTAIN Down Give man photo THIS TELLS THE NATIVE WHERE YOU WANT TO GO BUT HE WANTS A PRESENT Give man camera HE LEADS YOU UP THE MOUNTAIN South West Get Book IT IS A BOOK FOR ALL THE CLIMBERS OF THE MOUNTAIN TO PUT THEIR NAME IN Write name YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE BOOK Get Page YOU RIP THE PAGE OUT Drop Book YOU CAN'T LEAVE THE MOUNTAIN WITH THE BOOK North East North West North North YOU'RE AT THE CENTER OF THE VOLCANO'S CRATER Examine Pit YOU SEE THE CASSETTE Confer Dick HE TAKES YOUR ROD AND CATCHES THE CASSETTE WITH IT South North East North West Examine Fumerole IT IS THE MACHINE Enter Fumerole Drop Pen Drop Page Get Tortoise Get Spade Insert Cassette Out TO THE FIFTH TIME ZONE TIME-ZONE 5 This is based in 19th Century Japan and you must get an item of friendship. Here's where the coin the scientist gave you comes into play. No probs with this zone but a few red herrings. Enter the baths for a bit of nudity but it doesn't do anything just like the warehouse and man. START - Top Of Hill (130 points) South South South South Examine Sand YOU FIND AN 'X' Dig Sand Get Cassette Examine Cassette IT IS FULL OF SAND Shake Cassette North North East East South Confer Tom TOM TRIES TO BUY A STORK BUT CAN'T AFFORD IT BUT GETS A CARD INSTEAD. LOOKS LIKE AN INVITATION North East East Show Card YOU THEN ENTER THE PALACE AND ARE SHOWN TO THE DAIMIO WHO GIVES YOU A POUCH WHICH IS NO USE Give Daimio Tortoise THE DAIMIO IS TOUCHED BECAUSE THE TORTOISE IS THE JAPANESE SYMBOL FOR LONG LIFE. HE GIVES YOU A RING West North North East Examine Dragons YOU FIND THE MACHINE Enter Dragon Drop Spade Get Shell OBJECT OF BEAUTY Get Codex OBJECT OF KNOWLEDGE Get Medal OBJECT OF BRAVERY Get Page OBJECT OF ACHIEVEMENT Insert Cassette Out INTO THE SCIENTIST'S GARDEN THE END BIT You're now at the end of the game with 150 out of 210 points. You'll get an extra ten points for each object you successfully get so you should now have 200 points. You are then asked to make a decision whether to go home or go with your friends to new adventures. The choice is up to you but if you follow your friends you'll get that extra ten points. WELL DONE. YOU HAVE COMPLETED EXCUSE ME - HAVE YOU GOT THE TIME BY JEAN CHILDS IN ABOUT 135 MOVES (DEPENDS ON HOW LONG YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE PLANE) WITH FULL MARKS, 210 POINTS - o -