G R A N D A D & T H E Q U E S T F O R T H E H O L E Y V E S T (Ian Scott/Shareware) (Solution by John R. Barnsley - Atari ST) THE PLOT Grandad is an old git who can never remember what day it is, where he is and, on occasions, who he is. This is to be expected of a man his age, but what makes Grandad even more of a git than most is his habit of hiding everything in rather strange places and then forgetting where he put them. Waking up this morning he finds himself in his Entrance Hall (you see what I mean?) and discovers that there is a bit of a nip in the air. He decides that he'll need to put on his string vest but can't quite remember where it is. The adventure is either keyboard or joystick controlled to select the appropriate commands from drop-down menus. START: In the Entrance Hall. Move over to the picture on the left wall and LOOK. You see a key covered in dust. GET DUSTY KEY. [5/500]. Come down to the broken plaster at bottom left. LOOK. There is a key wedged tightly inside a narrow gap but you are unable to loosen it with your fingers. Leave the screen at the bottom to enter the Front Garden. You will see the lad from next door. Move over to him and LOOK. He asks for his ball back. If you give in he'll just give you some lip and run off. Select 'BUGGER OFF' and you now keep the tennis ball. [10/500]. Move to the upper right area of the little bush near the gate. LOOK. You see a small trowel. GET TROWEL. [15/500]. Go up to the plant and climber frame to the left of the front door. LOOK. There is a piece of wire twisted around the stem. GET TWISTED WIRE. [20/500]. To the right of the door is a drainpipe, but it will not be of any use until much later. Head back indoors to the Entrance Hall then go over to the broken plaster area again. USE TWISTED WIRE. INVENTORY. You now have a SHINY key. [25/500]. Go to the North door in the top right corner. USE DUSTY KEY. [27/500]. Proceed through this door to the spacious Electricity Cupboard. LOOK. Approach the panel of fuses in the centre. LOOK. One of the fuses has blown - in fact this particular one controls the power to the electrically-operated lift which affords access to the upper floor level. There is a spare fuse in the box on the table here but do not try to replace it yet until you are adequately protected. Exit to the Entrance Hall and go to the door on the left. USE SHINY KEY. [29/500]. Enter and LOOK in the Main Hall. Go over to the red pipe sculpture and LOOK. There is another key stuck halfway down one of the pipes. USE TENNIS BALL. The key is dislodged and you lose the ball. [34/500]. INVENTORY. You now have a TARNISHED key which will open the door to the North leading to the Kitchen. Go up to the top left of the screen and go left around the corner then LOOK. The two lifts here are 'staircases'. One is manually operated and the other is electrical, though its power is off at the moment. Note the tap at the bottom left. Move over to the window and LOOK. You see another key behind the curtains. GET SMALL KEY. [39/500]. Leave the room to the right and go to the top (Kitchen) door. USE TARNISHED KEY. [41/500]. Proceed north through the door into the Kitchen. Go over to the fridge (first white cupboard on the left) and LOOK. You find some butter. GET BUTTER. [46/500]. There are some old underpants in the washing machine that you don't need so leave them. Go up to the top right and USE SMALL KEY. [48/500]. Go right into the Larder. Move over to the box in the corner on the right and LOOK. GET HAIRPIN. [53/500]. Now move directly under the detergents on the shelf, face left and go left towards the door (but not through it!). LOOK. You will find another key behind the door. GET RUSTY KEY. [58/500]. Leave via the left door to the Kitchen, then South to the Main Hall. Go to the door on the left (by the red pipes) and USE HAIRPIN to pick the lock. [63/500]. Go through this door into the Lounge. Go over to the ashtray on the coffee table and LOOK. You see that it contains a lighter. GET LIGHTER. [68/500]. Go over to the centre of the black settee (between table and settee) and LOOK. You find another key stuffed behind a cushion. GET LARGE KEY. [73/500]. Move over to the books and LOOK. Repeat all down the shelves. Note the following books:- Jeremy Beadle and Garden Shed Security ('East of Eden' and 'South Pacific') for clues. Now leave this room to the right and go North back to the Kitchen. Approach the top door and USE LARGE KEY. [75/500]. Go through the door into the Conservatory. The relevance of the hanging baskets will be realised later. For now, go right into the Back Garden where you will see your busty neighbour. (Note:- She WILL actually show her assets if you ask but the excitement will kill you!!). Go over to the woman at the fence and LOOK. She asks for a little knob (of butter!!). Select the answer that gives her the butter. [85/500]. You will need her help soon. Now, the next bit is a bit tricky. There is another key (to the shed) hidden in the centre of the garden. The exact location is hinted at by the clues from the book - 'East of Eden'/'South Pacific'. The three gnomes here are called Adam, Eve and Eden. Eden is the one nearest the Conservatory door and 'Pacific Pansies' is scratched onto the tree trunk at the bottom of the garden. Position yourself in the area East of Eden and South of the tree. Carefully notice the tiny brown square in the grass at this position and place your front wheel there, then USE TROWEL. You should then uncover the shed key. [90/500]. INVENTORY. The DIRTY key is now in your possession. Go down to the shed door and USE DIRTY KEY. [92/500]. Go into the shed and LOOK at the red bucket then GET BUCKET. [97/500]. There is nothing else needed here so leave the shed. (You could use the lighter on the straw, but you'll burn the shed and yourself away and, worse, the game may crash!). Return to the room with the elevators and go over to the tap on the left. USE BUCKET to fill it with water. [102/500]. Go over to the water barrel on the manual lift. USE FULL BUCKET. The lift creaks. [107/500]. Return to the tap and USE BUCKET. [112/500]. Go back to the barrel and USE FULL BUCKET. The lift lurches and returns to its original position. One more bucket should do it. [117/500]. Return to the tap and USE BUCKET. This time the tap dries up! Never mind, that neighbour owes you a favour, so make your way to the Back Garden and go over to her. LOOK. Select the question that asks her for a bucket of water. She duly fills your bucket. [127/500]. Now go back to the lifts, this time entering the manual lift beside the barrel. Make sure that you are actually on the platform to the right of the barrel, then USE FULL BUCKET to cause the lift to descend to the Cellar. As you get off, the lift returns to the floor above because of the counterweight sacks of sand. [132/500]. (The keypad on the wall requires you to enter a code. This six-digit code is provided by the author of the game when you register) Move over to the keypad and LOOK. <473728>. The gate to the right now opens. [152/500]. Proceed through the gate into total darkness! USE LIGHTER. [157/500]. (Note:- You are now in an underground labyrinth which can be very confusing if you're not careful. There are a total of 130 different "small damp room" locations on a grid measuring 10 locations north to south and 13 locations west to east. You need to locate FIVE important items in this area. Firstly, you should get the TORCH as your lighter has a limited life. Secondly, locate the SPARE BATTERY for your wheelchair as that too will need replacing shortly. Then find the KNIFE, PLIERS and HAND DRILL. The directions given are very accurate so be very careful to follow them EXACTLY and try not to over-run a location!) From the first "small damp room" location, East of the Cellar:- N - N - N - E - E - E - E - S - E - N - E - E - E - E - S. Go up to the barrel and LOOK. You have now found the torch. GET TORCH. [162/500]. From now on, as soon as your lighter expires, USE TORCH. [167/500]. Now for the spare battery for your wheelchair. From the room where you found the torch:- N - W - W - W - W - S - W - N - W - W - W - W - S - S - S - S - S - S - S - E - S - E - E - S - E - E - E - N - E - E - E - N - N - N - W - N - E - E - S - E. Go up to the barrel and LOOK. You have now found the spare battery. GET BATTERY. [172/500]. Now for the knife. From the room where you found the spare battery:- W - N - W - W - S - E - S - S - W - N - W - N - W - W - N - N - E - N - N - E - E - S - S - E - E - E - S. Go up to the barrel and LOOK. You have now found the knife. GET KNIFE. [177/500]. Now for the pliers. From the room where you found the knife:- N - W - W - N - E - E - E - S - S - S - S - W - W - S - S - S - W - W - W. Go up to the barrel and LOOK. You have now found a pair of rubber handled pliers. GET PLIERS. [182/500]. Now for the drill. From the room where you found the pliers:- E - E - E - N - N - N - E - E - N - N - N - N - W - W - W - S - W - N - N - W - W - S - S - W - S - S - E - E - S - E - S - E - S - W - W - W - S - W - W - W. By now your wheelchair battery meter should be just about to enter the red area. USE BATTERY. You're ready to fly once more! Continue:- N - W - W - N - W - N - N - N - E - E - S - E - E - S - E - E. Go up to the barrel and LOOK. You have now found the hand drill. GET HAND DRILL. [187/500]. Now to get back to the Cellar entrance by the lift. From the room where you found the drill:- W - W - N - W - W - N - W - W - N - W. You are now back at the lift. To cause the lift to fall to your level you will need to lighten the weight of the sacks. Go up to the tied sacks. USE KNIFE. They start to discharge sand and, as they gradually rise, so the lift descends. [192/500]. Go onto the lift platform to the right of the barrel. USE HAND DRILL. Water now flows from the hole in the barrel, causing the lift with you on it to rise. [197/500]. You now need to fix the electrical lift so make your way to the meter cupboard. Go over to the box on the table and LOOK. GET SPARE FUSE. [202/500]. Go up to the fusebox in the centre. USE PLIERS. You remove and discard the broken fuse. [207/500]. USE SPARE FUSE to restore the current to the electrical lift. [212/500]. Now return to the lifts and enter the one on the right to arrive at the upper floor level. On arrival at the Upstairs Landing, go to the bottom right corner and LOOK. You find another key under the floorboards. GET OLD KEY. [217/500]. Leave the screen to the south and then turn the corner by the picture and LOOK at it. (Note the word 'JUGS'). Go right to the next screen then North up to the door. USE OLD KEY. [219/500]. Go through the door into your Bedroom. Go up to the picture on the chest of drawers to the right and LOOK. USE PLIERS. You prise off the back of the photo and pick up the key that you find inside. [224/500]. INVENTORY. You now have a GREY key. There is a dirty tissue in the waste bin but you don't need it. Move up to the window side of the bed and go as far left as possible then face the bed and LOOK. You find some naughty magazines under the mattress. GET XXX MAGAZINES. [229/500]. Go over to the door on the right and LOOK for a cryptic clue. USE GREY KEY and the door opens. [231/500]. Proceed through this door into the Bedroom Cupboard. Go up to and face the green robe and LOOK. You find some glasses. GET GLASSES. [236/500]. Go to the chest on the right and LOOK. USE RUSTY KEY. It opens, reveals another key, but slams shut again. [241/500]. USE TWISTED WIRE. This will hold the lid open. [246/500]. LOOK. GET BLACK KEY. [251/500]. Now move to the little mousehole at the bottom right. LOOK. USE TORCH. You see a room with no apparent door or window - this is the Secret Room where your quest will end! Now leave the cupboard and go back through the Bedroom to the Main Hall. Go right into the next screen, ignoring the next door to the North for now, and continue to the right. The rubber plant is not important at the moment so proceed North past the plant to the top end of the hall. Go up to the door at the top right and USE BLACK KEY. [253/500]. Enter through the door into the Shower Room. Ride into the shower cubicle and LOOK to see a screwdriver. GET SCREWDRIVER. [258/500]. Go up to the washbasin and LOOK to see a bar of soap. GET SOAP. [263/500]. The fluffy towel on the right is not needed so leave the Shower Room and return to the hall. Leave the screen to the South and go down to the door at bottom right. LOOK. The correct key for this door is already in the keyhole - on the other side! USE XXX MAGAZINES. You slide a magazine under the door. [268/500]. USE SCREWDRIVER. You push the screwdriver through the keyhole and cause the key to fall onto the magazine at the other side of the door. You then retrieve the magazine with the key resting on it. [273/500]. INVENTORY. You now have a YELLOW key. USE YELLOW KEY. [275/500]. Go through this door into the Spare Bedroom. Go approximately Northwest of the ring in the floor and face it then LOOK. You cannot untie the rope to release the box, nor is the knife sharp enough to cut it. USE GLASSES. If you've found the exact correct position then the glasses will focus the sun's rays on the rope which burns through and releases the box. [280/500]. Go over to the fallen box and LOOK. GET DULL KEY. [285/500]. This key will not fit the door in this particular room so leave the room to the left. Leave the hall by the rubber plant to the left and then go up to the door that you passed earlier and LOOK. Someone is after your blood! USE DULL KEY. [287/500]. Proceed through the door into the Toilet where you see an irate Nurse. First, however, move round to the front of the laundry basket, face it then LOOK. GET STICKY TAPE. [292/500]. Go over to the Nurse and LOOK. She takes the glasses from you. Select the answer apologising for your actions. She accepts your apology. [302/500]. LOOK. She says that she must be off home soon. Select the text that asks about your string vest. She tells you about the chest in the Secret Room and gives you another key. [312/500]. INVENTORY. This WHITE key will open the door in the Spare Bedroom. Leave the Toilet and return via the hall to the Spare Bedroom. Go up to the top door in the Spare Bedroom and USE WHITE KEY. [314/500]. Enter the cupboard where you see a clothes rack. Go up to the white overalls hanging on the rack and LOOK. GET PLUG SPANNER. [319/500]. Now go over to the little white switch on the right wall and LOOK. This will not stay in it's pressed position. This switch releases the lock on the panel leading to the Secret Room. USE STICKY TAPE to hold it in position. [329/500]. Go back through the Spare Bedroom into the hall then up the screen to the top end. Go up to and face the little hole in the panel to your left. LOOK. USE SOAP. [339/500]. USE PLUG SPANNER. The panel now slides open. [355/500]. Now enter the Secret Room. The chest is locked so go up to the notice in the centre. LOOK. You must now trace a set of clues around the house in order to obtain the key for this chest. The FIRST clue refers to "Jeremy Beadle's spine". Return to the lift and go down to the Ground Floor level, then make your way to the Lounge. Go up to the top left and LOOK to locate Beadle's book then USE PLIERS to break the 'spine'. You now find the SECOND clue which refers to the "hanging gardens" (of Babylon?!). [365/500]. Go to the Conservatory. Go up to the "central one" of the hanging baskets and LOOK. This is the THIRD clue and refers to the drainpipe in the Front Garden. [375/500]. Make your way to the Front Garden and go up to the drainpipe to the right of the door. LOOK to get the FOURTH clue about narcissus (daffodils). [385/500]. Now go to the Back Garden and over to the yellow flowers at the top right. USE TROWEL to get the FIFTH clue about "ewers and pitchers" - which are types of jug! [395/500]. Now go back to the lift and return to the Upper Floor level. At the Upper Floor level leave the first location and come round the corner to the 'jugs' portrait. LOOK to get the SIXTH clue which refers to the rubber plant (milking rubber from trees?!). [405/500]. Go through the hall to the location of the rubber plant and LOOK. You now find and pick up the GOLD key that will open the chest. [425/500]. Return to the Secret Room. USE GOLD KEY. The chest now opens. [435/500]. LOOK to find your string vest. GET HOLEY VEST. [485/500]. FINAL MESSAGE "The holey vest is finally in your possession at last. What a day it's been. It's nice and sunny outside now so what the hell do you want this bloody vest for anyway. Still, you didn't have anything else to do today and now that you've found it you feel an overwhelming sense of achievement coupled with a strange sense of loss. Oh well, that's that then. Mind you, your finger nails could do with a trim. Now where did you put your nail clippers?..." Thanks for playing. Bye. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *