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Key & Compass presents:
The Babysitter
by Garry Francis

The Babysitter is a Z-machine interactive fiction game written with Inform 6 (with PunyInform and is © 2024 by Garry Francis.

In this slice-of-life game, you play as Veronica, a teenage girl. Tonight, you're at the Grahams's, babysitting Anna, but after a disturbing dream, you want to make sure she's okay. Also, it wouldn't hurt to do some chores around the place.

This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.

SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.


Map

Closet Store-room MasterBedroom UpperHall SmallBedroom Bathroom Top ofStairwell Laundry Bottom ofStairwell Kitchen LowerHall DiningRoom LivingRoom u d (to outside)

Walkthrough

Living Room

> x me. (You're Veronica.)

> i. (nothing)

> x couch. look under couch.

> n.

Lower Hall

> x dust. (needs mopping)

> n.

Bottom of Stairwell

> u. (no: too dark)

> s. w.

Kitchen

> x sink. x dishes. (need washing)

> wash dishes. (+20; found something)

> x sink. take key. x key.

> open door. (locked)

> unlock door with key. open door. n.

Laundry

> x mop. take it.

> x machine. open it.

> s. s.

Dining Room

> x board. read message. ("INCOMING CALLS ONLY")

> x phone. (push-button wall phone)

> e. n.

Lower Hall

> mop floor. (+20, with mop; note found)

> take note. read it. ("CLAP to turn on lights")

> n.

Bottom of Stairwell

> clap. (lights come on)

> u. n.

Upper Hall

> x door. open it. (locked)

> e.

Small Bedroom

> x bed. look under bed.

> x toys. x cartoon.

> w. w.

Master Bedroom

> x closet door. unlock it. (no: stuck latch)

> x bed. look under bed.

> x clothes. take clothes.

> e. s. d. s. w. n.

Laundry

> put clothes in machine. close machine.

> push start. (+20)

You hear the phone ringing.

> s. s.

Dining Room

> answer phone.

> e. n. n. u. n. w. s.

Bathroom

> x basin. clean it. (+20; found something)

> x basin. take hairpin. x it.

> n. e.

Upper Hall

> unlock door with hairpin. (not quite)

> pick lock with hairpin. open door. n.

Darkness / Storeroom

> clap. x junk. search junk.

> take bottle. x it.

> s. w.

Master Bedroom

> spray latch. unlock door. open it. n.

Closet

> take Anna.

> s. e. e.

Small Bedroom

> put Anna on bed. (+20)

Anna's parents return home and pay you your fee. If you did all the chores, you get a bonus.

*** You have won ***

> amusing

> full


Extras

Amusing

This is the response to AMUSING, after you've won the game:

Have you tried:


Characters


Credits

This is the response to ABOUT:

This game was originally known as 'Midnight Emergency'. It was written in Turbo BASIC for IBM-compatible PCs by John H Doolittle circa 1989 and used in his 'Scientific Thinking in Psychology' classes when he was a professor of psychology at California State University, Sacramento.

It was ported to ZBasic by Eric Thornton and published by Critical Thinking Press as game 2 in the 'Adventures in Danger!' trilogy. This was released for the Apple II and Macintosh in 1992.

John continued to update the game until 1996 and released the Turbo BASIC source code in 2023. This was ported to Inform 6 by Garry Francis using the PunyInform library. It was then enhanced in collaboration with the original author to become 'The Babysitter'.

Original concept by John H Doolittle.
Game design and coding by Garry Francis.
Play testing by Audrey Lee, Jade J Aincioa, John H Doolittle and Timur Ozturk.


Inventory


Score

This is the response to SCORE:

You have so far scored N out of a possible 100, in T turns.

Points are awarded as follows:


Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough is provided free of charge since the work it's based on has less than fifteen locations. Please consider it a thank you for your support!

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