Biscuit is a Z-machine interactive fiction game written with Inform 6 and is © 1996, 2001 by Petar Kanuritch.
In this game, it's your responsibility to arrange the funeral of the family's pet rabbit, Biscuit. You'll need a poem from your friend Peter to read, and your son Joe insists that the burial takes place in the back garden.
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.
General Note:
large bedroom
> verbose. i. (carrying nothing)
Optional actions in the large bedroom:
> x me. (default description)
> x bed. x wardrobe. x label. open wardrobe. (empty)
> x cabinet. (right or left?)
> x right cabinet. open right drawer. (empty)
> x left cabinet. open left drawer. (empty)
> x cupboard. open it. x t-shirt. x jeans.
> wear t-shirt. wear jeans.
> x sundry. x window.
The exit is east.
> e.
landing
Optional actions on the landing:
> x window. x chest. open chest.
> x bathtowel. x hand towel. x face towel.
Joe is your son. He wanders around most of the house and you might see him here. He has a spiderman, a Tasmanian devil tie, and something metal.
When you first see Joe:
> x Joe. ask Joe about metal. (He wants some chocolate for it.)
Some optional actions when near Joe:
> x spiderman. ask Joe about spiderman.
> x tie. ask Joe about tie.
> ask Joe about Biscuit. (Joe expects flowers and a proper coffin.)
Your wife, Alison, also wanders around, but you can ignore her until there's a topic you want to ask her about.
Optional actions regarding Alison early in the game:
> x Alison. x dress. kiss Alison. ask Alison about Biscuit.
Now, it may be a little confusing since there's no explicit exits, but the large bedroom you just left is northwest from here. Joe's bedroom is west, the office is north, there's a toilet to the southeast, and a bathroom to the south.
Go into Joe's bedroom:
> w.
Joe's bedroom
There's an unfortunate chance that Joe may walk in and take the Enterprise before you obtain the brass key. If that happens, tell him to give it to you, e.g: Joe, give ship to me.
> x junk. x Enterprise. x button. (phaser, photon, transporter)
> take Enterprise. push transporter. (+5; some lights flash)
> drop Enterprise. i. (You now have a brass key.)
Optional actions for Joe's bedroom:
> x bed. x wardrobe. x label. open wardrobe. (empty)
> x cupboard. open it. x green shirt. x small jeans.
> x window.
> take ship. push phaser. push photon. drop ship.
Continue to the office:
> e. n.
Office
> x desk. open drawer. (locked)
> x computer. turn on computer. turn on power.
There's a virus alert and a Virus icon.
> click virus icon. (You need the antivirus disc.)
> open cupboard. x pole. take pole.
> open trapdoor. (+5, using the long pole)
> drop pole. (You don't need it any more.)
> pull cord. (This turns on the attic light.)
Optional actions for the office:
> x power supply. x printer. x modem.
> x table. x chair. (small or medium?)
> x small chair. x medium chair.
> x monitor. x drive. (external or internal?)
> x external drive. x internal drive.
> x keyboard. x mouse.
> x storage box. open it.
> x game disc. x workbench disc. x clipart disc.
> x trapdoor. x cord. x ladder.
Ready to explore the attic?
> u.
attic
It's not obvious yet that you need the silk bag, but trust me on this.
> x wardrobe. open it. x casket. open it. (empty)
> take casket. (You'll use this later as Biscuit's coffin.)
> x shelves. x screwdriver. take it.
> x junk. x silk bag. open it. (empty)
> take silk. put silk in casket.
Optional actions for the attic:
> x medium box. open it. x tiny box. open it. (empty)
> x large box. open it. x small box. open it. (empty)
> x black bag. open it. (empty)
> x green bag. open it. (empty)
> x grey bag. open it. (empty)
> w.
model railway area
> x railway. x tunnel. (Something's inside.)
> x controller. x knob.
> x plug. x fuse. (blown)
> x socket.
Looks like you'll need a new 13 amp fuse before you can use the railway. Drop the screwdriver here for later.
> drop screwdriver.
> e. d. s.
landing
Optional tour of the toilet and bathroom:
> se.
toilet
> x WC. x lid. open lid. close lid. x lever.
> n. s.
bathroom
> x bath. x mixer tap. x holder. x soap bar.
> x plug. x chain. x plughole.
> x rail. x bathtowel. x hand towel. x face towel.
> n.
landing
> d.
stairs
Optional actions on the stairs:
> x painting. look behind painting. x scratches.
> d.
hallway
> x picture. (photo or cat?)
> x cat. look behind cat. (You find a paper with "357" on it.)
Optional actions in the hallway:
> x photo. look behind photo. x marks.
> n.
lobby
The main exit is north, but you won't leave with your task unfinished.
> x briefcase. take it. open it. (locked)
> unlock it with brass key. open it. x disc.
> put brass key and password in briefcase.
Optional actions in the lobby:
> x coathanger. (small or large?)
> x small coathanger. x anorak. x bomber jacket.
> x large coathanger. x blazer. x fleecy jacket.
> s. w.
lounge
> x chair. (worn or comfy?)
> x comfy. x Discovery cassette. (about funeral rituals)
> take Discovery.
> put Discovery in player. turn on TV. turn on player.
You learn that you'll need a clean expensive-looking cloth to wrap Biscuit in, a small gold trinket, a wooden casket, fresh flowers, and something appropriate to read.
Optional actions in the lounge:
> x TV. x Morse cassette. x player.
> x settee. x worn chair.
> x table. open top drawer. (empty)
> open bottom drawer. x teknoman cassette. (a cartoon)
> x vivarium. x water dish. x fern. x log.
> x grasshopper. x lizard. (His name is Eerie.)
> x window.
> s.
dining room
You don't need anything from the dining room, but the note book does have a clue about where to find the password that you've already found. (Also, you can get around some disambiguation problems if you refer to "note book" instead of "notebook".)
Optional actions in the dining room:
> x table. x chair. (scratched, marked, plain, or damaged?)
> x scratched. ("FL") x marked. ("FR")
> x plain. ("RL") x damaged. ("RR")
> x dresser. x Babe cassette.
> x bookcase.
> x Woods book. take it.
> look up Cook in Woods book. look up Summer in Woods book.
> drop Woods book.
> x note book. take it.
> look up computer in note book.
> look up password in note book. (hidden behind something)
> drop note book.
> x shelf. (top, middle, or bottom?)
> x top shelf. x lizard book.
> take lizard book. look up lizard in lizard book.
> drop lizard book.
> x middle shelf. x ancient book.
> take ancient book. look up culture in ancient book.
> drop ancient book.
> x bottom shelf. x poetry. take it.
> read January in poetry. drop poetry.
Get a couple things from the shower room before dealing with your cat Snowy in the kitchen:
> e. e. e.
shower room
> x cabinet. open it. x tube. x plaster.
> take tube and plaster.
Optional actions in the shower room:
> x shower. x mixer tap. x holder. x bar. x drain.
> x toilet. x lid. x lever.
> x basin. (missing its plug)
> x hot tap. x cold tap.
> w. w.
kitchen
From the Discovery cassette, you learned that you need a gold trinket for the funeral, and Snowy's gold disc is the only gold trinket in the game. You need to take the gold disc twice to succeed, but Snowy gives you a nasty scratch in response. If you don't treat the wound quickly enough, your character will die!
> x Snowy. x collar. x gold disc.
> take gold disc. again. (+5. You get it, but Snowy scratches you!)
> open tube. put cream on wound. put plaster on wound. (+5)
> drop tube. x gold disc. read it. put it in casket.
You need to open up a few things in here:
> x sink. open cutlery drawer.
> x cupboard. (wooden or food?)
> x wooden cupboard. open it.
> x food cupboard. open it. (Snowy blocks you.)
Looks like you're not quite done with Snowy. Feeding her will do the trick, but her food is in the pantry.
> ne.
pantry
> x shelf. x packet. take it.
> s.
kitchen
> take catdish. open packet. x catfood.
> put catfood in catdish. drop catdish. (+5.)
Snowy leaves. If you need to find her again, she'll be purring in the large bedroom.
> drop packet.
> open food cupboard. x bottle. take it. put it in casket.
Optional actions in the kitchen:
> x spoon. x knife. x scoop.
> x bowl. x plughole. x tap.
> x sundae dish. x glass bowl. x catdish.
> x surface. x freezer.
> x fridge. open it. (empty) close it.
Joe wanted something chocolate. Let's deal with that:
> open freezer. x tub.
> open tub. x ice-cream. (It's chocolate.)
> take tub. close freezer.
> take scoop. take sundae dish.
> take ice-cream. (Using the scoop, the ice-cream is now in the sundae dish.)
> put scoop in sink. put tub in sink.
> take spoon. put spoon in sundae.
Now you can try to find Joe wherever he is, or wait for him in the hallway or landing, but it's much simpler to summon him with a magic word.
> plugh. (Repeat, if necessary, until he stays put.)
> give sundae to Joe. (He takes it and drops whichever toy he was playing with.)
The next time you see Joe, which might be the same turn, he'll thank you for the ice cream and give you a small metal key. But if he ran off again, summon him again:
> plugh.
> x metal key. put it in briefcase.
> e. n.
garage
> x plastic toolbox. open it. (rusted hinges stop you)
> take bottle. open it. put oil on hinges. (+5)
> drop bottle. open plastic toolbox. take new fuse.
> x fuse. put it in briefcase.
> take boots. (Don't put on the boots yet. Alison won't let you wear them in the house.)
Optional actions in the garage:
> x metal toolbox. open it. (empty)
Head back to the office:
> s. w. n. u. u. n.
Office
I'm assuming you left the computer and power on:
> take program disc. put it in external drive.
> click virus icon. (+5)
> x monitor. (internet access and inspect disc icons)
> click internet icon. (Now you need the internet data disc.)
> take program disc. put it on desk.
> unlock drawer with metal key. put metal key on desk.
> open drawer. x data disc. take it. put it in external drive.
> click internet icon. (Now it wants a password.)
> take password. type 357. (+10. A page is printed.)
> put password on desk.
> take paper. x it. put it in briefcase.
I'm assuming you left the attic light on as well:
> u. w.
model railway area
> take screwdriver. take blown fuse. (using the screwdriver)
> drop blown fuse.
> take new fuse. put new fuse in plug. (+5, using the screwdriver)
> drop screwdriver.
> put plug in socket. turn on power.
> turn knob. (A three-car train emerges from the tunnel and stops at the station.)
> x wagon. take steel key. (+5)
> put steel key in briefcase.
Optional actions in model railway area:
> x engine. x coach.
> turn knob.
> turn off power. take plug.
Head to the utility room next:
> e. d. s. d. d. s. e. s.
utility room
> open washing machine. (empty)
> open dryer. (empty)
> x sink. open drawer.
> x packet. open it. take tie. put it in briefcase.
Use the laundry machines to clean the silk bag. You do not need detergent.
> take silk. put silk in washing machine.
> close washing machine. turn it on. z. z. z. z. z. z.
> open washing machine. take silk.
> put silk in dryer.
> close dryer. turn it on. z. z. z. z. z. z. (+5)
> open dryer. take silk. put it in casket.
Optional actions in the utility room:
> x washing machine. x dryer.
> x cupboard. (wooden or wall?)
> x wooden cupboard. open it. (empty)
> x wall cupboard. open it. (empty)
> x surface. x boiler. x window.
> w.
conservatory
Oddly, there's nothing here but french doors to the north and a patio door to the south.
> s. open patio door. s.
patio
> w —or— e —or— s —or— sw. (Not without boots on.)
> wear boots. sw. s.
shed area
> w. open shed door. (locked)
> unlock door with rusty key. open door. w.
garden shed
Secateurs are an English name for garden shears or clippers.
> take spade. take secateurs.
Optional actions in the shed:
> x window. x implements.
> x fork. x spade. x rake. x hoe. x trowel. x secateurs.
> e. n.
flower border (near trees)
> dig hole. (+5, using the spade.)
> drop spade.
Optional actions near the trees.
> x trees. x hole.
> n.
flower border (near bramble)
You can't take the daffodils with the bramble in the way.
> x bramble. (Needs to be tied back.)
> take tie. tie bramble back with tie.
> x daffodils. take daffodils. (+5, using the secateurs)
> drop secateurs.
Optional tour of the rest of the back garden before getting back to our task.
> x plants. x bushes. se.
lawn
> x grass. s.
vegetable plot
> x earth. ne.
flower border (near herbs)
> x herbs. x marjoram. x onions. x garlic.
> n.
pond area
> x pond. x fish. x fountain. x low wall. x hutch.
> w. w.
flower border (near bramble)
Head to the rabbit hutch:
> e. e.
pond area
You want the rabbit in the silk bag, and the closed silk bag and the gold tag in the casket, If there's anything else in the casket, remove it now.
> open hutch. x rabbit. take rabbit.
> take silk. open silk. put Biscuit in silk.
> close silk. put silk in casket. close casket.
> sw. w.
flower border (near trees)
> put casket in hole. (+20.)
You automatically fill the hole. Alison, Joe, and Snowy all arrive, and they're all very sad.
> put daffodils on grave.
> take paper. read paper. (+5)
The poem is "Funeral" by Stanley Cook.
*** You have won ***
Mentioned:
From the ABOUT menu items:
The author.
As near as forty one as makes no difference. An Environmental Health Officer by profession (tracing my professional ancestry all the way back to the illustrious Inspector of Nuisances of the 1870's via the Public Health Officer and Sanitary Inspector, I have a particular liking for the title Inspector of Nuisances, it sums up the job nicely!). A profession for those with a strong stomach, appalling sense of humour and a belief that mankind really does care for his/her fellow man/woman and the rest of the planet and its inhabitants (actually the latter is optional, the belief that is, not the planet)
I have only recently come across amateur (as in not produced by those who do it for a living) IF. I have yet to play any of the classic infocom games other than Hitchhiker (which I played on an old Amstrad CPC many years ago). This lack of influence probably explains everything that you dislike about this game, that's my excuse (feeble as it is) and I'm sticking to it.
Of course this was written back in 1996 and in between times I forgot, lost and rediscovered IF and my first attempt!
From the THANKS menu items:
Graham Nelson.
Thanks must go to Graham Nelson for Inform, the very informative manual and the Toyshop example. I used the cubes from Toyshop as a basis for the boxes, bags, discs and seats, the candles became the plant ties and the gloves became the boots. I also used the menus library to do the hints, about and thanks sections.
Gareth Rees.
Thanks to Gareth Rees and his example of The Thief, from which I used carryingclass and the movement routine for the NPCs Alison and Joe.
Joe (I want to be an NPC)
Thanks to Joe for spotting all those typos whilst attemptiing (he got this one as well but I left it in just to show how bad it really could have been) to programme and the ideas for some of the puzzles.
Alison (what's an NPC?)
Thanks to Alison for putting up with the pair of us and our deranged commentary regarding puzzles, bugs and the meaning of NPC life.
All containers have an inventory limit for anything bulky, but bulk is ignored for anything small. You should carry one or two containers (eg: briefcase, casket) to put things in, but still discard anything you don't need anymore.
The response to FULL SCORE is:
You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 100, in several turns.
The score is made up as follows:
- 5 points for getting the brass key.
- 5 points for eliminating the virus.
- 5 points for entering the password to access the internet.
- 5 points for getting the metal key.
- 5 points for getting the eulogy from the Internet.
- 5 points for opening the trapdoor, just to make a nice round 100!
- 5 points for feeding Snowy, at this rate she'll have to go on a diet.
- 5 points for freeing the hinges to the plastic toolbox.
- 5 points for replacing the defective fuse.
- 5 points for getting the rusty key.
- 5 points for getting the tag from snowy.
- 5 points for healing the cat scratch (what, no fever?)
- 5 points for cleaning the silk bag.
- 5 points for getting the daffodils.
- 5 points for digging the grave hole, that 100 figure again.
- 20 points for completing part of the burial sequence.
- 5 points for reading the eulogy after placing flowers on the grave.
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