Dark Continent

maps and walkthrough

Map 1: Main Map

(Note: Dark rooms in this game are never actually dark in the usual IF sense; you can see perfectly well in any of them if you "unlight" the torch. However, you must have the torch lit to move into any dark room without killing yourself.)

Map 2: Ubanghi Village and Jungle

(Note: The jungle paths are more confusing in-game than this map conveys, since the West and East trails look identical, the North and South trails look identical, and both crossings look identical. I've deliberately chosen names that minimize the confusion.)

Walkthrough

First, a few cautions:

• Walking in the caves without a lit torch will kill you.
• Dropping the lit torch in the Gas Pocket will kill you.
• Attacking the shark in any way will kill you. Leave it alone.
• Jumping into the canyon or pit will kill you. Duh.
• Admitting you need instructions to fly an airplane will kill you.
• Take everything with you when you leave the canyon floor; you cannot climb back down there.

And, a few general tips:

• Unusual verbs used in this game: UNLIGHT, STEAL, FLY, SKIN, MAKE, and HURL.
• The command UNLIGHT TORCH will extinguish it. You can LIGHT it again if you have matches.
• Also, try to GO to places or things mentioned.
• Re-entering the lake removes any stench.
• When asked "where?", the game wants a "preposition noun" phrase.

Ready?

(Swing across the canyon on a vine and find some motor fuel in a tree.)
n. n. swing vine. n. n. climb tree. get fuel. d.

(Find an airplane and fill its tank with fuel — yes, you split the command in two — no, the game never mentioned any tank. — Fly the airplane into the canyon and bring everything there to Intersection. I'm gonna use Intersection as our respository of found items.)
w. n. n. pour fuel. in tank. go airplane. go airplane. fly airplane. no. land.
exa bench. look. get paper. exa paper. get bench. u. s. drop paper. drop bench.

(At the bazaar, steal a rupee from a beggar, then buy a knife. Go back to Intersection)
n. swing vine. n. n. w. exa beggar. exa cup. exa rupee. get rupee. steal rupee.
exa stall. go stall. buy knife. exa knife. e. s. s. swing vine. s.

(Swim in Lake Victoria and kill the crocodile with the knife. Skin the dead croc and take the skin.)
w. w. n. stab croc. skin croc. get skin.

(So, like, the cobbler's bench was a hint you'll need to make shoes. Not a huge hint, but a hint nonetheless. And to make shoes, you needed skin, right? That's how you knew to skin the croc? You are following this train of logic, right? So now that you have skin, make shoes.)
s. e. e. make shoes. drop shoes. drop knife.

(Go back to the village and raid it for everything it has. Don't forget to bathe after visiting the cesspool!)
w. w. n. n. e. get pig. s. exa basket. open basket. look. get torch. d. get matches. u. s. s.
n. n. n. get drum. s. w. get paint. get parchment. read parchment. n. read sign. s.

(Explore the jungle paths and find the strong box in a cave. The paths are a little confusing; just go south at the first crossing and west at the second crossing to find the waterfall. Bring everything back to the Intersection and drop most of it.)
w. w. s. s. w. exa waterfall. go waterfall. go cave. light torch. go cave.
get box. exa box. n. e. n. n. e. e. e. s. s. e. e.
drop parchment. drop paint. drop box. drop pig. drop drum.

(Carry the lit torch into the eastern caves and grab the spear and ore. Ignore the skeleton.)
e. e. e. get spear. w. d. get ore. u. w. w.

(Use the spear to kill the elephant and get tusks. Ivory is valuable and we're not an eco-friendly adventurer. Note that you cannot merely THROW or TOSS the spear. You must HURL it. This is a deliberate guess-the-verb situation.)
n. swing vine. n. hurl spear. look. take tusks. s. swing vine. s.

(Translate the parchment via the paper and follow the instructions.)
get paint. get drum. get ore. paint face. beat drum. kiss pig. sing song.

(Unlock the strong box with the key and get a spade.)
look. drop paint. drop drum. get key. unlock box. open box. exa box. get spade.

(Dig dirt in the subterreanean chamber to find the diamond.)
e. e. d. d. dig dirt. look. exa diamond. get diamond. u. u. w. w.

(Take diamond, shoes, and tusks to the ship. Give the shoes and tusks to pay for your passage and win.)
get shoes. i. n. swing vine. n. e. u. exa ship. go ship. give shoes. give tusks.