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Key & Compass presents:
Diddlebucker!
by J Michael

Diddlebucker! is a Glulx interactive fiction game written with Inform 7 and is Β© 2018 by J Michael. It was an entry in IF Comp 2018 where it took 30th place.

In this game, you play as a one-person team in the 27th Annual All-Night Diddlebucker Run after your teammates, Lori and David, ditched you to elope with each other. Well, who needs them anyway? If you're the first "team" to reach the secret finish line with all four of your team's treasures, you'll win one million dollars and a lifetime supply of Diddlebucker Popcorn! Let's go!

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.


Maps

Map 1: Convention Center and Cleveland Avenue

ExhibitHall A Restroom Lobby Henry'sBurgers GuestRelations ClevelandAvenue West ClevelandAvenue ClevelandAvenueEast πŸš• πŸš• πŸš•

Travel between sections of the game is done via the taxi cab. At any street where taxis go by, wait for taxi (or hail taxi, if you can see it) to get in. Type travel then tell the driver your intended destination.

You may not cheat with player foreknowledge from previous play sessions. If you tell the taxi driver to take you to someplace that your character doesn't know about yet, the driver will go on break and you'll be left back where you entered the taxi. Otherwise, he'll take you to your destination.


Map 2: River Walk

Alley Rooftop River Walk(North) Stan'sBoatRental Dock River Aisle 3 Alley Rooftop River Walk Bridge Tunnel River Walk Aisle 2 The 'Bear'Necess-ities Alley Rooftop River Walk River NearStage Aisle 1 Alley Rooftop River Walk(South) Steve'sBoatRental Dock River πŸš• d u d u d u

Map 3: Amusement Park

Aloha River(North) Aloha River(West) Aloha River(East) Darkness Darkness Aloha River(SW) Aloha River(SE) Darkness ShallowPool Stage ChangingRooms EmployeesOnly WhiteHouseTours LibertyCircle HawaiianIslandsWater Park The GreatSmokeyMountains ShortHallway Statueof Liberty(Crown) VegasStrip Statueof Liberty KiddieLand The Star SpangledBanquet;The Columbian;The Boston T-Shirt Party;Minnesodas NationalMall Paul Bunyan's Bundt Cakes;Johnny Applepies;Uncle Sam-wiches;Silent Cal's Cookies;The May-Flour;Colora-Donuts;Rocky Rhode Island AmericanDreamland πŸš• (auto-return) z z ridemaui sing happybirthday z z z z z z ridealoha z

Map 4: The Ashley Donaldson Hotel

πŸš• Outside Lobby Elevator RotatingRestaurant GlassElevator (showtreasures) (wait)

Map 5: The Holland Odyssean Hotel

The HollandOdysseanHotel(Outside) (into hotel) (more street) (more street) (to road)

Walkthrough

Convention Center (Lobby)Late Afternoon

> i. x check book.

> n. (No, you're waiting for Lori and David.)

> x people.

> listen to PA. (You're to go to Guest Relations.)

> wore.

Convention Center (Guest Relations)

> ask man about announcement. (He gives you a paper.)

> read paper. (David and Lori have eloped and left!)

> wore.

> n. SPACE

Exhibit Hall A (Registration)

> x rep. ask rep about registration. yes.

"What is your last name?"> SMITH (Or your surname.)

"What is your team name?"> ELOPING ELKS (For example.)

"And what is your team color?"> MAUVE (Or any other color.)

She gives you three shirts. Go change in the locker room to the east. You can only have your clothes, a team shirt, and a check book.

> e. (+5)

You toss David's and Lori's shirts and their note in the trash, change, and head back to the hall. Diddy Esposito starts to speak.

> SPACESPACE

Cleveland AvenueSunset

> w.

Cleveland Avenue West

> x burgers. n.

Henry's Burgers

> x menu. x girl. x buttons.

> read button. ("THE FUTURE AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE!")

> ask Cindy about buttons.

> ask Cindy about TEAM-COLOR button.

> ne.

Restroom

> x mirror. read writing. (too faint)

> x toilet. x sink. x can. open can. x garbage.

You're unwilling to search the garbage unless you have to.

> turn hot handle. (There's now steam.)

> read writing. ("GARBAGE")

> search garbage. (Found a certificate!)

> x certificate. take it. x picture.

> sw. SPACE

Henry's Burgers

> buy burger with gift. (Cindy gives you change.)

> x change. z. z.

Eventually, Cindy puts a bag on the counter.

> take bag. open bag. look in bag.

> take carton. open carton. x hot dog.

> eat hot dog.

> s. (You throw away the bag.)

> SPACE

Cleveland Avenue West

> e. e.

Cleveland Avenue East

> x machine. (free coffee!)

> read list.

> x man. x hat. x sax. x sunglasses.

> e. (Nope. Man plays "Wrong Way Fay".)

> put change in hat. (+5; get a card.)

> x card.

The answer to the first riddle is "RIVER WALK".

> w. w. n.

Henry's Burgers

> show card to Cindy. (+10; get button)

> wear button. s.

Cleveland Avenue West

> z. (Repeat waiting until you see a taxicab.)

> hail cab.

In The Taxicab

> x placard. (New commands: TRAVEL and WAIT FOR TAXI.)

> x id card. ("Antoni Wojciechowski")

> x freshener. x driver.

> travel. river walk

River Walk (South)Early Evening

> x crowd. (+5)

> e. (Crowd won't let you past.)

> x shops. n.

River Walk

> x shop. ("The 'Bear' Necessities")

> w.

The 'Bear' Necessities

> x counter. x guy. ("CECIL")

> sw.

Aisle 1

> x atom. take it. e. w.

Aisle 2

> x glasses. e. nw.

Aisle 3

> x keychains. e.

The 'Bear' Necessities

> buy atom with check book.

> e. SPACE (The door is locked behind you.)

River Walk

> x river. x tunnel.

> n. w. SPACE

Near Darkness

> e. SPACE n.

River Walk (North)

> x mime. x balloons. x box.

> e.

Stan's Boat Rental

> x Stan. ask Stan about boat. (See Steve at south dock.)

> w. s. e.

Bridge

> e. s.

Near Stage

> x stage. x band. x singer. x guitarist.

> x drummer. x pianist. x gibson. x piano. x mic.

> x singer. g. g. (Repeat until you get a glow stick!)

If you're having trouble getting a glow stick, make sure you visited "Near Darkness" so the game knows you have a reason to get one. Yes, it's that sort of game logic. But it could still take 17 or so attempts.

> x stick.

> n. w. w. w. SPACE

Near Darkness / Alley

> break stick. x tub. take tub.

> s.

Alley (mid-south)

> x pipe. take it. s. u. SPACE

Rooftop

> x man.

> ask man about cigarette. n. SPACE

As you leave, he throws his cigarette over the edge and lights another with his lighter.

Rooftop (of The 'Bear' Necessities)

> n. n.

Rooftop (north end)

> x gravel. take gravel. (Load is too heavy.)

> s. s. s.

Rooftop (south end)

> ask man about lighter. (He wants coffee.)

> d. SPACE n. n. e. SPACE s. s.

River Walk (South)

> wait for taxi. travel. cleveland avenue east

Cleveland Avenue East

> push g. (You get a coffee.)

> wait for taxi. travel. river walk.

River Walk (South)

> n. n. w. SPACE s. s. u. SPACE

Rooftop (south end)

In this game, you SHOW things instead of GIVE.

> show joe to man. (He gives you a lighter.)

> x lighter. n. n. n.

Rooftop (north end)

> drop all. take gravel. put gravel in tub.

> put pipe in tub. put atom in pipe.

> take book, card, stick, lighter.

> light lighter. light atom with lighter. (+5)

The fireworks attract some of the crowd northwards. Go to Steve's Boat Rental:

> s. s. s. d. SPACE

> n. n. e. SPACE

> s. s. e.

Steve's Boat Rental

> x Steve. ask Steve about boat. d.

Dock

> x boat. enter boat. e. n.

River (mid-south)

> x bridge. x figure. x striped boat.

> n.

Tunnel

> ask man about cards. (+5. He gives you one and shoves your boat north.)

River (north end)

> x second card.

The answer to the second riddle is "amusement park".

> w.

Dock

> out. (Other gamers immediately take your boat.)

> u. w. s. s. s.

River Walk (South)

> wait for taxi. travel. amusement park

American Dreamland

> n. (An employee gives you a map.)

> SPACE

National Mall

> x map. (seven main areas)

> x crowd. (Don't see any Diddlebucker shirts?)

> x shops.

Note: You can't enter any of these shops until you know more about what you're looking for.

> n.

Statue of Liberty

> ride lady. (After a wait, you take the elevator up.)

> SPACE

Statue of Liberty (Crown)

You take in the sights and head back down.

> SPACE

Statue of Liberty

Let's take a counterclockwise tour of the park.

> e.

Kiddie Land

> x house. ride house. (Closed for now.)

> n.

The Great Smoky Mountains

> x Thunderhead. x Hatfields.

> w.

Hawaiian Islands Water Park

You need to wear a swimsuit to ride any of these.

> x Lava. x Typhoon. x Maui. x Aloha.

> w.

Liberty Circle

> x house. enter house. (Not yet.)

> s.

Vegas Strip

> x whack. play whack.

> SPACE (Repeat 17 or so times. No prize.)

> x guess. play guess.

> SPACE (No prize.)

> x alamo. play alamo.

> SPACE (Repeat 10 or so times. No prize.)

> x paul. play paul.

> SPACESPACESPACE (No prize.)

> x sink. play sink.

> SPACESPACESPACE (You miss 3 times.)

> ne.

Hawaiian Islands Water Park

> ride maui. g. g. g.

Trying to ride a water ride triggers (eventually) the appearance of a young couple.

> x young couple.

> ask couple about swimsuits. (They want something with 30th prez's face on it.)

> s. s.

National Mall

The 30th prez was Calvin Coolidge and his nickname was Silent Cal.

> x shops. enter silent.

Silent Cal's Cookies

> x table. x dispenser.

> x paper napkin. take it. (+5)

> w. n. n.

Hawaiian Islands Water Park

> z. (Repeat until you see the couple again.)

> show napkin to couple. (+10; you get a swimsuit.)

> x swimsuit. ne.

Changing Rooms

> x lockers.

> wear swimsuit. (You stow everything else and head out.)

Hawaiian Islands Water Park

> ride maui.

Darkness / Shallow Pool

> SPACESPACESPACESPACESPACE

Hawaiian Islands Water Park

> ride lava. SPACESPACE

> ride typhoon. SPACESPACE

> ride aloha. SPACE

Aloha River (Southeast)

> z. z.

Aloha River (East)

> z. z.

Aloha River (North)

> take ball. x it.

Aloha River (West)

> z. z.

Aloha River (Southwest)

> z. z. SPACE (The ride ends)

Hawaiian Islands Water Park

> ne.

Changing Rooms

> remove suit. (You change and get all your stuff and go out.)

Hawaiian Islands Water Park

> w.

Liberty Circle

This exhibit is now open.

> enter house. SPACE

White House Tours

> sit on seat.

> z. (Repeat waiting until the show begins.)

> SPACESPACESPACE

The stage lights are left on, and the screen is now retracted.

> stand. n.

Stage

> x wig. take it.

> x Nixon. (or any other individual president)

> x presidents. (Each holds something in their left hand.)

> x left hand. (+5. A president chosen at random had your third card, which you take.)

> x third card.

The answer to this riddle is to sing "Happy Birthday" to someone.

> s. e. se. s.

National Mall

I'll save you some time from searching all the shops for more things to grab. You only need the napkin and a cane from the shops.

> enter banquet.

The Star Spangled Banquet

> x cane. take it.

> e. nw.

Vegas Strip

You need wig, ball, and cane to win the Guess You Age & Weight game.

> wear wig. put ball in shirt.

> play guess. SPACESPACE (You win a foam hammer.)

> i. x hammer.

> se. s. SPACE

American Dreamland

> wait for taxi. travel. river walk

River Walk (South)

> n. n. n.

River Walk (North)

> hit box with hammer. (+5. You win a balloon.)

> x balloon.

> s. s. s.

River Walk (South)

> wait for taxi. travel. amusement park

American Dreamland

> n. SPACE ne.

Kiddie Land

> x park employee. ("Kirk" has cake.)

> x cake.

> ask Kirk about cake. ask Kirk about haunted house.

> sing alphabet (to Kirk). (Kirk eyes you nervously.)

> sing happy birthday (to Kirk).

+10. He gives you a pencil topper then leads you into the Haunted House.

> SPACESPACESPACE

Darkness

> z. (Wait about five times. Then lights come on.)

Employees Only

> stand. (Can't. You're tied to the chair.)

> x phone book. (CONSULT PHONE BOOK ABOUT [TOPIC], where topic would be restaurants, for example.)

Then Lori and David enter, pointing guns at you, asking if you're having fun.

> yes

She tosses you a riddle card to solve in 5 minutes or else. Lori leaves to check on something.

> x card. SPACESPACE

David explains as he unties you that Lori schemed to cut you out of the winnings and likely himself too. His gun has blanks but hers doesn't.

Lori used to work here, so she knew about secret tunnels.

Note that the last word on the card, "HETOL" is an anagram of "HOTEL".

> consult phone book about hotels.

The last part of the card is an anagram for both THE HOLLAND ODYSSEAN HOTEL and THE ASHLEY DONALDSON HOTEL, but only the latter fits the girl/son part of the clue.

> z. (Repeat waiting until Lori returns.)

David reties you and Lori returns.

> SPACE

What answer do you give Lori? > the holland odyssean hotel

Your stuff was put into the desk drawer.

She goes through everything, one by one, asking if it's a treasure or not. If she doesn't have four treasures, she shoots you. You need to lie to her so she takes four useless things instead. For this walkthrough, we'll claim that the hammer, wig, ball, and map are the treasures.

> SPACE

> z. SPACE

swimsuit? > no

ball? > yes

button? > no

check book? > no

glow stick? > no

lighter? > no

map? > yes

wig? > yes

cane? > no

hammer? > yes

balloon? > no

pencil topper? > no

Lori makes one last threat before leaving.

> SPACE

+10. David unties you and tells you to go up the staircase and outside. He's going to the police.

> take all. stand. s. s. SPACE

Kiddie LandSunrise

It's sunrise. Hurry.

> sw. s. SPACE

American Dreamland

By the way, the cabbie will go on break instead of taking you to a hotel if your score isn't 80.

> wait for taxi. travel. the ashley donaldson hotel

The Ashley Donaldson Hotel (Outside)

> s.

The Ashley Donaldson Hotel (Lobby)

> s.

Elevator

> x guard. x briefcase.

> push up button. (Guard wants to see all your treasures first.)

> show button to guard.

> show swimsuit to guard.

> show balloon to guard.

> show topper to guard. (+10. You enter...)

Glass Elevator

> x city. x grounds. z. SPACE (+10. You step out...)

Rotating Restaurant

Diddy Esposito personally gives you a giant check!

> SPACE

Later, after Lori is arrested and Diddy agrees David should also be awarded, he takes you two to meet all the people you met in the game. They're all former Diddlebucker Champions who plan next year's run. And you'll join them!

> SPACE

Congratulations! You have successfully completed Diddlebucker!

*** The End ***


Extras

Characters

Main characters:

Known Opposing Teams:

Background characters include:

Mentioned:


Credits

Type ABOUT to open a menu and select "Special Thanks and Acknowledgements" for the credits:

Special Thanks and Acknowledgements

Game Testers

I would like to offer special thanks to my wonderful game testers:

Artists

The following works were used in this program:


Endings

The game always ends with The End but not all endings are alike.


Inventory

While I think there is a carrying capacity, it's mostly the heavy gravel that's a problem. You can definitely carry everything else you need without worrying about inventory limits.

Convention Center items
Cleveland Street items
River Walk items
Amusement Park items
Riddle cards
The Treasures

In "Employees Only", when Lori demands you tell her which of your items are the treasures, lie and tell her that four other items are the treasures, such as the hammer, wig, ball, and map.

When in the elevator with the guard, show each of the real treasures to the guard when he asks to see them.


Score

The response to SCORE is:

You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 100, in several turns.

Points are awarded as follows:


Thank You to my Patreon supporters

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