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Key & Compass presents:
Grooverland
by Mathbrush

Grooverland is a Glulx interactive fiction game written with Inform 7 and is © 2021 by Mathbrush. It was an entry in ParserComp 2021 where it took NTH place.

In this large fantasy puzzle game based on the works of Chandler Groover, you play as Lily Lee. It's your 11th birthday and you're the Queen of Grooverland for a day! The amusement park has set up several surprises just for you, and they've also given you a quest: find all the pieces of your regalia before sunset for your coronation in the Queen's Castle. The Mirrored Queen and the Scarlet Empress are waiting for you.

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: Main map of Grooverland

Sugar PlumSnack Bar PettingZoo SerpentSlide CreakyHouse Doña Villar'sTangoTemptations Arena WelcomeBooth MelancholyMall ProwlingPromenade MechanicalMarvels SpookySideshow BitterEnd Queen'sCastle In DebrisRoom PainfulPurchases Menagerie MidnightLaserfight Corn Maze Morgan'sTent (anywhere) blowwhistle xyzzy xyzzy

Map 2: The Queen's Menagerie

ProwlingPromenade GriffinExhibit Menagerie SkullScraperSanctuary AbandonedShrine LupineLair Rawhead'sRefuge u d d u

Map 3: Serpent Slide

SerpentSlide MechanicalMarvels Ribcage Sunroom Stomach Bowels u d u d d

Map 4: Midnight Laserfight

MechanicalMarvels Understage BanquetHall Ballroom Well BlackSalon GrandStaircase CloakRoom DuelingGarden u cw pulllever pulllever cw pulllever d cc pushlever pushlever cc pushlever push duel

Map 5: Creaky House

crack CreakyLoft shake CreakyTower shake CreakyPassage-way turn CreakyBedroom turn CreakyCloset rattle CreakyKitchen creak CreakyGameRoom rattle CreakyStudy rattle CreakyDiningRoom creak CreakyHallway creak CreakyParlor CreakyHouse Bare Lot SpookySideshow SpookySideshow d d d u u

Map 6: Queen's Castle

Queen'sGarden Heights BitterEnd Queen'sCastle Queen'sTower Kingdom Treasury Armory Crater u d d u (defeat dragon)

Walkthrough

Arena

You are a queen. A red dragon is attacking!

> x dragon. talk to dragon. kill dragon.

The papier-mache dragon breaks open and spills candy which the crowd eagerly grabs up. You're Lily Lee and it's your birthday celebration. Everyone, including Dad, Mom, David, and Alice, head east.

> x me. (You're Queen of Grooverland for a day.)

> x dragon.

> e.

Welcome Booth

NOTE: David, your brother, wanders. You don't need to talk to him, but if you wish to, do so whenever and wherever you encounter him. When you talk to him, he'll tell you about some interesting thing he's seen in the park.

> x flier. (Find a ring, a Sugar Plum Crown, a scepter, a mantle, and a sun orb.)

> x guard.

> ask Wade about Mirrored Queen.

> ask Wade about Scarlet Empress.

> ask Wade about vest.

> talk to woman. (She gives a whistle which can summon Toby.)

> x Toby. pet Toby. x whistle.

> e.

Melancholy Mall

The first part of this walkthrough will be exploratory. I want to avoid collectng regalia at first, because whenever you acquire one of the regalia pieces, something in Grooverland will change, and some characters will no longer be available.

In general, you can't ask about something you haven't seen yet. So I recommend seeing as much as you can in case you want to ask someone about it afterwards.

Our walking tour will proceed west to east. At each intersection, we'll visit the northern attraction before the southern one.

> n.

Sugar Plum Snack Bar

> x cake. x attendant. talk to attendant.

> eat cake. (The tower is gone; the next layer is a library.)

> eat cake. (Mouth is too dry to eat more.)

> s. s.

Painful Purchases

> x poems. x dollhouse. x furniture.

> x nests. x vines. x rug. x chairs. x painting.

> x cabinet. open it. take winding key. x it.

> x bookcases. x candles. x fireplace.

> x clerk. x mom. talk to mom.

> talk to clerk. ask clerk about dollhouse.

> n. e.

Prowling Promenade

I've summarized the menagerie food in the Inventory section, far below. I'm not repeating it all here, and you can't buy any of it just yet.

> x seller. x chef. x jelly man.

> x sausage cart. (specialty is blooodiness)

> x ceviche cart. (specialty is rawness)

> x jelly cart. (specialty is sloppiness)

> n. (As queen, you get the Petting Zoo to yourself.)

Petting Zoo

> talk to zookeeper. ask about monkey.

> ask about slug. x slug. pet slug.

> x tray. x leaf. give leaf to slug.

> ask about pig. x pig. pet pig.

> x crate. x cap. give cap to pig.

> ask about tailypo. x tailypo. pet tailypo.

> x plate. x brat. give brat to tailypo.

> ask about seller.

> s. s.

Menagerie

The man's name is randomized. I've seen Crust, Rind, and Gristle on his nametag.

> x man. x scepter.

> x menu. take white ticket. x it.

> talk to man. (He proposes a game and gives you five tokens.)

> ask man about empress.

> w.

Griffin Exhibit

> x griffin. x sign. (Griffin loves bloody food.)

> e. e.

Skull Scraper Sanctuary

> x scraper. x sign. (Scraper loves raw, but not sloppy food.)

> x skulls.

> w. s.

Lupine Lair

> x wolf. x hat. x sign. (Wolf loves sloppy food.)

> n. u.

Abandoned Shrine

> x beast. x sign. (Beast loves bloody, but not raw food.)

> d. d.

Rawhead's Refuge

> x rawhead. x sign. (Rawhead loves raw food.)

> u. n. e.

Mechanical Marvels

> x pipe. x fungus.

> x engineer. x mustache. x crew. x dad.

> talk to engineer. talk to dad.

Okay, this puzzle, you should solve right away:

> w. n.

Petting Zoo

> take cap. (Pig is following you.)

> s. e.

Mechanical Marvels

> put cap in pipe. (The pig eats the fungus and goes back to the zoo.)

> x fountain.

> n.

Serpent Slide

> x serpent. x ramp. d.

Ribcage

> x webbing. x ribs. take rib. x plastic beam.

> d.

Stomach

> x lake. x skeleton. pull arm. x bridge.

> n.

Sunroom

Oh dear. This monkey is upset.

> x monkey. x scratches. x orb. x frame.

> talk to monkey.

> s. u. u. s. s.

Ballroom

USEFUL: Examine the monitor to get a summary of what locations are currently adjacent and how to reach them.

> put beam in hole.

> x chandelier. x staircase.

> x vicomtes. x countesses.

> x monitor. x knob. x lever. x button.

> cw.

Well

> x well. x moon. (looks loose)

> take moon. (too far away)

> cc. push lever.

Grand Staircase

Taking something with cranes puts them into the cranes' inventory.

> x cutlasses. take cutlasses. i.

> cc.

Black Salon

> x streamers. x carpeting. x clock. x kielbasas.

> take kielbasas.

> push lever.

Cloak Room

> x overcoats. x wings. take wings.

> pull lever. pull lever.

Banquet Hall

> x table. x cherubs. x plastic food. x cracks.

> x pink ticket. take it.

> duel.

Dueling Garden

You see a ring in its box fall below the stage. This always happens in the first duel, and the first duel is always a tie regardless of how the combatants are equipped.

> duel. (You return to...)

Banquent Hall

You can solve this puzzle now, but I'd prefer to wait on that and keep exploring the park.

> n. e.

Spooky Sideshow

> x Alice. x bracelet.

> n.

Creaky House

> x singer. talk to singer. z. z. z. z. z.

According to the song, the sound-sequence you want to reproduce is: creak, creak, rattle, rattle, shake, shake, turn, turn. But just explore the house for now.

> n.

Creaky Hallway

Note that the sound associated with a room only happens when you leave that room.

> e. (door creaks)

Creaky Parlor

> n. (floorboards creak)

Creaky Study

> x bookshelves.

> w. (shelves rattle)

Creaky Game Room

> x table. w. (Door is locked.)

> s. (table creaks)

Creaky Hallway

> w. (door creaks)

Creaky Dining Room

> n. (chandelier rattles)

Creaky Kitchen

> open fridge. take black ticket.

> u. (cabinets rattle)

Creaky Loft

> s. (wood cracks)

Creaky Tower

> e. (tower shakes)

Creaky Passageway

> e. (passage shakes)

Creaky Bedroom

> x bed. s. (knob turns)

Creaky Closet

> x junk. n. (fear stops you)

> d. (knob turns)

Creaky Parlor

Okay, we've seen all the rooms in the house. Looking at map 5, it should be clear that we need the key for the kitchen door to make a successful traversal. Let's move on.

> w. s. s. s.

Corn Maze

This maze is surprisingly easy. Just go left or right four times, pick up the yellow ticket, and go. You will see different scenes depending on which way you go, but the maze puzzle is solved regardless of your choices.

> leftorright.

> leftorright.

> leftorright.

> leftorright.

> take yellow ticket. x it.

> n. e.

Bitter End

> x castle. x attendants.

> n.

Doña Villar's Tango Temptations

> x gramophone. x floor. x plants.

> x instructor. x pearls.

Doña Villar offers a wager that you can't outlast her protégé, Eugene, in the tango. Eugene asks you for a dance.

> yes.

Of course, you don't beat Eugene this time, but it doesn't hurt to try.

> s. s.

Morgan's Tent

Morgan wants your help in performing a Two-Card Trick.

> x table. x deck. x Morgan. x mantle.

> talk to Morgan. (She deals two cards.)

> leftorright.

> show card to Morgan.

Morgan guesses correctly, but then she waves you over.

> talk to Morgan.

She says if you find her lost chest, she'll let you have her mantle. She gives some silver slippers to help you with your search.

> x slippers.

> ask about slippers. ask about chest.

> wear slippers.

> x trunk. x flag.

> n. w.

Spooky Sideshow

Think about all the places you've been to. Now ask Alice about any of them to learn which game (or games) inspired it. For example:

> talk to Alice. ask about welcome booth.

> ask about snack bar. ask about dollhouse.

> ask about petting zoo. ask about lupine lair.

> ask about ribcage. ask about dueling.

> ask about creaky house. ask about maze.

> ask about tango temptations. ask Alice about table.

> ask Alice about castle.

The exploration phase of this walkthough is over. Let's start solving puzzles! Head to the snack bar:

> w. w. w. n.

Sugar Plum Snack Bar

> give white ticket. drink milk.

> eat cake. (A cheesecake guardhouse is revealed.)

> give pink ticket. drink punch.

> eat cake. (An eclair kitchen is revealed.)

> give black ticket. drink juice.

> eat cake. (Only the fondant dungeon is left.)

> x dungeon.

> give ticket. x cola. drink cola.

> eat cake. (The crown is revealed.)

> take crown. (Something happens to David?)

> s. w.

Welcome Booth

David's plush chimera is here, but where is he?

> take chimera. ask Wade about David.

> e. e. n.

Petting Zoo

> take brat.

Now the tailypo is following you. Lead him to the monkey in the Sunroom:

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

Sunroom

The tailypo and the monkey fight! You and the orb fall to...

Bowels

There's no exits here.

> take orb. (Now something's happened to Alice.)

> blow whistle.

Toby rescues you, and you're back at the Welcome Booth.

Welcome Booth

> e. e. e. e.

Spooky Sideshow

Alice is gone.

> take bracelet.

> w. s.

Banquet Hall

I'm assuming you've had at least one duel and seen the box fall under the stage. You want the countesses to win; they must have the wings; and you must push the duel button from the banquet hall.

> give cutlasses to countesses.

> give wings to countesses.

> give kielbases to vicomtes.

> duel.

Dueling Garden

The countesses are victorious.

> duel.

Banquet Hall

After the countesses win a victory, one of the countesses jumps hard. If this happens in Banquet Hall, and if the countesses have wings, the jumping is strong enough to create a hole in the banquet hall floor.

> d.

Understage

> take box. open box. x ring. wear ring. (Dad cries out.)

> u. n.

Mechanical Marvels

Yes, now Dad's missing.

> take map.

> w. n.

Petting Zoo

> take leaf.

Lead the racing slug to the lettuce-like plants in Tango Temptations.

> s. e. e. e. n.

Doña Villar's Tango Temptations

The slug eats all the plants and makes the floor quite slippery. Stuffed, the slug goes back to the zoo.

> wind gramophone. (with the winding key. The music is faster.)

And you're still wearing the silver slippers, yes?

> dance.

The combination of a slippery floor, faster music, and your non-slip slippers is too much for poor Eugene. You win the dance. Villar offers a better key for your key.

> give key. (You get the creaky key.)

Ah. Back to the creaky house.

> s. w. n.

Creaky House

> n. n.

Creaky Game Room

> unlock door with key.

> w. s. u. e. e. s. d.

Completing the sequence makes the house go away, and you land in...

Bare Lot

The house is gone except for the refrigerator and Morgan's chest.

> x chest. take chest.

> s. e. s.

Morgan's Tent

After Morgan gets what she needs from the chest, she begins her Three-Card Trick. Assist her with her act like before.

> x table. x deck. x Morgan.

> talk to Morgan. (She deals three cards.)

> leftormiddleorright.

> show card to Morgan.

> talk to Morgan. (She drops the mantle for you and leaves with the cards and trunk.)

> take mantle. (You hear Mom.)

> n. w. w. w. w. s.

Painful Purchases

> take list. x list.

> x werewolf. ask werewolf about mom.

> n. e.

Prowling Promenade

> x frog. x minotaur.

> buy prioress. buy deluxe. buy eels.

> buy unicorn. buy byte.

> s. e.

Skull Scraper Sanctuary

I believe it matters a bit which order you feed the animals.

> give prioress to scraper.

The skull scraper prefers the prioress to lamb. One point for you.

> w. u.

Abandoned Shrine

> give deluxe to beast.

The shrine beast prefers the goat. One point for the keeper, but you wanted him to use the goat here.

> d. s.

Lupine Lair

> give eels to wolf.

The wolf prefers your eels to the bantam. A second point for you.

> n. w.

Griffin Exhibit

> give unicorn to griffin.

The griffin prefers the unicorn to the minnow. That's your third point, and the man conceeds, dropping the scepter.

> take scepter. (The entire park is silent.)

> e. n. e. e. e. e.

Queen's Castle

The sisters must answer five questions. There are three cards: TRUTH, SISTERS, and FAMILY (red). Slot in machine.

> x queen. x empress. e. (locked)

> x truth. x sisters. x family.

See the Inventory subsection Cards, in castle for a detailed summary of the cards. There's no wrong questions or specific questions that must be asked; any five questions will do. For example:

> put truth in slot. (New cards: FRIEND and GROOVERLAND.)

> x friend. x grooverland.

> put family in slot. (New cards: TERROR and RESCUE.)

> x terror. x rescue.

> put rescue in slot. (New card: COMBAT.)

> x combat.

> put combat in slot. (New card: STRENGTH.)

> x strength.

> put strength in slot.

After answering your fifth question, The Empress becomes a dragon and starts to burn the park down. The Queen enters your crown to guide you, and tells you to SUMMON the dragon when you're ready. The castle door unlocks.

> e. d.

Armory

> put map in forge. put scepter in forge. (You can now SPEAR the dragon.)

> u. n.

Queen's Garden

> give chimera to roses. give mantle to roses. (You can now SNARE the dragon.)

> s. s.

Treasury

> put list in pot. put ring in pot. (You can now SHIELD yourself.)

> n. e.

Kingdom

> put bracelet on pillar. put orb on pillar. (You can now SHINE to distract the dragon.)

> w. u.

Heights

The order of these commands matters:

> summon dragon.

> shine.

> snare dragon.

> shield.

> spear dragon.

The dragon explodes. The castle falls. The queen fades away, thanking you. You fall into a crater.

Crater

> i. blow whistle.

*** You have defeated Grooverland! ***


Extras

Amusing

This is the response to AMUSING after winning the game:

Have you tried...

...XYZZY? ...asking the employees about each other? ...hitting, pushing, pulling, throwing something at, turning, burning, tying or cutting people?
...getting the moon open in Midnight. Laserfight?


Characters

Family
Park workers and owners
Animals
Mechanicals
Other people
Mentioned characters

Credits

The response to CREDITS is:

Grooverland is a game made in honor of the ongoing works of Chandler Groover. It isn't necessary to have played any of his games, but if you have, you'll definitely notice some references.

This game was beta tested by: Chandler Groover, Lance Campbell, thecheddarman, Hugo Labrande, Sean M. Shore, Mike Spivey, Greg Frost, AKheon, Feneric, Austin Auclair, and an anonymous tester. Wren Harper provided writing guidance. Cover art is by @Maudou_art.

Conversation in this game uses TALK TO and ASK (or TELL, which does the same thing). You can generally only ask people about notable things you've seen in the game.

Alice can tell you more about which game each location references.

If you are stuck, type HINT for hints! All exits are listed in the status bar at the top of the game.


Inventory

Cards, in castle

In the Queen's Castle, the Mirrored Queen and the Scarlet Empress will answer five of your questions. To ask a question, put its card into the slot. There are initially just three cards in the basket (TRUTH, SISTERS, and FAMILY), but new cards may be spawned after a question is answered.

It doesn't really matter which five cards you use, even though some questions are more useful than others. Feel free to use whichever cards you want to use. After the fifth question is answered, the Queen's spirit enters your crown, the Empress transforms into a dragon, the remaining cards are destroyed, and the door into the rest of the castle unlocks.

Cards, in tent

When in Morgan's Tent, when she is performing either the Two Card Trick or the Three Card Trick, choose one of the cards on the table, then show it to Morgan. It doesn't matter which card you pick; she'll always guess correctly.

Crane items / Things held by the cranes

These items are exclusive to the Midnight Laserfight region. They're only listed in your inventory when you're in a location that has cranes. You can only EXAMINE, TAKE, and GIVE these items. You may take things directly from the combatants without giving them anything in exchange; they will fight without weapons or outfits if they must.

Drinks

All drinks are available at the Sugar Plum Snack Bar in exchange for a ticket. Give a ticket to the attendant and she'll give you a drink in exchange. Drink a drink after eating some of the cake so you can eat more of the cake. You won't drink unless you're thirsty, and you're always thirsty after eating cake.

Family items

Family items are initially carried by Lily's family members, but found abandoned as Lily collects pieces of regalia. The family items are used just before the final battle to empower the regalia.

Keys
Menagerie food (with Bloodiness, Sloppiness, and Rawness)

You can buy up to five of these menagerie food items from the vendors in the Prowling Promenade, using the five food tokens. Choose carefully if you want to beat the menagerie man at his feeding game. If you lose his game, he'll take your unused food from you, and tells you to talk to him if you want to play again.

Regalia

You're told by the flier that you need to obtain all five pieces of regalia in order to enter the Queen's castle at the east end of the park. After talking to the Mirrored Queen and the Scarlet Empress, you'll sacrifice your family items to empower your regalia, and then use your regalia to defeat the red dragaon.

Tickets

Give all tickets you find to the attendent at the Sugar Plum Snack Bar to get the drink named on the ticket.

Zoo food

Zoo food is only for the animals in the petting zoo; menagerie animals won't eat them. You can't eat them either. Zoo food respawns in its container after its eaten, so there's always one of each available.

By the way, you can only have one zoo animal following you at a time. If you try to have more than one, the animals will be able to steal their food from you until only one animal is left.

Other items

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