solution
Janitor was written in Inform and is © 2002 by Peter Seebach and Kevin Lynn.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.
Related link: Flavorplex site.
[The Break Room]
A game has just finished, with a high score of 100. As the janitor, your job is to reset the game by putting everything back (which will bring the score back down to 0 again.)
You are initially carrying nothing. The posters and calendar are not important, but they are interesting. Can you name the games that each calendar girl is from?
>x me. i. verbose.
>x safety poster. x motivational poster.
>x rule 1. x rule 2. x rule 3. x rule 4. x rule 5.
>x rule 6. x rule 7. x rule 8. x rule 9. x rule 10.
>x calendar. turn calendar to january.
>flip calendar. g. g. g. g. g. g. g. g. g. g.
>x calendar. (ASCII graphic of Miss December!)
The fridge is a bit more useful. The lunch and garlic are, of course, from Advent or Zork I.
>x fridge. open fridge. x cans. take can.
>x sack. open sack. x lunch. x garlic. close sack.
>x tub. open tub. take tub. close fridge.
>nw.
[Supply Closet]
As a janitor, you definitely want both your mop and bucket.
>x mop. x yarn. take mop. x cannister. x bulbs. take bulb.
>x magazines. take magazines. x bucket. take bucket.
>se. ne.
[Receptionist's Office]
You may recognize Eva from “Grim Fandango”.
>x Eva. x desk. x computer. x lamps. x doors.
>eva, hi. ask eva about job. ask eva about game.
>ask eva about mop. ask mop about mop.
>ask eva about janitor. ask eva about boss. n.
Silly things you can do with the magazines:
>show magazines to eva. clean magazines.
>x magazines. show magazines to eva. drop magazines.
Sorry. Shall we continue?
>sw.
[The Break Room]
Time to understand our mop and bucket. First of all, you can talk to the mop, but not in front of Eva.
>ask mop about disruptor. ask mop about janitor. ask mop about boss.
And the bucket is your "sack" object. Put things in it (except the mop, which is too big).
>put bulb in bucket. put tin in bucket. put tub in bucket.
>n.
[Access Corridor N1]
>x lights. w. (No other side to this door right now??)
>turn on mop. w.
[West of Chasm]
>x runes. x chasm. x bridge. x pool.
>x bucket. ne.
[Access Corridor N1]
>e.
[Below of Chasm]
>x rungs. x pool. x lever. x pillar.
>turn off mop. ne. turn on mop. x river. ne. s.
[The Break Room]
Hopefully, you're starting to understand what the disruptor on the mop does. While the mop is on, you see the game world as it really is and props look like props (eg: you see tinsel inside the bucket instead of water, or a shallow pool instead of a fast river). The access doors are only open when the mop is on. The runes (which are part of the access doors) glow only when the mop is on. Also, you must hold the mop for the disruptor to work:
>drop mop. (disruptor disengages)
>take mop. turn mop on.
Next, you should explore and map the geography of this place. This is the "real" view. Note that you can walk north from N3 to S3, or west from W3 to E3:
| (to S3) | | ||||||||||||||||||
| Moor Efas (N3W) | — | Access Corridor N3 | — | Tnem- esab (N3E) | ||||||||||||||
| | | ||||||||||||||||||
| Grotto (N2W) | — | Access Corridor N2 | — | Start Room (N2E) | Boss's Office | |||||||||||||
| | | | | |||||||||||||||||
| Supply Closet | West of Chasm (N1W) | — | Access Corridor N1 | — | Below of Chasm (N1E) | Recep- tionist's Office | ||||||||||||
| \ | | | / | ||||||||||||||||
| Moor Gnivil (W3N) | Bird Room (W2N) | Snake Room (W1N) | Break Room |
East of Chasm (E1N) |
Parlor (E2N) |
Poe Room (E3N) | ||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||
| (to E3) | — | Access Corridor W3 | — | Access Corridor W2 | — | Access Corridor W3 | — | — | Access Corridor E1 | — | Access Corridor E2 | — | Access Corridor E3 | — | (to W3) | |||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||
| Living Room (W3S) | Wicker (W2S) | Base- ment (W1S) | Reptile Room (E1S) |
Nehctik (E2S) |
Moor Drib (E3S) | |||||||||||||
| | | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kitchen (S1W) | — | Access Corridor S1 | — | Wine Cellar (S1E) | ||||||||||||||
| | | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bridge (S2W) | — | Access Corridor S2 | — | Rolrap (S2E) | ||||||||||||||
| | | ||||||||||||||||||
| Moor Trats (S3W) | — | Access Corridor S3 | — | Attic (S3E) | ||||||||||||||
| | (to N3) | ||||||||||||||||||
The geography of the game world is very different. Note that the access corridor doors are northeast of every location in the game world except one: the Safe Room.
| Safe Room | Attic (S3E) |
Nehctik (E2S) | ||||||||||||
| | | u↑↓d | | | ||||||||||||
| Start Room (N2E) | — | Living Room (W3S) | — | Parlor (E2N) | *** | Rolrap (S2E) | — | Moor Gnivil (W3N) | — | Moor Trats (S3W) | ||||
| | | d↓↑u | d↓↑u | | | |||||||||||
| Kitchen (S1W) | ↓↑ | Moor Drib (E3S) | — | Tnemesab (N3E) | Moor Efas (N3W) | |||||||||
| ↓↑ | ||||||||||||||
| Wicker (W2S) | ↓↑ | |||||||||||||
| | | d↓↑u | |||||||||||||
| Wine Cellar (S1E) | — | Basement (W1S) | — | Bird Room (W2N) | ||||||||||
| | | | | |||||||||||||
| Poe Room (E3N) | Snake Room (W1N) | — | West of Chasm (N1W) | — | Bridge (S2W) | —— | East of Chasm (E1N) | — | Grotto (N2W) | |||||
| | | d↓↑u | |||||||||||||
| Reptile Room (E1S) |
Below of Chasm (N1E) | |||||||||||||
I hope you've understood all that, and explored a little on your own, instead of just taking my word for it. Anyway, to continue, let's start with the bridge and underground areas...
>n. e.
[Below of Chasm]
>pull lever. (–4 points.)
>u.
[Bridge]
>x sconce. (looks like a place for a torch)
>x balloon. x tarp. x basket. untie tarp. (–4 points)
>take tarp. take basket. w.
[West of Chasm]
>w.
[Snake Room]
>x bird. x cage. take bird. take cage. take bird.
>s.
[Reptile Room]
>x janitor. search janitor.
>x diamond. take it. put it in bucket. ask mop about diamond.
>x snake. turn off mop. x snake. turn on mop.
>take snake. n.
[Snake Room]
>drop snake. (–4 points)
>n.
[Basement]
>x ladder. (it needs a covering)
>put tarp on ladder. (–4 points)
>x grooves. push ladder west. (–4 points)
[Wine Cellar]
>x racks. x hole. s.
[Poe Room]
>n.
[Wine Cellar]
>fix hole. x tub. take tub. fix hole with tub. (–4 points)
>x hole. put tub in bucket. e. e.
[Bird Room]
>open cage. (releasing the bird; –4 points)
>clean rocks. w. n.
[Wicker]
>x projects. drop cage. (–4 points) drop basket. (–4 points)
>ne. w. s.
[Living Room]
Now let's tackle the "normal" house.
>x footprints. clean footprints. x safe. x keypad. clean it.
>x trap. close trap. x rug. read label. close flap. (–4 points)
>w.
[Start Room]
>x mat. wipe feet. x sign. e. n.
[Safe Room]
The treasures are all here! Except, oddly enough, if you examine them (in the right ways) you can tell that they're fakes! The phrase "oddly enough" is used repeatedly to clue you in that something odd is going on.
>x plaque. x red diamond. scratch red diamond with blue diamond.
>take red diamond. (–4 points) put it in bucket.
>x coin. read coin. take it. (–4 points) put it in bucket. ask mop about coin.
>x cask. smell cask. take it. (–4 points) put it in bucket. ask mop about cask.
>x orb. look in orb. take it. (–4 points) put it in bucket. ask mop about orb.
>x bird. wind it. take it. (–4 points) put it in bucket. ask mop about bird.
>x lantern. take it. x knife. take it. look. score.
>x door. x keypad. x display. (The sticky note says "butter".)
>s.
[Living Room]
>close vault. (–4 points)
>s.
[Kitchen]
>x fridge. open it. x top shelf. x substitutes.
>x bottom shelf. x butter.
Just for fun, examine the substitutes, individually.
>x more buttery. smell it. taste it.
>x tired. smell it. taste it.
>x nixon. smell it. taste it.
>x lipid. smell it. taste it.
>x toast. smell it. taste it.
>x roadsign. smell it. taste it.
>x ass. smell it. taste it.
>x convince. smell it. taste it.
>x suspect. smell it. taste it.
>x probable. smell it. taste it.
>x bet. smell it. taste it.
>x look. smell it. taste it.
>x hope. smell it. taste it.
>x god. smell it. taste it.
And on with the game...
>x tin. take it. put it on top shelf. (–4 points)
>close fridge. n. u.
[Attic]
>x table. (see knife outline)
>put knife on table. (–4 points)
>x cookbook. read it. x lamp.
>x chair. sit on chair. stand.
>d. e.
[Parlor]
>x mirror. clean mirror. x window.
>x couch. search it. x chicken. hide chicken in couch.
>turn off mop. look. x window.
>i. x torch. (note that the lantern is the torch when the disruptor is off)
>turn on mop. x fixture. take dead bulb. put it in bucket.
>take live bulb. put it in fixture.
>turn off mop. look. turn on mop.
>ne. e. n.
[Poe Room]
The name of the wine, Amontillado, is a Poe reference.
>take cask. drop it. (–4 points)
[Moor Drib]
>clean fragments. take bird. drop it. (–4 points)
>e.
[Tnemesab]
>x ladder. x trap. u.
[Moor Gnivil]
>x couch. search couch. take coin. hide coin in couch. (–4 points)
>s.
[Moor Efas]
>x plaque. x pedestal. take orb. put orb on pedestal. (–4 points)
>look. x machine. x arms.
>x vault door. x display. (note says "not butter")
>close vault door. (–4 points)
>ne. s. w.
[Grotto]
>x hole. take red diamond. put it in hole. (–4 points)
>w.
[East of Chasm]
>w.
[Bridge]
>clean sconce. put lantern in sconce. (–4 points)
>ne. n. n. ne.
[Receptionist's Office]
>tell Eva about janitor. ask Eva about treasures.
>show diamond to Eva. put diamond in bucket. n.
[Boss's Office]
First, the preliminary look around.
>x bookshelf. x dictionary. (note that it's 4 inches thick)
>x cheese book. x verbs. read it. (verbs include AQUIT, WIN and LOSE!)
>aquit. acquit. (win. undo.) (lose. undo.)
>x desk. x toys. x balls. x model.
>x little drawer. open it. (locked, no keyhole, 4 inches deep)
>x big drawer. open it. (locked)
>x file drawer. open it. (locked as well)
>x puppies. take it.
Okay, let's get back to work.
>x Eva. Eva, take puppies.
>x safe. (it's a poster of a safe)
>search model. take key. x it.
>unlock big drawer with key. open big drawer.
>take generator. x it. read tag. put key in bucket.
>point generator at safe. x safe. open it.
>x wine. smell it. x bird. wind it. x coin. x orb. look in it.
>show cask to Eva. (you must show at least one of the real treasures from the boss's safe)
>ask Eva about treasures. ask Eva about boss.
>push balls. open little drawer. (the little drawer only opens while the balls are clacking)
>take secret book. read it.
>look in little drawer. take dictionary. put it in little. close little.
>open file drawer. x paperwork. take it. show it to Eva.
>put secret book on bookshelf. push bookshelf. w.
>amusing.
And now, let's play the Flavortext Qualifying Adventure forwards! Yowza!
>restart. reset.
[Start Room]
>verbose. wipe feet. e. u.
[Attic]
>take knife. (+4 points)
>read book. d.
[Living Room]
In version 1, "cut carpet with knife" doesn't work, but that's fixed in version 2.
>cut carpet. (+4 points)
>open trap. s.
[Kitchen]
>open fridge. x top shelf. x substitutes. take fuel. (+4 points)
>x bottom shelf. x butter. close fridge. n. e.
[Parlor]
>x mirror. touch mirror. w.
[Living Room]
You can supposedly guess the "butter" password because of the cookbook and all the butter in the fridge.
>type butter on keypad. open vault. (+4 points)
>n.
[Safe Room]
>x plaque. s. d.
[Basement]
>w.
[Wine Cellar]
>take tarp. (+4 points)
>hit hole. (+4 points)
>s.
[Poe Room]
>take cask. (+4 points)
>n.
[Wine Cellar]
>push ladder east. (+4 points)
[Basement]
>u. n.
[Safe Room]
>drop cask. (+4 points)
>s. d. n.
[Wicker]
>take all. (+8 points)
>s. e.
[Bird Room]
>take bird. (+4 points)
>w. s.
[Snake Room]
You recognize this from Advent, don't you?
>open cage. (+4 points)
>drop cage. e. e.
[Bridge]
>x torch. take it. (+4 points)
>e. e. d.
[Below of Chasm]
>pull lever. (+4 points)
>u. drop basket. tie tarp to basket. (+4 points)
>put fuel in basket. enter basket.
[Bridge]
>e. e.
[Grotto]
>x gem. take it. (+4 points)
>w. w. w. w. n. u. n.
[Safe Room]
>drop gem. (+4 points)
>s. e.
[Parlor]
The smoky torch is required to make the smoky mirror work.
>touch mirror. enter mirror.
[Rolrap]
>e.
[Moor Gnivil]
>open trap. (hm. You can't open it manually.)
>search couch. (+4 points)
>type substitutes on keypad. open vault. (+4 points)
>s.
[Moor Efas]
>x machine. push arms. take jar. (+4 points)
>n. w. enter mirror. w. n.
[Safe Room]
>drop coin. (+4 points) drop orb. (+4 points)
>s.
[Living Room]
>close trap. e. enter mirror. e.
[Moor Gnivil]
Aha. Opening and closing the trap door in the living room will close and open the trap door in the moor gnivil.
>d. w.
[Moor Drib]
>take bird. (+4 points)
>e. u. w.
[Rolrap]
>enter mirror. (Oops. The mechanical bird won't go through the mirror?)
>e.
[Moor Gnivil]
>take bird. n.
[Nehctik]
>open fridge. x top shelf. x substitutes. x bottom shelf. x butter.
Almost like it's the same fridge in the Kitchen. What if it is the same fridge?
>put bird on top shelf. put bird on bottom shelf. close fridge.
>s. w. enter mirror. w. s.
[Kitchen]
>open fridge. x bottom shelf. take bird. close fridge.
>n. n.
[Safe Room]
>drop bird.
Yay, you have won! (Unfortunately, the game doesn't properly move you to The Break Room at this point, so you can't continue playing. On the other hand, you've already seen everything, so you might as well QUIT.)
>xyzzy. quit.