In this humorous game, you play as Trixie, the lovely assistant to Mugwort the Magician, the famous illusionist and occasional superhero! When his third-string nemesis, The Skeptical Rationalist, kidnaps Mugwort, it'll be up to you, dear Trixie, to follow the villain's torturously logical clues and rescue Mugwort.
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.
> x portraits. x photos. x fireplace. x desk. x drawer.
> x telephone. x cabinet. x dove.
> talk to Mugwort.
When you take the dove, the phone rings.
> take dove. answer phone.
The President calls with an emergency: he wants Mugwort to go come to the White House for his son Kenny's birthday party. Mugwort asks you to fetch his staff.
> i. x key. unlock drawer with key. open drawer.
> x staff. give staff to Mugwort.
Mugwort unexpectedly disappears!
> look. x note.
The Skeptical Rationalist has kidnapped Mugwort. He will allow you to try to rescue him, however. His note emphasizes MOON, STARCHILD, and SCOPE.
> open cabinet.(It's locked.)
> take handkerchief.(It's an endless rope; you'll need to cut it.)
> w.
hallway
> x paintings. x iron door.(to Mugwort's bedroom.)
> u.
observatory
> x chalkboard.("MOON 7 PM!!! CANALS VISIBLE???")
> x telescope.
The note was hinting about this telescope, but how do you use it?
> d. d.
atrium
> x stand. x rack.
> n.
lawn
> x grass. x sundial.(gnomon turned to 5)
> turn gnomon to 7.
That did something. Head back to the telescope:
> s. u. u.
observatory
> x telescope.
You see the beginning of a message addressed to you carved into the moon. Go back and forth between the sundial and telescope to read the entire message.
> d. d. n.
lawn
> turn gnomon to 8. s. u. u.
observatory
> x telescope. d. d. n.
lawn
> turn gnomon to 9. s. u. u.
observatory
> x telescope. d. d. n.
lawn
> turn gnomon to 10. s. u. u.
observatory
> x telescope. d. d. n.
lawn
> turn gnomon to 11. s. u. u.
observatory
> x telescope. d. d. n.
lawn
> turn gnomon to 12. s. u. u.
observatory
> x telescope.(That's the end of the message.)
You're looking for a bookshelf next. But you'll want to do quite a few other things first.
> e.
widow's walk
You'll need a ladder or rope to reach the structure.
> x fence. x structure.(for the doves)
> w. d. w.
Your bedroom
> x saw. take it. x ball.(You may ask the ball about topics.)
> x bed. x beanbags. x posters.
> e. s.
bathroom
> x cabinet.(Can be DISASSEMBLED into thirds.)
> disassemble cabinet.(No reason to if no one's inside.)
> x sink. x statue. x trident. x bathtub.
> x floor.
> saw floor with saw.(The zigzag cabinet falls down the new hole.)
> drop saw.
> n. d. s.
gallery
The zigzag cabinet fell to here.
> x robot. talk to robot.(He doesn't chat very well.)
> x arms. x eyes. x portraits.
> put robot in cabinet. disassemble cabinet.
There's now three compartments: top, middle, and bottom.
> open middle. x torso. take torso.
> e.
library
> x grimoire. take it.(You need extendible arms.)
> x table. x books. x hamsas. x nazars.
> x bookshelf.(has an empty slot)
Well, let's get that grimoire:
> extend arms.(You acquire a grimoire.)
> x grimoire. put grimoire in bookshelf.
A secret room has been revealed.
> drop torso. enter bookshelf.
laboratory
> x ladders. x globe. take globe.
> s.
conservatory
> x tub. x worms. x foxglove. x fly agaric.(It's a toadstool.)
> take worms. take fly agaric.
> n. w. w. s.
parlour
> x zabutons. x Grimalkin.(cat on the kotatsu)
> x kotatsu.(has heating element; can be turned on or off)
> x hat. take hat.(Grimalkin growls at you.)
> turn off kotatsu.(Grimalkin wanders off.)
> take hat. pull rabbit from hat.
Since you don't need a rabbit, you put it back into the hat.
> n. n. n. w.
hedge maze
> x hedges. x Chuckles. talk to Chuckles.
> x hedgeclippers. take hedgeclippers.(Chuckles stops you.)
> e. e.
garden
> x ziggurat. x sphinx. talk to sphinx.(wants something Egyptian)
> x vegetables. x flowers.
> pull rabbit from hat.
You produce several rabbits to eat the garden veggies, and Chuckles runs here to protect them. (The top hat has vanished.)
> w. w.
hedge maze
> take hedgeclippers.
> e. s. u. e.
study
> cut coil.(with hedgeclippers; you now have a rope.)
> w. u. e.
widow's walk
> tie rope to fence. climb down rope.
dovecote
> x dish. x birdhouse. x doves. x rod.
> take rod.(The doves peck you.)
> put worms in dish.
The birds fly into the next clue, hinting at a wine cellar.
> take rod. x wand.
> climb ladder. w. d. d. s. w.
dining room
> x suit. wear suit.(You get its helmet.)
> x helmet.
> x vent.(see a silver key just out of reach.)
You must use the globe's full name for this command:
> hold plasma globe over vent.(You get the key.)
> x silver key. x table.
> w.
kitchen
> talk to Boffo.
You tell him about the kidnapping, but he manages to convey, without speaking, that this quest must be undertaken by you alone so you may graduate from magician's assistant to magician's partner.
> x knife. x island. x fridge. x pot.
> x cookbook.(Open to the Coq au Vin recipe.)
> open fridge. x garlic. take garlic. close fridge.
To help Boffo cook, put ingredients into the pot.
> put garlic in pot. put mushroom in pot. x chicken.
> e. e. n. u.
hallway
> unlock iron door with silver key.
> n.
Mugwort's room
> x curtains. x bed. x guillotine. x drill.
> take drill.(Too large.)
> put drill in guillotine.(You chop the drill bit off.)
> take bit. x it.
> s. d. d.
wine cellar
> x barrels. x hogshead. take it.(no)
> drill hogshead with bit.
> pour hogshead in helmet.(filling it with wine)
> u. s. w. w.
kitchen
> put wine in pot.(Boffo hands you a plate.)
> i. x coq.
> e. e. e. s.
billiards room
> x trapdoor. open it.(locked)
> x mandalas. x animal. x table. x balls.(no pool cue)
> hit balls with wand.(The trapdoor is now open.)
> d.
grotto
> x Giggles. give coq to Giggles.
She sings the last clue, and several stalactites fall.
> x stalactites. x stage. x boats.
> s.
basement
> x columns. x torches. x sconces.
> x ushabti.(looks like a tiny sarcophagus)
> take it.
> n. u. n. w.
gallery
> open top. take head. x head.(It can SOLDER and UNSOLDER things.)
> n. n. e.
garden
> give ushabti to sphinx.(The ziggurat's door opens.)
> e.
pyramid
> x statues.(Anubis, Thoth, Bast, and Sobek.)
> x sarcophagus.(Soldered shut and has air holes. Someone's in there!)
> x hieroglyphics.
> unsolder sarcophagus with robot head.
You free Mugwort and you both race to Kenny's birthday party.
*** The End ***
Extras
Characters
Mugwort the Magician is world's foremost master of stage magic! Shame he gets kidnapped and is missing for the majority of the game.
The President calls Mugwort with a personal emergency and wants Mugwort to perform at his son Kenny's birthday party.
Madam Mugumba the All-Knowing can answer some questions via the crystal ball in your bedroom. She's basically the in-game hint system.
Smithereens the robot butler. He's in the gallery and needs repairs. Unfortunately, repairs are not in his immediate future.
Boffo the clown is Mugwort's muscular valet and chef. He's in the kitchen trying to cook some coq au vin.
Grimalkin is a black bengal cat sleeping in the parlour.
Chuckles the clown is Mugwort's gardener. He's evangelical Christian and is busy trimming the hedges in the hedge maze.
A mechanical sphinx guards the entrance to the ziggurat in the garden.
Giggles the clown is Mugwort's personal opera diva. She's in the grotto and hungry.
Several rabbits can be pulled out of Mugwort's hat. They're hungry.
Several doves are in the dovecote. They're hungry too.
Several worms can be found in the conservatory.
Mentioned heroes:
The Guardians of the Globe include Luther the Strongman, Bullwhip Jones the Lion Tamer, Buck Flashpan the Human Cannonball, and Mugwort the Magician as well, of course.
Foxglove the Fantastic is another magician. He cancelled his performance at Kenny's party at the last minute.
Mentioned villians:
The Skeptical Rationalist is Mugwort's third string nemesis and is the main villian of this game, but he's working behind the scenes and doesn't actually make an on-stage appearance.
The Ringmaster is an evil space tyrant that battles the Guardians.
Prester Chango and Abracadaver are other villians.
Mentioned other people:
Kenny is the President's son. It's his birthday today.
Inventory
First scene
a sheer sequined gown. You're wearing it.
Although you can remove the gown at any time, you have no reason to disrobe. Leave it on and forget about it.
a mechanical dove. It's flying about in Mugwort's study.
When you take the dove, the phone will ring with an emergency request by the President. You also acquire the copper key.
a tiny copper key. You obtain it when you take the dove.
This key unlocks the desk drawer in Mugwort's study.
a staff. It's inside the locked desk drawer in Mugwort's study. Unlock the drawer with the tiny copper key.
Give the staff to Mugwort. This triggers the next part of the story: Mugwort's kidnapping.
a note. It's in the study's cabinet after you give the staff to Mugwort.
Read it. It tells you that the Skeptical Rationalist kidnapped Mugwort and gives you your first clue towards rescuing Mugwort.
Opening the bookcase
a saw. It's in your bedroom.
In the bathroom, saw floor with saw. The zigzag cabinet will fall into the gallery below.
a robot torso. It's originally part of Smithereens, the robot butler in the gallery.
First, saw the bathroom's floor with the saw to get the zigzag cabinet into the gallery.
Second, put the butler into the cabinet.
Third, disassemble the cabinet. There's now three compartments. The torso is in the middle compartment.
Finally, take the torso to the library and extend its arms. The grimoire is now yours.
a grimoire. It's high up, out of reach, in the library.
Acquire the grimoire by extending the arms of the robot torso.
Still in the library, put the grimoire in the bookshelf. The bookshelf will open, revealing a secret passage to the laboratory.
Getting to the dovecote
a top hat. It's in the parlour.
Grimalkin won't let you take the hat while he's there. Turn off the kotatsu, and he'll leave.
In the garden, pull rabbit from hat. You'll actually pull out several rabbits to start eating the garden's vegetables. This will prompt Chuckles to abandon his hedgeclippers to rescue the garden.
Note 1: You can't wear the top hat.
Note 2: The top hat leaves the game when you produce the rabbits.
abandoned hedgeclippers. They're in the hedge maze.
First, distract Chuckles by going to the garden and pulling a rabbit from the top hat there. Now you can take the hedgeclippers.
In the study, pull the red hankerchief from the tuxedo to produce a coil of handkerchieves. Cut the coil with the hedgeclippers to obtain a handkerchief rope.
a handkerchief rope. Obtain it in the study by first pulling the red handkerchief from the tuxedo, then cutting the resulting coil with the hedgeclippers.
On the widow's walk, tie the rope to the low fence. Now you can climb down rope to reach the dovecote, and return via climb ladder.
Getting wine
a plasma globe. It's in the laboratory.
Take the globe to the dining room and hold plasma globe over vent. You now have the silver key.
a shiny silver key. You can see it in the dining room vent, but it's out of reach.
Hold plasma globe over vent to obtain the silver key; see plasma globe.
In the upstairs hallway, unlock the iron door with the silver key.
a drill bit. It's originally part of the drill of death in Mugwort's room.
Put the drill into the guillotine to chop the bit off.
In the wine cellar, drill the hogshead with the drill bit. Now you can pour the hogshead into the helmet and obtain some red wine.
a helmet. Take it from the suit of armour in the dining room.
a coq au vin. In the kitchen, Boffo will give this to you after you put a garlic, some red wine, and a fly agaric (mushroom) into his pot.
You can't eat the coq au vin.
Give the coq au vin to Giggles in the grotto. She'll sing the last clue from the Skeptical Rationalist to you.
Opening the trapdoor
some nightcrawlers. These worms are in the tub in the conservatory.
In the dovecote, put the worms into the feeding dish. The doves will eat the worms, then fly into a formation that spells out a new message from the Skeptical Rationalist. Also, you can now take the rod (which is actually a magic wand) from the birdhouse.
a magic wand. It's the rod in the dovecote's birdhouse.
First put a handful of nightcrawlers into the feeding dish. After the doves are fed, you can take the rod easily.
In the billiards room, use the wand like a pool cue: hit balls with wand. By sinking every ball at once, you unlock the trapdoor that leads to the grotto.
Note: Waving the wand doesn't do anything anywhere.
Rescuing Mugwort
an ushabti. It's in the basement.
It looks like a tiny Egyptian sarcophagus. Give it to the sphinx in the garden, and she'll unlock the door to the pyramid for you.
a robot head. It's originally part of Smithereens, the robot butler in the gallery.
First, saw the bathroom's floor with the saw to get the zigzag cabinet into the gallery.
Second, put the butler into the cabinet.
Third, disassemble the cabinet. There's now three compartments. The head is in the top compartment.
Finally, in the pyramid, unsolder the sarcophagus with the robot head to free Mugwort from inside and win the game.
