Key & Compass presents:
Save the Cheshire Cat!
by Marco Vallarino

• Map
• Walkthrough
• Extras
  • Characters, Credits, Inventory, Score
• Thank You to my Patreon supporters
• Support me on Ko-Fi
• External links:
  • This game at Homepage, IFDB, and IFWiki.
  • Tweet about this walkthrough on Twitter.

Map

Walkthrough

Miky Bar

> x Mario. x beer. take it. (+1)

> ask Mario about anything. (Suspects cat was nabbed for its fur.)

> e.

Main street (south zone)

> x stands. e.

Stand of Ludo Ergo Sum

> x deck. x Luigi. x table.

> ask Luigi about anything. (He's hungry.)

> take deck. (Luigi stops you.)

> w. n. w.

Cinema

> x poster. x glasses. take them.

Before you get the glasses, a kid grabs them, and says he'll be at the book fair if you want to trade something for them.

> w. (denied!)

> e. e.

Small square

> x buildings. x stand. x pack. take it. (+1)

> w. n.

Crossroad

> x totem. (everyone hates it)

> n.

Fur Coats Shop

> x furs. x counter. x Mara.

> ask Mara about anything. (no small talk)

> n. (Mara stops you.)

> s. w.

Liberty Road

> x kid. ask kid about glasses.

> w.

Oasis of the Flavour

> x girl. x samples. x stroscia.

> ask girl about anything. (She wants a cigarette.)

> open pack. (ha)

> give pack. (+1; she drops her lighter)

> take lighter. (+1)

> take stroscia. (+1)

> e. e. e.

Sun Street

> x Ido. (famous author)

> ask Ido sbout cat. (he offers prize for answering trivia.)

> y.

Ido asks, "In which city was Leonardo Da Vinci born?"

> answer Vinci. (+1)

By the way, if you answer wrongly, he always gives you another chance; ask him about the cat again.

> x book.

> w. s. s. e.

Stand of Ludo Ergo Sum

> give stroscia. (+1; Luigi goes to Miky Bar.)

> take deck. (+1)

> w. (can't: wait for someone else to take your place)

> z. (need to attract attention)

> sing. (yes, but need musical instrument)

> x stand. (find a guitar under it)

> take guitar. x it.

> sing. (+2. Mario is now here, and you put the guitar back.)

> w. n. n. w.

Liberty Road

> give cards to kid. (+1; you hsve the glasses)

> wear glasses.

> e.

Crossroad

> pour beer on totem. (+2)

> burn totem. (+2. Mara leaves her shop to watch.)

> x Mara. ask Mara about totem. (worried about fire in her shop)

> n. n. (+2)

Back section of the fur coats shop

The glasses let you see a secret door north, behind a tapestry.

> x boxes. x Lara. x tapestry. x door. (locked)

> ask Lara about cat.

> open door. (Lara blocks you.)

> hit Lara. (+2, using book as weapon)

> x Lara. (You take a key.)

> unlock door with key.

> open door. n. (+1)

Hiding place

You rescue the cats, including the Cheshire Cat!

*** You have won ***

Extras

Characters

• Mario is a friend and a top member of the "Ludo Ergo Sum" club. He's in the Miky Bar and asks you to find the missing Cheshire Cat.
• Luigi is another friend and club member. He's taller and more threatening-looking than Luigi. You find him watching over the club's stand, and he's hungry.
• A kid grabs the 3D glasses from the cinema before you can get them. You'll find him next at Liberty Road, willing to trade the glasses for something good.
• A girl is offering samples of local products at the "Oasis of the Flavour" gazebo. She's very pretty, and she wants a cigarette.
• Ido Mariani is a famous author of history novels. You can win a free signed copy of his latest book if you can answer his trivia question correctly.
• Mara is the charming owner of the fur coats shop. She just wants to sell furs.
• Lara is Mara's ugly sister. She's in charge of the back room of the fur coats shop.
• The Cheshire Cat is the club mascot and is somehow essential for keeping the club going. Mario and Luigi both love it tremendously, even though the Cat is both unruly and unhousebroken. Mara and Lara stole the Cheshire Cat and are keeping it in a hidden closet of their shop.
• Other people are visiting the fair. No one likes the advertising totem at the crossroad.
• Other cats were captured by the sisters as well. You can hear them meowing. The sisters intend to turn the cats into expensive fur coats.

Credits

From the appopriate menu-item accessed via the INFO command:

About the author

My name is Marco Vallarino, I was born in 1977 in Imperia, where I live. I work as a journalist at "Il Secolo XIX", the most popular newspaper in the region. I've written novels and short stories and I've published many books, but my real passion has always been the interactive fiction. Since I was a kid, I've played tons of text adventures, in Italian and in English, and I've also tried writing some games, using first Qbasic then Inform.

My works "Darkiss", "Ayon", "Enigma" have been pubished by important Italian computer magazines, such as "Win Magazine", "Computer Bild", "Giochi per il Mio Computer", "Linux Pro" and "Idea Web". They've also had a good 'success' on the web, with over 50.000 downloads and tons of enthusiastic feedback from Italian players.

It's a mini text adventure about a missing cat; it's very simple and short, but I hope it's also funny.

I'll be glad if you let me know what you think about the style and the design of the game, writing to email redacted. If you want to view the source code, just ask for it.

For now, thanks for all the time you'll spend playing my text adventure. Have fun!

Inventory

In the order you'll likely acquire them:

• a bottle of beer. It's on the table in the Miky Bar.
• At the crossroad, pour the beer on the totem to make it more flammable.
• Note: You won't drink the beer; you're not thirsty.
• a pack of cigarettes. It's on the big stand on Sun Street.
• At 'Oasis of the Flavour', give the pack to the girl. She drops her lighter on the table.
• a lighter. At 'Oasis of the Flavour', after giving the pack of cigarettes to the girl, the lighter is on her table.
• At the crossroad, after pouring beer on the totem, burn the totem with the lighter. This draws Mara out of her shop, and you can now enter the bsck section of her shop.
• a stroscia. It's a cake on the table at 'Oasis of the Flavour'.
• At the stand of Ludo Ergo Sum, give the stroscia to Luigi. He eats it and leaves for the bar, leaving you to watch the stand.
• a book. On Sun Street, Ido Mariani gives this book to you if you correctly answer his trivia question.
• For axample: ask Ido about cat. yes. answer Vinci.
• In the back section of the fur coats shop, hit Lara (with the book). What a horrible thing to do. But now she's not blocking the hidden door.
• some cards. This deck is on the table at the stand of Ludo Ergo Sum. But Luigi won't let you take it.
• First, give the stroscia to Luigi. He's now thirsty and goes to the Miky Bar, leaving you in charge of the club's table. Now you can take the cards.
• On Liberty Road. give the cards to the kid. He gives the 3D glasses to you in exchange.
• a guitar. It's under the table at the stand of Ludo Ergo Sum, but you won't find it until Luigi is gone; see stroscia.
• Sing while holding the guitar to attract Mario to the stand and take your place there. You automatically put the guitar back where you found it.
• some 3D glasses. They're at the cinema.
• When you first try to take the glasses, a kid grabs them and leaves, saying he'll trade them for something as good or better.
• On Liberty Road, give the cards to the kid in exchange for the 3D glasses. Wear the glasses.
• In the back section of the fur coats shop, you find the hidden door if you're wearing the glasses there.
• a metal key. Acquire it by examining Lara after hitting her with the book.
• The key unlocks the hidden door in the back section of the fur coats shop.

Score

This is the response to SCORE:

You have so far scored your-scoer out of a possible 20, in several turns.

Points are awarded as follows:

• 1 point because you got the beer
• 1 point because you got the pack of cigarettes
• 1 point because you got the stroscia
• 1 point because you gave the right answer to the question of Ido Mariani
• 1 point because you gave the cigarettes to the girl
• 1 point because you got the lighter from the table
• 1 point because you gave the stroscia to Luigi
• 1 point because you got the cards of Darkiss
• 2 points because you sang to make Mario go back to the stand
• 1 point because you gave the cards to the child
• 2 points because you poured the beer on the cardboard advertising totem
• 2 points because you set up the fire to the cardboard advertising totem
• 2 points because you found the concealed door behind the tapestry
• 2 points because you knocked Lara out
• 1 point because you found the Cheshire Cat!

Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough is provided free of charge since the work it's based on has less than fifteen locations. Please consider it a thank you for your support!

I create larger walkthroughs too! Please visit my Patreon account if you're interested in helping me create more interactive fiction walkthroughs. I appreciate all the help I can get! Thanks again.

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