In this mildly-silly puzzle game, you play as a producer who wants to get Willy, the eccentric billionaire owner of an international novelty company, on his TV show. Willy will do it if you pass a "test" in his manor first.
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.
Every time you go from one room to another, the seasons in the Four Seasons rooms advance to their next seasons.
Note that going the wrong way in any of the three Infinity Pool rooms returns you to the first one.
Walkthrough
First explorations
Would you like instructions?
>> Y
Outside Manor
There's no clock or time limit in the game. You don't need to rush any of this.
> x me. i. x map. x lamp.
> x decorations. x sign. x statue.
> x door. take booklet. x it.
> n.
Main Hallway South
It's in your best interests to grab anything that isn't nailed down. Trust me, Willy won't mind at all.
> x photos. take all.
> w.
Reading Area
> x bookshelf. x chairs.
> e. e.
Dining Hall
> x table. x roast. take it.
> n.
Kitchen
> x ovens. x panel. open oven.(locked)
> x drawers. open it. take all.
> x spatula. x spoon. x towel.
> x door. open it.(locked)
> w.
Main Hallway North
> x lizards. x photos.
> x cabinet. open it.
> x round. x termites. x square. x ants.
> take all.
> n.
Main Hallway Fork
> x glass. open it.(locked)
> x wooden. open it.(locked)
> x sign. n.
Puzzle Room
> x pattern. x bulb.
> x box. take leaflet. read it.
> x lever. x slot. x button.
Clue One
Puzzle Room
> push button. take clue. read it.
> put towel in box. pull lever.
> take iron key. x it.("Workshop")
Clue Two
Puzzle Room
> push button. take clue two. read it.
> open square jar.
> put ants in box. pull lever.
> take key from box. x it.(Peter)
Clue Three
Puzzle Room
> push button. take clue three. read it.
The famous Peter that you cook with is a pan. Peter Pan. Get it?
> s.
Main Hallway Fork
> unlock wooden with iron key. e.
Workshop
> x workbench. x tools.
> x cushion. x screwdriver. x wrench.
> x slingshot. x manual.
> take all. drink screwdriver.
> w. s. e.
Kitchen
> unlock door with Peter. e.
Pantree
> x pan. x tree. x skylight.
> take pan.(can't reach it)
> climb tree.(no)
> shoot square jar at pan.(doesn't dislodge the pan)
> open round jar.
> put termite on tree.(base is too thick)
> shoot termite at pan.(That works.)
> take all.
> put termites in round. close round.
> w. w. n. n.
Puzzle Room
> put pan in box. pull lever.
> take leaf key. x it.
Clue Four
Puzzle Room
> push button. take clue four. read it.
You're looking for a trunk now.
> s.
Main Hallway Fork
> unlock glass with leaf key. w.
Four Seasons Northeast
There are four of the "Four Seasons" rooms, but the seasons advance whenever you go from one room to another.
If the pond here is frozen, it's winter. If there's lily pads, it's spring. If the water shimmers in the heat, it's summer. And if there's leaves floating in the pond, it's fall.
You can't enter a frozen pond.
if winter:>w. e.
Assuming the pond is now unfrozen:
> x pond. enter pond.
> x trunk. take it.
> out. e. n.
Puzzle Room
> put trunk in box. pull lever.
> take lighter. x it.
Clue Five
Puzzle Room
> push button. take clue five. read it.
You're now looking for honey.
> s. w. s.
Four Seasons Southeast
> x tree.("W+B")
You need this room in its fall phase. If the trees are orange, yellow, and brown, then it's fall. If there are frigid winds, it's winter. If there's flowers, it's spring. If the sun has "blistering rays", it's summer.
if winter:>w. n. se.
if spring:>w. e.
if summer:>w. n. se. w. e.
In the fall, there is a leaf pile here.
> take pile.
Take a zigzag path to the northwest so you arrive there in its summer phase.
> w. ne. w.
Four Seasons Northwest
In the summer phase of this room, the smell of honey is palpable.
> drop pile. burn pile.(with lighter; the smoke puts the bees to sleep.)
> climb tree. take honeycomb. x it.
> e. e. n.
Puzzle Room
> put honeycomb in box. pull lever.
Clue Six
Puzzle Room
> push button. take clue six. read it.
The answer is nothing. Literally nothing. Leave the box empty.
> pull lever.
Clue Seven
Puzzle Room
> push button. take clue seven. read it.
This time, use the one photo of Beth that you found.
> put walking photo in box. pull lever.
Clue Eight
Puzzle Room
> push button. take clue eight. read it.
You don't know what Willy's favorite color is yet, but you do know where the bookshelf is.
> s. s. s. w.
Reading Area
> move bookshelf. x wall. touch wall.
> enter wall.
Liebrary
> x shelves. x pedestal.
> x red.(says his favorite color is green)
> x blue.(says his favorite color is yellow)
> x green.(says his favorite color is black)
> x yellow.(says his favorite color is blue)
Note that the room's name is a lie-brary. The statements in the books are lies. By process of elimination, Willy's actual favorite color must be the red one. But take all of them.
> take all.
> e.
Reading Area
Outside the liebrary, the books show their true nature.
> x red book.("Beth Journal")
> x blue book.("Work Journal")
> x green book.("Business Journal")
> x yellow book.("Joke Journal")
> e. n. n. n.
Puzzle Room
> put red book in box. pull lever.
Clue Nine
Puzzle Room
> push button. take clue nine. read it.
You only need to bring the roast, but take everything since this is intended to be a one-way trip.
> n.
Infinity Pool / Deep in Infinity Pool / Deeper in Infinity Pool
To try something "new", spell out "new" with directions: north then east then west.
> n. e. w.
Lounge
BUG CAUTION: If you leave the lounge and return to the puzzle room without the roast, you won't be able to return here. You can only enter the pool while carrying the roast.
> x Willy. greet Willy.
Somehow, Willy has managed cook the roast you just brought in a honey glaze. Almost everything Willy asked for in the puzzles is here. Feel free to ask him about any of them, but the game only ends when you ask him about the one thing that's missing — not counting the "nothing" — so leave the missing thing for last.
> x trunk. x roast.
> ask Willy about towel.
> ask Willy about pan.
> ask Willy about trunk.
> ask Willy about honey.
> ask Willy about photo.
> ask Willy about book.
> ask Willy about roast.
> ask Willy about ants.
*** The End ***
Extras
Characters
Willy is the eccentric billionaire who owns this manor and an international novelty company. (Is he really that eccentric though?)
Creatures:
A tank of lizards sits on the cabinet in Main Hallway North.
Some termites are in a round jar in that cabinet.
Some ants are in a square jar in that cabinet.
Some bees are in their beehive in Four Seasons Northwest.
Mentioned:
Beth is Willy's beloved wife. (And where is she?)
One photo shows the US president.
Another photo shows a tank of sea monkeys labelled Darryl.
Credits
This is the response to CREDITS:
Written by Joshua Hetzel. Tested by Catherine Hetzel and Michael Chay. Cover art made using assets created by Lorc and Delapouite, used under CC By 3.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Inventory
Easy-to-get
a map. You're carrying it.
It reminds you that the game came with a map, but the layout is so simple, you don't really need it.
a broken lamp. You're carrying it.
Ignore it. If you light it with the lighter, it explodes!
help booklet. It's outside the manor.
Read it to learn about the HINT and HELP commands.
president photo, party photo, trademark photo, IPO photo, Darryl photo, and walking photo. The first three photos are in main hallway south; the last three are in main hallway north.
To answer Clue Seven's puzzle, put the walking photo into the puzzle room's box then pull the lever.
You don't need any of the other five photos.
roast. It's in the dining hall.
When you get Clue Nine, take the roast into the infinity pool, then go north then east then west to reach the lounge. Greet Willy. He automatically takes the roast and finishes preparing it.
a spatula, a mixing spoon, and a kitchen towel. They're all in the kitchen's drawers.
To answer Clue One's puzzle, put the towel into the puzzle room's box then pull the lever.
You don't need the spatula or spoon.
a round jar containing termites. It's in the cabinet in main hallway north.
In the pantree, open the round jar, then shoot a termite at the pan, using the slingshot. The termite gnaws through enough of its supporting branch to drop the pan down to where you can reach it.
a square jar containing ants. It's in the cabinet in main hallway north.
To answer Clue Two's puzzle, open the square jar, put the ants into the puzzle room's box then pull the lever.
From puzzle room
a leaflet. It's in the box in the puzzle room.
Take it and read it. The puzzles you need to solve begin by pushing the button to get a clue. Figure out what the clue refers to, then put whatever that is into the box then pull the lever to signal that's your answer.
By the way, there is no penalty for bad guesses.
Clue One, Clue Two, Clue Three, Clue Four, Clue Five, Clue Six, Clue Seven, Clue Eight, and Clue Nine. A new clue is ejected from the slot in the puzzle room when you push the button and all previous clues have been solved.
Read the clues and try to figure out what they refer to. For the first eight clues, put the appropriate item into the puzzle room's box then pull the lever. Make sure that only the item representing your answer is in the box.
To answer Clue Three's puzzle, put the pan into the puzzle room's box then pull the lever.
a trunk. At Four Seasons Northeast, enter the pond (when it's not frozen) to find the trunk.
To answer Clue Four's puzzle, put the trunk into the puzzle room's box then pull the lever.
a leaf pile. It appears in "Four Seasons Southeast" when it's the fall season there.
Take the leaves to "Four Seasons Northwest" during its summer. Drop the pile and burn it with the lighter. The smoke puts the bees to sleep. Now you can climb the tree to knock off some honeycomb.
a honeycomb. In "Four Seasons Northwest", in its summer season, and after putting the bees to sleep (see leaf pile), climb the tree to knock a piece of honeycomb to the ground. Take it.
To answer Clue Five's puzzle, put the honeycomb into the puzzle room's box then pull the lever.
a red book, a blue book, a green book, and a yellow book. They're all on the pedestal in the liebrary.
Read all the books. Deduce that all their statements are lies and that red is Willy's favorite color.
To answer Clue Eight's puzzle, put the red book into the puzzle room's box then pull the lever.
