In this odd little game, you play as an adventurer who really needs to cross the street, but instead, you wandered into this nearly empty house. Perhaps there's something you need to do here 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.
It is not at all obvious that there are two front doors in this game. But there are!
Walkthrough
Green Room
You have a limited amount of time before a bomb goes off. You dare not waste time.
> sw. s.
The Block
> take box.(+1)
> ne. nw.
Green Room
The green box only opens in the green room. You don't need to waste time taking things out of boxes.
> open box.
> fix tv with kit.(+1)
> turn on tv.
The color sequence — red, purple, blue, yellow — are the next four rooms that the next four boxes open in.
> w.
Red Room
The blue box opens in the red room.
> open blue.(+1)
> n. e.
Purple Room
The red box opens in the purple room.
> open red.
> n. w. se.
Blue Room
The yellow box opens in the blue room.
> open yellow.
> ne. n. e. sw.
Yellow Room
The purple box opens in the yellow room.
> open purple.(+1)
> join one half to second.
The half-notes, when put together, tell you what to do with the bomb.
> nw. w. s.
The Block
> show card to terrorist.(He drops the toy nuclear bomb and flees.)
> put bomb in purple.(+1)
> close purple.
> close yellow.
> close red.
> close blue.
> close green.(+1)
The bomb explodes, but the nested boxes contain it. The traffic halts and an angry trucker is coming for you!
> s.
In the Street
> s.(+1)
Across The Street
The trucker is run over.
*** You have won. ***
> amusing
Extras
Amusing
After you win, type AMUSING to open the following menus:
For Your Amusement and Otherwise
Did you ever try ...
An Apology
Did you ever try ...
... fixing the TV without the kit, then typing DON'T CALL ME SHIRLEY?
... throwing something at the yuppies?
... kicking the cabbie?
... showing anything but the card to the kid?
... typing DISARM THE BOMB?
An Apology
In the post-9/11 world, terrorists, including child terrorists, are rife ... and unfunny. This element of this game may therefore no longer be "painless." I am sorry. The game was written in the more innocent (and/or more ignorant) world of 1998, and it is what it is.
Characters
A four-year-old terrorist on The Block is watching the traffic.
People mentioned in the random traffic include a cabbie, a yuppie family, some mean-lookin' dudes, and a dignitary with their chauffeur. (The dignitary's limo is the terrorist's target.)
An angry trucker threatens you with a world of hurt when you stop the traffic.
Endings
You have died.
if the bomb explodes and it's not inside five closed nested boxes.
The End
if the trucker catches you.
You have won.
if you successfully cross the street.
Inventory
Items are listed in the order they're acquired in this walkthrough.
a green box. It's at The Block.
In the green room, open the green box; it can only be opened there. The green box contains the television repair kit and the blue box.
Read it. If you join it with the one half, you can see the entire message: "THE KID HAS A BOMB! PUT IT IN ALL THE BOXES AND CLOSE THEM (IN THE RIGHT ORDER)!"
a counterterrorist id card. It's in the yellow box.
In the yellow room, open the purple box; it can only be opened there. It's empty.
Put the bomb into the purple box, then close all the boxes: purple then yellow then red then blue then green. When the bomb is enclosed in all five closed boxes, it explodes harmlessly and the traffic stops.
a toy nuclear bomb. The four-year-old terrorist on the The Block has it. He drops the bomb and flees when you show the counterterrorist id card to him.
You may try to DISARM BOMB, but with no wires visible, you don't know where to begin.
Put the bomb into the purple box, then close all five boxes around the bomb so when it explodes, the blast is muffled. This is clued by the notehalves.
Score
This is the response to SCORE:
You have so far scored X out of a possible 7, in Y turns.
Points are awarded as follows:
1 point for taking the green box.
1 point for fixing the tv with the kit.
1 point for opening the blue box.
1 point for opening the purple box.
1 point for putting the bomb into the purple box.
1 point for safely containing the bomb blast within the five nested boxes.
1 point for successfully crossing the street.
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!
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