Bored of the Rings
Hints:
To open the Morona gate, try taking the pepper to the gate and dropping it.
To get out of the Willow tree, CRY HELP.
The password for part 2 is 'Psychoanalysis', and for part 3, 'Psychoanalysis
again'. For Sceptical, 'Don't ask us'.
When typing in passwords, it is essential to begin with a capital letter.
You must place the ring somewhere to finish the game.
You have to enter the inn to get Arrogant.
Just past the signpost on the great east road beyond the Puny Prancer is an
unflagged exit N to the mountains; go UP to find the pepper.
HIDE is the proper route to the farm (where there is some ale) and the route
further into the adventure.
When you hear the sound of hooves, hide and then go N to the Triffid Farm.
After meeting the barrow wight, ask for a clue then go W,W,N to rejoin the
Great East Road.
Fire the rifle at the Nazal in the C5 - that will cure his adenoids.
Buy the map from the pixie - using the coin (which you get by inserting the
battery into the vending machine) - so as to find your way out of the maze. You
must be carrying the map to escape.
Move the mat to find the key.
Try entering: IAN, WILL, FERG, HCW, MSX, and REM for a bit of fun.
Solution
WAIT twice at the start before going W until you come to Fag End. There, WAIT
again until you have been given the ring. Now you can set out on your travels
accompanied by faithful Spam the gardener and your boggit friends Murky and
Pimply.
Go E twice, S twice and then HIDE from the Riders until it is safe to go N to
the Triffid Farm where, if you want a laugh, you should enter and have a drink
of ale. After that - or straightaway if you are teetotal - go on N three times
and then four E to the hedge. Here go F and E through the tunnel into the Old
Forest.
N twice will put you safely in the clutches of the tree, where you need to CRY
HELP to get Tim Bombadul, and then E three times to Tim's shack. Now go S twice
into the Downs and you'll encounter the barrow wight: ASK CLUE here, make a
note of it and then move W, W, N on to the Great East Road.
E takes you to Whee, and here you must move IN and IN again, so that you can
meet Arrogant in the Puny Prancer and enable him to join you on the quest. E
from Whee is a signpost and a single move E after that brings you to a trouble
spot.
There is an unflagged exit N here to a mountain and then you go UP to obtain
the pepper which is essential to finishing this part of the adventure. However,
if you get here to early, you won't find it as there is a move counter here.
Just WAIT as necessary, trying to move N and U every so often.
After getting the pepper, continue East along the road, past the Tollbridge to
Rivendull: Here you must go in to get the rest of your party. You'll find
Bimbo, Smelrond, Grandalf, Giblet, Legoland and Borrower waiting for you.
When you leave Rivendull, go E to the crows and then S to the wolfs - yes
wolfs - E twice to the dam and finally N and E to the ledge. One more move E
takes you to the Gate of Morona and here you DROP PEPPER to get the password
for part II: Psychoanalysis. Please note that it is essential to enter
Psychoanalysis, using upper and lower case letters as indicated.
Part 2 (Micro User September 1989)
Begin by moving up - just to enjoy the joke - before going E twice to the
Tourist Office. There's a battery here that you need to take back W to the
large cavern: Insert the battery into the vending machine and you'll be
rewarded with a coin.
Now go S to the pixie's cave, move the mat to find the key and then by the map
from the pixie. Examine the map and you'll be shown the moves necessary to get
safely through the caves of Morona. However, first you must unlock the door to
the secret room W of the pixie's cave. Take the rifle, move the rug and descend
to the secret chamber for the treasure to be found there.
Back you go to the pixie's cave and continue E into the maze. The moves needed
to navigate your way successfully are E, N, E, E, S, W, S. Next move E to find
the poster, and now go W twice, then S to the Dark Halls of Morona.
From here move W into the large chamber and drop the poster so that the Gays
don't impede your progress N to the bridge. Cross the bridge and PUSH RED to
kill the Balhog: The fact that you also dump Grandalf should be seen as a bonus
- in spite of his angry moans as he plummets away into the depths.
After that, move S twice to the foot of the Whiffy Mountains and then W to get
the rope. E twice from here brings you to the magical realm of Delorean where
you receive a special ID. Plant the beans here to gain extra points.
We are nearly at the end of this section now: S takes you to the leafy glade
and then you should move E, S, W, E, E to bring you to the bank of the stream
and the raft. Board the raft and dispose of the Nazal by firing the rifle at
it, then board the raft at once. Now wait around some more until you reach land
again. Collect the coin and go W to the clearing and then climb the mountain.
At the summit you should insert the coin in the telescope and then retrace
your steps to where you found the coin. A Basilisk will greet you with the
information that the word HOG is a rope retrieval device - very useful in part
III.
Board the raft once more and you will be told that you have successfully
completed this section. The password this time is "Psychoanalysis again", and
once more it is essential to enter it exactly as written.
Part 3 (Micro User October 1989)
Very careful planning and moving is necessary in this third and final section.
The starting location is the bottom of a gully and from here, the vital move
sequence is as follows: E, GET BRICK (of platinum), S, E, SAY HOG, GET ROPE,
TIE ROPE, D, GIVE BRICK (to Goldbum), N, N, SE, SE, N, N, E, S, E, E, S. This
takes you safely past the basilisk which will otherwise do unto you as is the
wont of basilisks - and you aren't much use as a lump of stone.
If you were to map those moves out on paper you'd discover that you have
traced the shape of the letters N and H, so - naturally - if you now go E, E,
N, W, N, E, E, you'll not only have traced the letter S but you'll find
yourself on a road near the gate. The pixie here informs you that, before you
may proceed any further, you must return and give the basilisk his comeuppance.
Fortunately there just happens to be a pair of trendy mirror shades lying
around. Wear them and retrace your steps to the bottom of the letter H. The
basilisk now conveniently expires, petriefied by his own countenance, so now
you can safely return to where you met the pixie.
From here go S to Effalien then E four times, followed by N and E to Puddle
Vale. E again takes you to the foot of the stairs, so up and up you go to the
very top. Proceed E into the dark cave, and E again to the N/S fissure.
SAY HOG to get the rope, take it and throw it: The rope will conveniently tie
itself so that you can swing across the fissure. S and E brings you to
Sheslob's Lair where Goldbum will repay your generosity with the Platinum Brick
by scaring the beast away.
Keep on E to the base of the anti-aircraft gun tower, climb to the top and
fire the gun to bring down the Flying Pig - a lovely touch. Now go back to the
location where you could see the gun tower and move N to the foot of the slope,
E, E, N into the forge where you will find a key which you should take.
Retrace your steps to the top of the stairs west of the dark cave and move S.
Push the button you find here, enter the lift and push the red button. You'll
find yourself in the offices of a software company called Firebrick. Use the
key to unlock the door to the N and - once the rush of escaping programmers has
died down - enter the prison and TAKE DEBUGGER. Ignore the hyphen in the
description, the game parser doesn't recognise it.
Once you have the debugger you need to go back even further, and from Puddle
Vale move W, S, S, W, W, W, W, to place yourself outside the bar. Go in and
you'll find some unsavoury creatures known as kremlins busy tearing the place
apart. When the follow you out simply enter KILL KREMLINS - and then return to
the bar where you'll find a pair of scissors.
Take these scissors out of the bar and go N and W to Yox Mall. Moving S from
here puts you inside the electrical store for the final denouement. There's a
parcel - a microwave - tied up with magic string: Cut the string with the
scissors, open the microwave and place the ring inside it. This completes the
game as the ring melts to a puddle.
Apart from congratulations you receive yet another password 'Don't ask us'
which gives you access to the last part of the tape. This is an imitation
Ceefax with 100 pages, some quite amusing and well worth a browse.
Well Done!!