The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library

KINGDOM OF KLEIN

 

 

Professional, Originally Released On Cassette Only

 

Game Alias          : EPIC ADVENTURES #3

Game Type          : Text Adventure

Author             : Melvyn E. Wright & Dave M. Johnson

Standalone Release(s)   : 1984: THE KINGDOM OF KLEIN, Epic, £3.99

Compilation Release(s)   : None

Stated compatibility    : Electron

Actual compatibility    : Electron

Supplier            : EPIC, 10 Gladstone Street, Kibworth Beauchamp, LEICESTER

                    LE8 0HL

Disc compatibility     : ADFS 1D00, CDFS 1D00, DFS 1D00

 

 

Instructions

EPIC adventures are full-scale machine code adventure games. Sophisticated compression techniques have been used to provide a large number of locations and puzzles in each game. The adventures take place in a fantasy world which you must explore in order to find the solution to each game. You will require a combination of cunning, logic and magic, not only to complete your task but even to remain alive.

 

Each game is played by typing ordinary English sentences into the computer, which responds by describing your surroundings and telling you

what is happening. Full playing instructions are included in each game.

 

Each adventure has the following features:-

 

Approximately 230 fully described locations, colour, ultra-fast response, fast save of partially completed game on tape, scoring, disk compatible.

 

A full-scale adventure through caves, water, tunnels, mountains, etc. to

find and restore the Magic Klein Bottle.

 

An aura of doom surrounds the Klein Kingdom. The Magic Bottle was removed from its pedestal in the King's Palace and stolen by the Wicked Witch of the Mountain. She swore that she would put a hideous curse on anyone who was foolish enough to try and recover it.

 

Unfortunately, the citizens of Klein have elected you to be the foolish one!

 

You must destroy the Wicked Witch, find the Magic Bottle and return it to the pedestal in the King's Palace.

 

 

Playing Instructions

Commands may be entered in the form of complete sentences. It is usually

only necessary to enter the first two or three letters of most words,

but if this doesn't produce the expected result, retype in full.

 

The program has a vocabulary of approx. 150 words and it is part of the game to discover what these are. However, some words that you will need to know are listed below. Most of them have single letter input.

 

NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, UP, DOWN, IN, OUT

TAKE - To pick up an object

DROP - To drop an object

INVENTORY - To list your possessions

LOOK - To describe your surroundings

SCORE - To obtain your score

SAVE - To save the current game on tape

LOAD - To load back a SAVEd game

QUIT - To end the current game

 

 

Helpsheet

This is an alphabetical list of all the locations, objects, characters and items referred to in KINGDOM OF KLEIN. The location and purpose of each item is given, and the information provided in one entry will usually lead you to other items in the list. If you cannot find the word

you are looking for, it probably plays no significant part in the game.

 

It is up to you how to use these clues. You may want to read through them as you play the adventure, or you may prefer to use them only if you get stuck. In this case, a fair amount of will-power will be required to avoid reading entries that you do not wish to see!

 

Due to our policy of continually improving our products, there may be minor differences in detail between these clues and your version of the game.

 

 

Hints On Playing The Game

During your travels you will encounter various problems which can only be solved by the use of an object from a later stage of the game. When this happens, ignore the problem for the time being, and carry on until you find the object required. You should then be able to return to the problem by means of the transport mechanism provided.

 

ADVENTURER SOUP: A rich delicacy enjoyed by witches everywhere. Made by boiling the juicy bones of tasty adventurers in a big cauldron!

ALCOVE: Inside the mysterious cave.

ANTECHAMBER: In the palace, south of the courtyard.

ARCH, STONE: See Stone Arch.

ARROW: At the end of the north side of the chasm. See Chasm for how to get there. See also Bow, Scoring.

BEACH:      On the far side of the pool, at the base of the cliffs. See Cliff. See also Star on Beach, Circle on Beach.

BIBLE:      In the chapel. Not used, although you may read it. See Scoring.

BIRDS: GIANT: In the long corridor. Crack the egg here.

       SMALL: Inside the egg.

BIRD'S EGG: See Egg.

BLUE LIGHT: In the mysterious cave. For atmosphere only, although it does allow you to see in the dark.

BOAT: The boatman will let you hire a boat if you give him a gold coin. Take it when he drags it in. Use the boat to cross the lake (Type ROW BOAT or CROSS LAKE, etc). Leave the boat on the east side of the lake for the return journey. If you try to cross the pool (as opposed to the lake) in the boat, you will be left stranded without oars. See Pool. The upturned boat on which the sailor sits is of no use to you.

BOAT HUT: See Huts.

BOATMAN: In the boatman's hut. You must hire a boat from him, to cross the lake. You will encounter him again near the end of the adventure. See Coin, Boat, Bow, Arrow.

BONE: Before the stone arch. Throw this to get rid of the dog. If you merely drop it the dog will eat it and beg for more! See Scoring.

BOOKS: In the witch's sitting-room. Not used.

BOTTLE: See Klein Bottle.

BOW: In the alcove. You can use this to kill the boatman on your return journey. See Arrow, Scoring.

BOX OF SPELLS: See Spells and Refill Pack.

BRASS KEY: See Keys.

BREATHING UNDERWATER: You can't! See Pool.

BRIGHTLY-LIT CORRIDOR: See Corridors.

BROOMSTICK: See Witch's Broomstick.

BUCKET AND SPADE: In the loft. See Sandcastle.

CARPET: In the palace. Not used.

CASTLE: On the beach. See Sandcastle, Drawbridge.

CAULDRON: In the witch's cavern. This is not directly useful but see Voodoo Doll.

CAVERN, WITCH'S: See Witch's Cavern.

CAVES: MYSTERIOUS: On the south side of the chasm.

       UNDERWATER: You do not need to enter here. See Squid.

CEILING: In the palace. For atmosphere only.

CHAIR, ROCKING: See Rocking Chair.

CHAPEL: To the north of the courtyard. See Portrait.

CHASM: At the end of the dark tunnel. You must fly back over this from the end of the south side to get the arrow. See Witch's Broomstick.

CIRCLE ON BEACH: See Sandcastle.

CLIFFS: OVERHANG: At the top of the cliffs. You can jump down to the beach from here, but see Umbrella.

STEPS: Cut into the east end of the cliffs. You may climb up them but cannot climb back down again. To return from the cliff top to the beach, see Cliff Overhang.

CLIFFS: Along the north edge of the beach.

COIN: In the safe. Give this to the boatman to hire a boat. See Scoring.

CORRIDORS: BRIGHTLY-LIT: You come to rest here just after you fall from the narrow tunnel. It runs east-west, with various rooms off. The pool is at the west end.

           LONG: Just inside the castle.

COURTYARD: In the palace. There are exits north, south, east and west.

CUBE: In the loft. One of the Platonic solids. See Platonic Solids. It will float away if you attempt to take it underwater.

DARK TUNNEL: See Tunnels.

DEEP PIT: See Snake Pit.

DODECAHEDRON: At the top of the oak tree. One of the Platonic Solids.  See Platonic Solids. It will float away if you attempt to take it underwater.

DOG: In the narrow passage. There are two ways to get rid of the dog, using the wand or the bone, but only one is correct. See Bone and Spells.

DOLL: See Voodoo Doll.

DOORS: FRONT: In the narrow passage. Knock on it.

       HUT: You will need the brass key to open this.

       MOUNTAIN: At the end of the mountain road. Read the first half of  the scroll to open it, then go in. See Timed Moves.

       TRAP: In the wooden hut. Open it. See Table.  

DRAWBRIDGE: This spans the moat of the castle and it must be lowered before you can cross it. See Password.

EGG: In the forest. Crack this to release the small bird. See Birds.

EGGSHELL: Produced when you crack the egg. Not used.

ENTRANCES: CAVE: On the south side of the cavern.

           DARK TUNNEL: See Tunnels.

           PALACE: See Palace Entrance.

EQUIPMENT, HORSE-RIDING: See Horse-Riding Equipment.

EVIL: PRESENCE: In the 5-pointed star room. For atmosphere only.

      SPIRIT: This will emerge if you read the first half of the scroll, unless you are standing outside the mountain door.

FENCE: On the palace road. For atmosphere only.

FORCE, INVISIBLE: See Invisible Force.

FOREST: To the south of the mountain road. See Rocks and Sword.

G: On the beach, to the west of the pool. See Letters.

GEM: See Luminous Gem.

GIANT: He guards the mountain road. See Rocks and Sword.

GIANT SQUID: See Squid.

GOLD COIN: See Coin.

HAT: See Voodoo Doll.

HAY-LOFT: Above the stables. Climb the ladder.

HORSE-RIDING EQUIPMENT: In the stables. Not used.

HUTS: BOATMAN'S: At the west side of the lake. Enter it. See Boatman.

      WOODEN: At the west of the open plain. See Doors.

ICICLE ROOM: There are two entrances to this room, which is to the south of the brightly-lit corridor. There is no escape from here so type Load or Quit.

ICOSAHEDRON: In the storeroom. One of the Platonic solids. See Platonic Solids.

INVISIBLE FORCE: Just inside the mountain door. You cannot return along here.

IRON PORTCULLIS: See Portcullis.

KEYS: BRASS: On the beach, south of the sand lizard. Use it to open the door of the wooden hut. See Scoring.

      SMALL: On the palace road. Use it to open the safe. It will fall into the lake if you are carrying it whilst you are in the boat. You won't need it again anyway. See Scoring.

KITCHEN: In the wooden hut.

KITCHEN TABLE: See Table.

KLEIN BOTTLE: As well as being the subject of the game, it is also a  topological curiosity with no edges and only one surface. It cannot actually exist in its perfect form (except in adventure games!) hence the mystical associations. You will find it in the alcove, and must return it to the palace. See Scoring.

L: In the brightly-lit corridor. See Letters.

LADDER: In the stables. Climb it. The ladder is fixed in position and cannot be moved.

LAKE: To the north of the palace road. It separates the palace from the mountain. Do not jump in! See Boat.

LEDGE: Overlooking the pool, at the west end of the brightly-lit corridor. From the end of it, jump into the pool.

LETTERS:  During your travels you will encounter various letters. These are rearranged to form the password.

LIGHT: See Luminous Gem, Blue Light.

LOFT: In the wooden hut. See also Hay-Loft.

LONG CORRIDOR: See Corridors.

LIZARD: See Sand Lizard.

LUMINOUS GEM:     In the brightly-lit corridor. The game can be completed without this. It will break into fragments if dropped in the recess, and fade away if you attempt to take it underwater. See Scoring.

MAGIC WAND: See Wand.

MINDLESS ZOMBIE: See Zombie.

MINIATURE HAT: See Voodoo Doll.

MOAT: This surrounds the castle. See Drawbridge.

MOBIUS RAVINE:    At the end of the long corridor. A mobius strip is a topological curiosity with only one surface and one edge. The ravine is laid out in a similar way, with each apparent edge being a continuation of the other. If you walk along the edge you will eventually emerge on the other side of the ravine.

MOUNTAIN: On the east side of the lake. The major part of the adventure takes place inside the mountain. See Mountain Door.

MOUNTAIN: DOOR: See Doors.

PATH: This winds up the mountainside, from the mountain road. There is a junction about half-way up, one path takes you to the top, the other ends at the pile of rocks. On early versions of the game a wrong move is fatal.

ROAD: See Roads.

MP: Mary Poppins.

MYSTERIOUS CAVE: See Caves.

NARROW: PASSAGE: South of the brightly-lit corridor.

ROAD: See Roads.

TUNNELS: See Tunnels.

NEEDLE: In the hay-loft. See Voodoo Doll.

O:  There are three altogether: In the narrow tunnel, on the open plain, on the oak tree. See Letters.

OAK TREE: See Trees.

OARS: You cannot retrieve these once they have floated away. See Boat.

OCTAHEDRON: In the pool. One of the Platonic solids. See Platonic Solids. You will not have enough oxygen to retrieve this and get across the pool in one go.

OLD BONE: See Bone.

OPEN PLAIN: At the top of the cliffs. This is an oblong space with a tree in the centre, leading to a hut at the west end. In early versions of the game, north-south movements across the centre of the plain were prohibited.

OPENINGS: At the top of the mountain. Enter here. On the south side of the mobius ravine. This leads to the small rooms.

OVERHANG: See Cliff Overhang.

P: Carved on the weird tree. See Letters.

PALACE: The adventure starts and ends here. You must return the Klein Bottle here to finish the game.

PALACE ENTRANCE: At the east end of the courtyard.

PASSAGE, NARROW: See Narrow Passage.

PASSWORD: This is formed from the letters scattered about the adventure. See Letters. The password is Topology.

PATH, WINDING: See Winding Path.

PEDESTALS: There are two: One in the palace, and one in the alcove. You cannot do anything with these, they are used to rest the Klein Bottle on.

PEG: Just beyond the portcullis. See Torus.

PILE OF ROCKS: Up the mountainside. See Rocks.

PIT: See Snake Pit.

PLAIN: See Open Plain.

PLATONIC SOLIDS: These are the five solids mentioned in the scroll, they are a mathematical set: Tetrahedron - made from four triangles; Cube - made from six squares; Octahedron - made from eight triangles; Dodecahedron - made from twelve pentagons; Icosahedron - made from twenty triangles. See Small Rooms, Scoring.

POOL: This is at the west end of the brightly-lit corridor. You cannot breath whilst you are underwater, but there are enough moves available to enable you to get across it to the beach. After jumping in go south, east, south, west, then up. You can also pass back in the reverse direction. The water has an adverse effect on some of the objects. See Spells, Luminous Gem, Dodecahedron, Tetrahedron, Cube.

PORTCULLIS: At the entrance to the castle. See Peg. You cannot raise the portcullis from inside the castle.

PORTRAIT: In the chapel. Push or slide this to reveal the safe.

PUDDLES: In the loft. For atmosphere only.

RANGE: In the kitchen. You cannot do anything with this.

RAVINE: See Mobius Ravine.

RECESS: There are two of these, one on the ledge overlooking the pool, the other at the bottom of the cliffs. They provide a mechanism for transporting the spells across the pool. Dropping the box of spells in the first recess will cause it to rematerialise in the second one. See also Luminous Gem.

REFILL PACK:      Behind the zombie. You cannot actually get to this, and you shouldn't need to. You only need five spells to complete the game. See Spells and Dog.

RESURRECTION: If you get killed, you can choose to be resurrected up to a maximum of three times. You will lose points for this which you cannot regain, so you are advised to load back a saved position whenever possible, instead of opting for resurrection.

ROADS:           MOUNTAIN:     Runs from the lake along the base of the mountain. It  is guarded by the giant.

       NARROW: Leads to the stone arch.

       PALACE: Runs east-west, north of the palace entrance.

ROCKING CHAIR: In the witch's sitting room. Not used.

ROCKS: Up the mountainside. You cannot get past these. Push them onto the giant below to flatten him! On early versions of the game this will only work if you have previously encountered the giant.

ROWING BOAT:      See Boat.

SAFE: In the chapel. Open it will the small key. See Portrait.

SAILOR: See Boatman.

SAND LIZARD:      On the beach. You encounter him after jumping from the  cliffs. You can prevent him from seeing you by throwing sand at him. See Timed Moves.

SANDCASTLE: This must be built where the circle is traced in the sand. You will need the bucket and spade. Waving the wand over the sandcastle will transform it.

SCORING: Apart from scoring points by solving the various puzzles etc., you also score points for picking up the following objects: Bible, luminous gem, wand, spells, scroll, sword, broomstick, Klein Bottle, tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, icosahedron, sphere, torus, coin, both keys, bone, bow and arrow. Note that you do not need all of these objects in order to complete the game.

SCROLL: This is in two halves. The first half is at the top of the weird tree. The second half is just inside the mountain door. You cannot possess both halves at the same time, so read the information on each half and piece it together. The wand has an adverse effect on it. See Evil Spirit, Mountain Door, Scoring.

SIGN OUTSIDE DARK TUNNEL:     This holds the code to the safe route through the tunnel. As suggested, take the initial letter of each word, and repeat three times.

SIGNPOST: At the end of the long corridor. For information only.

SITTING-ROOM: In the witch's cavern.

SMALL: KEY: See Keys.

       OPENING: See Opening.

       ROOMS: To the south of the mobius ravine. These rooms each have a  geometrical shape and number scratched on the walls. This information relates to the shapes contained in each of the Platonic solids. You must drop each solid in its appropriate room. Note that the circle with a 1, and the hexagon with a 16 do not match up with any of the solids, and you should not put anything in these rooms. For more information see Platonic Solids. One of the rooms has a star in it. See Star Room.

SNAKE PIT: In the dark tunnel. See Sign for how to avoid this.

SOLIDS: See Platonic Solids.

SPELL: CHAMBER: North of the brightly-lit corridor. Waving the wand here takes you back into the corridor. See Stars. See also Witch's Spell Chamber.

       REFILL PACK: See Refill Pack.

SPELLS: In the spell chamber. You will need these for your wand to work. The box initially contains five spells and you will use one each time you wave the wand, so don't waste any. See Refill Pack. The spells will fizzle out if you attempt to carry them underwater. See Recess, Scoring.

SPHERE: On the mobius ravine. Not used, but see Scoring. Note: It is not one of the Platonic solids.

SPIRIT, EVIL: See Evil Spirit.

SQUID: Thus will always attack you. Do not enter the cave.

STABLES: At the west end of the courtyard.

STAR: ON BEACH: Waving the wand here will return you to the five-pointed star room. See Stars.

      ROOM: Next to the small rooms. Waving the wand here will return you to the five-pointed star room. See Stars.

STARS: You will see a number of stars inscribed at certain locations. These are connected together by a transport mechanism which uses the wand and spells as its source of power. See the entries for the individual locations for more information. See also 5-Pointed Star, Wand.

STEPS, CLIFF: See Cliff Steps.

STONE ARCH: At the east end of the long corridor.

STOREROOM: Behind the door in the narrow passage.

STRAW: In the hay-loft. For atmosphere only.

SWORD: Dropped by the giant when you kill him. Not used but see Scoring.

T: Above the hut door. See Letters.

TABLE: In the kitchen. You cannot pick up the table, but you must push it into the next room and stand on it, in order to reach the trap door.

TETRAHEDRON: On the mobius ravine. One of the Platonic solids. See Platonic Solids. It will float away if you attempt to take it underwater.

TIMED MOVES: There are two moves in the game which are timed: 1) The mountain door only remains open for approximately five seconds before closing again. You must enter it within this time limit. 2) When you blind the sand lizard he will regain his sight after about five seconds. Go south before this happens.

TOAD: What you get turned into if you upset the witch!

TOPOLOGY: A branch of mathematics dealing with the distortion of objects and surfaces into curious shapes. Although this theme runs through the adventure, it is not necessary to know anything about the subject in order to play the game. See Password.

TORN SCROLL: See Scroll.

TORUS: In the narrow tunnel. This is a topological shape which resembles a doughnut. Throw it over the peg beyond the portcullis. See Scoring. Note: It is not one of the Platonic solids.

TRANSPORT MECHANISM: See Stars and Wand. See also Recess.

TRAP DOOR: See Doors.

TREES: In the forest. For atmosphere only.

       At the top of the mountain. Climb this.

       Oak tree, on the plain. Climb this.

TUNNELS: DARK: At the end of the winding path. There is no way of bringing light to his tunnel. See Sign.

        NARROW: Leads into the mountain from the mountain door.

UMBRELLA: In the antechamber. You can open and close this. Use it when jumping off the cliff overhang. The wind may blow it away if you walk around with it open.

UNDERWATER CAVE: See Caves.

VOODOO DOLL: In the five-pointed star room. Initially, the doll resembles you, but you can make it resemble the witch by putting the witch's hat on it. You can stick the needle into it, or throw it onto the flames underneath the cauldron.

WALL SAFE: See Safe.

WAND: In the brightly-lit corridor. This operates the transport mechanism when waved in a location containing a star. You will need the box of spells for the wand to work. See Stars, Spells, Dog, Sandcastle, Scoring.

WEIRD TREE: See Trees.

WINDING PATH: Leads from the witch's cavern.

WITCH: You will first meet her in the witch's cavern. See Voodoo Doll.

WITCH'S: BROOMSTICK: In the witch's sitting-room. If you have this you can fly over the chasm. See Scoring.

        CAVERN: You will be transported here when you have correctly placed the solids in the small rooms. In early versions of the game the solids had to be dropped in room order, starting with the icosahedron and ending with the dodecahedron, without dropping the sphere or the torus. To leave the cavern you must kill the witch. See Witch.

        HAT: See Voodoo Doll.

        SITTING-ROOM: See Sitting-Room.

        SPELL CHAMBER: In the witch's cavern. Waving the wand here will return you to the weird tree. See Stars.

WOODEN: BOW: See Bow.

        FENCE: See Fence.

        HUT: See Huts.

        LADDER: See Ladder.

        PEG: See Peg.

Y: In the bed of the pool. See Letters.

ZOMBIE: Underneath the stone arch. You cannot get rid of him. See Refill Pack.

5-POINTED STAR ROOM:    North of the brightly-lit corridor. See also Star on Beach.

 

 

Instructions' Source   : KINGDOM OF KLEIN (Epic Adventures) Inlay & Helpsheet

 

Review (Electron User)

This is the latest in a series of text-only adventures for the Electron from Epic. The plot concerns the wicked witch of the mountain who has stolen the Klein bottle from its pedestal in the king's palace. She has sworn to lay a hideous curse on anyone foolish enough to try and recover it. And the hapless citizens of Klein have elected you to be that fool!

Your task is to find and kill the witch and return the bottle to the pedestal. You start at the scene of the crime and after collecting some useful items in the palace, set out on your quest. You have a limited amount of movement before encountering the first puzzle - how to cross the river. But having solved this, off you go to the main body of the adventure.

I won't reveal anything else about the game itself. Suffice it to say you will meet a belligerent giant, learn to fly and end up in an endless maze.

I consider this a fairly hard adventure, and I must confess I decided to cheat. Imagine my surprise, however, when I found a message in the memory to the effect that "peeking won't help, you'll have to do it the hard way!" Thus chastened, I returned to the adventure, got a little further and got stuck...again.

This time I wouldn't be beaten. A slight alteration to the ASCII values in my disassembler produced a keywords listing. Thus armed, I hastened back to the game and promptly got stuck yet again.

As I write this, I am finally near the end - the adventure's and mine. The effort has been worthwhile, even though I now have a few grey hairs.

Overall a definite must for the experienced adventurer, though the beginner would probably do better with the first of the Epic adventures, CASTLE FRANKENSTEIN. The save-game facility and response to keyboard input are both very fast. A lot of mapping is required and although the solutions to the problems are reasonably easy, finding what you need to solve the problem with can be a headache.

An extremely good adventure and excellent value for money. Recommended.

Merlin, ELECTRON USER 1. 8