The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky (Infocom, 1984)
based on the book by Douglas Adams
IF solution, contains spoilers. Back to the IF page

You start your adventure as Arthur Dent, waking up in your bedroom with a heavy hangover. Turn the light on and stand up. Take your gown and put it on. In its pocket you'll find a buffered analgesic: eat it. Take the toothbrush and the screwdriver and exit the house by going south. On the front porch, take the junk mail, then go south.
Mr. Prosser is in front of your house, ready to have a bulldozer knock it down. Lie down in the mud and wait for Ford. When he arrives and understands the situation, he'll persuade Prosser to take your place. Follow Ford south, then west to the pub.
Once at the pub take the towel Ford was offering you, and buy a sandwich. Drink beer until Ford tells you that your house has been demolished. Go east. On the country lane, give the sandwich to the dog, then go north, in front of the remains of your house. Wait for the Vogons to arrive, then pick up the Sub-Etha Sens-O-Matic device that Ford dropped and press the green button.

You'll find yourself in complete dark. After a few turns, smell, then look at the shadow in front of you. Something clears and you realize that you and Ford are on the Vogon hold.
Eat the peanuts. There is a Babel fish dispenser on the place: put the towel on the drain, remove your gown and hang it on the hook, put Ford's satchel in front of the panel, and put the junk mail on the satchel. Press the dispenser button and a Babel fish will fly in your ear. Press the switch on the case that contains the atomic vector plotter: it will tell you which word you have to type to open the case. Wait until the Vogons discover both of you and drag you to the Captain.
When he starts his poetry, enjoy the poem. Once he starts the second verse, note the word you were told to type earlier. Afterwards you'll be sent back to the Vogon hold; there, type the word (between double quotation marks) and take the plotter. Pick up the gown and the towel, and wait until the Vogon guard throws you into the airlock and into deep space.

You'll be rescued by the Heart of Gold (with aboard Zaphod Beeblebrox and Trillian) and everything will go dark again. After a few turns, hear, then go aft.
Once you get to the bridge, drop everything except the Guide, the Babel fish, and the towel. Go down, then keep going aft until the game lets you arrive to the engine room. Insist in looking until the game describes the room. Take all objects and go fore, fore, up to the bridge. Once there drop the Improbability drive, the rasp, and the pliers. Plug the small plug of the drive into the small receptacle of the plotter.
Type something that the game doesn't understand to get a story about the Vl'hurgs and the G'Gugvunts.
Go down, then port. At the galley, take the carton and touch the Nutrimat pad. He'll produce some Advanced Tea Substitute: take it and go starboard, then up back to the bridge.
Drop the carton. Drop the Advanced Tea Substitute and put the dangly bit of the plotter into it. Flip the plotter switch, and everything goes dark again.

From now on you'll be often in the dark. Every time one of the senses in the description will be missing after a few turns. Type this sense, and then an action according to this sense: go aft after "hear", look at the shadow after "smell", look at the light after "see", or drink the liquid after "feel". You'll retrieve consciousness into one of the following five scenarios.

Traal:
Tell the Bugblatter Beast that your name is Arthur. Go east and wrap the towel around your head. Take the sharp stone and write your name on the memorial. Remove the towel; the Beast will be asleep. Go west and southwest, then take the Nutrimat interface.

War Chamber:
Take the awl. When you get into the Maze just walk in any direction until you find a particle, then take it.

Party (as Trillian):
Look at Arthur. Drop your plate and take his jacket fluff. Open your handbag and put the fluff in it. Take the plate from the hostess and look at Phil until he comes to you.

Damogran (as Zaphod Beeblebrox):
On the Presidential Speedboat, take the toolbox, then search the seat, finding the key and the cushion fluff. Unlock the toolbox. Steer for the spire and the autopilot will eventually activate. Once the speedboat reaches the top of the cliff, stand up and go north to the dais. Wait until Trillian takes you as a hostage, then tell the guards to drop their weapons. Tell Trillian to shoot the pile of rifles and go east to the Heart of Gold.

Earth (as Ford Prefect):
You find yourself in the country lane. Go north to Arthur's house. Open your satchel and take the satchel fluff. Give the towel to Arthur, realize that you're a genius, then go to Prosser and tell him to lie down in the mud. Go south and west to the pub.
There, buy peanuts and beer. Drink beer until Arthur runs out of the pub. Go east and north. Give the fluff to Arthur and wait for the Vogons to arrive.

After each scenario everything will go dark again, then you'll be back into the Heart of Gold. Each time, hear, then go aft twice, then go up to the bridge. Drop there any item you retrieved in the scenario and flip the plotter switch again. Repeat until you have completed all five scenarios.

Once you complete the last scenario and are on the bridge of the Heart of Gold again, take the Nutrimat interface. Go down, aft, down to the hatchway. Take the toolbox and the cushion fluff, go up, fore, up, and drop them. Go down and port to the galley. There, open the Nutrimat, remove the circuit board, insert the interface, and touch the pad. Go starboard and up. Put the large plug into the large receptacle. When the onboard computer, Eddie, announces that there are two missiles approaching the ship, flip the generator switch. Go down and port, take the tea, then go starboard and up. Drop the tea, remove the dangly bit from the Advanced Tea Substitute and put it into the tea. Take the thing your aunt gave you, if you aren't already carrying it. Flip the generator switch.

You are in the dark again. This time, there will be a different sense missing at each turn. Wait until "feel" is missing, then feel. It should feel a bit warm and wet and squishy; if not, you need to repeat again until you get this description. If you manage to do it, you'll find yourself inside the sperm whale. Drink the liquid. Take the flower pot, put it into the thing, then wait until the whale splats to the ground and everything goes dark.

You'll be back into the Heart of Gold again. Hear, then go aft twice, then go up to the bridge. Ensure that you have with you the pocket fluff, the cushion fluff, the satchel fluff, and the jacket fluff. Wait until the thing shows up, and take the pot. Plant all fluffs in the pot and wait for a sprout to grow. Go port into the sauna and eat the fruit that has grown from the sprout. This is the Fruit of Foreknowledge which allows you to know which tool Marvin will ask you for. Take that tool, unless it's the chisel, in which case you have to take it when you are in Marvin's pantry. Take tea and no tea. Go down and aft.
In the meanwhile, Eddie will announce that the ship has landed to the legendary lost planet of Magrathea.
Open the door; it will be so impressed that you have both tea and no tea that it will open. Drink the tea and go port into Marvin's pantry. Ask Marvin to open the hatch and he'll give you rendezvous in the hatchway access space in 12 turns. Drop everything except the tool. Go starboard, down, and starboard. Wait for Marvin, then give him the tool when he asks for it. Go port, then down to the ramp to finally set foot to Magrathea.



by Daniele Raffo         page created on 1 January 2015         page last changed on 15 December 2020