Meet Mike's Important Dream Date Reader Poll Seepage 7 Seepage6

Winter/Spring 1987 ' Bureaucracy Not very long ago, Douglas Adams It's a sad story, one that's replayed (who is, as everyone knows, the best­ every day for millions of people selling author of that zany interactive worldwide. Of course, it's not always story The Hitchhiker's Guide to the a bank at fault. Sometimes it's the Galaxy TM) moved from one apartment postal service, or the telephone .: in London to another. He dutifully company, or an airline, or the .. notified everyone of his new address, government. All of us, at one time including his bank. In fact, he or another, feel persecuted by a personally went to the bank and filled bureaucracy. What can be done? out a change-of-address form. Only Douglas Adams would exact Soon after, Douglas found that he such sweet revenge. He retaliated by was unable to use his credit card. He writing Bureaucracy™ , a hilarious discovered that the card had been interactive journey through masses of invalidated by the bank. Apparently, red tape. the bank had sent a new card to his You begin Bureaucracy in your old address. spiffy new apartment. You're going For weeks, Douglas tried to get the to Paris this very afternoon for a bank to acknowledge his change-of­ combination training seminar and address form. He talked to bank vacation, so you'll need to leave as officials, and filled out new forms, soon as you get the money order your and applied foranothercreditcard, but boss has mailed you. Unless, of nothing worked. He had no credit, and course, there's some problem with Creative Services Manager Carl Genatossio slaved over a hot drafting table f or the bank behaved like ... well, like a the mail... over two years before completing the cover art f or Bureaucracy. bank. Please turn to page 3 Genuine Zorkmid coin minted for the Trilogy Together again for the first time; , Zork II and Zork III in the same package In the beginning, three little Zorks The coin, which bears the handsome lived happily together in one big visage of Belwit the Flat, is included mainframe computer. They flour­ in The Zork Trilogy package, along ished under the loving care of Marc with the complete games of Zork I, Blank, , and a lot of Zork JI, and Zork Ill on disk; a hi story other nurturing computer types, and of the Great Underground Empire; a grew up to be humorous, challeng­ Frobozzco International stock ing, and full of riveting puzzles. certificate; resort brochures from FiT\ally, it was time for Zork®I, Bozbarland and Grayslopes; a letter Zork JI , and Zork Ill to venture out from John D. Flathead IX; and a into the world of personal computers. strange old map. As everybody knows, they made their Just imagine ... Zork I, Zork JI, parents proud. One million people Zork Ill, a heap of fascinating 1 welcomed the little Zorks into their documents, and a not-available­ homes. They were called "remark­ anywhere-else Zorkmid coin. And it's able," "fascinating," "beautifully all yours at a savings of 50% off the written," "masterpieces of logic." original combined cost of the three Countless awards and accolades were Zork packages. Commodore 64/128 won, including "Best All-Time and Atari XL/XE versions cost just Computer Game" from Playboy $59.95. Apple II series, Macintosh, Magazine in 1986. Atari ST, Amiga, and IBM versions Now, five years later, Zork I, Zork carry a suggested retail price of JI, and Zork Ill are together again, $69.95. happily reunited in one incredible If you haven't yet welcomed the Zork Trilogy package. three little Zorks into your home, To commemorate this momentous now is the time to do so ... now that occasion, the staff of the Frobozz they're all together in the extra Here's the suprisingly original cover of the new Zork Trilogy, chosen from Mint struck a special Zorkmid coin. special Zork Trilogy. literally thousands of entries from across the globe. Page 2 The Status Line Winter/Spring 1987 Dear : "Deadline! " I creaked from the I eagerly ripped open the envelope stretcher, "Deadline is the answer!" with the Infocom logo and quickly Mail Bag The police sergeant named Duffy pulled out the latest edition of The asked me, "That T-shirt you're New Zork ... wait! A little change wearing is a large, isn't it?" I told threw me off balance -- but it was I suppose you'll get a few billion behold! Be still my beating heart! Duffy, "No, it's a medium." quickly regained. I opened the edition entries for the puzzle, but remember: Keep running my beating feet! A heli­ Interactive-affectionately yours, and turned to page 6. Ah, yes, page I sent mine in first. copter! I was really glad I had looked Jon Ramer. 6, home of puzzle number 11 . I Sincerely, back at the helicopter until I turned Great Falls, MT thought -- no, I prayed -- that I would John Sadowski back around to see where I was run­ be able to complete the program Buffalo, MN ning. When I woke up on the heli­ Dear Infocom: puzzle and win! Yes, me! Winner! copter, they were still picking tree My newsletter came with a distinct Winner of the Infocom game of my Dear Infocom: bark out of my face. Never mind that, perfume (perhaps ) choosing! I read about Leather The snow fell at an ever-increasing though, I was rescued! Free to watch permeating the paper. My guess is Goddesses of Phobos and I wanted it. rate, obscuring my view of the tree more reruns of Gilligan's Island and that the newsletters are stored near the That would be the game of my line ahead. The wind whistled Hogan's Heroes! Free to solve Zork a scratch-and-sniff cards used in the choosing. Plenty of sex, action, sex, through my cloak, and my lantern twelfth time! Of course the snow Leather Goddesses of Phobos game. puzzles, sex, zany humor, sex; why, squeaked in the cold. The miles had storm came back in force. Fortunate­ On the other hand, my wife is it had my name all over it! The trudged by at an ever-slowing rate, ly, we crashed on top of three cows. convinced that the Infocom letter was tension within me built! until I finally couldn't go on any Not only did they soften the blow, perfumed because in the mail box it I looked at the puzzle. Then I further. I entered the small grove of but I ate steak for four days until the was sitting next to a letter from my looked at it once again. Puzzlement trees and gratefully collapsed beneath forest rangers rescued me again. (non-existent) lover. The perfume befell my shattered hopes and dreams! a large tree with low branches. Finally, I spied the lovely little makes me a prime Suspect, and of You had to match quotes with games! Totally exhausted, I did the only quaint abode with boarded windows course I hid the incriminating letter This got me to thinking. I thing I could think of to pass the and a front door intentionally left (according to her) but she managed to personally have only two games time 'til the end came: I whistled. As blank that I called home. I wondered sniff out my Infidelity by paying (Leather Goddesses of Phobos I whistled, a beautiful little bird flew what I could have possibly done to de­ attention to Invisible Clues. Our would've been my third) so I over me into the branches of the tree. serve what happened to me. I opened mutual trust, the of our recognized very few quotes (fourto be The end must be close, I thought; my big mailbox with the usual marriage, is missing. She thinks exact). To win your puzzle, I would this is too familiar to be true. difficulty (it hates to give up posted some Enchanter or Sorcerer placed a have to know dialogue from 17 Then the little bird dropped mail) and realized what it was: my love spell on me and that she, my games. Fine; how much would this something on my head that was copy of The Status Line had been in lover and I are a Starcrossed Trinity. be? I calculated it out to be $654.15 nothing like a brass bauble and flew my mailbox for six days unopened! I Now she is looking for a good plus 4% sales tax; if I ordered them away. Coincidentally, I realized that quickly remedied that fault as I step­ . I need an honest through you, it would have been I had been whistling the theme song ped inside. Reaching into my cabinet Witness to tell my wife the truth. $688.15. Being a college student on to the TV series The Hitchhiker's for a cup, I found one of my china Without your help, my wife and I a very strict budget, I cannot afford Guide to the Galaxy. I decided to cups was inexplicably missing, so I will become Cutthroats. Be my $600 for games in order to compete figure the odds of these two events grabbed another and poured myself a , and tell my wife that in your puzzles. This is very happening together, hoping that it cup of tea. The stories and news I'm inno-scent. Until we get an disconcerting to me. I love your would take my mind off of the items were wonderful, but the thing I answer, she has me Suspended upside­ newspaper, with all its wit, and I increasing force of the wind. I came wanted to see most was the new down with a rope, twenty-five want to participate to the fullest. up with a seven-digit number that puzzle contest. I flipped to it eagerly, Fooblitzkys above the ground. The Please help me in the future. Thank was the same as the phone number of but just as I opened it up, my head future of my marriage (not to you for your cooperation. a girl who told me to do just what I started to feel as funny as the tea mention my life) rests in your hands. Admiringly yours, had done: get lost in a snow storm. tasted. Before I knew it, the floor Please answer as soon as possible; James Tibbits This drove me even further into rushed up to greet me. The police she has given me a strict Deadline, Kalamazoo, MI despair. In my deep depression, I came by and drew lines around me after which the rope will be cut and I didn't notice I was sweating until I before the ambulance took me away, will make with my fragile [Editor's reply: We've run several took off my cloak (actually, my but as I was wheeled out of my li­ skull. "one game" puzzles and even one "no jacket). A Chinook wind was brary (kitchen, actually), I saw those Sincerely, games" puzzle. And it's possible to passing through! By the way, the lines on the floor. That's it! I Phillip Gabbard solve even our multiple-game puzzles Hitchhiker's Guide has no info on a realized, I knew it all along. New York, NY with knowledge of just a few games. Chinook wind, so I'll tell you what it Besides, what's more important: your is: a warm wind that blows over the tuition or a new lnfocom game? Rockies and raises the temperature. Don't answer that.] It raised my hopes too. All the snow melted and the sun came out, making Dear Infocom: the day quite beautiful, however I just wanted to say that I couldn't leaving me still just as lost. I felt Susan Goldman believe how easy puzzle number 11 rather rested now, so I left the grove Chief was. Even though the only lnfocom of trees and began trudging across a games I own are Hitchhiker's, Zork field. The ground began to rumble Writers: 1/1, and , I and shake, and the sky filled with Stu Galley, Elizabeth Langosy, , figured out the puzzle in less than 20 mist! I looked around in terror and Curtis Montague, Jon Palace, and Gayle Syska minutes. I only filled out seven what should I behold stampeding over numbers before I figured out I was the hill straight at me? YAKS? ! ? In For the desktop publishing cartel: drawing the legs of something, and in Montana? No, no, cows! I stood Hollywood Dave Anderson, Tom Veldran a few minutes after drawing and there dumbfounded long enough to

erasing I had completed the "dead wish I had an izyuk memorized before © 1987 lnfocom lncorpom1cd, 125 CambridgcPark Drive, Cambridge, Massachuscll'\ 02140 man." I grabbed a back issue of a running as fast as I could, but slower Zork, Enchanter, Deadline, The Witness. Starcross, Suspended, Planc1fall , Infidel, Scaslalkcr, Cutthroals, computer magazine and found an than the herd. Suspect and Wishbringer are rcgislercd trademarks of lnfocom Inc. Ho llywood Hij in x, Moonmisl, Infocom ad showing all of your I thought I heard something in the Lea1hcr Goddesses of Phobos, Trinity, Ballyhoo. Sorcerer, Spcllbreaker, A Mind Forever Voyaging, Bureaucracy, Cornerstone, Fooblitzky, Talc.s of Advcnturc, ln1erac1i vc Fiction Plus and lnvisiClues are game's covers. There was the cover air behind me so I looked over my trademarks of Infocom Inc. The Hitchhiker's Guide 10 the Galaxy is a trademark of Douglas Adams. of Deadline. shoulder to check. Lo and Winter/Spring 1987 The Status Line Page3 Bureaucracy: Adains' wit in triplicate Continued from page 1 you attempt the seemingly simple bureaucratic bank. And a very Douglas Adams was assisted in You'll soon find yourself entangled task of getting to Paris. Along the bewildering airport. And an eccentric writing Bureaucracy by the staff of in a series of bureaucratic mishaps as way, you'll wrangle with a very assortment of characters ranging from lnfocom, primarily the mysterious a greedy llama to the paranoid owner hacker W.E.B. "Fred" Morgan. He of a camouflaged house. When you (she?) has worked on most Infocom find yourself hanging upside down products at one time or another. Mr. --~~~~~- lnfoNews -~~~~~-.... from a tree deep in the Zalagasan Morgan refuses to reveal any personal jungle, you know you're experiencing information about himself (herself?) Round up the outer limits of bureaucracy. other than a mailing address for cash Hollywood Hijinx/Bureaucracy InvisiClues To make sure you are prepared for and bearer bonds. any eventuality, the packaging Bureaucracy will be available in Now, for only $2 more, you can get double the hints. That's right! For includes an official letter from your March for the IBM, Apple II series, only $9.95 you get two complete sets of InvisiClues for two fantastic boss; a credit card application form Macintosh, Atari ST, Commodore Infocom games, all in one booklet. lnvisiClues Hint Booklets will give (in triplicate); a skinny pencil; a 128, and Amiga. Retail price is you only the help you need, when you need it. If you become stuck, all helpful brochure from your bank; and $34.95 for the Commodore 128, and you have to do is find the question in your InvisiClues Hint Booklet that a charter membership flyer for $39.95 for all other computer pertains to your problem, run your lnvisiClues latent image marker Popular Paranoia magazine. systems. (included in your InvisiClues kit) over the first answer and the answer appears before your very eyes. Be on the lookout for the Hollywood Hijinx™/Bureaucracy InvisiClues Hint Booklets and maps in mid-May. These classics titles for just $14 .95 Starcross, ® Suspended,® Infidel,® faithful readers. Each of these games, Our circulation tops Dallas Times Herald , ® and Deadline.® These ordinarily a $35 - $50 value, is an Hard to believe? We're a bit skeptical ourselves. The Status Line mailing award winning titles are now unbeatable $14.95. At this price, list has topped a whopping 240,000. Just to make sure that there's not available only direct from Infocom - they're a must addition to any one avid fan out there who is receiving 100,000 copies of The Status - allowing us to pass on some software library. (See enclosed Order Line, we've decided to undertake the massive task of updating our list. extraordinary savings to you, our Form for further details.) Those of you from whom we have not heard in the last 12 months will find a Renewal Card bound into your issue of The Status Line. If you do not return the card, we will assume that you are no longer interested in receiving The Status Line. Thanks for your help. * ** * YOU HAVE D\E.D * * ** Mitch, it's only a game '(OUR sc:o~E 15 2.50 OUT On July l 0, 1986, Infocom beat softball rival Lotus Development in a OF A POSSIBLE 400 IN 74C. 11\0\IES. hard-fought game. The final score was 14 to 13. fu, On July 11, 1986, the news broke that Lotus founder and Chairman THIS ENT\TL.£5 '

A blithering idiom In its November issue, the German magazine "Happy Computer" reviewed Infocom's Leather Goddesses ofPhobos TM (which, in German, is "Die Leder-Gottinnen von Phobos"). Immediately, Infocom's resident German semi-translators began struggling through the review, valiantly attempting to wrestle those thirty-seven syllable German words into submission. The sentence which gave them the most trouble was one which read, "Programmierer Steve Meretzky ... holt vielmehr zum groben 'Durch den Kakao ziehen' aus." This apparently translated to "Programmer Steve Meretzky likes to drag people through cocoa." Naturally, this had everyone around here scratching their heads until someone discovered that" dragging someone through cocoa" is a German idiom for kidding someone.

All the news that's fit to print Recently, an Infocom author was visiting the venerable newsroom of the venerable New York Times for an interview about the author's not-so­ venerable latest work. Naturally, the author took this occasion to vent his disgust at the legal staff of the Times (which recently bullied Infocom into changing the name of this newsletter from The New Zork Times to The Status Line). The Times reporter proceeded to lead our author to the newsroom bulletin board. There, in the very center of that crowded board, was a copy of the article from The Status Line about the forced name change. The headline, "Times to Infocom: Drop Dead" was circled with a fat red editing pen. Apparently, the folks in the newsroom don't hold their legal department in much higher stead than we do. Lori Glickman and Bradley Schenck Page4 The Status Line Winter/Spring 1987 Infocom pumpkin play a smash The annual Infocom Halloween Party included many of the features one normally associates with Halloween parties: costumes, heavily spiked punch, bobbing for pumpkins, and so forth. It also included one feature not normally seen at a Halloween party: an interactive skit. The skit, entitled Halloween Hijinx, told the story of a small town. Its cemetery is coveted by a huge condominium developer, and the deed to the cemetery, the last stumbling block between the developer and a hideous housing project, has mysteriously vanished. As the action of the skit began, the main character (You) and his two friends (Zebulon and Jedediah) are heading out on Halloween for some trick-or-treating. They've decided to keep their eyes and ears open for any clues about the missing deed. Elderly spinster and town gossip, Elmira Bat, (played by "You" (played by lnfoTester Max Buxton, dressed as Characters in the skit included the lnfoTester Tomas Bok, in the nun costume) perched in her Punch, of Punch and Judy fame) waits for instructions church's forgetful pastor, Cyrus window overlooking the town square, provides our from the Parser (played by lnfolmp Dave Lebling in the McGee; incredibly corrupt Mayor adventurers with a much needed clue. computer chip costume). Slimebucket; a town bully named Chuggo; and elderly spinster Elmira Bat, the town gossip. Other towns­ people were Doctor Goodbody, a kindly philanthropist; Abdul, a suspicious foreigner living in a tent near the cemetery; and Abdul's trained mule. The mule, named Mr. Zeke, could answer any questions whose answer was a number. The skit was interactive in much the same way that an Infocom story is. After each action in the skit, the players would freeze, and the audience would shout out sug­ gestions for what to do next. InfoAuthor Dave Lebling played the skit's "parser," screening inputs from the audience and forwarding appropriately-worded ones on to the players. Players appeared in the skit in whatever costumes they had worn to the party. InfoTester Max Buxton, Infolmp Steve Meretzky convinces Computer and Video Later at the cast party, Infolmp "Hollywood" Dave who played You, came as Punch, and Game magazine American Correspondent/Photographer Anderson discovers the chainsaw was not a prop, but an Marshal Rosenthal to strip down and join the fun. his girlfriend was Judy. Dave actual working model. His handywork tookfirst-place in Lebling was costumed as a giant Rosenthal said he would be back next year the pumpkin toss. computer chip; thus his parser role. InfoAuthor Steve Meretzky (Jedediah) and his wife were dressed "Halloween Hijinx brings new life to a dead holiday." as Baby Time and Father Time, -Vincent Canby, New Zork Times respectively. InfoTester Tom Bok (Elmira Bat) was a nun, InfoAuthor "The chainsaw finale raised the hair on my neck. " Stu Galley (Abdul) was a beatnik, -Rex Reed, New Zork Daily News InfoEditor Jon Palace (Goodbody) was a basket of dirty laundry, and InfoAuthor "Hollywood" Dave cahoots, and that Goodbody had kept the absent-minded mad because the cemetery was the location of his secret Anderson was costumed as a huge pastor occupied while the Mayor stole the deed from the clubhouse.But it wasn't over yet! Goodbody recovered and Leather Goddesses ofPhobos scratch church. The deed was discovered locked in a chest buried in came after our heroes with an electric chainsaw, and the 'n' sniff card. the cemetery. As the skit reached its climax, Goodbody audience had one final puzzle to solve: PULL OUT THE As the story of the skit unfolded, was overpowered through the use of Abdul's voodoo doll, PLUG! the audience discovered that Slime­ but Slimebucket arrived at that moment with a gun. Much later in the evening, the chainsaw was used for bucket and Goodbody were in Suddenly, Slimebucket was jumped by Chuggo, who was pumpkin carving. Winter/Spring 1987 The Status Line Page 5 How much you wanna bet? Dinner in Paris or Tokyo: A history of InfoBets Infocom might just be the Atlantic Mike Dornbrook, a cheery optimist, going right down to the wire ... that "no way would Leather City of the software world. For some and InfoAuthor , an lnfoAuthor Steve Meretzky made Goddesses of Phobos sell more than folks here, wagering is more than a industrial-strength pessimist. When the first in a series of bets with 87,500 copies" by the end of 1986. diverting pastime; it's a way of life. Brian's Wishbringer was released in Dornbrook after Mike predicted that The stakes were raised: this one was Perhaps the culprit is one-too­ June of 1985, Mike bet him that it people would send the postcards from for EIGHT hours of manual labor. At many trade shows in Las Vegas. would sell at least 45,000 copies by their Planetfall package to Infocom as last report, Steve was rumored to be Perhaps it's just a by-product of the end of that year. By December, fan mail. So Steve bet him that less stocking up on shovels, pickaxes, working in such an intense Wishbringer sales were nearly double than 100 postcards would be received and a good steady whip. atmosphere of high-stakes high-tech that figure, so Mike ended up during the first year after Planetfall's But the optimism of a Mike entrepreneurism. But whatever the enjoying a fine dinner at the swank release. When only 3 postcards Dornbrook and the pessimism of a reason, whenever one Infocommie Parker House restaurant at Brian's arrived by September 1, 1984, Steve Brian Moriarty pale in comparison to says "X," and another one says "Y," expense. Seeking revenge, Brian cheerfully ran up a sizable tab at The that of , co-author of there's going to be a wager any made the same bet in 1986 for his Ritz. Mike, by being off by a factor Zork, and Brian "Spike" Berkowitz, minute. You can bet on it. second game, Trinity. As this issue of 33, set an InfoBetting record that co-author of Cornerstone. In fact, it For example, take Info-Marketeer was going to press, that bet was has never been equalled since. was Spike who coined such immortal Those same two were at it again a InfoPhrases as "It'll never work" and few months later. Mike bet that The "It's worse than that." California Academy of Sciences Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Marc's first bet with Spike was would, some time before the end of that Infocom's sales would top $5 debuts 'Marathon of the Minds' 1985, hit the number-one spot on million in 1983, at a time when By Stu Galley NASA's Journalist in Space Softsel's Hot List, which was then projections were for $3 million. It's the middle of the night in a program, tackled standard- level the industry's bellwether bestseller Sales passed $6 million, doubling the museum of science in a major Hijinx, more laid-back players tried list. When the game hit number one forecast and quadrupling the 1982 North American city. The their hand at introductory-level in early 1985 and stayed there for figure. Spike paid off at The Ritz. exhibits, drained of visitors, seem Moonmist, which was just most of the year, Steve was obliged The next year, Dornbrook took over larger and darker than usual. A appearing for sale in stores. to pay off the terms of the wager: six for Marc and wagered that sales would lone human guard strolls the After a few hours, the adult hours of manual labor. Irriagine all break $15 million. This time it was empty corridors over and over, teams threw in the towel and called those people who bought Brian's tum to sup for free, as sales periodically joining the other guard it a fun night. After more than 12 Hitchhiker's, unaware that they were "only" increased by 70%. at the museum entrance for a cup hours, the contest concluded with indirectly helping Mike Dornbrook Marc returned next year, betting of coffee between rounds. not one but TWO winning teams: get a new patio! Spike that sales would more than But wait! All is not quiet on Corey Gates, Mike Greengard, and Steve swore revenge, and bet Mike Please turn to page 9 this particular night. One exhibit Greg Templeton from Contra hall is brightly lit, filled with Costa Christian, and Dan teams of teenagers who are Connolly, Eric Hedstrom, and plotting strategies, trying ex­ Craig McLaughlin from Amador periments, tapping at keyboards, Valley High School. (Why were and occasionally breaking into there two winners instead of one? cheers. Fortified with caffeinated It's a long story, but basically the soft drinks and vitamin-rich juice, teams finished so close together these brave souls spend the whole that both deserved to win.) night venturing through a fictional The next Marathon of the Minds world, searching for a path to the hit the Pacific Science Center in end of a story, hoping to win a Seattle Center on November 21- personal computer for their school. 22. This time the local electronic It's true! I've seen it myself! It's media hopped on the bandwagon, Infocom's "Marathon of the with three TV stations doing Minds"! It's a sneak preview of an stories, including two live remote unreleased Infocom interactive reports within minutes of each fiction, with the author attending other on the nightly news. Three in person! It's a chance for high­ radio stations joined in with school students to win fabulous reports, interviews, and a series of prizes! And it may invade your give-aways for listeners. Several city sooner than you think! newspapers also covered this It came to the California event. Academy of Sciences in San This time 26 teams from high Francisco's Golden Gate Park on schools all over Washington state November 8-9. In the Hall of tackled Hijinx in a large two-story Africa, the stuffed animals, still hall that was empty after an frozen in their tableaux of jungle exhibit from India moved out and and grassland, saw 20 teams of before an exhibit of model three people each dive into railroads moved in. After 16 hours, Hollywood Hijinx under the one team finished: Brian Lane, friendly eye of its author, Mark Montague, and Cougar Van "Hollywood" Dave Anderson. At Eaton from Eatonville High a discreet distance.journalists from School. And the Infocom local newspapers got their own Marathon team headed back to chance. While the "Space Nerds" Boston to prepare for future team, composed of finalists in events. Michael McKenzie ,------,Page 6 The Status Line Winter/Spring 1987 How many Infocom games do you own? __ Readers Poll #2 How many Infocom lnvisiClue booklets do you own? -- Hi, Paula the Pollster here! As you might recall, I conducted a Reader Poll Do you own Infocom's database, Cornerstone™? _yes _no in the Spring '86 issue of The Status Line. Your response to the survey was On the average, how many people in addition to you read YOUR copy of overwhelming. In fact, I was so overwhelmed that I suffered a nervous The Status Line? (check one) breakdown and spent the remainder of 1986 recovering. But now I'm better. 1 _2 _3 _4 _5 or more and I'm back and I've managed to compile some information from the mountains of surveys you all sent me. Here is a sampling of what I was Listed below are various aspects of a typical issue of The Status Line. By able to conclude: circling the appropriate number, please indicate how you feel about each Of the people who responded to the survey, 82% were men and 18% aspect. were women. 46% of the respondents were age 20 or under and another 46% Love It Indifferent Hate It were between the ages of 20 and 41. The remaining 8% of the respondents Articles about were over the age of 40. Infocom employees 2 3 4 5 When asked what was your favorite game, ZORK I was the top choice. HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY came in second and New product information 2 3 4 5 PLANETFALL was third. This was really not so surprising because Zork I Articles about the and Hitchhiker's are Infocom's biggest sellers and therefore are the two creation of Infocom games 2 3 4 5 games with which most people are familiar. Puzzles 2 3 4 5 But what about those games that haven't been played as widely? Maybe if you tried one of those you'd like it the best. So I looked at what the Cartoons 2 3 4 5 experts (people who have played 15 or more games) thought were the best Contests 2 3 4 5 games. These Wocom afficionados also voted for ZORK I as their favorite. Letters to the editor 2 3 4 5 But they rated PLANETFALL as the number two game and Hum or 2 3 4 5 ENCHANTER® as their third choice! If you haven't already, maybe you should check out these two titles and see what you've been missing. Photo essays 2 3 4 5 What are the most important aspects of an Infocom game? In order of Cornerstone articles 2 3 4 5 importance, here's what aspects you felt contributed most to your enjoyment Hints to games 2 3 4 5 of an Infocom game: Technical support issues 2 3 4 5 1. Attention to detail 5. Character interaction Articles about fellow 2. Story line 6. Puzzles Infocom game players 2 3 4 5 3. Descriptive prose 7. Exploration and mapping Yak Facts 2 3 4 5 4. Humor 8. Packaging

Your favorite catagories of interactive fiction were FANTASY in first Have you ever tried to solve one of The Status Line (or NZT) puzzles? place, SCIENCE FICTION as the #2 favorite, followed by ADVENTURE _yes no in the third slot. This held true across all age groups. Although women Have you ever sent in your Status Line puzzle solution to Infocom? preferred FANTASY, ADVENTURE, and COMEDY respectively, they _yes no represented too small a faction to influence the overall vote. Come on ladies! Get in there and let our voice be heard! If you are familiar with The Status Line Puzzles, please complete the three When asked what you thought was the most difficult Infocom game, following sentences: you said HITCHHIKER'S was the toughest. SPELLBREAKER TM came in I . The Status Line puzzles are usually ... second and ZORK II was the third most difficult. _ too easy too hard _ just right. On the opposite end of the spectrum, WISHBRINGER was ranked the easiest. ZORK I was the second easiest and THE WITNESS® and 2. I prefer puzzles that require ... SEASTALKER tied as the third. These votes, however, are somewhat _in depth... _general... _very little ... misleading. Just as in the voting for the favorite Infocom game, some titles knowledge of Wocom games. are named more often because they are the titles that more of you own. 3. I like puzzles that involve ... (check all that apply) There might be some Infocom games that are easier or harder than the ones _word problems (cryptogram, crossword puzzle, etc.) you've played, but you just don't know it. So once again I turned to the _ math problems experts - the people who have played at least 15 different Infocom games. _ a visual (maze, pictures, etc.) Here's what they said: _trivia (science, sports, film, literature, etc.) Most difficult... Easiest... Please use the space below for suggestions for feature articles, regular I. SPELLBREAKER 1. WISHBRINGER columns, or any ideas that would improve The Status Line. Use additional 2. SUSPENDED 2. SEASTALKER pages if needed. Thanks!! 3. HITCHHIKERS 3. THE WITNESS

Now, in Reader Poll #2, I would like to find out what you think about The Status Line itself. Please take a few moments to fill out the following form. And pay no heed to my state of mental health - I feel stronger than ever and am eager to arise to the poll-taking challenges of 1987! So let the piles upon piles of polls pour in! THE STATUS LINE READER POLL #2 Name: ______Address: ______Please clip out or photocopy this form and mail to : City: ______State: ___ Zip: ______Infocom, Inc. Phone: ( _) ______Age: ___ Sex: _____ Attn: Paula's Poll #2 125 CambridgePark Drive Computer brand and model: Cambridge, MA 02140 L------~ lnFDCDR\ BB-6

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Please print clearly. When order form is completed, mail to INFOCOM, P.O. Box 478, Cresskill, N.J. 07626 I I I I I I I I I Name Computer Brand I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Model Number Address Your age range (Please check the correct box) .--.--,....--,,....--,--. . D Under 6 D 6-11 D 12-17 D 18-24 D 25-35 D 36-49 D 50+ I I I I DJ Please indicate the payment method you choose. City State Zip Code Make check payable to INFOCOM, Inc. (Please do not send cash.) I I I I I I I I I I D Check D Money Order D Master Card D Visa D American Express Country, if not U.S. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 11111111-~I~~ Card Number Exp. date Telephone Number (Daytime) (Mo. & Year) If you have ever received anything from us at another address, please help us update our records by entering your previous zip code here: I I I I I I

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For N.J. residents only. Add 6% sales tax

·- Add $2.00 postage and handling for each game ordered If you - are ordering from outside the U.S., add the export handling charge of $2.00. Make check out in U.S. currency - want air delivery outside the U.S., Canada and Mexico (otherwise mailed surface): add $3.00 per Hint Book Set, T-shirt, or poster; add $8.00 per game; and add $20.00 per Cornerstone TOTAL ENCLOSED

Signature Date INFOCOM Catalog I Effective thr1 After 7/31/87 call 1-800-262-6868 ft

2 Zork Enchanter System Cornerstone Zork I Zork II Zork Ill Trilogy Enchanter Sorcerer Spellbreaker Trilogy Trinity Witness Suspect Ballyho1

Apple II Series IZ1-AP1 IZ2-AP1 IZ3-AP1 IT1-AP1 IZ4-AP1 IZ5-AP1 IZ6-AP1 IT2-AP1 IZ7-AP1 IM2-AP1 IM3-AP1 IM4-AP (48K, 16-sector) $39.95 $44.95 $44.95 $69.95 $29.95 $44.95 $49.95 $79.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.9! Apple Macintosh IZ1-AP2 IZ2-AP2 IZ3-AP2 IT1-AP2 IZ4-AP2 IZ5-AP2 IZ6-AP2 IT2-AP2 IZ7-AP2* IM2-AP2 IM3-AP2 IM4-AP $39.95 $44.95 $44.95 $69.95 $29.95 $44.95 $49.95 $79.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.9! Apricot IZ1-AC1 IZ4-AC1 . $14.95 $14.95 AtariXUXE IZ1-AT1 IZ2-AT1 IZ3-AT1 IT1-AT1 IZ4-AT1 IZ5-AT1 IZ6-AT1 IT2-AT1 IM2-AT1 IM3-AT1 IM4-AT (48K, 810 or 1050 disk) $34.95 $39.95 $39.95 $59.95 $24.95 $39.95 $44.95 $69.95 $34.95 $34.95 $34.9! Atari ST Series IZ1-AT2 IZ2-AT2 IZ3-AT2 IT1-AT2 IZ4-AT2 IZ5-AT2 IZ6-AT2 IT2-AT2 IZ7-AT2 IM2-AT2 IM3-AT2 IM4-AT $39.95 $44.95 $44.95 $69.95 $29.95 $44.95 $49.95 $79.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.* Commodore 64 IZ1-C01 IZ2-C01 IZ3-C01 IT1-C01 IZ4-C01 IZ5-C01 IZ6-C01 IT2-C01 IM2-C01 IM3-C01 IM4-CC (1541 disk) $34.95 $39.95 $39.95 $59.95 $24.95 $39.95 $44.95 $69.95 $34.95 $34.95 $34.!}E Commodore 128 IZ1-C01 IZ2-C01 IZ3-C01 IT1-C01 IZ4-C01 IZ5-C01 IZ6-C01 IT2-C01 IZ7-C05 IM2-C01 IM3-C01 IM4-CC $34.95 $39.95 $39.95 $59.95 $24.95 $39.95 $44.95 $69.95 $34.95 $34.95 $34.95 $34.9! Commodore Amiga IZ1 -C04 IZ2-C04 IZ3-C04 IT1 -C04 IZ4-C04 IZ5-C04 IZ6-C04 IT2-C04 IZ7-C04 IM2-C04 IM3-C04 IM4-CC $39.95 $44.95 $44.95 $69.95 $29.95 $49.95 $79.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.9! CP/M (8" disk, 48K, IZ1-CP1 IZ3-CP1 IZ4-CP1 IZ5-CP1 IM2-CP1 Version 2.0 and above) $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 DEC Rainbow IZ1-DE2 IZ2-DE2 IZ3-DE2 IZ4-DE2 IZ5-DE2 IM2-DE2 (CP/M option) $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 DEC Rainbow IZ1-IB2 IZ2-IB2 IZ3-MS1 IT1-IB2 IZ4-MS1 IZ5-MS1 IZ6-IB2 IT2-IB2 IM2-MS1 IM3-MS1 IM4-IB (MS-DOS Option) $39.95 $44.95 $44.95 $69.95 $29.95 $44.95 $49.95 $79.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.9! Epson QX-10 IZ1-EP1 IM2-EP1 $14.95 $14.95 IBM Series BC1-IB1 IZ1-IB2 IZ2-IB2 IZ3-I B2 IT1-IB2 IZ4-IB2 IZ5-IB2 IZ6-IB2 IT2-IB2 IZ7-IB1 IM2-IB2 IM3-IB2 IM4-IB (DOS 2.0, 96K and disk) $99.95 $39.95 $44.95 $44.95 $69.95 $29.95 $44.95 $49.95 $79.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.9! Kaypro II IZ1-KA1 IZ2-KA1 IZ3-KA1 IZ6-KA1 IM2-KA1 CP/M $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 MS-DOS2.0 IZ1-IB2 IZ2-IB2 IZ3-MS1 IT1-IB2 IZ4-MS1 IZ5-MS1 IZ6-IB2 IT2-IB2 IM2-MS1 IM3-MS1 IM4-IB (IBM PC format disk) $39.95 $44.95 $44.95 $69.95 $29.95 $44.95 $49.95 $79.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.9! NECAPC IZ1-NE2 IZ2-NE2 IZ3-NE2 IZ4-NE2 IZ5-NE2 IM2-NE2 (CP/M-86) $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 NEC PC-8000 IZ1-NE1 IZ2-NE1 IZ3-NE1 (56KCP/M) $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 Osborne IZ4-0S1 IZ5-0S1 IM2-0S1 (CP/M) $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 PDP-11 IZ1-DE1 IZ2-DE1 IZ3-DE1 IZ4-DE1 IZ5-DE1 IM2-DE1 (RT-11 , RX01 disk or $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 under RT-11 emulator) TI 99/4A (48K expansion, disk, IZ1-Tl2 IZ3-Tl2 IZ4-Tl2 1z5.:r12 IM2.:rl2 one of the following: $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 Extended Basic, Mini-Memory, Editor/Assembler) TI Professional IZ1.:rl1 IZ2-Tl1 IZ3-Tl1 IT1-IB2 IZ4-Tl1 1z5.:r11 IZ6-IB2 IT2-IB2 IM2-Tl1 IM3-IB2 IM4-~ $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $69.95 $14.95 $14.95 $49.95 $79.95 $14.95 $39.95 $39.9! TRS-80 Model I 1 IZ2-TA1 IZ3-TA1 IZ4.:rA1 1z5.:rA1 IM2-TA1 I (48K and disk) $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 TRS-80 Model Ill IZ2-TA3 IZ3.:rA3 IZ4.:rA3 IZ5.:rA3 !M2-TA3 (48K and disk) $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 TRS-80 Color Computer IZ1-TA4 IZ2-TA4 IZ3-TA4 IZ4-TA4 IM2-TA4 IM4-TA (48K and disk) $34.95 $39.95 $39.95 $24.95 $34.95 $34.9! lnvisiClues ~ BC1-BOK IZ1-INV IZ2-INV IZ3-INV IZ4-INV IZ5-INV IZ6-INV IZ7-INV IM2-INV IM3-INV IM4-IN I $14.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 lnfocom interactive fiction titles for the Hewlett Packard 110/150, Tandy 1000, 1200 and 2000, and Royal Alphatronic personal computers are available through thei1

D NOTE: These games require 128K. ZORK, ENCHANTER, DEADLINE, The * NOTE: this game requires 512K. BRINGER are registered trademarks, an· 1 Available exclusively through respective machine manufacturer. LEATHER GODDESSES OF PHOBOS, 2 NOTE: Requires IBM PC, XT, AT or 100% compatible; PC DOS 2 .0, 2 .1, 3.0, or 3.1; GUIDE TO THE GALAXY is a tradema1 Minimum 384K; 2 floppy disk drives or 1 floppy & 1 hard disk drive. J NOTE: Requires graphics card; Composite monitor recommended; Not available for PCjr. \Jumbers and Prices ough 7/31 /87 or the latest pricing and availability.

AMind Leather Hollywood 0 Moonmlst Planetfall Hltchhlkllr Forever Cutthroats Goddesses Hlfln1 Bureaucracy Wlshbrlnger Deadline Stan:ross Suspended Infidel Seastalker Fooblltzky Sampler

'1 IM5-AP1 183-AP1 184-AP1 IS5-AP1 IA3-AP1 IC1-AP1 IA4-AP1 IC2-AP1 IZO-AP1 IM1-AP1 181-AP1 182-AP1 IA1-AP1 IA2-AP1 GS1-AP1 102-AP1 5 $39.95 $39.95 $29.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $39.95 $4.95

'2 IM5-AP2 183-AP2 184-AP2 IS5-AP2* IA3-AP2 IC1-AP2 IA4-AP2 IC2-AP2* IZO-AP2 IM1-AP2 181-AP2 182-AP2 IA1-AP2 IA2-AP2 102-AP2 5 $39.95 $39.95 $29.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $4.95 183-AC1 184-AC1 IA3-AC1 IA2-AC1 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95

-1 IM5-AT1 183-AT1 184-AT1 IA3-AT1 IC1-AT1 IA4-AT1 IZO-AT1 IM1-AT1 181-AT1 182-AT1 IA1-AT1 IA2-AT1 G81-AT1 102-AT1 5 $34.95 $34.95 $24.95 $34.95 $34.95 $34.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $39.95 $4.95

IM5-AT2 183-AT2 184-AT2 IS5-AT2 IA3-AT2 IC1-AT2 IA4-AT2 IC2-AT2 IZO-AT2 IM1-AT2 181-AT2 182-AT2 IA1-AT2 IA2-AT2 l $39.95 $39.95 $29.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 IM5-C01 183-C01 184-C01 IA3-C01 IC1-C01 IA4-C01 IZO-C01 IM1-C01 181-C01 182-C01 IA1-C01 IA2-C01 102-C01 ~ $34.95 $34.95 $24.95 $34.95 $34.95 $34.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $4.95 )1 IM5-C01 183-C01 184-C01 IS5-C05 IA3-C01 IC1-C01 IA4-C01 IC2-C05 IZO-C01 IM1-C01 181-C01 182-C01 IA1-C01 IA2-C01 102-C01 5 $34.95 $34.95 $24.95 $34.95 $34.95 $34.95 $34.95 $34.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $4.95

)4 IM5-C04 183-C04 184-C04 IS5-C04 IA3-C04 IC1-C04 IA4-C04 IC2-C04 IZO-C04 IM1-C04 181-C04 182-C04 IA1-C04 IA2-C04 5 $39.95 $39.95 $29.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39..95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 183-CP1 IM1-CP1 182-CP1 IA1-CP1 IA2-CP1 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95

183-0E2 IM1-0E2 181-0E2 182-0E2 IA1-0E2 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95

12 IM5-182 183-M81 184-182 IA3-182 IC1-182 IA4-182 IZ0-182 IM1-182 181-182 182-M81 IA1-M81 IA2-M81 ID2-182 5 $39.95 $39.95 $29.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $4.95 184-EP1 IA3-EP1 $14.95 $14.95

12 IM5-182 183-182 184-182 185-181 IA3-181 IC1-182 IA4-182 IC2-IB1 IZ0-182 IM1-182 181-182 182-181 IA1-IB2 IA2-182 GS1-IB1S 102-182 5 $39.95 $39.95 $29.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $39.95 $4.95

184-KA1 IA3-KA1 IM1-KA1 181-KA1 IS2-KA1 IA2-KA1 ID2-KA1 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $4.95

12 IM5-182 183-M81 184-182 IA3-182 IC1-182 IA4-182 IZ0-182 IM1-M81 181-M81 182-M81 IA1-M81 IA2-M81 102-182 5 $39.95 $39.95 $29.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $4.95

183-NE2 IM1-NE2 181-NE2 182-NE2 IA1-NE2 $14.95 $14.95 $1 4.95 $14.95 $14.95

IM1-NE1 181-NE1 $14.95 $14.95

183-081 184-081 IA3-081 182-081 IA1-081 102-081 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $4.95

183-0E1 IM1-0E1 181-0E1 182-0E1 IA1-0E1 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95

183-Tl2 184-Tl2 IAHl2 IM1-Tl2 181-Tl2 18Hl2 IA1-Tl2 102-Tl2 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $1 4.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $4.95

i'. H IM5-182 183-Tl1 184-182 IA3-182 IC1-182 IA4-IB2 IZ0-182 IM1-Tl1 181-Tl1 182-Tl1 IA1-Tl1 IA2-182 102-182 ' i $39.95 $14.95 $29.95 $39.95 $39.95 $39.95 $1 4.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $4.95

1. 183-TA1 IM1-TA1 181-TA1 182-TA1 IA1-TA1 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95

183-TA3 184-TA3 IM1-TA3 181-TA3 182:fA3 IA1-TA3 102-TA3 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $14.95 $1 4.95 $4.95

\4 183:fA4 184-TA4 IZO-TA4 IA1-TA4 1 102-TA4 •5 $34.95 $24.95 $14.95 $14.95 $4.95

N IM5-INV 183-INV 184-INV 185-INV IA3-INV IC1-INV IA4-INV IZO-INV IM1-INV 181-INV 182-INV IA1-INV IA2-INV i $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $9.95 Avail. 6/87 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 ir respective manufacturers.

l WITNESS, STARCROSS, SUSPENDED, PLANETFALL, INFIDEL, SEASTALKER, CUTTHROATS, SUSPECT, and WISH­ ld CORNERSTONE, BALLYHOO, TRINITY, SORCERER, SPELLBREAKER, A MIND FOREVER VOYAGING , FOOBLITZKY, MOONMIST, HOLLYWOOD HIJINX, BUREAUCRACY, and lnvisiClues are trademarks of lnfocom, Inc. THE HITCHHIKER'S irk of Douglas Adams. INFOCOM POSTERS

Leather Goddesses Wishbringer Trinity lnfocom Product Poster Poster Poster Poster $14.95 Catalog # IC1·POS IZO·POS IZ7-POS INF-POS INFOCOM CLASSICS and Price $5.95 $5.95 $5.95 $2.00

Starcross® by Dave Lebling (Expert, 1982). You play a down-at-the-heels asteroid miner who discovers a strange alien artifact which has entered the solar system. Once aboard the artifact, you'll meet a number of alien races, including the Rat-Ants, and you are drawn into a puzzle that could give mankind the stars.

Suspended® by (Expert, TRINITY POSTER! WISHBRINGER POSTER! 1983). You are the controlling brain of a totally automated planet, and you must repair the system before the planet's inhab­ ~~~il itants "replace" you. You can communicate E - only through six highly specialized robots: Iris (with visual sensors), Waldo (an industrial robot), Sensa (with a mixture of sensory apparatuses), Auda (with auditory sensors), Whiz (a font of information), and Poet.

Infidel® by Michael Berlyn (Advanced, 1983). By lying, cheating, and stealing, you get to within a few hundred yards of a long­ lost Egyptian pyramid. Then your crew LEATHER GODDESSES POSTER! deserts you. You must find and gain entry to the pyramid, decipher the hieroglyphs, and survive the diabolical traps of the ancient Egyptians, to lay your hands on the sacred treasures that will make you INFOCOM T-SHIRTS fabulously rich and famous. Leather Leather Leather Leather Babel Babel Babel Sabel Goddesses Goddesses Goddesses Goddesses Fish Fish Fish Fish T-Shirt T-Shlrt T-Shirt T-Shirt T-Shlrt T-Shlrt T-Shirt T-Shirt Small Medium Large X-Large Small Medium Large X-Large IC1·TSS ICHSM ICHSL ICHSX IS4-TSS IS4-TSM IS4-TSL IS4-TSX Seastalker® by Stuart Galley and Jim $9.95 $9.95 $9.95 $9.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 $7.95 Lawrence (Introductory, 1984). From the

videophone in your laboratory, you learn BABEL FISH T-SHIRT! that the Aquadome-an underwater re­ search lab-is being attacked by a "Snark;' a giant sea monster. So you're off to the rescue in a special two-seater submarine. An easy game with plenty of hints, full of inventions and faithful helpers at your side. LEATHER GODDESSES T-SHIRT!

'""""'DOOl'l

BACK Winter/Spring 1987 The Status Line Page 7 InfoDream Date: Meet Mrs. Right After months of soul-wrenching deliberation, a winner has been selected in the lnfoDream Date Contest. The judges have chosen Mary Ann Hallenborg of New York, New York. When told of her good fortune Mary Ann began laughing and confessed she was married at which point we began laughing and said marital status meant nothing to Mike. Mary Ann was very excited and said she would visit lnfocom in the near future. She only had one question, "Was I the only entry?" Well Mary Ann, the samplings shown here should prove to you that you are not alone in your pursuit of an evening of interaction with Infocom's Director of Marketing, Mike Dornbrook. Here is Mary Ann's winning entry: lnfoDream Date, I've been crazy with desire since laying eyes upon that big slice of beefcake, .;, Mike Dornbrook, on page 12 of the summer edition of "The Status Line" . What a photo - arms posed seductively over his balding head; eyes beckoning "take me". And, he's got a job - what a MAN!!!! Well, enough about Mikey. I am a kinky goddess who fills her brass bikini quite nicely and the I ,.. closest thing you'll find to Lane Mastodon this side of Mars. Not only will I kiss your kneecaps, but I also can afford an air-shuttle ticket to Boston (round­ trip if necessary). I don't enjoy but will eat Polynesian food and know all the words to "Tiny Bubbles" (a polynesian classic made popular by Don Ho). If you care about Mikey, you'll choose me. We'll dine and dance, yak it up at Club Zork or even Joe's Bar. We'll scratch and sniff. It will be a night to remember. Yours very truly, Mary Ann Hallenborg

Photo submitted by John Gerecht Well, we had to run the photo Mikey, Because of my name and because this is NOT a real photo of me, I bet I don't win the contest! But I bet that this does go up on someone's wall or bulletin board! Love The Status Line and think your company has a great corporate Marian Apgar-"/ prefer to remain enigmatic!" sense of humor! Good luck on your date, Marian promised psychological purge John Gerecht Dear Jim, Olympia, Washington I would like to have a date with Mike because I'm quite sure that he would find it both comfortingly familiar and psychologically purging in spending the day with someone who has the same name as his mother. If not Mikey, is anyone else available? Sincerely, Attention: Jim Lange Marian Apgar I can see myself now, arriving at Infocom. The Vogon driver will open the Napa, CA door to our Mercury Lynx limo, and I'll sweep up the stairs in my new Norwegian blue fox (Spiegel's, $995) and Addidas. Mikey will of course be respendent in a tasteful club tie and Swatch watch. "It's better than a poke in the eye" In adoration, Dear InfoDream Date Contest: Naomi B. Orbeck We would like to go on a date with Mikey because why not? As Bert in Mary Odessa, TX Poppins asserts "It's better than a poke in the eye." We are 2 slightly middle-aged housewives that are also computer nuts. We'd love to see where our Zorks and Witness got their start. This cat wants to cut the small talk Sincerely, Dear Mikey, Bobbe Anderson & Sue Arkuszewski I've enclosed a photo, and I think it's a good likeness. Let's cut the small talk, N. Easton, MA Please turn to page 9 Page 8 The Status Line Winter/Spring 1987 Religious fringe has own ideas about lnfocom By Steve Meretzky games are evil because they deal with for Zork I. "I had no idea when I decision novel that her son had Pat Robertson isn't President yet, but magic. The use of magic, even in bought it that it was dealing with purchased at a school book fair. She that hasn't stopped a lot of religious fiction, apparently promotes all sorts demonistic realms ... I was appalled immediately recognized the book for fringe types from crawling out of the of nasty things, such as devil that my ten year old son was being what it was, a dangerous promoter of woodwork lately. At least Infocom's worship or forgetting to send money influenced in this way ... What kind violence and demonic worship, and woodwork, anyway. to Jimmy Swaggart. of perversions are you trying to attempted to have it banned from the For years, we've been receiving The recent wave of activity promote in youngsters?" school library. (See "Zork Banned," occasional letters from ladies and began a bit more than a year ago, Shortly after that, a Cape Cod The New Zork Times, Volume IV, gentlemen around the country who with a letter from a woman in woman, a self-described "kamikaze Number 4, Fall 1985, page 1. Also insist that our Zork and Enchanter California who wanted a full refund for Jesus," discovered the Zork see "Zork book ban to be debated by Dennis-Yarmouth School Com­ mittee," The Register, Yarmouth A line of strange characters on my status line Port, Mass., issue of 5/16/85, page I.) Question: A line of strange characters -- arrows, report, but when I print the report, the headings and You MUST have seen our brackets, and numbers -- appears on my status line totals don't print. What's wrong? advertisement for The Enchanter when using the IBM PC-DOS/MS-DOS 2.0 diskette. Answer: If you formatted the headings and totals for Trilogy (which depicts a wizard Answer: These are ASCII characters which appear if the report by using REPORT FORMAT HEADER stirring a bubbling cauldron of purple the DOS file, ANSI.SYS, hasn't been loaded. Go and REPORT FORMAT TOT AL, you must do a smoke). Because it was so eye­ through the INSTALL program again. To load ANSI, REPORT SHOW HEADER and REPORT SHOW catching that a whole slew of be sure to reboot the system (by pressing CTL, ALT, TOTAL to get the headings and totals to appear on the religious zealots discovered that and DEL simultaneously) after the installation is screen. Whatever you see on the screen is what prints lnfocom was actually the Great complete. If rebooting has no effect, be sure that the out when you enter PRINT mode. Satan. For example, one letter carrier DOS file ANSI.SYS resides on your DOS disk (the dropped us a note to say that he was root directory of hard disks). Also be sure that the Question: I entered my Zip Code attribute as a refusing to deliver any copies of CONFIG.SYS has the line which reads: NUMBER, but now I want it to be a STRING so I Boy's Life which ran this ad. device=ansi.sys. You may need to create a can combine it with City and State for my mailing Another person sent in a copy of CONFIG.SYS file using the DOS EDLIN or COPY labels. How can I do it? the ad with all the offending phrases CON command to include a line: device=ansi.sys. (TI circled: "magic" and "spells" and PRO and DEC users do not have the ANSI file on Answer: Create a new STRING attribute with an "powers" and "sorcerer" and " Circle their DOS directories.) Initial Value ofNUMBER_TO_STRING(Numeric Zip of Enchanters"-not to mention Code attribute name,O). Recompute this attribute to "thrilling proportions," which must Question: Why am I having problems loading copy in all the Zip Codes. Delete the numeric Zip surely have spilled directly from the Infocom games on my Commodore 128 with 1571 Code attribute. Take the Initial Value off the new mouth of Lucifer himself. Written in STRING Zip Code attribute. And drives? ~------~ the comer of the ad: "No thanks! The you're all set! world has got enough ~vii in it! We Answer: Some 1571 drives, don't need made up evil from FOOLS when starting up, default to 1571 Question: How can I print wider like you!" The person also wrote mode instead of 1541 mode. A than 80 columns? "Jesus (heart's) [sic] you!" across the one-line BASIC command found Answer: We get this question Sorcerer package, obviously on page 5 of your 1571 Owner's Q&A quite a bit at Cornerstone Support, mistaking it for a car bumper. Manual will put you in 154 I and the answer is really quite Most recently comes this letter mode: OPEN 1,8,15,"UO>MO" (note that 0 is zero, simple. All you need to do is to get the information from Ocean Grove, New Jersey, not "oh"). you want to print on the screen and enter REPORT hardly the heart of the Bible Belt: "I FORMAT RECORDS from VIEW mode. Use the was looking through a mag. [sic] I Question: Are there any Cornerstone user groups MOVE FIELD command to move the fields beyond saw your ad. I hope you are with which I can join? the 80th position. You'll want to start with the field plain tricks and not magic. Just what furthest to the right to make room for the others. Answer: Infocom does not sponsor any user groups, infocom [sic] means I dont [sic] but individuals may certainly form their own groups. know - I hope the U.S. gets back to Question: My database crashed and now I find out In particular, Mr. Michael Forrest wants to get the faith ofour Fathers. [sic] Amen." that my only backup contains the same error. What together with other Cornerstone users in the Enclosed with this note were several can I do? .. Rockville, Maryland, area, and Mr. James Kelly is pamphlets and articles, most interested in starting a group in the Oak Parks, Answer: We cannot stress enough the need for annotated with scribblings like Illinois, area. Anyone interested may contact Mr. keeping a series of backups of your database, "Never take no 666 it is the number Forrest at (30 I) 443-6650. Mr. Kelly can be reached at especially if you do a lot of data entry. Many people of the antichrist -- it leads to (312) 848-9650. simply keep backing up onto the same disk. everlasting fire." In a new twist, However, if you have a separate backup after each data Infocom's godless magic was linked Question: How can I change the order of the entry session, then you can minimize your losses by to godless Communism: "Deals with attributes in my file in DEFINE mode? restoring a backup that is at most a few days old. For the Communist are woe woe woe example, we have a database that keeps track of all the woe" was scrawled on the pamphlet Answer: Cornerstone keeps the attributes in the file Cornerstone registration cards we receive. These cards entitled "The Communist Plan for in the order in which you typed them. You cannot are entered twice per week and a BACKUP ALL the Conquest of the U.S .A. " change the order. What you CAN do is create a report FILES is done after each data entry session. A series That brings you completely up­ format which shows the attributes in the order you of 5 backups are kept and the most recent backup is to-date on our contacts with the hard­ wish. Remember, by saving your report format under done on the oldest backup disk in the series. core religious right. But then again, the name VIEW, UPDATE, or SELECT, your format can you trust any information will appear as the default format when you enter that coming from well-known Satanic mode. Also a reminder: Building Applications with cultists like us? Cornerstone is available through Infocom at 1-800-262- Finally, if anyone who thinks Question: I put some headings and totals on my 6868 for $14.95. Don't miss out! Please turn to page 9 Winter/Spring 1987 The Status Line Page9 More about Hey Datemeisters, looking for the rest of those letters Continued from page 7 Dear Mr. Lange: pay for dinner, and we can leave my o.k. Mikey? A cat's life is a short I want a date with Mikey because, husband back at the office playing Info Bets one, we only get one or two big frankly, I think Infocom owes me Leather Goddesses of Phobos. Continued from page 5 thrills out of the whole deal. I think one. July 1984 marked both my Yours truly, double. The stakes were raised: dinner you could be one of those thrills. husband's discovery of Zork and the Jacqueline M. Kiffe at Lutece in New York City, in­ Hopefully yours, end of our love life. Being awakened Bryan, TX cluding transportation. Pessimism Whiskers, the wonder cat at three a.m . by a scraggle-faced, won for the second year in a row; Somewhere on Long Island bleary-eyed man muttering something Do you have an sales "only" went up 20%. about a babel fish hardly makes me Then came the granddaddy of I don't. want idea for a contest? InfoBets. The bettors: Marc and Sincerely, That's 50 words. I have to stop. Send it to us, attention Pat Sajak. If Spike. The bet: whether Infocom Rita Hao You know, Mikey is really we use your idea, we'll send you a stock would be publicly traded at a Knoxville, TN kinda cute. Tell you what, I'll even free game. price of at least $20 a share by June 30, 1987. The stakes: dinner in Paris, including transportation and lodging. When purchased Infocom during 1986, the sale price worked out .., to significantly less than $20 per share of Infocom stock. <:We can't • reveal the actual price, but this is the only bet which rivals Mike Dombrook's error factor.) Spike has not yet collected; as he and Marc are both now living on the west coast, an amendment to dinner in Tokyo has been discussed. More recently, lnfoBetting has taken some rather silly turns, with bets being waged over such odd points as the lyrics of "Puff the Magic Dragon" and the number of calories in a banana. The most interesting bet of the last year, however, involved Spike, lnfoPrez Joel Berez, and InfoSales Manager Gabby Accardi. The winner, the first person to lose 15 pounds, would get an all-expenses EVOLUT ON of on ATI TUOE paid trip to Bermuda! The betended in indecisive confusion, but Spike and D. Anthony Mayette Joel took Gabby to Bermuda anyway. The trio has since been known as "The Bermuda Triangle." Religious fringe Continued from page 666 that Wishbringer erodes the moral fabric of America is actually reading this, we have a message for you: Keep those letters coming! They're really entertaining! Write to: ~ Infocom Inc. 125 CambridgePark Drive Cambridge, MA 02140 Attn: Frothing Nutcake Dept.

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617-492-6000 E. Patrick Hartnett Page 10 The Status Line " Winter/Spring 1987 Match the quotes: Answers to puzzle number 11 In Puzzle #11, we asked you to repaired." -- Iris, Suspended (#30) trespassers, but for a small fee I'll around the house." -- Leslie Rohner, match some quotes from Infocom show you the way out." -- Volcano Deadline (#19) P. "I thought I should come here on stories with the characters who said Gnome, Zork II (#27) the streetcar, in case you needed BB. "You should not even be here. them. Then, you had to use that help." -- Sergeant Duffy, The Witness V. "Is this .. .is this a squash court?" - You will disturb our rest." -- Belboz, information to assign numbers to a (#29) - Floyd, Planetfall (#28) Spellbreaker (#11) series of dots. Finally, you had to connect the dots and use the resulting Q. "Frobizz! Frobozzle! Frobnoid!" - W. "Detested words! Even now it CC. "My sister was a fool to send graphic to identify a game. To begin - The Wizard of Frobozz, Zork II sticks in my soul to hear them the likes of you on such a quest!" - with, here are the answers to the (#23) uttered." -- The Vl'Hurg Warrior, - The Evil One, Wishbringer (#2) matching section of the puzzle: Hitchhiker's Guide (not on list) R. "If anyone tries anything stupid, DD. "Here come da clone, here come you won't live to regret it." -- Johnny X. "We could be in danger! The da clone." -- Poet, Suspended (#10) A. "This has been my desire e'er Red, Cutthroats ®(#24) Snark may attack again any time!" - since this charlatan bent me to his EE. "A courtly gentleman, isn't he? - Zoe Bly, Seasta/ker (#12) service. I perform this deed with S. "Squawk! This tea is cold! Get me That black cape makes him look pleasure!" -- The Demon, Zork II another cup. Squawk!" -- Pollibar, Y. "He always promised me wealth almost cuddly." -- Alicia Barron, (#40) Sorcerer ™(#26) here in America, but I've never seen Suspect (#14) it." -- Phong, The Witness (#13) B. "One more step and the President T. ''I'm gonna use it to find the FF. "If he's going to read us his of the Galaxy is fried meat!" - legendary lost planet of Magrathea. Z. "Guards! Throw this trespasser poetry, just pray he softens us up - Trillian, Hitchhiker's Guide (#35) Let's go sit in the sauna while I into the glass maze!" -- Duncanthrax, with some cudgels first..." -- Ford explain." -- Zaphod Beeblebrox, Sorcerer (#20) Prefect, Hitchhiker's Guide (not on C. "You reporters have all the Hitchhiker's Guide (#25) number list) sensitivity of buffalo. Can't you AA. "This is surely a terrible waste leave me alone?" Michael U. "I have a busy appointment of time, not to mention upsetting, GG. "Mmm. Just like Mom used to Wellman, Suspect ®(#36) schedule and little time to waste on having all these police marching make 'em." -- Cyclops, Zork I (#15) D. "Uh, no thanks. I prefer to stay HH. "If you won't tum it off, I will. near my beach. I don't see much I can't take the noise any more." - yummy seaweed out that way." - Did yours look like this? The Navigational Computer, - The Turtle, Enchanter (#34) Plugging the numbers from the quote answers into the field of dots and Starcross (#18) E. "We have a position for an Ensign connecting them in numerical order creates the following graphic: II. "The last vat, I swear it, tasted as Ninth Class in the toilet-scrubbing if grues had been bathing in it." - division, you know." -- Blather, - Hoobly, Spe/lbreaker (#1) Planetfall (#37) JJ. "You're going to be a hero, you F. "I dinna give a hoot about you or know. You'd probably get a call from your questions! Now, begone!" - the President congratulating you ... " - - Angus McNabb, Deadline (#38) - Abraham Perelman, A Mind Forever Voyaging (#3) G. "She spake against the Church; she tried to poison the mind of a KK. "Take the victim to the tower. I child too young to know the Truth." - shall prepare for the sacrifice!" - - Mitchell Simm, A Mind Forever - Krill, Enchanter (#9) Voyaging (#39) Deadline logo from Deadline. LL. "We will need that boat after H. "Ragweed!" -- Ogre, Spellbreaker This graphic is the outline of the dead body in the Deadline logo, and all." -- McGinty, Cutthroats (#16) (not on number list) therefore the correct answer to the puzzle is "Deadline." MM. "Do this. Pick up that. Unjam I. "My, I wonder what this fine rope There were 343 entries, of which 319 were correct (93% ). The closest the opening mechanism of the other." - is doing here." -- Thief, Zork I (#33) thing to a common wrong answer was The Witness (5 entries). Several - Marvin, Hitchhiker's Guide (#17) entrants misread the directions and supplied answers like "Mr. Robner's J. "That's strange! Maybe you should body." One person gave a non-Infocom game as their answer, and one NN. "Can't you talk this copper into use the Computestor." -- Tip particularly deranged entrant guessed "Puzzle Number Eleven" as the letting me loose?" -- Monica Linder, Randall, Seastalker (#32) answer. The Witness (#4) K. · "I've heard talk of a merger 00. "I am not permitted to enter the between Dad's company and another Or did yours look like this? prison cell." --The Dungeon Master, one, but I don't think it's happened Zork lll (#5) yet." -- George Rohner, Deadline (not Speaking of particularly deranged, the puzzle editors felt that the readers PP. "Daydreaming again, eh? I've on number list). of The Status Line would be considerably amused by Infocom Marketing Director Mike Dombrook's attempt at Puzzle #11: been looking everywhere for you!" - L. "When we began to approach your - Corky Crisp, Wishbringer (#6) system, I got excited! A whole new 1I QQ. "Bleem miserable venchit! culture to learn!" -- Gurthark-tun­ Bleem forever mestinglish asunder Besnap, Starcross (#22) . ~ -- frapt." -- The Vogon Captain, Hitchhiker's Guide (#7) M. "My court thanks you most L ~ humbly for rescuing the life of my ------. RR. "Just because he's a boor doesn't daughter." -- Anatinus, Wishbringer make him guilty." -- The Detective, (#21) '! Suspect (#8) N. "Aha! A thief! Didn't I tell you SS. "I have waited three ages for that we needed more security!" - .v someone to say those words ... " - - Dimwit Flathead, Zork lll (#31) "Wiring diagram for the Improbability Drive--Hitchhiker's Guide to the - The Sailor, Zork lll (not on number 0. "You may not be aware of this, Galaxy." Submitted by lnfocom Marketing Director Mike Dornbrook. list) but I'm not working. I need to get (See next page for winners.) Winter/Spring 1987 The Status Line Page 11 Puzzle winners: Sorry Mark, Bob, Bill, Buzz, Steve, Joe ... Puzzle Number 11 generated an enter Puzzle #1 l, but all 21 have 6. Jill Bayeux, Clifton, NJ 17. Judie Eatough, Provo, UT unusually high number of virtually indistinguishable hand­ 7. Hollie Vizier, Galliano, LA 18. Ken Crosby, Jackson, MI comments, most of them claiming writing! To top it off, all 2 1 had a 8. Allen Salisbury, Lorton, VA 19. Bonnie Packert, Escondido, CA that the puzzle was too easy. While different answer to Puzzle #11 , Lee Williamson, Claremont, CA 20. Matthew LaMotte, Birmingham, the percentage of entries that were encompassing every single Infocom 9. MI correct was very high, that wasn't title! Mark, Bob, Bill, Buzz, Steve, 10. Charles Guarino, Troy, NY unexpected, since it's the sort of Joe, John, Louis, Ed, Richard, Sam, 11 . Jaime Gathercole, Miami, FL 2 1. Chet LaBarr, Brooksville, FL puzzle where you usually know Mike, Fred, Pat, Neal, Brian, Greg, 12. Craig Hemenway, Gray, ME 22. Wayne Preisman, Herndon, VA whether you're right or not. Chris, Matt, Josh, and Tom -- that 13. Stan Piechocinski, Mississauga, 23. David English, Mundelein, IL Furthermore, the total number of must be one heck of a household! Ontario 24. Bruce Stedwell, Lake Havasu entries wasn't unusually high; less Since there were more than 25 Doug Dorst, Chappaqua, NY City, AZ than the number for either of the two correct entries, we had to have a 14. John Dickson, Jacksonville, previous puzzles, and far less than drawing to determine the winners. To 15. Bob Hurley, Arnold, MO 25. FL the record number of entries. (This uphold the legendary Solomon-like 16. James Fujimoto, Los Angeles, Congratulations to all the winners of record was 697 for Puzzle Number integrity of The Status Line Puzzle, CA The Status Line Puzzle. Two, and our mailing list was the drawing was presided over by the considerably smaller back then!) Oh, prestigious firm of Flathead, well, puzzling is still far from being Flathead, Flathead, and Beeblebrox. No Null Set, Max cracks at party an exact science. The lucky winners: Max Y aks was hospitalized the day the men's room, lifted the cover to Now, from the can-you-believe­ I. Dennis L. Perkins, APO, NY after the company holiday party the toilet tank and removed a bottle what-people-will-go-through-to-win­ 2. Travis Wilson, San Diego, CA suffering from an acute hangover. of rum. The last thing Max re­ a-stupid-T-shirt department comes Doctors were optimistic about re­ members was Meretzky opening the 3. Bonnie Kachen, Boardman, OH the amazing story of 21 brothers covery. Upon awakening from his bottle and asking "Wanna shot?" li ving together in Wellesley, MA. 4. Robert Cook, Snohomish, WA coma Max recounted a dream in Max Yak's Null Set will return in Not only did all 21 of these brothers 5. Eric Przybylko, Colonia, NJ which Steve Meretzky walked into our next issue. Hey Puzzlemeisters, looking for the rest of puzzle number 13, well, here it is Continued from page 12 during your recent struggle. west, and south. There is a box >__ THE BOX with its massive teeth. Slowly, it here. The hellhound squirms in your The box springs open, revealing a dawns on the hellhound that you grip. copy of the bestselling book, "47 are not dying. It stops attacking >__ THE BOX Tips for Building a Better Sand and begins circling you warily. You can feel yourself tiring. You can't. It seems to be Castle" by Belboz the Necro­ protected by a spell. mancer. > THE HELLHOUND >CAST THE SPELL ON THE HELLHOUND The hellhound snarls, "Me eat you!" The monster closes its eyes and curls up. Its lips slowly curl into a > THE VIAL smile, and it begins drooling profusely. You decide that you're You discover some potion inside rather glad you don't know what the vial. it's dreaming about. The hellhound continues to circle around you , probably wondering >__ why you are still alive. The sea breeze increases to hurricane levels, and a huge wave >DRINK THE POTION batters the beach, wash ing the The potion tasted like lime jelly, whale back to sea and completely and sent vibrations through your destroying the sand castle. muscles. Belboz shouts some words you'd never have even guessed he The hellhound decides that knew, and hurls a powerful spell in thinking hurts too much , and your direction .. . leaps upon you . Displaying amazing speed and agility, you Grotto wrestle the hellhound to the You are in a tiny cave of rock, sand , clamping its powerful jaws about ten miles underground. safely shut. In the process, you There are no exits. seem to have levelled the sand castle again. Belboz raises his On the ground is a small white hands as though to hurl some cube. fireballs, but instead he merely counts to ten, takes some deep >__ THE CUBE breaths, and incants another Your surroundings suddenly shift. restoration spell on the sand castle. Slime Room >__ _ You are in a small location whose You have a few superficial walls are dripping with sticky goo. scratches, apparently incurred There are openings to the east, Robert Prokop Page 12 The Status Line Winter/Spring 1987 sand, snoring loudly. magic to restore the ruined castle. THE STATUS LINE PUZZLE #13 You suddenly notice a hellhound > THE WHALE slinking down the beach. Puzzle #13 is based on The Enchanter Trilogy (Enchanter, Sorcerer, and A blow hole forms on the back of Spellbreaker). The trilogy was recently released as a set for the first time (see your neck and your body bloats to >CAST ONME the previous issue of The Status Line). To solve this puzzle, you will need to tremendous proportions. As you A huge puff of orange smoke be familiar with the games as well as the game packages. grow, you accidentally crush the envelopes you . Notice that in the transcript below, there is a blank space in every input. sand castle beneath your belly. The hellhound pounces, tearing The first step toward solving this puzzle is to figure out the correct word for Belboz utters an oath, casts a each blank. By correct, we mean the word which would cause each input to spell to return you to your normal out huge chunks of your flesh produce the response that follows that input. form, and uses some simple Please turn to page 11 The second step is to look at the first letter of every word you've filled into a ,------1 blank. These first letters will form a sentence with the final instructions to the ANSWER: ______puzzle. I For example, let's say the first input was >THROW THE ___ AT THE I CLOWN and the response was "It bounces off the clown's rubbery nose and I Name: lands on your own head, cracking open. I guess the yolk's on you!" The word Address: ______that belongs in the blank space is "EGG" and the first letter of the sentence you're trying to form would be "E." T-Shirt size (S, M, L, XL): ___ The sun is getting low in the sky, completes twenty-eight turrets, and you decide that you've the main tower, and the entire Puzzle Rules: gotten enough of a tan. Shaking north wing of the castle. 1. All entries must be submitted on this form or on a photocopy of this the sand off your wizardly robe, form. you slip it over your bathing suit >CAST ON THE OCEAN and scramble down off the dune. 2. Entries must be received by May 1, 1987. Unsurprisingly, this has no effect On The Beach on such a huge body of water. 3. Limit of one entry per person. The ocean breeze now seems a The blue waters and white sands 4. All entries must be mailed separately. bit cooler. Then again, it might just make Accardi beach the finest in 5. Up to 25 prizes will be awarded. If more than 25 correct entries are be your imagination. the province. The beach received, a drawing will be held to determine the winners. stretches north and south, and a >__ ,TELL ME ABOUT THE 6. Winners who are residents of the Andromeda Galaxy must pay path leads west, away from the WHALE shipping costs to receive their prize. ocean. A dune is low enough to climb. The old enchanter looks 7. Void where prohibited by law. disapprovingly at the mammal. "I There is a sand crab here. think it's a friend of Belboz. I Prize: certainly hope it doesn't follow us The New Zork Times Puzzle Winner T-Shirt, or perhaps The Status >CAST THE SPELL ON back to the Guild Hall. In fact, I Line Puzzle Winner T-Shirt if some of the sizes begin to run out and THE CRAB think I'll cast a boredom spell on we have to reprint the T-shirts with our new name. The crab looks at you for a it." She begins to recite the spell. moment, and you look at it. Send to: "Hello," it says. >___ HER Infocom, Inc. The Status Line Puzzle Just as she is about to complete 125 CambridgePark Drive >__ BELBOZ the enchantment, your fellow You suddenly find yourself in a guild member crumples to the L Cambridg~~o21 ~ ------J different part of the beach.

Southern End of Beach The beach curves north from BULK RATE here, and a creaky old wharf, U.S. Postage overgrown with seaweed, juts lnPDCDll\ PAID west into the ocean. Post Office Box 478 Boston, Mass. Belboz is here, building a sand Cresskill, New Jersey 07626 Permit No. 14 castle. It looks like a scale model of Entharion's castle, Largoneth, in loving detail. Another fellow member of the Circle of Enchanters is lying on a blanket. Her scowling face is completely hidden by sun cream. There is a beached whale here.

>CAST THE SPELL ON THE SEAWEED The seaweed dies instantly, and the ocean breezes blow it away.

>CAST ON BELBOZ Moving in a blur, Belboz