----------------------------------------------------------- TRAPDOOR ----------------------------------------------------------- General Tips Berk will need the help of various monsters and objects to complete his tasks of preparing disgusting grub for The Thing. The monsters all come up out of the Trapdoor whilst the objects are located around the basement. If Berk misplaces or loses some of the things he needs to complete a task, he can leave that task and arrange things for the next one. Objects will always remain where he last put them. Alternatively he can hurl himself down the trapdoor in desperation and the game will restart. Berk can pick things up, tip, carry and push them. But he must be in exactly the right position to do so. That goes especially for pushing things, where exact positioning is very important. Berk can wander around wherever he pleases so it's a good idea for him to explore all the locations and try to memorise where various things are - he'll have to use them all eventually. There are three levels - the ground, the balcony and the cellar - and Berk can also move forward or back. It's also an idea to practise moving the lever that opens and shuts the trapdoor so that you can do it quickly in an emergency. Berk has two sidekicks, Boni and Drutt. Boni is the talking skull who, when picked up, will sometimes give bits of advice - and sometimes he won't bother. Drutt, the spider, just gets in the way and seems to be of little use. First Task - A Can of Worms Pretty simple, this one. Make sure you pick up the can as opposed to a container that looks like a can. Go back to the trapdoor and open it to let out the worms. Remember to shut it quickly so that nothing else comes out. Grab as many worms as you can before Drutt eats them. There's a clever way of getting rid of Drutt using the trapdoor as a tool. Remember you can always get more worms by opening the trapdoor again. Pick up the can and place it on the dumb waiter. Then you've got to find a way of sending it to The Thing - should be no problem there. When he's scoffed them, he'll say nice things to you. Wait a little while and he'll shout down the next order, which will probably be... Second Task - Fried Eggs Open the trapdoor and let out the giant chicken and shut the trapdoor quickly so that nothing else can escape. To actually get the monster to lay an egg you'll have to flick something (to be polite) up its posterior. The thing you need is a bullet - and we're not telling you where to find it. If you lose the bullet, another object will do - even Drutt. Here's a clue, the trapdoor itself comes in very handy here as a flicking tool. Oh, and you'll need a container for the eggs. You'll know when the monster is ready to lay an egg because its eyes get bigger. When you've collected at least four eggs in the container (remember that eggs break easily) it's time to set about cooking them. No points for sussing out that the stove comes in useful here. When you're sure the eggs are cooked, send them up in the dumb waiter. Task Three - Boiled Slimeys Getting more complicated. The slimies are down in the flooded cellar. Take the bucket down with you and grab a few. You've then got to get them into the big red pot to boil them. But Berk's not tall enough to tip them in. So you'd better find a higher vantage point. With the slimeys in the pot, you can let the flame-thrower monster up from the trapdoor - again, you'll know him when you see him. Somehow, you've got to use this nasty piece of work to boil the slimeys. By the way, they're not ready if the pot isn't steaming. It must still be steaming when you send it up in the dumb waiter. Remember to get rid of the flame-thrower when you've finished with him. But he won't go down the trapdoor, so try crushing him - you'll need something pretty heavy. Task four - Eyeball Crush You must be a real berk if you can't suss out which monster to use for this one. The real problem is finding out where to get the eyeballs. Well, you won't find them anywhere - you've got to grow them. That's why there's a packet of seeds lying around. Find a reasonable place to plant the seeds and watch as they grow magically into plants. The plants (surprise, surprise) will produce just what you were looking for. All you've got to do now is to collect the eyeballs and turn them into the required crush. With help from the monster and the vat (the big tub on the stand) you should be able to work something out. And then you've got to collect the juice in a suitable container and send it up to the The Thing - he's getting pretty thirsty. By the way, the monster bounces round all the rooms and will eventually go back down the trapdoor if you wait long enough. Task Five - Tidy Up There are many ways to tidy up but the general idea is to collect everything movable and chuck it down the trapdoor. You need to save one edible item for the ghost to take it when he appears. Close the trapdoor. Now it's time to open the safe. What safe? You won't find it downstairs. That must mean The Thing has it upstairs? When you've got the safe, you have to work out a way of opening it. We're going to leave you to wrestle with that problem, suffice to say that you'll need to use a rather heavy object.