Made in 1986 for the Commodore 64 by Incentive Software, Ransom the King is a
very short interactive fiction game made using the Graphic Adventure Creator.
The King has been kidnapped, and the aim is to enter a castle and find a gold
bar that can be used to pay the ransom for the release of the King. The game
can be finished in only 21 moves, there are only six locations and no difficult
puzzles at all, so this is definitely a game for beginners to the adventure
genre, or for players who want a pleasant few minutes solving a very easy game.
The game starts on the bank of a stream. GET LAMP. LIGHT LAMP. Move EAST and
SOUTH to the moat surrounding the fortress. GET RAT. Move NORTH and EAST to the
east-west passage. It is important to have the dead rat in the inventory at
this point or the snake will attack. Move EAST to the promontory near the lake.
EXAMINE TREE and a key will fall from a hole in the branch. GET KEY. Move WEST
twice and SOUTH to return to the moat. UNLOCK DOOR using the large key from the
tree branch. Move EAST to enter the castle. DROP KEY. GET BAR. Move WEST, NORTH
and WEST to the stream bank to pay the ransom and complete the game.
DEAD RAT
Found at the moat. It is given to the snake in the east-west passage. The
snake will kill the character if the dead rat is not in the inventory.
GOLD BAR
Found in the castle. It is taken to the stream bank at the end of the game
and is automatically used to pay the ransom for the release of the King.
LARGE KEY
Found by examining the tree at the lake edge. The large key will fall down
from the branch. It is used to unlock the door at the moat. The key must be
dropped after unlocking the door to make inventory space for the gold bar.
LIT LAMP
Made by lighting the old oil lamp. It provides light in the cave. A bug in
the game allows you to drop the lit lamp anywhere and still explore the cave.
OLD OIL LAMP
Found at the stream edge. When lit, the old oil lamp becomes the lit lamp.
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