"SKULLDUGGERY" step-by-step solution by pjg For game release 3.1 Takes about 380 moves. Comments and points/total points are given in () The brief solution overview 1) Darkness: Start a fire in the kitchen with the logs and the sulfur or hay. Use the flint and iron to start it. 2) Read the parchment from the cellar to find out the ingredients for the potion. The nine ingredients needed and how to get them are as shown below. 3) Ashes: Use the crowbar from outside to pry open the marble coffin lid. Get Charles' body and put it on the Ouija board. When in Hades, put Charles' body on the altar. Get the ashes and put them on the ouija board. 4) Hair: Move the slab in the mausoleum. Use the knife to cut the hair of Lord John. 5) Blood: Drink the wine or brandy to have a dream about secret passages. Turn the moulding in the billiard room to reveal the secret passage. Go up to the attic and get the stake. Get the shovel and a bottle. Go to the grave yard and dig up Henri's grave. Kill him with the stake. Put the blood in the bottle. 6) Spider: Turn the moulding in the conservatory. Go up and get the spider. 7) Finger bone: After getting the spider, go down to the smuggler's lair. Enter the dungeon cell. Cut the finger with the knife or cleaver. Use the finger bone to unlock the cell door. 8) Old bones: After getting the finger bone, head east to the cliff overlooking Hades. Use the torch and the candle to provide light in adjacent rooms. In a "leapfrog" manner, transfer the bones and the light sources N, W, S, and U. Transfer the bones to the kettle. This is best when done during the day. 9) Black skull: During the day, move the black skull from the master bedroom down into the kitchen kettle. 10) Beast soul/heart: Take the knife or cleaver and go wander in the east forest. Eventually you will fall into an animal trap pit. Cut the heart from the wolfdog. 11) River water: When in Hades, open the pocket and get the gold. Sit in the boat and give the gold to the boatman. While crossing the river, get the jar, open it, and fill it with water. Put the jar on the Ouija board. 12) Put all nine of the ingredients in the kettle. Put the potion in the jar. Take the shovel, crowbar, and jar to the lonely grave. Dig up the grimy skeleton and take it to the mausoleum using the secret forest trap door. Pry open the granite coffin lid. Put the skeleton inside and pour the potion on it. This will unlock the ship cargo hold trap door and give you a gold key. 13) Go to the ship on the beach. (Turning the ship's wheel opens the powder locker) Open the cargo door, go down and unlock the chest. Open the chest and then enter it for the surprise ending. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read the SKULL.DOC file for some background information first. Multiple commands are given on one line, even the the game only accepts one command per line. Gates and doors will randomly close, open them as needed. If the front gate blows shut **before** you have entered the estate then you must restart the game. You can't win if you are stuck outside. You can be killed randomly, restore a saved game to avoid this. The Grim Reaper will sometimes appear too early. Restore a saved game if you have not put the ashes and the water jar on the ouija board. Do not have more than 1 "quantity of water" at any moment in time. (database gets confused) Do not put objects into the burning fireplace. (you end up carrying the invisible "burned" object) Drinking the brandy and the wine will show you 2 of 4 dreams. Restore a saved game and redrink until you see all 4 of them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (you start with 1 point already) (1/26) Get bag SW. Read plaque (if the gate is closed then restart the game) S (the gate will always close after we pass through it. I never did find a key for this gate.) Drop bag. Open bag Read newspaper. X me. E. Read note. W, S, S, S Open door S. X tabard. E. Get candle S, E. Get book. W, S, W, W, W Get decanteur Open decanteur E, S, S Open door save 0 (we will use the kitchen as our base of operations) W Open cupboard. Get all (we will use the cleaver instead of the boat knife) E, S. Get logs. N Put logs in fireplace Put sulfur in fireplace (we could have used the stable hay instead of the sulfur) Get flint. Strike flint on iron Drop all save 0 N, U, E, S Get skull (2/26) (do this in daylight) N, W, D, S Put skull in kettle Light candle with fire save 1 N, U, E, S Get bible N, N, E Get torch Light torch with candle E, S, S, N Get diary S, NW, W, W, W D, D, N Get parchment S, S Get bottle Open bottle N, U, S save 1 Read diary (Charles betrayed William) Read book (William's ghost needs a Druid sedation potion) Read bible (Lord John was a Druid wizard) Read parchment (here are the potion ingredients) Drop all save 2 restore 2 (do a few I's or L's to waste a turn or two to change the random dream) Drink wine Drink brandy (keep on restoring and drinking until you see all 4 dreams) Get candle Get torch Get cleaver save 2 N, N, E E, N, E Turn moulding S, U Pull lever N (3/26) Get spider (4/26) (If the panel closes then Turn moulding to open it again) S, D, D, S save 3 (X skeleton. Again) (until the skeleton speaks to you) S (5/26) Find finger. Cut finger with cleaver (6/26) Get finger. X finger Unlock door with finger Open door N, N, E E, S, U Drop all Get candle Get torch save 3 Enter N. Drop torch E. Drop candle S. Get bones (7/26) (guess who the hooded figure is) N, W Drop bones E. Get candle W, S Drop candle N. Get bones S, U (it must be day for you to see) save 3 D, W, N Open door N, N, W, W, S Put bones in kettle N, E, E, S S, S, E, U Enter. Get candle N. Get torch S, U Get all D, W Drop torch (we don't need the torch anymore) Get bottle Open bottle save 3 N, N, N, E (8/26) Turn moulding N, U, U (9/26) Open chest. Get stake D, D, S (pull the lever if the panel closes) W, W, W, S Put finger in kettle Put spider in kettle Open door save 4 S, W Open side door W (we could have used the hay instead of the sulfur to start the fire) Open stable door N, N, N, N Get shovel S, E, W, W, S X grassy grave Dig grassy grave with shovel Again X Henri Kill Henri with stake Drop stake Put blood in bottle (10/26) save 5 E. Open door W. Move slab (11/26) W. X John (12/26) Find hair. Cut hair with cleaver (13/26) Get hair E. Open door E, E, E, S S, E, E, N Put blood in kettle Put hair in kettle Drop red bottle save 5 N, N, E, E Open door E. Read monument. E save 6 (movement in the forest is random. the directions given here may not for you) SE, W (we want to go to the southern rolling meadow) Get hemlock (we don't really need this, but it is useful) N, E, N (we want to reach the animal trap) X dog Find soul. Find heart Cut heart with cleaver (14/26) Get heart. Drop cleaver D (15/26) Again (keep trying until you reach the underground tunnel) NE. Open trap door. U save 6 N, W, W, W, S Get crowbar N, NE, NW, N X floor Pry floorboard with crowbar Get key (16/26) S, E Read cross Dig grave with shovel Again Drop shovel Get skeleton (17/26) W, SE, E, SE, SW D, SW, SW Unlock trap door with key. Drop key Open trap door. U save 6 SW, SW, W (we want to return to the garden) W, W, W, S, S Put heart in kettle Open door save 6 S, W, W, N N, W, W, W X granite coffin Read granite coffin Pry granite lid with crowbar Put skeleton in granite coffin (this unlocks the trap door on the ship) X marble coffin Read marble coffin Pry marble lid with crowbar Drop crowbar Get charles (18/26) E, E, E, S S, E, E, N save 7 N, E, E, E Look on the board Touch planchette Again (do this again and again until "Translation platform" is spelled out) Put charles on board W, S, S, S Drop all save 7 Eat hemlock (19/26) (we had to wait for the right moment) X shroud. Open pocket Get gold (20/26) Sit in boat Give gold to boatman Wait Get jar (actually, you can use any container) Open jar Put water in jar (21/26) save 8 N Look on the board Get charles (if the grim reaper appears and sends you back, then restore, waste a turn or two and try again) E (22/26) Put charles on altar (23/26) Put ashes in jar W Put jar on board (now we have to wait around for the grim reaper to send us back) save 8 Read plaque X man (guess who the figure is) Wait Again (until we are sent back) Get candle N, N, N, E Look on the board Get jar W, W, W, S I Put ashes in kettle Put water in kettle Look in the kettle Put potion in jar save 9 S, W, W, N N, W, W, W Pour potion on skeleton (24/26) Drop jar E, E, E, E S, E, S, S W, U, S (Turn wheel) (Enter. Open cupboard. Exit) Open trap door D (25/26) Unlock chest with gold key Drop key. Open chest save 9 Enter chest (26/26)