And even now, playing it again was a whole lot of fun. It'd be even more fun if there were more non-puzzle things to try, and maybe an alternate ending (well, there sort of is...read on!) but still I can't help but imagine the spookiness of these tersely-described locations. Or imagine what it would be like to stand in the laboratory and blow out the candle...

Though this is a pretty simple adventure compared to, say, Infocom games, the 'story' is kind of interesting. Is it Dr. Frankenstein who's buried with no name on the tombstone? Probably not. How could I have received a letter one day after his burial? And why is there no name on the tomb? Who is the werewolf? Did he kill and bury the corpse? Or is he Dr. F himself? I'm probably reading way too much into this and getting far more lost into this game than the designer ever did as he wrote the brief location descriptions.

FRANKENSTEIN ADVENTURE

Welcome to Frankenstein Adventure, based on the story of Dr Frankenstein and 
his monster (the Boris Karloff film version rather than the book). The game was 
originally released in October 1981 as a 16K BASIC file in CLOAD magazine, which 
was produced on cassette for the TRS-80/Video Genie computer. 

William Stott, March 2004 (wstott@bigfoot.com)

* SHAREWARE *  Copyright (c) 1992 by John Olsen       Type HELP for information.

                                 Version 3.0

                            FRANKENSTEIN'S LEGACY
                                by John Olsen


As the last living member of the famous Frankenstein family, you have received a
mysterious letter summoning you to the old family estate.

You are standing on a dirt path outside the mansion.  The porch is north.  The
path leads east to a swampy bog, and west to the family cemetery.

>help
You may use more than two words, which allows for more complicated commands.
For example you may say, "PUT THE SWORD IN THE STONE."  Only one command is
allowed per line (no multiple commands like "DROP THE SWORD AND THE LANCE").
You may also use these standard abbreviations:

N  for  Go North    E  for  Go East    U  for  Go Up      I  for  Inventory
S  for  Go South    W  for  Go West    D  for  Go Down    L  for  Location

Need more help?  Send in your $20 shareware fee and you will receive by return
mail full maps, hints, and the complete solutions to the following adventures:

Frankenstein's Legacy         The Sea Phantom         Night of the Walking Dead

Be sure to specify SOLUTION KIT #1 to ensure you get the solutions, hints, and
maps, to all these adventures.  Yes, all three for only $20 (US).  Send to:

John Olsen
P.O. Box 181
Newberg
Oregon 97132

  (note, the 'more than two words' thing didn't seem to work on my copy...)

>n
---
You are on the porch of the old mansion.  A large ornate door is north.  There
is a dirt path to the south.

>look door
It's locked.

>i
You have with you:
an envelope

>open envelope
You have with you:
a house key
a letter

>read letter
It says: "As my last living relative, I am entrusting you with a great mission.
Come here to my home in Romania.  I will leave a letter for you containing more
details."  (signed) Victor Frankenstein

>unlock door
>open door
>n
---
You are inside the entry hall.  An empty umbrella stand sits beside a small wood
table.  The large door is to the south.  To the north is the library and to the
west is the formal dining room.  Stairs lead up to a short hallway.

>look table
You see a crisp new note on the table.

>get note
>read note
It's from Dr. Frankenstein: "In my secret laboratory, you'll find my nearly
completed creature.  You must bring it to life.  P.S. Beware of the dark."

>w
---
You are in the formal dining room.  In the center of the room is a long wooden
dining table.  The kitchen doors are to the north.  The entry hall is east.

>look table
You find a wax candle hidden under it.

>get candle
>n
---
You are in an empty kitchen.  Above the counter is an open cupboard.  The door
south leads back to the dining room.
You can also see:
an old dried lemon

>look cupboard
Inside you find a spool of silk thread and a box of matches.

>get matches
>light candle
>burn note
Secret writing appears briefly:
dial 656886
Then it catches fire and burns up.

>unlight candle
>s; e; n
---
You are in the library.  A large empty bookcase against the north wall collects
dust.  Before you sits a writing desk.  The door leads south to the entry hall.
You can also see:
a pen holder and quill pen

>get pen
Creak!  The bookcase slides backward to reveal a narrow passageway to the north.

>drop pen
OK.

>n
---
You are in a dim alcove behind the old bookcase.  A small passage leads west
into darkness.  The library is south.

>light candle
>w
---
You are at the top of a narrow stairway.  A passage goes east to the alcove by
the open bookcase.  And from below, you hear the sound of rats scurrying in the
dark.

>d
---
You are at the bottom of the stairs. To the west is Dr. Frankenstein's old lab.

>w
---
You're in Frankenstein's old laboratory. A single lever is on the control panel.
In the center of the laboratory is an operating table made of stone.  The old
stairs are to the east.
You can also see:
Frankenstein's creature on the slab
a shovel

>pull lever
You can't do that... yet.
There's a padlock on it.

>look creature
It's chest is open.

>get shovel

>look table
You find a sharp scalpel hidden there.

>get scalpel
>e; u; e; unlight candle; s (back in library); s; s (back on the dirt path); e
---
You are at the edge of the bog.  Far to the east you see the ruins of an old
mill.  A path leads back west.
You can also see:
a sign posted in the grass
an iron crowbar

>read sign
It says "DANGER QUICKSAND."

>get crowbar
  >e
  You have fallen into the quicksand!  Slowly you sink beneath the bog...
  You are dead!
>w; w
---
You are inside the large metal gates of the family cemetery.  A crypt is to the
west.  The graves are to the north.

>n
---
You are at the north end of the family cemetery.  A large tombstone stands in
front of you.  The gates are south.
You can also see:
a recently filled grave

>look tombstone
Apparently the man died just yesterday, because there is no name, only the date.

>dig grave
You unearth a newly buried coffin.

>open coffin (this won't work without the crowbar)
OK.  There's a fresh corpse inside.

>look corpse
You find a screwdriver in his pocket.

>cut corpse
OK. (it is now a 'mutilated corpse')

>look corpse
Inside you see the heart and liver.

>drop crowbar
>drop shovel
>get liver
>get screwdriver
>s
---
You are inside the large metal gates of the family cemetery.  A crypt is to the
west.  The graves are to the north.
You can also see:
a snarling wolf

>feed wolf
The wolf grabs the liver and runs off. 
 (note, if you have the heart and liver, he still takes the liver...otherwise
  this could have been quite devious.)

>drop scalpel
>e, n, n, u, e
---
You are in the master bedroom.  A large four poster bed is to the east.  To the
west is the hallway.
You can also see:
a painting on the wall

 (I never did find a use for the bed.  If you go east, you find yourself
   lying on the bed, sans covers - yuck.)

>get painting
Sorry, it's screwed to the wall.

>unscrew painting
The heavy painting falls to the floor, revealing a wall safe hidden behind it.
 (for some reason I remember this was a particularly elusive puzzle for us 
  7th graders...)

>drop screwdriver
>open safe
It's locked.

>dial 656888 (seems to be the same each game)
Click!  The safe is unlocked.

>open safe
An old map and a dusty diary fall out

>get diary

>read diary
One entry says: "require gold electrodes"
The last entry says: "must find heart and liver"

>drop diary
>get map
>w, d, s, s, e
---
You are at the edge of the bog.  Far to the east you see the ruins of an old
mill.  A path leads back west.
You can also see:
a sign posted in the grass

>use map
---
You are on an island in the bog, beside the ruins of an old mill.  The open door
is to the east.  The mansion is far to the west across the swamp.

>e
---
You are inside the old mill.  The door is west.  There is a hole in the decayed
wooden floor.  It's dark down there!

>light candle
>d
---
You are at one end of a long damp tunnel.  A light shines from the hole above
you.  The tunnel continues to the west.

>w
---
You are at the west end of the damp old tunnel.  A stone slab is set in the end
wall.  The tunnel goes east.

>push slab (non-intuitive!)
---
You are inside the family crypt.  Marble statues sit in each corner.  There is a
large stone door to the north
You can also see:
an open urn
a wooden cane

>look statues
They look like angels.

>get cane
>get urn
>look cane
It has a silver wolf's head handle.

>look urn
It's filled with ashes

>pour urn
A pair of gold electrodes were hidden under the ashes, and also fall out.

>drop urn
>get electrodes
>open door 
 (this is a one way door!  you can't go back in.  This is a little bit of 'magic'
  here; the bog -> mill -> tunnel -> crypt form a loop)
---
You are outside the family crypt.  Ivy crawls across the stone walls.  A large
marble door is south.  The cemetery gate is to the east.
You can also see:
an advertisement flyer

>unlight candle
>get flyer
>read flyer

Need more help?  Send in your $20 shareware fee and you will receive by return
mail full maps, hints, and the complete solutions to the following adventures:

Frankenstein's Legacy         The Sea Phantom         Night of the Walking Dead

Be sure to specify SOLUTION KIT #1 to ensure you get the solutions, hints, and
maps, to all these adventures.  Yes, all three for only $20 (US).  Send to:

John Olsen
P.O. Box 181
Newberg
Oregon 97132

>drop flyer
>e
---
You are inside the large metal gates of the family cemetery.  A crypt is to the
west.  The graves are to the north.
You can also see:
a snarling wolf
a sharp scalpel

>hit wolf
The silver headed cane strikes and kills the werewolf.  In death, it returns to
its human form.

>look man
You find a needle inside his lapel.

 (if you 'LOOK MAN' after taking his needle, you get a null response, which
   must be a bug.  Same thing happens with the dug up corpse)

>drop cane
>get scalpel
>cut man
>look man
Inside you see a liver.

>drop scalpel
>get liver
>get needle
>get man
You've got to be kidding!  No way!!

 (at this point, you will have to do some shuffling of objects.  You want
   to get the heart, liver, electrodes, crowbar, needle, matches, map
   and candle all back to the library.  Also grab the thread from the kitchen.)
---
You are in the library.  A large empty bookcase against the north wall collects
dust.  Before you sits a writing desk.  The door leads south to the entry hall.
You can also see:
a passageway behind the bookcase
an empty pen holder
a quill pen
a wax candle
a box of matches
an old map
a heart
a liver
gold electodes
an iron crowbar
a needle
a spool of silk thread

 (we're going to need to take 2 trips down to the lab.  We'll not carry the
   matches to economize on space!)

>get needle and thread
>thread needle (it is now "a needle threaded with silk thread")
>drop thread
>get candle
>get matches
>drop matches
>get heart
>get liver
>n; w; d; w 
---
You're in Frankenstein's old laboratory. A single lever is on the control panel.
In the center of the laboratory is an operating table made of stone.  The old
stairs are to the east.
You can also see:
Frankenstein's creature on the slab
a padlock on the lever

>sew heart
>sew liver

 (if you look now, you'll see that there is 
   'a heart sewn in the creature'
   'a liver sewn in the creature')

>sew creature
>attach electrodes

 (now go back up to the library, get the crowbar and map and 
   return to the lab)

>break padlock
>pull lever

The creature comes to life in a flash of sparks.  It lurches toward you, murder
in its eyes!

You realize your error in bringing it to life, and must now destroy it forever.

But it's attacking; you have no time!

 (at this point, you see....
 
 "The monster is one step behind you!"

  ...as you visit each room, and if you make one mistake (even doing a save!)...

  "The creature has caught you!  You feel its strong hands about your throat...
   You are dead!")


>e; u; e; s; s; s; s; e
>use map (or, just 'e' so long as you have the map)
---
You are on an island in the bog, beside the ruins of an old mill.  The open door
is to the east.  The mansion is far to the west across the swamp.

The monster follows you into the bog and is caught in the quicksand. As it sinks
beneath the surface forever, you breath in the fresh air of freedom!

Congratulations on your destruction of the evil of FRANKENSTEIN'S LEGACY.
You have taken 333 turns.

                                  END OF GAME
---
(Actually, there is an 'alternate ending', sort of.  If you go try and cross the
  bog without the map, you can die twice.  Maybe you are strangled by the creature
  *and* drown in the quicksand...)

>e (without the map into the bog)
You have fallen into the quicksand!  Slowly you sink beneath the bog...
You are dead!

The creature has caught you!  You feel its strong hands about your throat...
You are dead!

-- MattWalsh - 16 Apr 2004