Tip:
When climbing paths and stairs, the mouse may give you more precise control than the keyboard. If using a full number pad, you can also make use of the diagonal keys (7/9/1/3) as well as the up/down/left/right arrow keys. Whenever possible, try to stay close to a nearby wall and follow it, as if Rosella were touching it with one hand. In cutaway views, such as in Lolotte's castle, the wall may be invisible, but it's still present as far as protecting you from falling. In such cases you can face Rosella towards the camera and walk "towards the screen" in Z-axis to "touch" the wall.
Around Tamir
You begin on a stretch of beach with a stream running into the ocean. Go one screen north and two east. Look under the bridge and you will automatically get the golden ball that's there. Go one screen north. Look for the frog in the pond, and stand in the brown area on the northeastern shore of the pond. If you step into the water, you'll scare the frog away; just leave the screen and return and it'll be back again. Drop the ball. The frog will retrieve it for you. Move close to the frog, pick it up, and kiss it. You will be left with a tiny golden crown. (You can pick up the ball again if you like, but it's not necessary; it doesn't score any points.)
Go two screens east. Walk up the steps and open the mansion door. Go west one screen. Examine the bookshelves. Walk up to the right-hand bookshelf. Take the book of Shakespeare. (Soooo... why does Shakespeare exist in the King's Quest universe?) Return east and south to leave the mansion.
Go three screens west to a screen with a tree stump. If there is not a minstrel playing there (..."Swanee River"??), leave and return until he appears. Talk to him, then give him the book of Shakespeare. You will be left with his lute.
Go north one screen. If you do not see a satyr playing a flute, continue one more screen north. If he is not here either, go back and forth between these two screens until you see him. Play the lute. (The tune may sound familiar if you've played Conquests of Camelot.) Move a little closer to Pan and give him the lute. (Soooo... why do Greek gods exist in the King's Quest universe?) You now have a flute. After Pan has left, you can play it if you like.
Return south to the stump and go one more screen south, then two east. Cross the stream and open the door in the tree. Clean the house. (*sigh* Whee...) Afterwards, the dwarves will arrive and get soup for themselves, then invite you to eat with them. During the meal, talk to the dwarves three times. Shortly thereafter, they will leave. Clean again (optional; scores no points), then get the blue pouch that remains on the table and open it. Oh my! Surely the dwarfs would like their diamonds back?
Leave the house and go one screen south. Carefully walk up the path into the mine, then carefully follow the path down to the floor. Go one screen east. Stand in front of the dwarf at the right who has a lantern at his feet. (The game is pretty picky about where you can stand. Position Rosella face to face with him, not at his left side so that her sprite covers his.) Give him the pouch. He will refuse and give you the lantern. Leave the mine and walk down the path to the ground. Go one screen east. If you don't see a robin pulling a worm out of the ground, go one screen north. Alternate between these screens until you see it. Walk up to it and get the worm.
For Your Amusement:
Wear the crown.
Repeatedly talk to the minstrel to hear his entire repertoire.
The Magic Fruit
If you are in the screen with the stream and the mansion in the distance, go east. If you are east of the mine, go one screen north, then go east. Stand on the riverbank near the falls and wear the crown. You will swim under the falls as a frog and end up near the entrance to a cave. Walk north and left a couple of steps. Get the board. Light the lantern. Save the game.
On the cave screens, each time you enter a screen, wait for a few seconds to be sure the troll is not there. If not, save the game and proceed. If so, it is possible to run away, but it is very difficult and it's less frustrating just to restore the game it shows up. (On the first screen, at least, you can tell if it's safe because you will hear music instead of the silence that precedes the troll's growl.)
From the waterfall screen, go east. If the troll is there, immediately leave and return. Once safely inside the cave without the troll, look down. Take a bone from the pile near the entrance. Save the game again. Go straight east across the first screen. On the next screen, walk east until you pass a Y-shaped rock formation; then turn and go south off the bottom of the screen. On the next screen, continue south until you bump up against a stalagmite, then turn east until you bump into another rock, south a bit more, and then east off the screen.
In the next screen, once you have established that the troll is not there, walk east almost to the the middle of the screen. Stop when you see some vertical lines in the lamplight; this is the edge of a chasm. You may get a hint about its location by falling in it!
When you find it, lay board across the chasm. (As usual, the game is quite picky about where you can stand to do this; carefully click with the mouse until you find the spot where it will let you do so.) Walk straight east across the board. Once across, you will automatically pick up the board. Walk to the east edge of the screen, then north towards the blue light at right center (make sure not to fall in the chasm from the eastern side!). When the screen changes, go east out of the cave; there's a spot that when you touch it, Rosella will automatically crawl out. Save the game again.
Walk up to the edge of the shore near the first tuft of grass. Type jump and repeat this until you are on the last tuft before the island with the tree and snake. Lay board. Save the game. You may wish to slow the game down a bit at this point, because it's very easy to misstep and fall into the swamp. Walk across the board and immediately stop; if you get too close to the snake, you'll be bitten. Play the flute. Quickly walk up to the fruit, take it, and walk back across the board to the tuft. Pick up the board.
Jump back across the swamp to the cave entrance. Save the game. Reverse the way you came in to get out: West into the cave. South from the entrance. Move southeast somewhat to find the edge of the chasm. Lay down the board, then walk straight west and west off the screen. North, west, and west out of the cave. On each screen, remember to pause for a moment to wait for the troll, and save if he is not there. When you're out of the cave, walk into the falls and you'll be swept out.
For Your Amusement:
Wear the crown in the swamp. (save first)
Meeting Lolotte
Swim to the south shore, go south, and then carefully walk up the mountain path. On the next screen you will be captured by some flying goons and taken to see Lolotte. Relax and watch the cutscene. There's nothing really to do in your cell, so just wait. After a short while, another cutscene will occur. When you are dropped back at the foot of the mountain, you may wish to save the game.
The Unicorn
Go all the way west to the beach. You may encounter the unicorn on the way, but ignore it for the moment. Go south twice. Walk out to the end of the pier. If the fisherman is not there, leave and return until he is. Walk up to him and talk to him. Not very talkative, is he? Wait until he stands up to leave. Get out of his way by walking to (or off of) the edge of the pier, then follow him back to his house. Open the door. Walk up to the fisherman and give him the pouch of diamonds. He will give you his fishing pole. Walk back out to the end of the pier. Stop moving before the last line marking the space between the boards, or you'll fall in. ("When you're out of slits, you're out of pier.") Put the worm on the hook and then fish. Repeat until you catch a fish (it may take an annoying number of tries). Once you have a fish, save the game.
Walk off the end of the pier into the ocean. Swimming at the bottom of the screen, head west. If you see a shark fin, dodge off the bottom edge of the screen and immediately return. You can probably safely ignore the whale if you keep moving, but may need to similarly dodge. After two screens you will reach Genesta's island. Wander around the beach until you find a peacock feather, and pick it up. Return to the screen where you came ashore.
Save the game. Begin swimming east again. This time, you want to get swallowed by the whale, so when you see it, stop and swim in place (don't change screens). A whirlpool should appear shortly and suck you in. If you make it back to land without being caught, just try again by swimming west from the pier or the screens north or south of it.
In the whale now? Ok. Don't take too long in here, or Rosella will get digested. Get the bottle that's floating around, open it, and read the note. To climb the tongue, slow the game down. Start at the bottom outside of the curve. Climb carefully up and over in a diagonal pattern, saving every few steps, moving more horizontally than vertically. When you stand up on the middle of the tongue, as shown below, save.
Walk up a little and over to the very top center, under the uvula, and tickle the whale with the feather. (If you're told "not here!", walk more towards the center and/or more "north" towards the top of the screen.)
Once you've been sneezed out, swim north to the island you can see in the distance. Walk inside the bow of the wrecked boat. Look at the ground and you will get a bridle. Move to stand in front of the pair of palm trees and throw the fish to the pelican. Walk to the sparkly spot on the ground. Look at the ground. Get the whistle. Blow the whistle and ride the dolphin it summons.
From where you come ashore, go two screens east to a Roman pool. Wait a moment to see if Cupid flies down to bathe. If he doesn't, leave the screen and return until he does. While Cupid is splashing about, walk into the pool and approach him. Startled, he will fly away, forgetting his bow and arrows. Walk out of the pool and get the bow. Although the arrows are not described as a separate item, you only have three and you need two, so don't screw around with them! (Or do, since there's not a lot of things you can actually even attempt to shoot.)
Go north one screen. If you see the unicorn, shoot it. If not, alternate between this screen and the one to the west, with the river, or the ones to the north or south of that. (It should only take a few screen changes. If it seems to be taking forever, something may have gotten stuck in the random number generator's head. Try restoring an earlier saved game. You may have to go back to before you walked up the mountain in the first place.) Walk up to its head and put the bridle on it. (Again, the game is very picky about where you can stand to do this.) Walk to the south side of the unicorn. Ride the unicorn. (This, too, may take some, ah, jockeying to find the exact right position.) It will take you to Lolotte. Relax and watch the cutscene.
For Your Amusement:
In the fisherman's hut, drink coffee.
Fish without putting the worm on the hook.
Repeatedly read the note in the bottle.
The Hen
Once at the foot of the mountain again, save the game. Go two screens west and one south. If the ogre or his wife appear (you will hear music), immediately leave the screen to the north. When you are sure no one is there, walk up to the door of the house and open it. Immediately throw the bone to the dog.
Go up the stairs and get the axe that is leaning against the eastern wall of the bedroom. Return down the stairs and go to the cupboard door under the stairs. Open the door and you will automatically go inside. Wait -- that is, do nothing without an input box up on the screen -- until you hear the ogre come home. This will take a couple minutes of real time.
Look through the keyhole. When you see that the ogre is asleep, open the closet door. Walk up to the table. Wait for the hen to cross directly in front of you and get the hen. Walk to the front door and open it. As soon as you do, the hen will squawk and wake up the ogre. Keep moving! As soon as you are outside, turn to the north and continue off the screen to the dwarves' mine. Go east two screens to the mountain path and go up.
Pandora's Box
Once more at the foot of the mountain, go three screens north. Swing the axe to frighten the trees. Continue one more screen north to a cave shaped like a skull. Save the game, slow it down a bit and go inside. Watch the witch as she comes towards you. Wait a bit before heading to the right, so that you lead her around the cauldron as you slip in between the other two witches (be careful not to touch them!). Get the eye. Leave the cave, then immediately return. One of the witches will throw a scarab at you. Pick it up, then stand at the bottom of the screen and throw them the eye. Leave the cave.
Go south. Now that you have the scarab, night will fall. Go south again (don't worry about the zombies in the graveyard; they flee from the scarab you're carrying), west, and open the mansion door. Go west. Examine the portrait, then examine the wall where its gaze is directed. Flip the latch and go one screen west. Get the shovel that is leaning against the wall.
By now you will have heard a baby crying. (You have to hear each ghost before you can find their "treasure" in their grave; you can't dig up the graves ahead of time.) Leave the mansion and go to the western graveyard. Before digging, always read the stone to make sure you have the right grave, because you can only dig 5 times before the shovel breaks and that is exactly how many times you need to dig. Go to the tiny tombstone at the far back left of the graveyard. Read the stone (Hiram Bennet). Dig. You will get a rattle. Return to the mansion. Go upstairs, through the left door, and west into the nursery. Put the rattle in the cradle.
Shortly, you will hear a second ghost. As you leave the bedroom you will see him on the ground floor. Go to the western graveyard and dig at the tombstone at the very bottom left (Newberry Will). Take the bag of coins back to the mansion. Leave the screen to the east or west and return to make the ghost appear. Give the coins to the ghost.
Next you will hear "sorrowful weeping". Go to the eastern graveyard and dig at the grave at bottom left/center (Betty Cowden). Take the locket back to the mansion, upstairs, and through the right door. Wait a moment and the ghost will appear. Give her the locket.
Next, you will hear "loud wailing". Go to the western graveyard and dig at the left-hand of the two graves at bottom right (Lord Coningsby). Return to the mansion and give the medal to the ghost. (Again, leaving the room to the east or west and returning makes him appear.)
Lastly you will see a small boy ghost. Go to the eastern graveyard and dig at the grave at top left (Willy). Return to the mansion, go upstairs, and through the right door. Climb the ladder. Give the toy horse to the ghost. Open the trunk and look inside. You will get some sheet music. Climb back down the ladder, go south, downstairs, and west twice to the secret tower. Carefully climb the stairs (you may wish to save a game first). Sit down at the organ, and play sheet music. Look in the drawer and get the key.
Stand, return downstairs, leave the mansion, and go into the eastern graveyard. Use the key to unlock the crypt door set into the mountainside at the right of the screen. Open the door. Carefully walk onto the platform. Lower the ladder and climb down it. (The mummy, like the zombies, will flee from the scarab.) Pick up Pandora's Box from the corner. Climb the ladder and leave the crypt. Go south two screens and up the mountain path. Relax and watch the cutscene.
For Your Amusement:
Read all the other gravestones.
Kiss a zombie.
Shake the rattle.
Play the organ (rather than playing the sheet music specifically).
Open Pandora's Box. (save first)
The Talisman
In Edgar's room, just wait until he slips a rose under the door. Walk to the door and Rosella will pick up the rose. Notice the little key you can see attached to it in the closeup graphic. Get the key. Unlock the door. (If the game says you're not close enough, position Rosella so that you can see her feet under the door.) Save the game. Open the door and carefully go down the stairs. These have blind areas, so you may wish to alternate between a couple of saved games.
At the bottom of the tower, hug the lower curve of the wall so as not to wake up the guard. In the next room, stay close to the bottom of the screen, then keep as close to the right wall as you can and go in the top door.
Open the right-hand cabinet and get all your possessions. Get all will work, but you have to move a little to the right first. Leave the room, hug the wall heading south (don't get too close or take too long just standing around), and go east through the bottom doorway. Again, stay close to the bottom of the screen to bypass the guard, and then hug the curve of the wall to start up the stairs of the other tower.
Continue past the doorway in the middle of the tower and go all the way up. (Getting onto the second set of stairs may be difficult. Keep trying! The first time I played all the way through this game I got stuck for ages because I couldn't find the magic pixel that would make Rosella keep climbing upwards vs. just wandering around on the landing.) Unlock Lolotte's door with the gold key. Open the door. Depending on exactly where you are standing, Rosella may automatically walk inside; if not, walk into the room. (Do not go back down the stairs at this point, or you won't be able to get back into Lolotte's room, even though the door is open. The game will act as if it were closed and stop Rosella from walking through, softlocking the game.) Shoot Lolotte. Go up to her and take the Talisman. Save the game.
Leave Lolotte's room and go halfway down the stairs. Go through the doorway off the landing. Open the wooden door. Get the hen (this may take a few tries) and Pandora's box (you have to specify "Pandora's" in this case because there are other boxes in the room). Leave the room, go east, and continue down the stairs. At the bottom, go west one screen, and south out of the castle. Enter the stable, walk up to the center pole, and open the gate to let the unicorn go free.
Leave the stable to the south and walk carefully down the mountain path. When you get to the bottom, go two screens north. Enter the crypt, climb down the ladder, and drop Pandora's Box. Leave the crypt, close the door, and lock it with the skeleton key.
Go west all the way to the beach, then north one screen. Save the game and swim west to Genesta's island. Go south and west. Open the door and go up the stairs on the left. Give the Talisman to Genesta, and watch the ending movie.
For Your Amusement:
Get caught sneaking around Lolotte's castle, and watch the wedding between Rosella and Edgar. (save first)
For Your Amusement at various times:
Try swear words.
Remove your dress.
Skip getting the magic fruit, and have Genesta send you back to Daventry without it. (The bad ending. There is also a slight variation in the ending depending on whether or not you picked up the hen on the way out of Lolotte's castle.)
Extras
For further entertainment, you may be interested in information on unused game resources, differences between game releases, debugging mode tricks, etc. at The Cutting Room Floor.
Points
Note: these actions only add up to 228, and I'm not sure about "Give hen to Genesta" because you can't do that as a deliberate action: the game won't let you do it before you give her the talisman, and after you give her the talisman, you're locked into the ending scene without control. Rescuing the hen does change the ending scene a bit, but you don't seem to be credited points. Might be a bug.
| Action | Points | Action | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Around Tamir | Pandora's Box | ||
| Get golden ball | 2 | Swing axe | 4 |
| Kiss frog | 5 | Get witches' eye | 3 |
| Get book of Shakespeare | 2 | Get scarab | 2 |
| Give book to minstrel (get lute) | 3 | Return eye to witches | 3 |
| Give lute to pan (get flute) | 3 | Flip secret latch | 4 |
| Clean dwarves' house | 5 | Get shovel | 2 |
| Give pouch to head dwarf | 3 | Dig/get rattle | 3 |
| Get worm | 2 | Give rattle to ghost | 2 |
| Dig/get coins | 3 | ||
| The Magic Fruit | Give coins to ghost | 2 | |
| Wear crown near waterfall | 5 | Dig/get locket | 3 |
| Get board | 2 | Give locket to ghost | 2 |
| Get bone | 2 | Dig/get medal | 3 |
| Lay board across chasm (first time) | 2 | Give medal to ghost | 2 |
| Lay board to island | 2 | Dig/get toy horse | 3 |
| Play flute (charm snake) | 4 | Give toy horse to ghost | 2 |
| Get fruit | 10 | Get sheet music | 2 |
| Lay board across chasm (second time) | 2 | Play sheet music | 4 |
| Get hidden key | 2 | ||
| The Unicorn | Unlock crypt | 3 | |
| Give pouch to fisherman (get pole) | 3 | Lower ladder | 2 |
| Put worm on hook | 1 | Get Pandora's Box | 4 |
| Fish | 3 | Take Pandora's Box to Lolotte | 7 |
| Get peacock feather | 2 | ||
| Tickle whale | 5 | The Talisman | |
| Get bridle | 3 | Find key in rose | 2 |
| Give fish to pelican | 4 | Unlock door | 2 |
| Get whistle | 2 | Recover your possessions | 4 |
| Blow whistle | 2 | Unlock Lolotte's door | 2 |
| Ride dolphin | 2 | Shoot Lolotte | 8 |
| Get bow | 2 | Take Talisman | 5 |
| Shoot unicorn | 4 | Get hen | 2 |
| Put bridle on unicorn | 3 | Get Pandora's Box | 2 |
| Ride unicorn | 7 | Free unicorn | 4 |
| Replace Pandora's Box in crypt | 2 | ||
| The Hen | Lock crypt | 2 | |
| Throw bone to dog | 4 | Give hen to Genesta | 2 |
| Get axe | 2 | Give Talisman to Genesta | 10 |
| Get hen | 4 | ||
| Take hen to Lolotte | 7 | Total | 230 |
Last updated: 7/30/2023