Before you give in...
Before you resort to this hints section, make sure you've tried everything you possibly can to figure out your problem on your own.
Have you explored everywhere in the cave that you can? Sometimes wandering around you can find simpler puzzles to solve elsewhere, or certain objects, that can help you with the tougher sections.
If you find yourself going crazy trying to phrase a command or question in terms that the game can understand, and getting nowhere, maybe what you're trying to do just isn't possible in the game.
Although the mazes are maddening, you need to master them before you can solve some puzzles. You can map them by taking objects in with you and dropping them one per room to make the rooms more easily mapped. Or, look for subtle differences between "identical" rooms in a maze that may not be apparent at first glance.
When mapping the cave, be aware that the cave is sometimes non-Euclidian.
That is, a north exit from one room to the next doesn't necessarily imply a south
exit will return you back to the original room. Also, try all directions looking for
exits, not just the directions hinted at by the room descriptions.
When you're really, really stumped, try these
Colossal Cave hints
- Where is the cave entrance?
- I keep getting killed by a dwarf
- What's this about XYZZY?
- How do you catch the bird?
- What is the rod good for?
- How do you get past the snake?
- I keep falling into a pit!
- My lamp is going dim. What do I do?
- 'You are in a twisty maze of passageways, all alike.'
- I've found lots of treasures, but my score isn't very high
- How do you save a game?
- I want to play a saved game, but it won't let me
- How do you take care of the dragon?
- A pirate just stole all my treasure! What now?
- Hey! The vase just broke!
- How do I deal with the bear?
- Here I am at the volcano... impressive. But what is it for?
- Huh? A shadowy figure seems to be waving at me.
- What's a hollow voice, and why would it say "plugh?"
- The stairway at the east end of the Hall of Mists disappeared!
- How do I open the giant clam?
- I just found a pearl, but it went rolling out of sight. What now?
- I found a steel door, but it's rusted shut and it won't open
- What's this bit about "fee fie foe foo?"
- I watered the thirsty plant, but now it wants more!
- How do I deal with the dark room just past the emerald room?
- "Bedquilt" is very confusing. What's up with that?
- Where's the cave's 'Main Office?'
- How do I get into the treasure vault?
- How do I get out of the repository?
- How do I get the last lousy point?