Heaven and Hell hints
29th May 2025
What can I do with the old
man?
- There is nothing you can actively do.
- What can you passively do?
- Just
wait.
- He will fall asleep, yielding false teeth.
- Examine them to understand their value.
- This is a case where
wait does something more than
allow a turn to pass.
How can I escape from
the starting area?
- There is no way to get to the world outside the house.
- The only way out is to die.
- What have you found that is potentially dangerous?
- An electric shock will kill you.
- The electric socket will do it.
- You will need an unusual verb to electrocute yourself.
- You will also need a noun that refers to something that game has not
mentioned (sorry!)
- You need to
insert something.
insert finger- This is a horrible example of a guess-the-noun problem.
How can I escape from
purgatory
- The flames will solve that problem for you eventually.
- Can you do anything with the rope?
- No, you can’t.
- If you don’t see an obvious exit, there is no way to escape.
- You need to avoid going to purgatory before you’re prepared.
How can I go to heaven?
- In this game, salvation is not by grace but by works.
- You need to lead a good life before you die.
- Is there anyone you can help while alive on Earth?
- What about the beggar?
- He wants something from you.
- He is hungry.
- You will need the bread.
feed beggar. Stupidly, give bread will not
work.
Where is the beggar?
- He turns up at the front door of the house.
- He will arrive after the ninth turn.
- If you don’t feed him, he will leave after the fourteenth turn.
- Once he’s gone, he’s gone.
- You cannot win the game if you don’t feed him while he’s there.
What is the deal with the
crucifix?
- Examine it.
- It’s chipped.
- It needs to be repaired.
- What is it made of?
- It needs to be repaired using something gold.
- You lack the skills to repair it.
- Who might have the skills?
- Michealangelo can repair the crucifix.
- You don’t need to ask him to do this.
- Just give him the crucifix and the source of gold.
- The false teeth have a gold filling.
give crucifix; give teeth.
What can I do with the
rubble of Jericho?
- Examine it.
- Something’s there.
- But what?
- If you got the “something’s there” message, there is nothing more
you can do for now.
- You need to be better at examining the rubble.
- Wear the spectacles.
- What spectacles?
- See the next clue.
- If you examine the rubble while wearing the spectacles, you will
find Joshua’s trumpet.
What use is the adventurer?
- He’s a neat callback to Magic Mirror.
- He has something you need.
- Examine him.
- He has the spectacles.
- He will trade them.
- Give him anything, anything at all.
- But don’t give him something you might need later!
What should I do with
Einstein?
- You can give him things.
- But he won’t give you anything back.
- He is useless to you.
- He’s probably too busy thinking about physics to be any help.
How can I get into Jacob’s
shed?
- Is there a way to open the door?
- No, there isn’t.
- You need to destroy the shed completely to get at its contents.
- How did buildings get destroyed in the Bible?
- How did Joshua destroy Jericho?
blow trumpet.- What trumpet?
- You will find the trumpet in the rubble of Jericho.
How can I escape from the
angel?
- He won’t let you leave from his guardroom.
- He won’t let you take either of his possessions.
- Maybe you can grab them if you’re quick?
grab halo – I’m sorry that grab is different from
take.- But he just takes it back on the next turn.
- You need to distract him.
- After you grab the halo,
throw halo.
- Once the angel is gone, you can take his possessions and leave the
room.
How can I survive in
the chamber of power.
- God is angry at your presence.
- Is there a way to conceal yourself from him?
- Have you found the invisibility cloak?
- Would an invisibility cloak work against an omniscient being?
- And there is no invisibility cloak in the game.
- No, you cannot survive.
- You really can’t. Just don’t go there.
Is the bottomless pit useful?
- Under the right circumstances.
- If you just
go into it, you end up in purgatory.
- Could you climb down in a more controlled way?
- Have you examined Jacob’s ladder?
- Drop the ladder by the pit and
climb ladder.
- What ladder?
- Try the shed.
How can I get in the gates
of hell?
- Do you have key number 293?
- It’s no use here.
- Only magic can help.
- Do you have anything magical?
- Did you examine the angel’s harp?
play harp to summon the Devil. He will open the
gate.- He won’t stop you walking right through.
What should I do with the
Devil?
- You could leave him alone: he doesn’t seem to be harming you.
- But maybe he has something you want.
- You could try giving him things.
- He will accept whatever you offer, but will give nothing back.
That’s the Devil for you.
- Maybe you can scare him away?
- What might he be scared of?
show crucifix- Does he laugh at you?
- Is the crucifix imperfect?
- You will need to repair it first: see above.
- When he runs away, he leaves you his trident.
How can I open the window?
- Have you tried
open window?
- It was never going to be that easy.
- You are not powerful enough to open it.
- But even a lesser demon is powerful.
- The solution to this one is honestly a bit silly.
tie rope will attach the demon to the window.- Now make him run away.
- For whatever reason, he is not scared of the crucifix.
- Do you have the trident?
stab demon
Where is the rope?
- You’ve almost certainly seen it before.
- It’s in purgatory room no. 293.
- Key no. 293 will open the door in in the main hall of Hell.
- Now you can simply go west into purgatory, get the rope and exit
before the flames consume you.
It’s dark!
- You need a torch.
- You need it to be lit.
- How can you light it?
- Can you light it using the flames of purgatory?
- No. It’s an electric torch (or flashlight, for Americans)
- You need a battery.
- Where might a battery be?
- Perhaps inside an electric implement?
- The drill is electric.
break drill.- How can you insert the battery into the torch?
insert battery
I’m lost in the suphur mine
- The mine is just a regular, boring maze.
- Drop items in the rooms to make them look different from each
other.
- Map the connections between the rooms.
- Don’t take too long over it, or the sulphur will kill you.
- Realistically, you will need multiple expeditions to map the
maze.
- I’m sorry.
What does Faustus want?
- Are you familiar with the literature?
- What is Faustus famous for doing?
- He sold his soul.
- He wants it back.
- Did you find the boot?
- Did you examine it?
- Surely this game doesn’t turn on a pun?
- Yes, it does.
give boot- Congratulations!
How can I escape from
the inescapable pit?
- What does “inescapable” mean?
- Did you try examining the sheer sides of the pit?
- Did you try taking the sheer sides?
- You cannot escape.
- Just don’t go in there.
Why is this game so lame?
- I was fourteen when I wrote it.
- It ran in 13 Kb of memory (5 Kb for the VIC-20 plus an 8 Kb
expansion).
- No publisher ever took it on, so it didn’t get play-tested.
- That’s why it doesn’t even have a save-game facility.
- Also, my theology was extremely weak.
- Did I mention I was fourteen?