The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky

Don't Panic! Relax, because everything you need to know about playing The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is contained in the pages of this manual. In this story, you will be Arthur Dent, a rather ordinary earth creature who gets swept up in a whirlwind of interstellar adventures almost beyond comprehension.

As the story begins bulldozers are waiting to reduce your house to rubble to make way for a motorway bypass. While you attempt to deal with this problem, your rather strange friend Ford Prefect drops by to tell you that the Earth is about to be demolished to make way for an interstellar bypass! If you survive this double threat, you'll embark on a series of inter-galactic misadventures even funnier than your worst nightmares!

A special note for people who have read the book "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Although the opening of the game is fairly similar to the book, the story quickly diverges, with lots of new material and different twists. Although familiarity with the story may make a few of the early puzzles easier, if you rely too heavily on this previous knowledge you will certainly end up getting misled.

Play online

Information in this game listing is copyright Benjamin Sokal, Emily Short, Gatekeeper, Markus Peter, RedHatter, Edward Lacey, is taken from IFDB, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Comment HarleyQuinn420

26 Mar 2025

March 2025 and STILL unplayable!? Getting an error saying "Error: Could not fetch storyfile, got 500" instead.

FIX UR GAME!!!!

Review bailbmogu

04 Oct 2024

YOU CANT PLAY IT
STOP CLICKING

Comment SaltedSnack

22 Dec 2023

Late December 2023 and this is still not working

Comment dashfoox

05 Sep 2022

Unplayable, error 500 keeps popping up.

Comment blaze5484

08 May 2022

I can't play, it keeps telling me error 500

Comment Pat2E215

12 Aug 2021

Game appears to let me save but how can I get back to my saved game and not have to start over?

Comment Xenadoombringer

06 Aug 2020

wow this is amazing though difficult because save points aren't working

Comment GoofyMcDoofy

08 Jul 2020

How do you get the common sense? Whenever I try, I get electrocuted!

Review Whamboy

15 Nov 2019

First this game makes me wince, then I roar with laughter.
BTW try enjoying something ex enjoy mud or enjoy headache.
and u gotta lie in front of the bulldoser, or y'know you will get HEADBRICKED.

Comment technobball01

01 Mar 2019

HOW DO I GET OUT OF THE BEDROOM!!!

Comment Jellyfish936

05 Dec 2018

some help
- to exit room:
ciseglana ekat ,tekcop nepo ,nwog raew ,nwog ekat ,dnats ,thgil
(that's written backwards)
- to stop bulldozer
drof wollof ,semit erom eno tiaw ,ecalp ruoy ni seil ressorp litnu semoc drof nehw gnitiaw peek ,hcnuba tiaw ,nwod eil

Comment YyottaCat

17 Nov 2018

"Your score was a 400 out of a 400 possible, in 471 turns."
FFINNALLLYYY!!!

Comment YyottaCat

17 Nov 2018

NNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! I lost the gown to the whale now I have to start all over again!!!

Comment YyottaCat

17 Nov 2018

bufbilt47, I hate it too but this game on textadventures.co.uk is sort of like a one-sitting game. If you mess up you kinda just need to restart, bad :(

Comment YyottaCat

17 Nov 2018

You know what, this is some of the moves until airlock(Don't read if you want to figure it out for yourself):
turn on light;get up;take gown;wear gown;open gown;take aspirin;s;take mail;s;lie down;[wait until ford comes];ford, what about my home;wait;s;w;buy sandwich;take towel;drink beer;drink beer;drink beer;out;give sandwich to dog;n;n;[wait until ford drops device];take device;press green;wait;wait;wait;wait;[do sense that dissapeared from "You can't" list];look at shadow; eat nuts;[wait until ford takes a nap];take satchel;put satchel infront of dispenser(not sure);put mail on satchel(might need to switch those two around);press dispenser button;[wait until you are taken to leader];[wait until leader starts reading];enjoy poem;[wait until second verse of poem];{remember first word of second verse};[wait until airlock]

Comment WarriorKitten63

16 Nov 2018

How do you find aspirin?

Review YyottaCat

07 Oct 2018

This is extremely hard.

Comment MyysErnst

01 Oct 2018

I can't get out of the bedroom

Review Tylordian

18 Sep 2018

Fun and engaging :)

Comment bufbilt47

29 Aug 2018

it still does an error message every time I try to restore, which is when there's nothing else to do. Which is a pain because I get to the Beast and I love it :(

Comment bufbilt47

29 Aug 2018

it did it again :(

Comment bufbilt47

29 Aug 2018

it did it again, same error message. And I was doing so well :(

Comment bufbilt47

28 Aug 2018

again I'm shut down with error message: component engine, code: 200, detail 720a, any help would be appreciated. It won't even let me restore.

Comment bufbilt47

28 Aug 2018

Over & over I get shut down with an error message that comes when I try to restore. Any help for that? I like Hitchhiker's the best because of the humor (own & read all the books yrs ago.)

Comment ILikeTofuuJoe

28 Jul 2018

Anybody knows how to give Ford the sub-etha eletronic signaling device?

Comment Herohamster17

23 Jul 2018

"What`s the meaning of life, the universe and everything?" -> "42 is the answer".

Review WarriorsSN

14 Jul 2018

It seemed really fun, though i couldnt figure out how to work it! why, i don't know, but it didn't appeal to me as much because i wasn't able to finish the game. i need help!

Review gabz200

04 Jul 2018

This game is really good, its funny, challenging and follows the book.

Review ILikeTofuuJoe

11 Jun 2018

Very nice, and this does go off with the book a bit. I can't get past the sub-etha electronic device.

Comment ILikeTofuuJoe

09 Jun 2018

this game is impossible

Comment ILikeTofuuJoe

13 May 2018

Old comment was wrong.

Comment ILikeTofuuJoe

12 May 2018

How to get past the bulldozer: close pocket. open pocket. look at thing. stand up.

Comment ILikeTofuuJoe

06 May 2018

bulldozer wont start

Comment Plover

23 Apr 2018

You have ot to lie down if want o avoid bulldoser, read the book!

Comment raidey

06 Apr 2018

@CrazyPilot
DON'T PANIC, you're doing it correctly. Restore may just give you the message "OK", which might be vague, but it is restoring your progress from the last save.

Comment CrazyPilot

06 Apr 2018

Hey there! How to save and restore game? I type 'save' -> it answers ok, but ho how to restore game? I try restore, it answers 'OK', but nothing changes(

Comment ILikeTofuuJoe

20 Mar 2018

Where is the asppirin?!

Review Philboy7488

07 Mar 2018

This game is hilarious and it presents a nice challenge (I too have been unable to get past the bulldozer segment thus far)

Comment Unreal_Llama

28 Jan 2018

Wear gown
open pocket
eat aspirin

Review Lsup52

20 Jan 2018

Great game, love the style, now i want to read the books!
(I still can't get past the bulldozer part.)

Review broadwaydude

21 Jun 2017

It has and always will be my favorite text adventure. I managed to beat it, and that took about a month. Yet, I never got bored. Of course, the version with the graphics and all is much more convenient for the eyes (not like you are not gonna use any of the other senses). On the whole, I LOVE THIS GAME!

Comment JollyMolly

09 Jun 2017

The BBC radio and Infocom (I think) had made wonderful graphics for The HHGG Game that you could play directly from their website. Now with the giant red Don't Panic Button appears it links to a non-functioning page. Is this version completely defunct now? If not, does anyone have the link or is it something that can be downloaded or purchased with compatibility with todays software? I am happy I found a workable text version but I'm unable to adjust the background or text colors. I have vision difficulties. Thanks in advance to any and all replies. Cheers.

Comment lukas211

20 Mar 2017

best games

Review Stella S.

23 Feb 2017

I've yet to read the actual book, so perhaps that's why I'm so perplexed. I'm rating it 5 stars despite my puzzlement because it's my own fault I don't understand anything, and because it is very, very well written, and the grammar pleases me, as does the vocabulary. It was very well done.

Review jtown951

12 Feb 2017

A true classic. I myself have ever read the book but if it's as good as the game it's got to be great.

Comment Nastypickles

23 Dec 2016

Very good story but sometimes the save does not work and says error in a red box

Review Regisblackgaard

14 Dec 2016

good! i FINALLY got out of my house and died in 5 minutes.

Review Trelach

12 Dec 2016

I played this when a student back in the early 90s (on my old Atari ST). It kept a house full of gamers puzzled, entertained and amused for many days. I can't recommend it highly enough :)

There is a strong Hitchhikers-type sense of humour throughout so whilst you may get frustrated you will always be laughing.

Play it and say goodbye to many hours you could overwise spend constructively but you will never regret it.

Review Wizzylord2

19 Nov 2016

Had this game not been invented, the world would simply be too dull to endure.

Comment Bandarr

16 Nov 2016

I have read the book, do exactly what the book does for the first part, and die no matter what I do.

Comment kiyomikiti22

08 Nov 2016

It seems like a very good game! However, please add a HELP command which allows you to see all the commands...at least maybe a help command for each room? It is difficult to play without reading the book!

Comment Blue-Heart

06 Nov 2016

"You have destroyed most of a small galaxy. Please pick your words with greater care."

... Whoops. My bad.

Comment Ottdog

30 Oct 2016

It says 80008 plays. I don't want to play this as it would mess up the symmetry.

Comment kiemattson

17 Oct 2016

i cant seem to leave the room i just keep getting run over

Comment BATMAN007

19 Aug 2016

I cant do anything after getting up off the bed,
I tried for an hour

Review rolandjackson168

11 Aug 2016

I really love this game and the book, and I think they both go really well together. But if you hadn't read the book, this game would be impossible.

Review Dwarfu

30 Jun 2016

Top notch storytelling, malicious plot twists, and an abundance of references to the wacky world of Douglas Adams. This game sets the bar high for interactive fiction. An excellent homage and a fantastic game overall.

Review blockwizard

16 Jun 2016

NIIIIIIIIIICE

Comment TalkComics

07 Jun 2016

I'd actually recommend you play the game via the official BBC website, since save games do work there, and you really do need saves to play this game.

Review TalkComics

07 Jun 2016

Best text game I've ever played, and what all text games should aspire to be! A real classic, and probably one of the best ways to experience the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy story! Props to a truly MENDACIOUS-yet-appropriate game interface which really makes you feel like Arthur Dent vs this wacky universe. Definitely save often; the ways to die are plentiful and entertaining. The humour is utterly Douglas Adams spot on, and kept me chuckling the whole way. The puzzles are truly difficult and fun to work through, and it's definitely not a game that takes only one afternoon to beat! I love the parser on this game as well. It really anticipates all the possible actions a frustrated player may type in and makes this an entertainment goldmine. I wish I could give this more than five stars!

Comment xx.Kingdankilicious.xx

15 May 2016

I went to the library, took out the book, and opened it up.

Beat the game fairly easily

Comment joan salt

06 May 2016

I just happened to type in Hitchhikers and to my amazement it is still around. My son is now 47 but when he was 13 he begrudgingly showed me how to play what I saw on his screen. A full page of text. Being a typist it caught my eye. I had never played a computer before. It was a Comodore 64. Before he went to school the next day he again threatened me with life if I did anything to his computer. Five minutes after he had left an ERROR started flashing at me and I had to wait All day for him to come home.
The little devil made me wait 2 hours before he came and hit one key and the game reappeared. The next morning he set me up again and suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard "Mum have you been on my computer all day. From that day I was hooked with Infocom and became quite an expert on their text versions and even started to write how to play articles for a Australian Computer Magazine. I have never seen the graphic version or read the book that is mentioned in some of the articles.

Review RoboWolf2000

03 May 2016

Really great if you're a fan of the book, however unless you have read the book, I imagine the first part would be very hard.

Comment Q The Marauder

06 Apr 2016

Is it possible to save your progress? I tried 'Save' and got the response 'OK' but next time I logged in I had to start from the beginning! Grrrrr

Review Dieth Windslow

25 Mar 2016

cant do anything I say go through door and it kept saying which way? or You miss the door by a good 18 inches.

Review Anigamer

14 Jan 2016

It was a really great game. A key feature I would like to mention is that you can eat the towel. But otherwise, it's a Grade - A game with lots of potential. And towel eating.

Comment KyuJones

30 Nov 2015

Really love the writing!
My only problem is saves won't work.... I keep wanting to just replay, but it sucks having to start over and never have time to get to the end in one sitting.

All in all, if you have time to get all the way through, this is a great story and humorously written!

Comment IAmNotARobot

26 Nov 2015

If you guys are having trouble exploring READ THE PREVIOUS COMMENTS! There have been several comments that bring twice as far as the situation you are in right now.

Review DarkageofExe

30 Oct 2015

Just as rage like as the game. Plus very interesting game too I would say.

Review Tekno

27 Oct 2015

Difficult to do anything as there is nothing telling you the controls. Really a shame because I love Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy and was really excited when I saw this. If you could please add in a "help" command that tells you the controls, that would be very useful as I have no idea what the hell to do.

Comment Paulvember

25 Oct 2015

Nice Adventure! I have read all those books and it follows he plot well

Comment Trayson

15 Oct 2015

How do I find the Aspirin?!?

Review darkenedwolf

28 Sep 2015

great game, well written and vastly entertaining. It does help to have read the book first though to progress quickly though.

Comment TheEndlessStoryteller

27 Sep 2015

I still can't even get out of my house!!

Review TheOfficialMoose

22 Sep 2015

Awesome!
blahblahasasasasasasasasasasasa

Comment Code

15 Sep 2015

Why does it say that the parchment is not loading every time i click on "PlayOnline"

Comment VeraMusesGames

12 Sep 2015

how do you get away from the house? I have figured out from getting up to leaving but I can get away from a flying brick killing me.

Comment Marzipan

26 Aug 2015

@Excalibur It's easy to miss, but beneath the game information on the right of the page is the 'IFDB listing' link that contains the download file. You'll need the Z-machine interpreter as this wasn't originally a Quest game. (on account of Quest not existing back then...)

Comment Exalibur

26 Aug 2015

I want to be able to play offline.
Does anyone know how to download it?

Comment mayzer_16

13 Aug 2015

If you have no idea who you are, check if all your five senses still work and then pay attention to what you see. ;)

Review peoplejuice123

06 Aug 2015

very well written and funny, too bad you can't make it out of your house without dying 500 times.

Comment Monkey29399

03 Aug 2015

I can't get past the part where I'm in front of the house. The bulldozer always hits the house and I die.

Comment Mr.Bob000

26 Jul 2015

Once Ford gives you peanuts and you eat them, type in "wait". He will then give you the book. I then typed in "wait" 22 more times and soon guards burst into the room taking Ford and I into the captain's office. Type in "wait" 6 more times and the captain will finish reciting his poetry and the guards will put you in an airlock. Type in "wait" 6 more times and Ford will finish talking to the guard. Then you would type in "wait" 3 more times and you will be ejected into space. Put in "hear" 5 times and it will describe a star drive. When I typed in "hear it" it said the noise was above me. I don't watch many scientific shows except for Doctor Who so I have no idea what a star drive is. (a total of 37 "waits")

Comment SamGalactica

25 Jul 2015

Okay, I've boarded the Heart of Gold, I've looked through hints on invisiclues, I've picked up everything I can find and gone through as much of the ship as I can but I have accomplished nothing… what is next?

Comment guy360

22 Jul 2015

ok how the hell do u save!?

Comment Mr.Bob000

19 Jul 2015

Oh, and when you are in the Vogan spacecraft, wait for time to pass, and Ford will then take a nap and give you the book "Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy" Then I am stuck for good.

Comment Mr.Bob000

19 Jul 2015

Once you are in space, just keep typing in the word "smell" until it says "something pungent is being waved under your nose". Then type in "smell it" and it will show that you and Ford are in the Vogan spacecraft. That's all I know for now, but it will solve your problem of being stuck in space.

Comment Ekename

17 Jul 2015

When you're in the dark bit, after you've done the whole device thing, what do you do?

Review Yasterb

24 Jun 2015

It would be nice if there was a command that would open a list of things you can do. Overall an okay game.

Review Male Annabelle Doll 96

20 Jun 2015

The game is awesome and hilarious. five stars all the way

Comment Sobsz

22 May 2015

@ohari There is a gown on the chair. Pick it up and wear it. You'll notice something in the pocket. Look in the pocket.

Comment the_ringmaster

16 May 2015

If you guys are stuck, look up the InvisiClues hint booklet.

Review ziglego

14 May 2015

10/10 IGN is what i say.

Comment ziglego

14 May 2015

here's what i have so far if you need help.
get up
turn on lights
pick up robe
put on robe
look in pocket
take pill
go south
go south
lie in front of dozer
stay
stay
stay
refuse towel
refuse towel
wait
go south
go west
wait
drink beer
drink beer
drink beer
exit pub
go north
wait
pick up device
push green button
smell
after that im stuck, but that will get you off earth :)

Comment Marzipan

10 May 2015

@boddah_and_kurt - What do you normally do when your room is dark?

Comment boddah_and_kurt

10 May 2015

I can't even leave the bedroom. What am I supposed to type?

Comment ohari

09 May 2015

where is the aspirin???!!!

Comment theamazinghector

05 May 2015

Once I leave my bedroom, I can't bloody GO ANYWHERE! Plz help!

Comment XanMag

03 May 2015

It's different than most and a classic. There's a learning curve on how to issue commands, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be hooked until the end. And as other reviewers suggest DOWNLOAD IT!! =)

Hey, Pibb. You are a reviewing monster. Please give 'Xanadu' a review (I'd have PM'ed, but it seems I can't send you one!) I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

Review xJujiiiix

26 Apr 2015

Well the technology of the game is quite good.
It knows most of the commands and helps you in not to abvious ways.

Although its quite anoying to die all the time because for example you lay in front of the bulldozer (bad idea :D) and cant stand up fast enough. ( It said : Your safe and when i tried moving it said : Your dead - Which didnt make any sense)

Id love a game like this but one that is nicer without the dying part.

Comment MisterPibb316

25 Apr 2015

This game's been up for over a year, and the save system's still broken? Yikes. Points to mick green for the point about how to get past the bug, though--will give it a try.

Review awesome9999

13 Apr 2015

I don't know what to type.

Comment Creeper909

07 Mar 2015

Aw, I REALLY need help for this. I am really struggling. I really need help.

Comment mick green

01 Feb 2015

To save your progress first save and then bookmark the page. Parchment puts the file in your browser. Then restore the bookmark.

Review Nyamones

28 Jan 2015

still struggling but awesome :)

Comment Zia_McAwesome

28 Jan 2015

Alright, but it is very hard. I can't get past the bit where Ford is fighting against the wind and I have to give him the Sub-Etha

Comment Tiffany Pratt

15 Jan 2015

i cant play it this isnt in my area and i like this game

Review mnm656

04 Dec 2014

Very fun. The humor is great and the puzzles are smart and brilliant. Definitely recommended to anyone who saw the movie, read the books, or saw the TV show!

Review ejm29

02 Dec 2014

The lack of a working save/ restore really destroys much of the enjoyment of the game. Fix this and I will give 5 stars

Comment ejm29

02 Dec 2014

The save does not work. This is a pretty hard game, so a save is really important. The game is great, but a working save/restore needs to be added asap.

Comment SpaceZoe

22 Nov 2014

Wow, wasn't expecting to see THIS here.

HGTTG was the first IF game I ever played, something like 20 years ago. I'd just discovered the books and when I heard about the game I thought it was so great that the author was willing to contribute to the writing of it, and I still do....RIP Mr. Adams, you were a pretty awesome guy.

The game still holds up amazingly well, and I admit it's kind of fun seeing a few of you modern Quest kiddies cry about no hyperlinks and hand-holding. And this game was EASY compared to the Infocom classics...

Comment RadioH34D

17 Nov 2014

Any game where you can slap yourself and die is awesome in my book.

Review Dingo_12

11 Nov 2014

plz god dont let it end

Comment awsm

31 Oct 2014

how do you turn on the light?

Comment Jakelauska

30 Oct 2014

I haven't figured out how to save my game. Can any one help me.....

Comment Donuts

26 Oct 2014

I really wanted to like this, yet when I die it never saves and I start from the beginning. Half the time I'm guessing what key words the computer needs to do something. Maybe will try again in the future. Fun concept, loved the books.

Review Smarty3b

17 Oct 2014

Very enjoyable! A classic that is quite enjoyable! However, I suggest that you only play to win if you have an account, because you will otherwise have to do a marathon, or something close to it. Still, a great game for all ages over 8 and all levels of experience, as long as you have at least some!

Comment Dervob

12 Oct 2014

right so what i know so far:
get up
turn on light
pick up gown
put on gown
open gown
take pill
take screwdriver
exit room
go south
lie down
wait
wait
wait
wait
dont take towel
wait
get up
follow ford
drink
drink
exit pub
go home (which i think was either north or south)
wait
find ford
pick up
look at device
press green button
smell

....
& then i have no idea!

Review Little Swiss

10 Oct 2014

Yeah, looks nice. I'm sure it's great and would have been better if it wasn't for not having hyperlinks. Half the time I'm typing things in the bar not really knowing what to type! XD

Comment Puppypixie

08 Sep 2014

The game seems like it will be super enjoyable, but it keeps bugging out when I try to restore a save, which is frustrating given how easy it is to die when you're trying to work out the beginning puzzles on your own.

Comment textlord

07 Sep 2014

what do i do when i am in the dark and i don't see myself

Comment MrWereWolph

04 Sep 2014

To get a good start, say turn on lights. Then get up. And wear robe.

Review Sunghee

02 Sep 2014

I really love this text adventure. I am learning Computer science in school currently, and my teacher recommended this one so I tried it. This is just awesome!

Thank you so much, from South Korea!

Comment Sunghee

02 Sep 2014

I really love this text adventure. I am learning Computer science in school currently, and my teacher recommended this one so I tried it. This is just awesome!

Thank you so much, from South Korea!

Comment FallFlatMatt

27 Aug 2014

You always have to restart once you get far enough in because of an error that will come up whenever you die, hit enter, and type restore. This is a hard game, but it is a lot of fun if you don't get frustrated easily.

Comment FallFlatMatt

27 Aug 2014

I can't beat this, but I can guide you to the Pub.

>get up
>turn on light
>take gown
>wear gown
>look in pocket
>drink analgesic
>take toothbrush
>look out window
>go south
>read
>go south
>lie down
>wait
>wait
>wait
>wait
>wait
>wait
>look around
>follow Ford
>enter Pub

After that I just drank and asked Ford about the device until I died, which you could only possibly know about if you took the "thing" from the bedroom, went to the Porch, went back inside, where you would drop the "thing", go back outside where Ford would drop the "device", you would pick it up, examine it, then by pressing the red button, the engineer shows up and you die, or you can die by pressing the green button because it tells you you need to drink beer to survive the shock of the matter transference beam. Maybe I will play this more later and tell you guys if I figure anything else out, even though it's going to be hell, restarting completely every time I die. :)

Review FallFlatMatt

27 Aug 2014

>drink
(lots of beer)
You can hear the muffled noise of your home being demolished, and the taste of the beer sours in your mouth.

You get drunk and have a terrific time for twelve minutes, are the life and soul of the Pub, tell some really great stories, make everyone laugh a lot, and they all clap you on the back and tell you what a great chap you are and then the Earth gets unexpectedly demolished. You wake up with a hangover which lasts for all eternity.

We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) >

Your score is 30 of a possible 400, in 29 turns.

Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game?
(Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT): >
An error occurred:
Component: engine
Code: 200

Detail: 720a

Are you kidding me? All that hard work to just not be able to load my save after dying in the Pub.

Comment ccrocker5

26 Aug 2014

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO AFTER I LAY DOWN IN FRONT OF THE BULLDOZER.

Comment MAJilly93

16 Aug 2014

Love the books...totally confusing game. :/ Too frustrating. I have no idea what to do. The farthest I got was hitting my head on the window, and that took a bit of work.

Comment TEXT

04 Aug 2014

I lie down, take the towel, and if I get up, I get hit with a brick. What am I supposed to do?

Comment shenshen

31 Jul 2014

The Basics :
To help you with the basics of playing the game, here's a few basic commands to get you started.

Commands are entered at the > prompt at the bottom of the screen. These are only a small part of what the game understands - try whatever English commands seem appropriate at any given point. Note that the game only recognises the first six characters of each word.

Going Places:

Compass directions will get you most places - use E, W, S, N, NE etc. (Out, In. Down and Up will also work in many places).

Typical Actions:

Lie Down (you'll find this useful when facing the bulldozer)
Get Up (a good way to start the game)

Look - gives you a full description of your current location
Diagnose - gives you a report of your physical condition
Inventory - gives you a list of what you are carrying (abbreviates to I)
Wait - electronic equivalent of taking a nap
Get, Get All - lets you pick things up
Open - open something closed
Examine - fully describe an object
Drop, Drop All - put things down
Where is, What is, Who is - questions about places, things and people in the game

Communicating:

When you come across another character in the game, you can talk to them
by entering their name followed by a comma, then the question, e.g.:

Ford, where are you going?
Marvin, give me the hammer

Control:

Save/Restore: don't work in the Web version.
Restart will restart the game, after giving you your score Quit will end the game, give you your score and end the Java session Brief will only describe a location fully the first time you enter it. Thereafter you'll get a short description only Superbrief takes it further - you'll only get the name of the place. Verbose switches off the effects of the Brief and Superbrief commands - you'll get a full description each time you enter a location. Score will give you your current score. You get points for successfully

Credits:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is Copyright (C) Douglas Adams
and

Comment Ffloyduss

29 Jul 2014

I love you sooo much for doing this. I am a lifelong Hitchhiker's Guide fan. I think the attention to detail is brilliant and the little things you've added yourself are great too. Nice touch adding Douglas Adams in the acknowledgements. YYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!
Six out of three.

Review bearzilla

28 Jul 2014

very good humour, but not in a distracting way. i have never read the book and this is a first look into text adventures.

i love it, its the greatest thing i could never have imagined, keep up the good work mate, greetings from australia

Review stantronic

16 Jul 2014

Probably my favourite text adventure. Has lots of fun with the genre. Funny, difficult, infuriating at times but brilliant.

Comment moosepotato

14 Jul 2014

Very hard, but very cool. This is one of those old school games that I enjoy a lot, y' know ?

Review desertrose0601

14 Jul 2014

Needs instructions. I couldn't even make it out of the first room before the house is bulldozed because I didn't know what to type to get the game to advance.

Comment desertrose0601

14 Jul 2014

Makes no sense. Keeps restarting after 19 moves. Would help a LOT if there were even basic instructions on what options you can type. I keep wasting moves typing things that it doesn't understand.

Comment zkenyon

10 Jul 2014

saving does not work in the online version.

Review Henry Chairman

09 Jul 2014

An absolute classic. its a little hard at some points but it was made in 1984.

Review ZombieSlayer

02 Jul 2014

This game is good in the way that it works quite well as you are playing. It would have five stars but it lacks excitement and is quite boring.

Comment SimonC65

11 Jun 2014

how the heck do I catch the babel fish?

the cleaning robot keeps getting them?

Comment Ashes912

06 Jun 2014

I like the concept.

Comment Iain2

15 May 2014

Doesn't seem to be working at present - getting a "Parchment" error. A version can still be reached via the BBC Radio 4 website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game_nolan.shtml

Review NoGoodNamesLeft

11 May 2014

It was really fun, but hard to figure out in some situations.

Comment Dynasty

07 May 2014

Hols79, you have to lie down for several turns, until mr prosser lies down in front of the bulldozer for you. So wait for 4 turns or so. Then go to pub.
After that, the Vogon ships will come, so figure that out yourself :D :P

Comment Dynasty

07 May 2014

I liked it. :D

Review Dynasty

07 May 2014

Very complex and hard to play around, without watching the actual video of "hitchhiker" but fun, and also interesting.

Comment Maedeer

29 Apr 2014

Hey everyone! Awesome game as far as I've played. Very detailed.

For those wanting to know how to stop the bulldozer from destroying your home, DON'T TAKE THE TOWEL. Type in "Wait" for a few turns as Ford offers it to you, or "Examine xxxx" or whatever. Soon it'll work out ;)

Comment Hols79

22 Apr 2014

I keep getting stuck trying to stop the bulldozer (spoiler alert... I'm about to show how I get as far as the bulldozer)
> get up
> switch on light
> take gown
> wear gown
> open pocket
> take analgesic
> take screwdriver
> take toothbrush
> S
> take mail
> out
> lie down in front of bulldozer

Then if I stand up, they bulldoze my house and I die... I have tried throwing various things at the bulldozer, at mr prosser.
I'm lost! What do I do?
Oh - and how do I save? Cause if I have to keep going back to the beginning I will scream!

Comment edd29

15 Apr 2014

I'm new at this and was wondering how do I restore a save?

Comment THEBanana316

06 Apr 2014

>kill self

doesn't count as a turn...

Comment Leandro

05 Apr 2014

>brush tooth
You have nothing to brush the toothbrush with.

LOL

Comment Minxium

26 Mar 2014

I can't play it. I'm stuck in the first room.

Review thefyk

20 Mar 2014

Have been looking for this for years after playing the original at an exhibit. Thanks!

Comment Kiwi

03 Mar 2014

okay so i got out of the house but no matter what i do i get HIT WITH A FLYING BRICK. ive tried going into the back yard, going down the country lane, and even attacked mr. prosser. what do i do??? is that the entirety of the game?

Comment Craig Dutton

02 Mar 2014

There are two far better versions of this game on the BBC website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game_nolan.shtml

Review Intrepid1

17 Feb 2014

game is interesting, and funny, but it keeps freezing. I can save and restore a few times, but then the restore function stops working. Am I using the program wrong? Because I'd really like to stop having to start over from the very beginning after every few false starts

Review Dagoose

14 Feb 2014

I love it!
The game was perfect!

Review YouAreStories

11 Feb 2014

This game was hair-ripping-outing-ly hard to play.

It was also totally worth it. It's entertaining, funny, and exciting, just like the book it's based off of. I made use of a few extra freedoms, such as attacking Mr. Prosser for smashing down my house.

Hey, what can I say? He had it coming.

Comment OrangeAustin

05 Feb 2014

A very interesting TA....Even though I couldn't get out of the first room. :)

Review Cycle-Alchemist

04 Feb 2014

Theres nothing I can say that will explain my happiness that someone used this old book and finally put it online! <3 thank you so much

Comment charliekqpr

01 Feb 2014

this one was point less i tried it once and the world got destroyed

Comment 9spaceking

23 Jan 2014

very hard.

Review Heywood

19 Jan 2014

Great game, exactly like the old Infocom one.

Comment ErnestJr

18 Jan 2014

No idea of how to get out of the first room or even reach the aspirin....

Comment Woolloomollloo

16 Jan 2014

I cant get out of the first room :P

Review Ffloyduss

14 Jan 2014

An interesting game. Very well done remembering all those details. Quite hard to work out some things. I am a HUGE Hitchhiker's Guide fan.
Oh, and, by the way, Douglas Adams died a while ago but thanks for mentioning him in the credits.

Comment Jsimmons

14 Jan 2014

I like this game a lot, nice to see the classics are still, around. Never beaten it though. But messing with the babel fish dispenser, fun, if discouraging.

Comment MooCow

13 Jan 2014

I seem to have made two of those comments. It didn't work at first, then it spat out the second one, too, because I tried again. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Comment MooCow

13 Jan 2014

You wake up. The room is spinning very gently round your head. Or at least it would be if you could see it which you can't.

It is pitch black.

>kill myself
Done.

**** You have died ****

I DID IT!!!

Comment MooCow

13 Jan 2014

Yes! I love this game! I've played it before! Really fun, but I haven't beat it yet, so I won't rate it...

I began to play it again, and this is what happened!

You wake up. The room is spinning very gently round your head. Or at least it would be if you could see it which you can't.

It is pitch black.

>kill myself
Done.

**** You have died ****

I'm so good at games.