The Legend of Robin Hood by Craig Dutton

Comment Codex7

Doesn't work. Stuck on first page. Tried entering, 'east', 'go east', 'e' etc and the same for the other directions...

Comment human9

How do you get out of the cell?

Comment human9

How do you kill the deer?

Comment ber89

Nevermind—figured it out!

Comment ber89

I am stuck in the mill. I have the wheat and I've got the millstones turning, but every way I try to put the wheat on the millstones doesn't work. When I say USE WHEAT WITH MILLSTONES the game tells me "You need to put grain in them." I can't figure out the right phrasing to use them to grind the wheat. Am I missing something obvious?

Comment CeitidhEilidh

First of all, I can't figure out how to resume/load a saved game.
Second, how do you move the horse and put the frogspawn on the floor? I'd gotten most of the fair done- Much and his dad, got the pliers, the flour- but I'd not found either coin that people mention. I assume you take one of them from the merchant somehow? thanks!

Review KyuJones

This was a particularly fun game. The areas were only as big as necessary, which I like. It read like a book! Turn the page to another section, which the game already puts you into, along with a bit of story introduction for each place.

I liked this one very much. ^___^

Comment gamersguy80

I dont know where I'm going.
Please update it and put a compass or at least a map

Comment Cyril

Another exceptional game from Craig Dutton. Even though it is short it will keep you busy trying to figure out the puzzles. Very nice story line that keeps you interested as well. Well Done Craig!

Review DaNiX88

Ah, the unwinnable situations abound! Well, with help only once, I was able to beat the game on my own this time around! Compared to your other games, I found this one rather short, but by no means does that take away from the game. The fact that the story was divided into episodes was a very interesting twist and moved the story very nicely. Compared to all of Craig's older games, this one has the most story-like feel to it.

Great work!

Review mick green

Good game. I'm only at knottingham and I've no idea how big the game is but I've found the game nicely balanced (as long as you're familiar with the genre and don't mind hackin away to find the specific words). I love the theme a lot, which helps and the brilliant way the game opens at the start really draws people in I think - somehow you create a kind of motion. The puzzles are logical but the results are never entirely predictable - this is a very hooky style. Nice work.

Review danaburgerrr

fantastic game! you always make games with intricate stories and vibrant characters, but this one was especially fun. challenging but not terribly hard, and who doesn't love Robin Hood? logical puzzles, good length, and I like how the story progressed through time without feeling terribly disjointed or rushed. well done!

Comment ipod

where do i find the flint

Review Larap92

Awesome game. This was the first text-adventure game I've played. I really enjoyed it.
Thank you.

Comment Larap92

Thanks. I had the key but was just trying to open it with the wrong language. I was writing "unlock casket with copper key", but only had to type "unlock casket."
Thanks for your help.
I'm really enjoying this game, it is really well done.

Comment Craig Dutton

Larap92, The ring is inside the casket?! When you escaped from prison near the beginning of the game you should have EXAMINE GUARDS to find a copper key to unlock the casket, sorry!

Comment Larap92

Stuck again... How do I open the casket or the locked door in the castle? I have the tar, book, oil, caskett, copper key (from earlyer). I have fixed the floor, got past gisbourn, translated the book, helped and moved the horse. Someone mentioned a ring? Where is the ring?

Comment Larap92

Lightnagain You should examine the riverbank outside the blacksmith's forge for frogspawn.

Comment Larap92

I found it :)

Comment Larap92

Where is the silver coin? I have the bent coin...

Comment Lighnagain

Ok, I know I am late to the game, but I am stuck, and I have read all the comments hoping to figure it out, but to no avail. I am trying to acquire the "slimy substance" that was supposedly "on a riverbank" but the only location I can find near a river is outside the mill, and I have looked at absolutely everything I can think of! I can play with mud outside the merchant's house, if that's where I am supposed to be looking, but I can't pick it up or move it.

Anyone have any advice

Review johnhf

It seems Kim75 you're outnumbered. You've insulted everyone's intelligence who gave this game a 5 star rating and slightly sad that you can't use your own words to review a great and fun game. I DISAGREE with Jim Kaplan 100%.

Review Kim75

I agree with Jim Kaplan 100%.
http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=cls6siq2oc81ar0x#memberReviews

Review markydennis

brilliant game!
had to re-start a couple of times (pliers and moved the horse too early!)
a++++

Comment Craig Dutton

JonB,

The USE command will only work, as alternative commands we're not used, i.e LIGHT CLOTH will not work but USE FLINT ON CLOTH will. Up to this point I also had issues with the PUT command which I don't anymore - don't ask!

Anyway, to get you started you should have the flint and the cloth and standing obviously outside the burrow:
USE CLOTH WITH BURROW
USE FLINT ON CLOTH
USE BOW ON RABBIT

Comment JonB

Thanks Cripsin - but my problem is that I don't know how to smoke the rabbit out in the first place. I drop the cloth and then light it - but it just burns to nothing. I can't seem to put the cloth in the burrow before lighting it. I tried to gather some undergrowth to make a fire, but that didn't work either... Stuck!

Comment Crispin

JonB,

Don't be embarrassed! I went to replay it and I couldn't for the life of me remember what to do. Once you smoke the rabbit out, since he moves too fast for you to catch him, you need to use something to kill it that you already have in your inventory.

Comment JonB

I love this game! But, embarrasingly, I am stuck at square one. How do I get that damned rabbit out of his hole? I have found a flint and some cloth (which burns to nothing when I light it), so my plan to smoke him out of his burrow is not working. If I end up in the cell without the rabbit then I starve to death (so presumably I need to eat the rabbit to prevent that?). At present, I am enjoying wandering around the forest examining grasses and flowers - but I'm guessing that there is more to do in this game than indulge in amateur botany. Help please!

Comment sarah4

Oh, forgot to say, you have to talk to the inmates individually, by name (it's been a while since I played this game so I can't remember which specific Merry Men were in the cell, though I think it may have been Alan and Will), so, instead of typing 'speak to inmates', type 'speak to will' (extra tip you might not have come across yet - you only need to type the first few letters of the object or character you wish to interact with, so, 'speak to wi' would be fine)

Comment sarah4

Iron Freak, when you speak to both of your comrades who have just been thrown into the cell with you, one of them will give you a key which you can use to unlock the cell door, if you have already spoken to them and you haven't received a key then I'm not sure what to do, try talking to them again maybe or restart the game as you are not too far along. Once out of the cell I recommend you examine the guards before getting out of there as you will find something you will need later in the game.

As for general game tips, you've chosen a great game to start with, all of Craig's games are amazing! This particular game is episodic and is therefore broken up into small, manageable areas. You have to solve a main puzzle in each area to progress the game to the next chapter, meaning you won't need to make any maps or anything like that. However, once you have completed the major puzzle in one area and been whisked to the next location, you will be unable to retrace your steps, so, save often and, particularly in the market place, examine everything and speak to everyone a couple of times to ensure you have all the information they have to offer.

Hope this helps, as for general text adventure advice, just examine everything, speak to everyone and try anything you think might make sense if you were there. Craig's games have some wonderfully fiendish puzzles, but I'm yet to find one that couldn't have been solved with some lateral thinking, even if I'm not always smart enough to spot the solution myself! If you've not played games in Quest before then it's worth getting used to the 'use x' or use x on x' syntax that is commonly used to perform actions in many games. However, this game, amongst others, does use some more naturalistic verbs in order to achieve the desired outcome, common verbs that you will often find useful in many text games are push, move, open and lift, if examining an object hasn't yielded anything useful then using one of these verbs m

Comment iron_freak220

Hi Craig,

My wife and I are stuck in the cell. We have eaten the rabbit but are not sure what to do after the inmates are introduced. We've tried looking and talking to the inmates but it's apparently not an observable object. We are very new to Text Adventure games, in fact this is our first one, so this may be an obvious solution but we are certainly stuck.

Any help with the problem and general tips for the game would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Review Sue

Hi Craig,

Sorry it took so long for me to get to the review. This was a fantastic game. The puzzles were tricky, but not impossible, despite one occasion that was a little guess-the-berb. I loved the use of traditional characters and setting in a whole new adventure. Great job!

Review Crispin

Excellent atmosphere! Craig is really good at drawing the player into the game. Challenging puzzles that (as Charles Scott and sarah4 said) are obvious in retrospect. I agree about the episodic nature, fast-paced story, and great writing. This was a real pleasure to play.

I had to play it about 5 times from the beginning because I kept missing things in the Fair and then saving too late. (Thanks Craig for the help- I was completely stuck :p) So to the players after me: before leaving the Fair, talk to everybody twice!

Comment Crispin

Wow, I missed a lot in the fair! Thanks so much! Awesome game!

Comment Craig Dutton

Crispin, If you gave the iron chain (on the stall by the fire-eater after you spoken to Allen) to Henry the Blacksmith he would have offered you some pliers - handy for nail problems. Get the nag out of the way to find something for washing. The Sheriff has the key, so just give him a 'left or right jab'.

Comment Crispin

Thanks Craig! now I have the ring in oil, and I am past Gisbourne. I think I need to get the nail out of the horse, a key for the repository, and water to wash the ring. Any hints? :)

Comment Craig Dutton

Crispin

Since you haven't mentioned it then you'll hate me for this but if you didn't get the key from the guards at the beginning of the game when you escaped the cell never you're going to have to start again. Use your bow on the rope attached to the chandelier to get past Gisbourne if you haven't already.

Comment Crispin

aaaand stuck again. I have the casket, book, oil and tar, and I have fixed the floorboard. What next?

Comment Craig Dutton

Crispin

If your stuck at the chapel then by the altar KNEEL and PRAY.

Comment Crispin

Stuck! I am in the chapel. I have talked to Friar Tuck, explored around, and discovered I can't take the chalice. There is no masked stranger. In the fair, I found both coins, reunited Much and the Miller, and won the archery competition. I didn't find anything to do with the forge, fire-eater, Allen, Will, Nottingham castle, or the haystack. What have I missed?
Really enjoying it so far!

Comment awesomeman12345

HI Craig my name is Awesomeman12345 owner of Awesome corp how would you like to merge or join my corp? Reply.

Comment Craig Dutton

JamesC

The reason for the two types of coins was for my own sanity and for players. What you need to do to give both coins to the official is USE SILVER COIN WITH BENT COIN (or the other way round) to put them together as two coins. If I hadn't done that in the game and you typed USE COIN WITH COIN then the menu would show up with e.g. two SILVER COIN entries and no distinction between them regarding which one was to be used second against the one you used first! Well, that's my excuse, anyway!

Comment JamesC

Hi

enjoying the game, but need a bit of help - I have the silver coin & bent coin, feels like I need to use the pliers & anvil to straighten the bent one so I can get into the archery field, but just can't seem to make it happen. Thanks!

Review Charles Scott

This is another enthralling and meticulously planned game to add to the Craig Dutton collection. A lot of thought and background research has gone into it, and it draws on the Robin Hood legends to great effect. I liked the episodic design, which breaks the action down into a series of mini-games, each with a fairly small number of locations: this means that one doesn't have to spend a lot of time schlepping over a vast landscape searching for the answers to the puzzles. Not that it made the puzzles any easier -- I had to use quite a lot of lateral thinking on a lot of them [and ask for help once :-( ] -- but the answers were always logical, and annoyingly obvious in retrospect! As always with Craig's games the text is vivid and elegantly written, and he has caught the characteristic bantering tone of Robin's speech convincingly. I found very few bugs: at one point Allen kept attacking the fire-eater every time I spoke to him, and I spent a happy twenty minutes carrying a horse around Nottingham and offering it unsuccessfully to everybody I met. Apart from that, no problems and a very satisfying and involving quest. I only wish it could have gone on longer!

Comment Sue

Thanks Craig and Charles Scott! I'd tried everything but cutting it -- threshing, shaking, separating, throwing, and even giving it to Thomas the Miller! Looking forward to the next puzzle. Great game, Craig!

Comment Charles Scott

Thanks, Craig -- of course, stupid of me. I'd rung the bell until my ears hurt, but didn't think to push it.

Comment Craig Dutton

Sue,

Sorry for the delay. Use the frogspawn on the dancing bear's platform and before you talk to the Merchant use the flour (cut wheat and use the grain on the millstones) on his nice clean floor. Then talk to him twice to get rid of him.

Charles Scott

Glad you're enjoying it and yes you're right it's Marian. PUSH BELL and REMOVE MASK.

Comment Charles Scott

This is a great game, I'm really enjoying it. Sue, you need to turn the wheat into flour -- cut it to get the grain, and grind it at the mill. Meanwhile, can anyone tell me how to unmask the stranger in the church belfry? I think it's probably Maid Marion, but I've tried every verb I can think of without success.

Comment Sue

Hi Craig,

Sorry for all the questions! I found the slimey substance, but when I try to use it on the floor it says to "try something else," and "use wheat on stones" results in "you put grain in them." Am I using the wrong commands, or just not approaching the problems correctly ... If I'm missing something, I'll keep trying!

Thanks again for your help.

Comment Craig Dutton

Sue

There is a double 'floor' problem that needs solving. If you use your wheat at the mill on the millstone and find something slimy at one of the riverbanks then the floor of Samuel the Merchant is far too clean (speak to him twice after using one of the items above) and the platform with the dancing bear involves the other item. That should lead you on further in the game.

Comment Sue

Hi Craig,

Thanks for your help :) Unfortunately, I'm afraid I need another hint. I've made it as far as the fair, have collected wheat and a cloak, chased off the fire-eater, reunited father and son, and got the mill wheel turning again. I've also examined and spoken to everyone I can find, but can't seem to figure out what to do next. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Comment Craig Dutton

Crispin, sorry about that. The description was part of an earlier version of the game and I forgot to change it. Updated now!

Sue,
You need to eat or you will die in the cell. When you start the game, find the flint and cloth (in the barn's trough) and smoke out the rabbit out of his burrow. Use the bow on it and you will have food in the cell.

Comment Sue

Hi Craig,

Thanks for suggesting this game! I'm really enjoying it so far, but have been stuck (embarrassingly near the beginning) for longer than I care to admit ;) Any hints on escaping the cell? Thanks!

Comment Crispin

Right at the beginning, when I first find the deer, the description said it is dead. But when I shoot it, it says I kill it.

Comment Craig Dutton

Thanks Sarah, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Craig.

Review sarah4

Hi Craig, so very happy to see a new game from you, I only return to the site ocasionally these days to check if you or Peter Edwards have uploaded a new game so I was absolutely delighted to find this when I popped in yesterday!

The Robin Hood folklore is very fertile ground for re-interpretative fiction and I really enjoyed the way you created a new story for these familiar characters while using existing historical sources and older tellings of the Robin Hood myth as background.

The story was very fast-paced and exciting and the variety of settings and situations helped to keep the momentum going very effectively.

The puzzles were imaginative, challenging and beautifully implemented as usual, and felt very well-integrated into the story! Although many were difficult to solve, the solutions were all perfectly intuitive when I finally figured them out and were never so difficult that they slowed down the momentum of the game. I was also very impressed by how you utilised all the other characters in helping to solve many of the puzzles.

Congratulations again on another fantastic game, so pleased to see you are back and can't wait for your future games!