Invisiclues for Curses (complete)

mathbrush · December 4, 2023, 4:51pm

Town and country

What do I do with the bird nest?

You need a way to distract the bird.
The item you need is connected with birds.
It is not the bird whistle.
The item in question has three different hints mentioning birds, but all are a little obscure.
It is an item associated with nature. The next hint says what that item is:
The green branch. If you don’t know where it is, see…
‘What do I do in the ship?’ If you don’t know where the ship is, see…
What do I do with the Ace of Cups card?

What can I do with Evans?

The second hint system of the game has a hint about this if you ask about Evans. Otherwise…
I’m pretty sure this is optional.
Have you examined Evans and his newspaper?
He’s pretty out of it. Can you increase that?
There is an object you can use to hypnotize him.
It is also found outdoors, but not nearby.
It is the gold watch. If you don’t have it, see…
What can I do with the summer house?
After hypnotizing him, you can take the Moon card.

How do I get in the church?

From the outside?
You can’t.
There are two methods to get inside. Both involve…
The slide projector.
One method is nearby. The other is quite distant, but will come at the right time, near the end of the game.
The first is using the Crescent Moon card that Evans has. If you don’t have it, see ‘What can I do with Evans?’
The second is found in Alexandria. If you don’t know about Alexandria, see…
‘What do I do with the sketch?’ If you don’t have the sketch, see…
‘How do I get through the sandstone passage?’
In Alexandria, you’ll need the Astrolabe. If you don’t have the Astrolabe, see ‘What can I do on the croquet lawn?’
Once you have the astrolabe in Alexandria, you’ll need to put it on the tripod. If you haven’t seen the tripod, see…
‘What do I do in the Royal Palace?’. If you haven’t seen the royal palace, see…
‘How do I get past the parade?’

What can I do with the Moonstone?

On your own? Nothing.
The answer is nearby.
See ‘What can I do with the adamantine knight?’
Have you tried getting him to open it?
You can POINT to get him to move.
Have you pointed at the moonstone?
He may not be motivated. If not, see…
What can I do with the statue of Diana?
Pointing isn’t enough.
You can instruct him to open the moonstone. KNIGHT, OPEN MOONSTONE.

What can I do with the statue of Diana?

Directly? Not much.
You need help.
See ‘What can I do with the adamantine knight?’
Is that done? You’ll need two more things.
Diana is a lady in marble. Have you seen anything that would match her?
The marble rose would fit her. But you can’t do anything directly.
The knight can give it to her. But he needs inspiration.
The inspiration is very hard to find. It does mention a knight, though.
The inspiration is a locket. If you don’t have it, see…
‘What do I do with Sosostris’ tower?’
Have you shown the knight the locket?
Have you given him the rose?
He needs to be close to Diana.
Unfortunately, he is hard of hearing.
Try pointing in different directions.
Once he has the rose and has seen the locket, and you have POINTed EAST a couple of times, you should be good!

What can I do with the adamantine knight?

The second hint system of the game has a hint about this. Just ask about Knight. Otherwise…
Have you examined the knight?
He seems to be missing some parts, being ‘half skeleton’.
Have you found any parts that would fit him?
If not, you’re here too early.
He needs three parts. Those parts are…
A skull, a heart, and a hand. The hint for the skull is given in hint 8. The heart is given in hint 9. The hand is given in hint 10.
Skull: See ‘What do I do with the sarcophagus?’
Heart: see ‘What do I do with the rusty grating?’
Hand: see ‘How do I get in the church’, specifically the second method.
Have you tried putting all the pieces on the knight?
There is a hint about this in the second hint system of the game, if you show the hint-giver one of the pieces or ask about them.
The pieces seem too loose. Do you have anything that can fix that?
Tighten all the pieces with the wrench.
Still not enough?
Have you examined him?
How can you give the spark of life?
You need to use a rod. Specifically,…
The rod of fire.

What can I do with the gateway to the underworld?

Mortals cannot pass through it.
Point down.

How do I get all the high rods?

The second hint system of the game has a hint about this, if you ask about ‘high’.
Have you tried taking the rods?
They’re too hot!
You need something powerful to cool them off.
You need the rod of ice. See ‘How do I find the Rod of Ice?’
But now if you take one, the others fall!
That’s fine. You only need one.
It doesn’t matter which you pick.

mathbrush · December 4, 2023, 9:01pm

Alexandria

How do I get out of Alexandria?

There are multiple ways to get out of Alexandria.
Both methods described in ‘I’m stuck somewhere and I can’t get out!’ can get you out.
There are three other ways. Two of them are found in the course of solving other puzzles and aren’t super important. The third…
Is reusable. To find it, see…
What do I do with the rusty grating?’ Specifically, it’s…
The skiff.

What do I do with the couch and sphinxes?

The game’s second hint system has hints for both COUCH and SPHINX/SPHINXES. Otherwise…
What have you done with other large furniture in the game?
Have you tried getting on the couch?
Try SLEEPing on the couch.
Have you tried looking around?
Have you tried going past the sphinxes?
The only things you can interact with really are the couch and the sphinxes. You’ve already tried the sphinxes, so…
Try sleeping again.
And again. Until you can’t anymore.
Now what?
If you have gone as far as you can, wait around.
Look what the soldiers do.
Have you tried following them?
Keep going through the sphinxes until you wake all the way up.
Do what the soldiers did.
Turn the nose of the sphinx.

What do I do with the sockets and Sarcophagus?

Have you looked at the wall?
What is the priest holding?
Have you seen a scepter anywhere?
You’ve been in a chamber like this before. Do you remember seeing anything nearby?
The sceptre is in the umbrella stand, just outside the Octagon chamber.
Put the scepter in one of the sockets.
Have you tried turning it?
The results are random. What do they mean?
Have you seen these words anywhere before?
If not, you’re probably not ready yet. You see the words…
Past the parade; see ‘How do I get past the parade?’. Specifically, the words are…
On the die that the sailor rolls.
See ‘What do I do with the sailor?’ to learn the words.
The words are numbers.
This is a combination lock. The combination is nearby.
The combination is on the wall in the pyramid to the south of the cemetery.

What do I do with the open Sarcophagus?

The second hint system has a hint for this if you ask about ‘coffin’, but it’s not very helpful. Otherwise…
Have you seen anything nearby that depicts the afterlife?
Have you examined the writings in the pyramid?
You need to anoint yourself.
Have you seen any oil?
Oil is relatively nearby, specifically in…
The royal museum. If you haven’t been there, see…
How do I enter the royal museum? If you haven’t even seen it, see…
How do I get past the parade?
Now just get in and close the lid.
And simply go UP.

What do I do with the birds of prey?

Have you seen anything related to birds?
You most likely found it a very long time ago…
In the attic.
Blow the bird whistle.

What do I do with the tombstone?

The second hint system has a hint for this if you ask about ‘tombstone’, although it’s not very helpful. Otherwise…
Have you examined the tombstone?
Have you seen the name Galita anywhere before?
It can be found in the Greek area, in the Maiden card
See ‘What do I do with the oubliette?’
If you haven’t found the oubliette…
See What do I do with the statues in the temple? If you haven’t reached the temple, see…
‘How do I get past Zeus?’ To reach that point, see…
‘How do I get past the wall of thorns?’

What do I do with the rusty grating?

Have you looked at the key?
We need something that can grab the key.
There’s nothing sticky…
What about something magnetic?
The mouse is too big. What else is usually magnetized?
Compasses are usually magnetized.
You need something from Hamburg. Specifically…
The smooth round stone.
There’s no way to attach the smooth stone to anything. So…
You’ll just have to chuck the stone in.
Now the key is gone!
It will appear somewhere else.
Just explore more. See ‘How do I get past the parade?’

What do I do with Sosostris’ tower?

Have you tried knocking?
Hmm, there is no admittance.
A clue is nearby.
Have you seen anything about Sosostris around?
There is a picture of a priest of Sosostris in the same room as the sockets. If you haven’t found them, see…
‘What do I do with the couch and Sphinxes?’. If you haven’t seen them, see…
‘What do I do with the tombstone?’ If you haven’t seen the tombstone, see…
What do I do with the birds of prey?
The priest is wearing a grey cloak.
Do you have a grey coat?
Do you have a grey-lined coat?
Turn the coat of colours inside out, and wear it.
Open the door while wearing the coat.

What do I do with the ancient Sosostris?

What did she give you last time you saw her?
What did she say?
You trusted her with the quarterstaff.
So you need to do that now, in the past.
Of course, the staff looks different in the past.
It can be found by going north from the sarcophagus.
Give it to Sosostris.

How do I enter the Royal Palace and stay there?

You need to be properly attired.
None of the parade goers are getting inside.
Make sure you’re not wearing the coat of many colours.
But you’ll still get kicked out if you don’t have a symbol of authority.
Occasionally you’ll see people coming by with that authority.
You need a purple sash. If you haven’t seen one…
See ‘What do I do with the poets?’. If you haven’t seen the poets…
See ‘How do I enter the Royal museum?’

What do I do in the Royal Palace?

If you’re having trouble getting inside, see ‘How do I get inside the Royal Palace?’
This area is quite the maze.
But you’ve received instructions about it before.
Have you seen anything written that mentions Alexandria?
You’ll need the papyrus fragment from Hamburg.
It needs translation!
The engraved pumice stone from the Greek temple has translations, combined with the letter that translates hieroglyphics.
The text has another trick to it…
It is written backwards.
There is another object that uses this language…
The smooth stone compass.
Translating the text using the smooth stone compass, the inscribed stone says…
NE, E, S, say ‘ANOPPE’ (or ‘EPPONA’).

How do I get past the parade?

The second hint system in the game has a hint about this. Ask about PROCESSION.
If you can’t beat them, join them.
Have you found any clothing suitable for the parade?
You need the coat of many colours. If you haven’t found it, see…
'What do I do with the birds of prey?

What do I do with the sailor?

Have you tried ‘Hello, sailor?’
Just kidding.
He’s only useful for information.
Try rolling the die, and waiting until he rolls, and seeing his reaction.
He’s happy when he wins and sad when he loses.
By rolling enough, you can discover all the numbers from 1 to 6.
Those numbers are…
THU means 1, ZAI means 2, SI means 3, CA means 4, MACH means 5, and HUTH means 6.

What do I do with the poets?

The second hint system of the game has a hint about this, if you ask about CALLIMACHUS or APPOLONIUS. Otherwise…
Do you have anything related to them?
A page boy puts scrolls in the pigeonhole once you’ve been there long enough.
Have you tried giving the tubes to the poets?
If you see the letter on the tubs or look up the poets, you can see which belongs to with.
Have you tried giving them the tube twice?
You’ve tried giving them their own tube, empty tubes, and maybe even the other tube.
Why not switch things around, cause some trouble?
Put the poems in the wrong tubes, then give the right tubes to both poets.

How do I enter the Royal Museum?

The second hint system has a hint if you look up PORTICO or LIBRARY. Otherwise…
Have you looked around the entrance?
Have you examined the portico?
It would be useful if you had a cat with you, right?
The first hint system has a hint about AUSTIN that is really useful here.
You need to get Austin down here.
You’ll have to leave Alexandria; see ‘How do I get out of Alexandria?’
Austin can be pushed from room to room, most of the time.
He can’t be pushed through the south wall. But…
Have you seen what he does in Jemima’s room?
Jemima jumps to scare the cat.
You can do the same. When Austin is in the room with the slide projector, JUMPing will scare Austin into Alexandria.
You’ll have to find another way back to Alexandria, such as LAGACH or the skiff.
Come to Museum with Austin.

mathbrush · December 4, 2023, 9:41pm

Rods

I read/heard something about rods. What are they, and how do I find them?

The first hint system of the game has a hint about this, if you ask about RODS. Otherwise…
Did you read the old diary about the rods? If not, see ‘I haven’t heard/read anything about rods. How am I supposed to?’
Rods are disguised as other things. To break the disguise…
You need to wear Merlyn’s Hat.
The first hint system of the game has a hint about Merlyn’s Hat, if you ask about HAT (or a separate hat about Merlyn). Otherwise…
Have you seen Merlyn’s Hat anywhere?
It’s mentioned somewhere in the attic. Specifically…
It’s on one of the pages of the calendar.
Merlyn’s hat is a daisy.
Have you noted its color?
When Jemima asks you for your favorite color, simply say ‘Jemima, yellow’ or ‘say yellow to jemima’. If you already got a daisy chain, just take off and drop the old on. If Jemima isn’t nice to you…
See ‘What do I do with Aunt Jemima?’
Now just wave any pointy thing you see!
To help you find rods, the daisy chain will rustle (in your inventory) whenever you have a rod.

I haven’t read/heard anything about rods. How am I supposed to?

Have you solved the fireplace yet? If not, see ‘What do I do with the fireplace.’ If you haven’t seen the fireplace yet…
See ‘What do I do with the painting?’. If you haven’t found that yet…
See ‘How do I enter the dark cupboard?’
Now you have the diary.
Have you looked up his name in the History of the Meldrews?
If you haven’t found the history, see…
‘What can I do in the first room?’
Look up the last year of his life in the diary.

How do I discover the name of a rod?

This one is pretty tricky to find out.
You’ll need to find an area that mentions the rods.
It refers to the rods as ‘God Things’.
It’s in the octagon chamber. If you haven’t found the octagon chamber see, ‘How do I get through the sandstone passage?’
The coffin says ‘God things go through here.’
Put a rod in, then close it.
Notice the electricity?
Make sure to wear the gardening gloves!
Open the coffin, and the rod is named!

How do I use rods?

If you haven’t discovered the name of rods, you’re probably too early.
Have you already had the melancholy dream?
What did you see the druid do with his rod?
STRIKE the rod, then point it at something.

How do I find the Rod of Returning?

Make sure you’ve read ‘I read/heard something about rods. What are they, and how do I find them?’.
Hint 3 will say what it is disguised as. The other hints will say where it is found.
It is disguised as a timber spar.
It can be found on the sailing ship. If you haven’t found the ship, see…
‘What do I do with the Ace of Cups card?’ If you haven’t found that card, see…
‘How do I get past the steel barriers?’ in Hamburg. If you haven’t been to Hamburg…
See ‘What do I do with the map of Hamburg?’ If you haven’t found the map of Hamburg, see…
How do I open the Demijohn?

How do I find the Rod of Luck?

Make sure you’ve read ‘I read/heard something about rods. What are they, and how do I find them?’.
Hint 3 will say what it is disguised as. The other hints will say where it is found.
It is disguised as a clover.
It is found in the first room of the game. See ‘What can I do in the first room?’
To open it, see ‘What do I do on the balcony?’ If you haven’t found the balcony…
See ‘What do I do in the writing room?’. If you haven’t found the writing room…
See 'What do I do with the romantic novel?

How do I find the Rod of Fire?

Make sure you’ve read ‘I read/heard something about rods. What are they, and how do I find them?’.
Hint 3 will say what it is disguised as. The other hints will say where it is found.
It is disguised as a sooty stick.
It is in the fireplace. If you haven’t found the fireplace, see…
‘What do I do with the painting?’
If you haven’t found the painting, see…
How do I enter the dark cupboard?’

How do I find the Rod of Infinity?

Make sure you’ve read ‘I read/heard something about rods. What are they, and how do I find them?’.
Hints 3 and 4 will say what it is disguised as. The other hints will say where it is found.
To get this rod, you must destroy an item that is used elsewhere. Make sure you’ve already used it!
It is the card, the Eight of Wands.
It is found in Hamburg. If you haven’t seen it yet, see 'How do I get past the steel barriers? If you haven’t been to Hamburg…
See ‘What do I do with the map of Hamburg?’ If you haven’t found the map of Hamburg, see…
How do I open the Demijohn?

How do I find the Rod of Husbandry?

Make sure you’ve read ‘I read/heard something about rods. What are they, and how do I find them?’.
Hint 3 will say what it is disguised as. The other hints will say where it is found.
It is disguised as the shepherd’s crook.
See ‘I’ve been captured by Doktor Stein!’. If you haven’t met Dr. Stein…
He is found in Hamburg. If you haven’t seen it yet, see 'How do I get past the steel barriers? If you haven’t been to Hamburg…
See ‘What do I do with the map of Hamburg?’ If you haven’t found the map of Hamburg, see…
How do I open the Demijohn?

How do I find the Rod of Stalking?

Make sure you’ve read ‘I read/heard something about rods. What are they, and how do I find them?’.
Hint 3 will say what it is disguised as. The other hints will say where it is found.
It is disguised as the bean pole.
It is found inside the miniature of the folly. See ‘What do I do with the miniature of the folly?’
If you haven’t found it, see ‘How do I solve the Garden Maze?’

How do I find the Rod of Bronze?

Make sure you’ve read ‘I read/heard something about rods. What are they, and how do I find them?’.
Hint 3 will say what it is disguised as. The other hints will say where it is found.
It is disguised as the Quarterstaff.
See 'What else can I do with Madame Sosostris?

How do I find the Rod of Sacrifice?

Make sure you’ve read ‘I read/heard something about rods. What are they, and how do I find them?’.
Hint 3 will say what it is disguised as. The other hints will say where it is found.
It is disguised as Andromeda’s Hairband.
See ‘What do I do with Andromeda?’ If you haven’t found Andromeda…
See ‘What can I do with the Maiden card?’

How do I find the Rod of Ice?

Make sure you’ve read ‘I read/heard something about rods. What are they, and how do I find them?’.
Hint 3 will say what it is disguised as. The other hints will say where it is found.
It is disguised as a spindle.
It is found in the royal museum. See ‘How do I enter the Royal Museum?’
If you haven’t found the royal museum, see ‘How do I get past the parade?’
If you haven’t seen the parade, see ‘What do I do with the sketch?’
If you haven’t seen the sketch, see ‘How do I get through the sandstone passage?’

How do I find the High Rod?

Make sure you’ve read ‘I read/heard something about rods. What are they, and how do I find them?’.
Hint 3 will say what it is disguised as. The other hints will say where it is found.
It isn’t disguised as anything.
See What can I do with the gateway to the underworld?'. If you haven’t found the gateway…
See ‘What can I do with the moonstone?’
If you haven’t found the moonstone, see ‘How do I get in the church?’
If you haven’t found the church, see ‘What do I do with the smoke alarm?’

Draconis · December 4, 2023, 11:45pm

These numbers are in Etruscan, though a bit oddly transcribed: I would write them as thu, zal, ci, sha, mach, huth. (C in Etruscan is a /k/ sound*, and sh is something vaguely /s/-like but distinct from s.)

There’s actually some disagreement about 4 and 6, with some people arguing that sha is 6 and huth is 4; our main evidence for which is which comes from ancient dice, where ci and sha are on opposite sides, and most dice from this era use our modern convention of “opposite sides add up to seven”. Which means if ci is 3, then sha should be 4. But there’s also a tomb with a painting of four underworld gods, where the last one is labelled Charun Huths, so shouldn’t that be “the fourth Charon”—meaning huth is 4? The jury is still out!

This blog post has a nice discussion of it, with images of the dice.

* Etruscan didn’t have separate /k/ and /g/ sounds, so when they adapted the Greek alphabet, gamma got used for /k/, and that’s where our letter C comes from!

mathbrush · December 4, 2023, 11:51pm

Oh wow, that’s neat! That specific line I copied directly from David Welbourne’s walkthrough, as it is one part of the game that I struggle with even after spending much time on.

mathbrush · December 5, 2023, 7:16pm

Roman Villa

What do I do in the Roman Villa?

This area is like a miniature version of the rest of the game.
What was the main point of gameplay in the rest of the game?
Finding rods. And how do you do that?
By wearing a daisy. That should be your first order of business.

What can I do at the rocky spur?

Well, there’s a rope.
Have you tried climbing down?
What’s down there?
A daisy.
Can’t reach it?
You need to get closer.
You don’t need any outside items. Explicitly, the answer is:
SWING or SWING ROPE, then take the daisy.
Don’t forget to wear the daisy!

What do I do with the well?

Have you tried going down it?
Okay, that didn’t work.
You need a way to see how deep it is.
There are two ways, one of which locks you out of optional content.
You can throw the torch in there to immediately see how deep it is. Or…
You can put the die in there and wait a turn or two.
But what can you do here?
Just hiding in the well still gets you caught.
You can go east, if you have the torch still or know there’s an exit there.
This is optional; being caught isn’t bad. And this is only really helpful if you can speak Celtic. If you can’t…
See ‘what can I do with the horn?’

What can I do with the horn?

Well, you can get captured by blowing it. Besides that…
What shape is the horn?
Have you tried waving it?
If it doesn’t work, see ‘What can I do at the rocky spur?’
This is a rod! Strike it and point at at yourself.

How do I escape from being captured?

You need a distraction.
There aren’t many options.
Push the pole. Now you can leave.
Can’t cross the coals?
You probably need to load an earlier save. You need…
The sandals. Now you can go to the east.

How do I leave the Villa and camp part of the game?

How did you leave areas you were stuck in earlier in the game?
LAGACH doesn’t work here.
You need the rod of returning.
But all the rods are gone!
Something in the camp is a rod.
Wave the tent pole.

What do I do with the blue stone?

What do you do with other important things in the game?
Wave it.
Have you seen anywhere francs are useful?
This is the last puzzle in the game. It’s fairly straightforward.
See 'What do I do with the man in the kiosk?

mathbrush · December 5, 2023, 7:37pm

That’s it, I think! I might go back and make sure everything matches up, but otherwise this is where I plan to stop, as it should cover the whole game.

Draconis · December 5, 2023, 8:13pm

And just like that, magic has been purged from the British Isles.

Was it worth it, in the end?

mathbrush · December 5, 2023, 8:16pm

Hmm, is that what it means? I always took the ending to mean that you released or were re-introducing magic, but since this game was influenced by Infocom games, I could see you being right; like Spellbreaker’s ending.

Pebblerubble · December 5, 2023, 8:18pm

You finished the solutions? Congrats and thanks.

I wasn’t aware that Curses is THAT big. I’m a bit scared by this size.

Draconis · December 5, 2023, 8:37pm

To my read, the druids in the master game concentrated all the remaining magic of England into the sacred hill, and cursed the people living there to an eternal vigil to keep the magic from fading. When you found the tourist map, you broke the curse, and the magic disappeared. If you try to LAGACH after finding the map: “Nothing happens! Already the druids’ magic fades from the earth, and you cannot help feeling saddened.”

mathbrush · December 5, 2023, 8:38pm

Oh wow! That’s very interesting! Thanks for adding new insight!

prevtenet · December 5, 2023, 10:09pm

Excellent work!

I particularly appreciate the “What are ways I can lock myself out of victory?” section, for players who (like me) enjoy making an honest attempt at the puzzles but hate getting soft-locked.

Draconis · December 6, 2023, 6:27am

It always felt kind of odd to me, because unlike in Spellbreaker, there’s no world-destroying need to do that. All you get for it is an outdated map of Paris.

If you finish the game by going down from the Attic after gathering all the Rods, your family is still cursed to never realize their greatest ambitions, but you also hold all the magic of the British Isles in your hands. (Well, all except the two High Rods that you sacrificed…but seeing as no mortal can use a High Rod, you could just as well ignore them entirely. The only reason to get them is for the lemniscus.) That seems like a better ending for you, really!

So while I get that it’s intentional bathos to sacrifice all the power of the ancient druids for an old tourist map, I don’t feel like the game provides enough reason to actually do that. In Spellbreaker it’s necessary to save the world; in Infidel the whole game’s been spent establishing what kind of character you are; in Curses you’re just supposed to do it because it makes your score go up. Even if you’ll never realize your greatest ambition, you’re still an extraordinarily wealthy Meldrew who gets history books written about you, and now you’re a Meldrew who can travel through paintings. That sounds pretty great to me!