These hints are for “The Party Line” by Robin Johnson.
Here’s a map identifying where the treasures are. (The treasures are lying around in plain sight, so this map contains only minor spoilers about rooms you might not be able to reach yet.)
(click to reveal, click again to download a full-size version):
How do I get out of the house?
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Read the party invitation.
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You’ll to find all five treasures and lift the curse first. (When you see a treasure, its name is colored yellow.)
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Go east from the foyer to the cloakroom and read the sign there.
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You’ll have to drop all five treasures here. (I’ve labeled the treasures on the map.) Then see “I have all five points. Now what?” below.
How do I take the Michelin star?
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How could you get the chef to leave the kitchen?
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Return south to the Dining Hall and try consuming the food and/or drinks.
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Consume something, then immediately go north to see what happens.
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Keep trying that.
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If you consume the same thing and go north twice in a row, the head chef will quit.
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Talk to the sous-chef. (He thinks you’re the boss!)
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Talk to him again.
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If you talk to the sous-chef repeatedly after the head chef quits, the sous-chef will quit, allowing you to take the star.
How do I get the platinum disc?
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Explore the first floor looking for items, then come back to the stage and try holding each item.
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The item you need is in the Scullery.
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Open the cupboards and get the can of wood polish. On the stage, polish the stage.
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Go north and take the disc while the roadie is busy helping the musicians.
How do I leave the ballroom? The audience is booing.
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You’ll have to return all of the instruments to their respective owners.
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“Wait” when you’re on stage.
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One musician “blows” an instrument, one musician “strums” an instrument, one musician “squeezes” an instrument, and one musician “hits the [instrument with little mallets].” Make note of which musician does which. (The owner of each instrument is randomized each game, so you can’t simply guess just because you recognize the names of the musicians!)
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The musician who “blows” an instrument plays the trumpet the musician who “strums” plays the guitar, the musician who “squeezes” plays the accordion, and the musician who uses “little mallets” plays the xylophone.
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Polish the stage again and take all of the instruments. (If you don’t have room, drop stuff. If the musicians grab an instrument before you’re ready to take it, polish the stage again.)
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Wait, and drop the right instrument when the game says that its owner “fumbles around the stage.” For example, if it says that John “strums” an instrument, drop the guitar when the game says that “John fumbles around the stage.” When all of the instruments are in the right hands, the audience will let you leave the room.
How do I go upstairs from the foyer?
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You need a point first.
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Go east from the foyer to the cloakroom and read the sign there.
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Take one of the gold items and drop it in the cloakroom.
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One of them is the Michelin star, in the kitchen, and one is the platinum disc, backstage. (See “How do I take the Michelin star?” or “How do I get the platinum disc?”)
How do I take the billiards trophy?
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You’ll have to win a game of billiards with the pool sharp.
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You’ll need something in your inventory that will suffice as a pool cue, and something that will suffice as billiard balls.
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Where can I find a pool cue?
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Any long stick will do.
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It’s on the ground floor.
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Take the walking cane in the cloakroom.
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Where can I find billiard balls?
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You can use anything nearly round.
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It’s on the ground floor.
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At first glance, it appears to be food.
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It’s in the kitchen.
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Open the refrigerator, and you’ll find cold hardboiled eggs. Take them. (If you try to eat them, they’re “so tough, you hurt your teeth trying.”)
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When you have a substitute pool cue in your inventory and substitute billiard balls, you can play billiards. But now, you have to find a way to win. (“Maybe you ought to brush up.”)
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Somewhere in the house, you can “brush up,” learning more about pool.
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It’s in the library, east of the billiard room.
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Browse the bookcase, take the geometry textbook, and read it. The next time you play billiards, you’ll win, and the pool sharp will leave, allowing you to take the trophy.
How do I enter the bathroom?
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Knock on the door. (The person inside requires paper.)
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Knock again while you’ve selected (“holding”) a piece of paper.
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Select the party invitation and knock.
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At this point, you’ll just have to be patient.
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A few dozen turns later, everyone in line will finish, and you’ll be able to enter the bathroom normally.
How do I take the gold toilet seat?
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It’s bolted to the toilet. You’ll need a tool to unbolt it.
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The tool is on the ground floor.
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The wrench is in the Scullery, east of the kitchen. When holding the wrench, you’ll have the option to unbolt the seat.
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The man in underwear won’t let you unbolt it. Talk to him a few times.
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He needs a shirt and trousers.
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Where can I find a shirt for him?
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It’s on the ground floor.
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The band t-shirt is backstage. Climb up onto the stage and go north to find it.
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Where can I find trousers for him?
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They’re on the ground floor.
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They’re in the Scullery, east of the kitchen.
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Open the washing machine to find jeans.
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He won’t accept your jeans because they’re not torn. You’ll have to find a way to tear the jeans.
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Find and follow the cat and pet it.
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“The cat paws playfully at your legs.” Try wearing the jeans while you pet the cat.
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“The cat paws playfully at your jeans.” The problem is that the cat is friendly. How would you make the cat unfriendly?
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Frighten the cat.
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The object you need to frighten the cat is on the ground floor.
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Take a balloon in the Ballroom and burst it in the same room as the cat. Now the cat is angry; if you pet it while wearing jeans, it will tear the jeans. Bring the torn jeans to the man. (Remove them first.)
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Once the man is gone, you can hold the wrench and unbolt the seat to take it.
How do I go upstairs past the crying teenager?
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Talk to him. You’ll have to find his oWidget Femto.
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It’s in the bathroom. (See “How do I enter the bathroom?”)
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You can’t find the oWidget until you take the gold toilet seat. (See “How do I take the gold toilet seat?”)
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You have to take the electronic widget (floating in the toilet).
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You’ll need gloves.
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You won’t be able to find the gloves until you’ve gotten the Michelin star. (See “How do I take the Michelin star?”)
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When the sous-chef quits, he’ll drop a pair of washing-up gloves. Take them to the bathroom and wear them to take the widget. Talk to the teenager when you have the widget to get past him.
How do I take the Oscar?
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You can’t take the Oscar until you’ve deactivated the popcorn machine.
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Push the button on the popcorn machine. It will vend you a bucket of popcorn.
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Eat the popcorn then push the button again.
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You’ll have to fill the bucket with something else, but you may not be able to do this yet. You can definitely do it after you’ve gone upstairs past the crying teenager. (See “How do I go upstairs past the crying teenager?”)
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Eat the popcorn, then go to the bathroom. When you hold the bucket, you can fill it with water there.
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Push the button on the popcorn machine when the bucket is full of water to deactivate the robot, allowing you to take the Oscar.
How do I go upstairs past the drunk person?
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He’s passed out. You’ll have to wake him up.
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Make a loud noise.
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You’ve already made a loud noise once. You can do it again.
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Take another balloon from the ballroom. Bring it to the second floor landing and burst it to make the man leave.
How do I go north from the roof landing?
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Explore the second floor.
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Talk to the old man (in bed).
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He’ll give you an access pass. Wear it, and you’ll be allowed to go north.
How do I enter the sky palace?
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The clue is, “Only the five-times blessed may enter the Palace of Celebria!”
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You have to drop all five treasures in the cloakroom first. The locations of the treasures are on the map above, and you can consult the hints above about how to take them.
I have all five points. Now what?
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Now you have to lift the curse.
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Go as high as you can.
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You’ll need to go upstairs past the teenager. (See “How do I go upstairs past the crying teenager?”)
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Explore the second floor.
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Talk to the old man (in bed).
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He says to go to the roof garden. See “How do I go upstairs past the drunk person?” and “How do I go north from the roof landing?”
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You’ll need to do something with the flower bed here in the roof garden.
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The object you need is on the ground floor.
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Bring the packet of seeds from the Conservatory, west of the foyer, and plant them in the flower bed.
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Climb the beanstalk, enter the palace, and talk to Celebria.
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Take Pandora’s boombox and play it.
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Return to the foyer while Pandora’s boombox is playing.
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Take the key, unlock the front door, and open it. (But see “I’ve unlocked the front door, but I still can’t leave!” below.)
I’ve unlocked the front door, but I still can’t leave!
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“Lift the curse first!” You need to end the party before you can leave.
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Go north to the ballroom while Pandora’s boombox is playing.
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Now you can open the front door and win the game.