Barney Fife's help with Whodunit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a dark and stormy night... sparks flew out...a scream was heard... and then silence! MURDER !!!!!Who Done It? Where, and with what weapon? You have been called by the local Sheriff, Barney ByteHead, to solve this most puzzling crime: "Well ya know," says Barney " I would've had this babysolved like that (he tries unsuccessfully to snap his fingers) if it weren't for the fact that the murderer left town with the murder weapon and the victim, Big Blue! Yup, looks like Mr. Blue won't be throwing anymore of these big wing-dings. "Why I bet just about anybody could figure out the mortis operendy, that's police talk... means method of operation... you know, how and where the crime was committed. Kinda reminds me of that board game 'Clue'. He hands you a guest list, and an inventory sheet. "Here's a list of all of the people who attended Big Blue's party. I guess you could just search the mansion and check off the suspects as you bump into them. Don't worry about anyone else leaving the grounds, I told them to stay where they were until we solved the crime. Then I flashed this baby at 'em ( he fumbles around in his left breast pocket and finally manages to produce a rather tarnished bullet). Of course they've been standing in the same place for quite a while, so I guess you can't expect them to help you very much either. "Oh yeah, that there's a list of all of the items Mr. Blue had in the house." He says, pointing at the inventory sheet, "Big Blue's into all of that computer stuff, you know those sloppy disks and megaboots and all that. You'll find these weapons throughout the house. "Now I know what your saying, "how can these hi-tech items be deadly?", but have you ever seen a guy after getting hit with an IBM AT case? Those suckers weigh a ton! Anyways... through the process of elimernation you should be able to figure out what was used to commit the dastardly deed. He looks around like he thinks someone might be listening, and then continues: "Now just between you and me, I really want you to succeed, but there are some other gumshoes like yourself racing to figure it out. They may pick up an item after finding it and try to hide it on you... bunch of klepterminneracks, if you ask me! 'Course YOU wouldn't do anything like that, would you? After all you use up a turn whenever you pick up an item, and if you have an Item in your possession when your turns are over, it will be randomly placed somewhere else in the mansion. "Gee... I wish I had a map of the mansion to give you. But I guess you can use a little chartargraphy, that's latineese for map making, and you shouldn't get too lost. "You probably have just enough time each day to make 20 moves, after which you will have to come back the next day. You can only make one accusation per day, and you have to be in the room where you think the crime was committed or ya can't win. Making an accusation will end your turns for the day. "Golly, look at the time! I better get the squad car back to the court house. Good luck! (For those of you who are still with us, the story continues...with a couple of hints thrown in as a reward for putting up with this narrative.) As Barney walks away you notice a slip of paper fall from his clip board. You pick it up, but he's gone when you look up to give it to him. You look at the paper and notice a note scrawled in shakey script at the bottom: "Arcatekt says Big Blues Manshun is basicly a 10X10 Grid" Above this is a blank checklist. Hmm, maybe you could use something like this: _______________________________________ | | | | | SUSPECTS | WEAPONS | ROOMS | |_____________|____________|__________| | |S. Sysdyne| |Chip Pull| |Closet | |__|__________|__|_________|__|_______| | |Q. Quantum| |AT Case | |Bath Rm| |__|__________|__|_________|__|_______| The rest of the chart is too shakey to read, I guess you'll have to make your own. The House Detective takes one chance a day at solving the mystery. You are not only playing against other players, but the House Detective as well.... Have Fun! Author Michael Richardson þ