The Secret of Bastow Manor (A.K.A. The Secret of Bastow Manor 64) (c) Gameworx Software 1983 -- The Complete Walkthrough! -- 1/ General hints 2/ Solution - short list 3/ Solution - long list 4/ Notes 1/ General Hints The dogs will get you after a limited number of moves, so whenever you are in the open, be sure to take cover (eg climb the tree) frequently in order to avoid being attacked. There are 3 hiding places outside the house, one of which you must arrange yourself. Use the 'G' command to view your exits. Bastow has some instances where the direction command will work in one direction but not the other (for example, GO TRAPDOOR will get you down the trapdoor in the shed, but to return through the trapdoor you must GO WEST). There is a secret panel in the study which is not indicated in the text. In the same study, there is a pencil which cannot be lifted. I think 'pencil' may be a typographical error for 'panel'. It makes more sense that the game should tell you about the panel and that you couldn't lift it. This basic problem got me stuck for about 5 years! The combination to the safe must be entered in one string, not as single characters (eg, enter ABCD not A [ENTER] B [ENTER] C [ENTER] D [ENTER]. The safe combination is IBDF. This is worked out by the note in the box which says 'VI', and then the book in the library. If you start at F, the sixth (VI) letter and go right 3, you get to the 9th letter, which is I. Left 7 takes you back to the second letter (9-7), which is B, and then right 2 brings you to D (2+2). The F at the end is our starting letter, but I am not sure how we are meant to know that it is used at the end, other than as a starting point. 2/ Solution - short list S, Climb tree, Look tree, Break branch, Get branch, Climb tree, N, Look gate, Get key, Iron, S, Unlock mailbox, Look mailbox, Look mailbox, Get letter, Get torch, Read letter ("The left is right...or is the right wrong?"), N, Unlock gate, Open gate, Go gate, S, Drop branch, N, Look shed, S, N, Get ladder, N, E, E, Drop ladder, Climb ladder, Climb ladder, W, W, S, S, Move case, Open case, Look case, Get apple, Get branch, Light torch, Go trap, S, Look pit, Drop branch, S, Open toolbox, Look toolbox, Get crowbar, W, Pull switch (Anyone know if this was made? Could it be Thermonuclear Wargames? If you try to go north in the first screen of that game, it says that way leads back to Bastow Manor!), E, N, N, Look door, Remove beam, Open door, Go door, Open clock, Look clock (Don't do this more than once or you will end up with a multitude of knives!), Drop letter, Get knife, Drop apple, Cut apple, Get key, Small, S, Go stairs, Open window, Go stairs, S, Look table, S, Get armour, Wear armour, N, W, Drop crowbar, Get bucket, Move crate (So much for the armour!), E, N, N, N, Look balcony, E, Look desk, Read book (right 3, left 7, right 2), W, S, S, Go stairs, S, Fill bucket, N, Go window, Climb ladder, W, W, W, S, Climb tree, Climb tree, Drop key, Iron, Look mailbox, Get key, Brass, Climb tree, Climb tree, N, Go gate, S, S, Go trap, Drop bucket, Get box, Unlock box, Open box, Look box, Drop key, Brass, Get note, Read note ('VI'), Drop box, Drop note, Get bucket, Get key, Brass, Go door, S, Unlock door, Open door, Go door, Look desk, Open drawer, Look drawer, Drop pencil, Get pencil (???), Get bucket, Press panel (perhaps 'pencil' is a mistake & it should say 'panel'?), Pull button, E, Go stairs, Go window, Climb ladder, W, W, S, S, Go trap, S, S, S, Look skeleton, E, Look wall, Go hole, Throw water, Hole, W, N, N, N, Go door, S, Go stairs, S, Fill bucket, N, Go window, Climb ladder, W, W, S, S, Go trap, S, S, S, E, (We get to repeat that twice more - fun, hey?), Throw water, Hole, W, N, N, N, Go door, S, Go stairs, S, Fill bucket, N, Go window, Climb ladder, W, W, S, S, Go trap, S, S, S, E, Throw water, Hole, Go hole, Look robot, E, Look chest, Unlock chest, IBDF (all as one entry), Look chest, Get gold, W, W, W, N, N, N, W, N, N, W. 3/ Solution - long list S Climb tree Look tree Break branch Get branch Climb tree N Look gate Get key Iron S Unlock mailbox Look mailbox Look mailbox Get letter Get torch Read letter ("The left is right...or is the right wrong?") N Unlock gate Open gate Go gate S Drop branch N Look shed S N Get ladder N E E Drop ladder Climb ladder Climb ladder W W S S Move case Open case Look case Get apple Get branch Light torch Go trap S Look pit Drop branch S Open toolbox Look toolbox Get crowbar W Pull switch (Anyone know if this was made? Could it be Thermonuclear Wargames? If you try to go north in the first screen of that game, it says that way leads back to Bastow Manor!) E N N Look door Remove beam Open door Go door Open clock Look clock (Don't do this more than once or you will end up with a multitude of knives!) Drop letter Get knife Drop apple Cut apple Get key Small S Go stairs Open window Go stairs S Look table S Get armour Wear armour N W Drop crowbar Get bucket Move crate (So much for the armour!) E N N N Look balcony E Look desk Read book (right 3, left 7, right 2) W S S Go stairs S Fill bucket N Go window Climb ladder W W W S Climb tree Climb tree Drop key Iron Look mailbox Get key Brass Climb tree Climb tree N Go gate S S Go trap Drop bucket Get box Unlock box Open box Look box Drop key Brass Get note Read note ('VI') Drop box Drop note Get bucket Get key Brass Go door S Unlock door Open door Go door Look desk Open drawer Look drawer Drop pencil Get pencil (???) Get bucket Press panel (perhaps 'pencil' is a mistake & it should say 'panel'?) Pull button E Go stairs Go window Climb ladder W W S S Go trap S S S Look skeleton E Look wall Go hole Throw water Hole W N N N Go door S Go stairs S Fill bucket N Go window Climb ladder W W S S Go trap S S S E (We get to repeat that twice more - fun, hey?) Throw water Hole W N N N Go door S Go stairs S Fill bucket N Go window Climb ladder W W S S Go trap S S S E Throw water Hole Go hole Look robot E Look chest Unlock chest IBDF (all as one entry) Look chest Get gold W W W N N N W N N W 4/ Notes I was at a flea market a few weekends ago, and I came across a stack of C64 tapes. One of them was a Computer Classics title, and on the back was a list of their other games. There was a host of titles for the VIC 20, including "The Secret of Bastow Manor". Underneath the VIC 20 titles was a list of C64 titles, which was basically everything from the VIC 20 list but with '64' added to the end. Therefore the proper title of the C64 version of this game is "The Secret of Bastow Manor 64"! This game was probably the second game I ever played on the C64, and my brother and I spent ages on it, and got quite far - in fact, it was only the panel puzzle (see above) that got us stuck. Since we spent so much time on this game, our father used to ask us all the time if we had solved the game. However, he never remembered the name right, so he always asked us "Have you solved Bristow Manor yet?" Of course, this became a running joke between my brother & me and it still is, so I have had lots of good memories associated with this game. I spent several "wilderness years" without a C64, until I stumbled on to C64 emulation, and managed to transfer Bastow Manor to a disk image. After that, a couple of people helped me on the way, and therefore deserve much thanks: Adam Nelson (Spud) - When I came back to the game, I knew what to do, but I couldn't manage the 'minimalist' sequence needed to avoid the dogs! Adam knew how to set up the ladder & get back to the shed safely. Stuart George (Dark Fiber) - After getting as far as my brother & me had been before (further even, by one move - I discovered FILL BUCKET!), DF told me about the hidden panel, then gave me a few other tips, including how to escape the skeleton & complete the game! David Williams - My brother, for all his help more than a decade ago, plus for being impressed and encouraging when I discovered FILL BUCKET. My Dad - I'm looking forward to telling him I solved "Bristow Manor" ;) /Andrew Williams. 7th April 1999