Exclusive guide for…

TRISTAM ISLAND
A game by Hugo Labrande

Thank you for pre-ordering the game! As a token of my gratitude, here 's some exclusive
content for you: a short guide to get the most out of the game!

Trivia about the game

Here are some spoiler-free facts about the game:
• My original pitch for the game was: “an island with secret government technology
hiding inside it; break it with sticks and stones“. The second part didn't make the final
version.
• The picture used for cover art is Mons Klint (in Denmark), which is strikingly similar
to the island depicted in the game. There are numerous dinosaur fossils at Mons Klint. An
idea for a sequel?
• The jukebox in the game is a real model, that you can admire at the following URL:
http://www.bal-ami.com/view-details/343/Junior.htm
• Nobody at MI-5 will accept to talk to you about the events that unfolded on Tristam
Island; instead, they'll claim Tristam Island is not a real island (which proves they're hiding
something).
• Thanks to the very efficient Inform assembler (more efficient than Infocom 's
libraries), to PunyInform, and to an automated script I devised to get more out of the
abbreviation system, I can confidently say that Tristam Island is the biggest game ever
packed into a “.z3” format.
• The books you find near the end of the game are actual reference books that were
used at the time.
• The jukebox in the game can play up to 20 songs, but you won 't have enough
money to hear them all. Save and reload to see them all! (They're great songs, too!)
• My original plans for the game was to have a waterfall where the strait is. You
would be able to go inside the waterfall, which would reveal a short maze, then a secret
entrance to the lab. Then I realised that a waterfall on a flat island in the middle of the
Atlantic didn't make any sense.
• From the sandbank near the beginning of the game, you can see the radio tower
and the other island.
• No matter what you do, the oil in the generators never runs out. I had originally
planned on making it run out if you forgot to turn the lights off and unplug appliances,
but that wouldn't have been very fun.
• The comic book in the shop is actually worth about $7,000.
• The keypad is an anachronism here: it was invented in the 1970s.

References to other games

A few references to other games are in Tristam Island! See if you spotted them all!
• Fishing with no fishing rod gives a reply inspired by Adventure.
• The white house is, obviously, inspired by Zork.
• The book in the village is a reference to Trinity.
• The description of the steel tower is also a reference to Trinity.
• The main puzzle inside the white house is obviously a reference to The Hitchhiker’s
Guide to Galaxy.
• The names you can read on the doors in the white house are the names of the
scientists in Seastalker.
• The albatross is not a reference to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Nor it is
a Monty Python reference.

Amusing

Here's a list of amusing commands to try out. You might have encountered some of
them! This is 100% spoiler-free; all of these suggestions will give you a funny reply with
no changes to the game.

Have you tried...
• looking under the island?
• sleeping in the ocean?
• eating the worm?
• counting leaves?
• fishing with no fishing rod?
• wearing the pub landlord's apron?
• inserting a coin in the jukebox without electricity running?
• taking two pots from the pub's kitchen?
• taking the comic book with you?
• smoking the cigarettes?
• finding all 5 “Mr. Chad” graffitis drawn by the inhabitants of the white mansion?
• eating the rat?

Full score breakdown
And for our last section: you finished the game, but not with the maximal score of 150
points? Here's the full score breakdown for the game, in case you don't want to search
for the last lousy points... But of course: beware of spoilers!
Lower island (30 points)
Spotting the steel tower
Spotting the hidden stairs
Eating seaweed
Putting bait on the hook of the fishing rod
Putting a lure on the hook of the fishing rod
Fishing a fish

1 pt
1 pt
1 pt
1 pt
1 pt
5 pts

Gathering wood for a fire
Cooking and eating the fish
Sleeping
Reaching the upper island

5 pts
5 pts
5 pts
5 pts

Upper island – Village (65 points)
Drinking from the village fountain
Taking the spare key for the pub
Finding a torch
Finding a backpack
Looking at the map
Starting the generators
Smashing the window of the small shop
Smashing the window of the woodshop
Finding a way into the fenced area
Finding the key to the gate in the fence
Fixing the ladder of the steel tower
Looking at Tristam Island through binoculars
Finding and spending all 7 coins in the jukebox
Turning off the light in the pub landlord’s house
Turning off the light in the small house by the cliffs
Unplugging the jukebox
Unplugging the refrigerator
Taking out the crude door
Entering the white house

1 pt
5 pts
5 pts
5 pts
2 pts
5 pts
2 pts
2 pts
5 pts
5 pts
5 pts
5 pts
7 pts
1 pt
1 pt
1 pt
1 pt
2 pts
5 pts

Upper island – Inside the white house (20 pts)
Reading the notices
Unlocking the doors upstairs
Plugging the bike pump
Turning the statue
Opening the door
Going down

1 pt
5 pts
2 pts
2 pts
5 pts
5 pts

Upper island – Inside the underground lab (35 pts)
Looking at the poster
Entering the Major’s office
Finding the master keyring
Opening the locker
Fixing the radio
Finding the right frequency
Sending an SOS

5 pts
5 pts
5 pts
5 pts
5 pts
5 pts
5 pts

