Lost New York by Neil DeMause -- Solve written by Russ Bryan First, let me review my personal opinion on printed solutions to games. Most importantly, you should understand that I don't condone the ruining of a game by picking up a walkthrough and blindly following the author's instructions. Doing so usually robs you of at least 60% of the text which the author intended for you to read, and I can guarantee you that you will not read the remaining 40% nearly as carefully as you would have if you were forced to concentrate on the clues buried within it. I'd say that in most games, some of the most creative and witty text is only uncovered when you die, screw up, or otherwise fail. The author expects this, and you are only robbing yourself by avoiding the pitfalls laid before you. If you plan to use this solution exclusively, I ask you to delete it from your hard drive immediately. Second, you should know right off that I am not providing you with a list of commands which will bring you to the end. I am not giving you a solution so much as I am giving you the path I took to reach the solution. Therefore, when you get stuck, read the questions I ask before moving on to the conclusions I reach. The questions are often enough to get you out of your rut, and I should hope that this will help you feel some measure of triumph when you finish the game, having done most of it on your own. I state with some pride that I solved this game, and any game for which I have written a solution, without the help of others. However, for expediency the solution is written to take you through the game in the minimum amount of time. May your nose fall off if you use this as an excuse not to explore on your own. Finally, don't feel as though you have to keep this solution on hand. If you've made some progress on your own and are just trying to get past one tough puzzle, do so and then simply delete this file. It is easy to tempt yourself into leaving the solution in a background window, ready to be called up at the slightest pause. If you force yourself to go back to ftp.gmd.de every time you get stuck, maybe you'll put just a little more effort into getting unstuck before you resort to the walkthrough. Enjoy the game. -- Russ Bryan (TEAddition@aol.com) Part One -- The Tourist Trap There is nothing more annoying than depending on an undependable public transportation system. Someone should have warned you about this before you got stranded at Liberty's sandalled feet with tourists everywhere you turn. As you begin, you stare out at New York Harbor wondering why you didn't visit the MOMA instead. Your first action should be to go north, where an old man waits to tell you about the tendency of New York's city planners to knock down the old and the beautiful in favor of the fast and the monstrous -- all you have to do is ask. Make sure you get every last sentence before heading west towards the dock. As to the gumball machine, consider this your one stroke of good fortune for the century -- there's a gumball already sitting behind the metal flap. Head into the snack bar and accumulate a few napkins (I recommend 1 if you're truly brilliant, 5 if you're pretty good, 10 if you've got doubts, and 50 if you're a moron -- I took 50) and some pepper packets. Look at the menu and take your own advice, but don't waste time standing here while your food gets cooked. Head north into the museum (sparse, isn't it?) and touch the display screen a few times to get some New York nostalgia. Hmmm... extraneous details, or a glimpse of things to come? As we'll find out, the phrase "transforming New York" is not nearly as pleasant as it tries to sound. When you're done, you might want to take a peek behind that painting against the wall. Welcome to the golden rule of adventuring -- look at, under, and behind everything. If that's news to you, put away the walkthrough and give it a try. Otherwise, just head north and pick up that funny-looking device. If you take a look at it, you shouldn't have any trouble figuring out what it is (read the label). That's all you'll find in here, so go back to the snack bar and retrieve your fries (yes, they take credit). Another golden rule of adventuring -- don't eat the food unless you have a damn good reason for doing it. Armed with condiments and greasy munchies, it's time to get in line to face the old lady. While you're waiting, you might want to take a look at some of your possessions, particularly the knapsack. You will, eventually, get to the stairs, and I'm sure you know what to do with those. Check out the poem at the top of the pedestal and then, if you're adventurous, climb up the lady's dress. Here you'll find a park ranger and a rumbling noise -- maybe more of a grumbling -- maybe a stomach? Check out the crown if you like (although there's not much to see right now) and then try your luck with the door. Oh, so that's why he's standing there! Give him the fries and you'll be able to sneak past. Now you're in Lady Liberty's torch, and what's with this plaque here? Look at the device. Look at the plaque. Look at the device again. Hell, read the plaque if you like. Red light? Worn metal? Hmmm... are you pondering what I'm pondering? Part Two -- Goats will Eat Anything If you figured out that you need to touch the plaque with the device, then you should be wondering what you might find if you head downstairs again. Actually, I don't think I've ever been in Kansas, but this is definitely not it. There isn't a lot going on here (does that torch bit remind anyone else of Planet of the Apes?), but if you take a look at your watch I'm sure you'll agree that some explanations are in order. Take a walk down the path and then turn east. You can check out the elevated train if you like, but something tells me those subway tokens are just going to get you funny looks from the gatekeeper. Let's take a look around. Heading north of here you'll find another stop on the elevated train and, beyond that, shanty city. If you look around, you're bound to find a goat, and if you want to immediately start losing your possessions, give the goat something to eat. Now undo that, because the second golden rule of gaming is that every minute item probably has a purpose. In fact, you will periodically want to throw in a "put all in sack" so that you don't have to juggle things around so much. If you check out the goat, you'll notice its cute little collar. You won't need that for a while, so you can head back south to check out more of the city (don't worry if the goat eats that scrap of blanket, it really is just a rag). At 3rd and 14th you should go west to investigate that patch of green. I've always been one to recommend playing in traffic, so go west again and then, as long as you're face down in the gutter, peek into the grate. Money is always good (although a nickel won't make you a rich man), and if you enjoy sarcasm I recommend trying to pick it up. OK, so that's a project we'll want to work on. Let's continue southeast (or, if you're the type, head east and then south), where we'll see something not entirely foreign to New York, a drunk guy. Ignore him for now -- head west into the saloon. Free lunch with drink? What a deal! Order a drink, and suddenly that nickel seems a whole lot more important. Before you get too disappointed, you might want to take a look at the table, the plate and the sandwich that awaits you there. Maybe you're not that hungry, after all. The matches might come in handy, though, and just for the hell of it you might want to take a look under that plate. Ah, a vial of chlorosomething hydrowhatever! Who knows, maybe it'll come in handy. Back outside, we continue our tour of 1880 New York by going to the Lower East Side. The pushcart is laden with treasures, all of which are worth taking (try to take each of them if you like), but one in particular should catch your eye. Unfortunately, he doesn't take credit cards, so we'll have to wait on the stopwatch. Let's see what we can find further downtown. It wouldn't be New York without pigeons, and if you want to try to catch this one's attention you'll discover that pigeons aren't all that bright. Ignore it for the moment and head west into Five Corners, where a couple of thugs are busy looking tough in front of that apartment building. Now, a smart person would walk away right now, but remember, you're an adventurer. Go north. Look at the bright side -- at least you've found a new location. In fact, if you'll be so kind as to take a look at that device you're carrying around, you should notice an interesting development. Too bad it's so dark in here... maybe you should light a match? Take another look around, and lots of things are revealed. Hey, maybe this safe is unlocked! OK, maybe not. There's more to see upstairs, so why don't you go upstairs, maybe even up to the second floor. Might I go so far as to call you accident prone? Take a closer look at that broken bit of railing, and with any luck the wheels should start turning. What might this yardstick help us reach? Let's go back to the grate and give it a try. Get the nickel with the yardstick, and... OK, it was a good idea, just poor implementation. What we need is something sticky. Chew on that gumball while you think about it. No, I don't really like banana-lime, either, but maybe we can find someone who won't be so picky. Head uptown and let the goat give it a try. Looks like he's no more thrilled with it than you were. While it's distracted, grab that sporty collar of his. As for the gum, I don't really recommend reaching into the goat's mouth at this point, so maybe a dental instrument would come in handy. OK, maybe a woodworking instrument would come in handy. Now, with our unpleasantly coated yardstick in hand, let's give that nickel another shot. I'll bet all this running around has got you thirsty. Before going to the bar with your shiny new nickel, go east twice and check out the construction site, particularly that unfinished wall. You COULD seal that niche right now, but what would be the point? Better leave it alone and go back to the saloon. Pay for your drink, and take a sip. Aaah, it's Miller time! [No offense to any employees of the Miller brewing company is intended.] You might as well take the lunch, too. You paid for it. It's always a good idea to retrace your steps on occasion just to see if anything's changed, so take a trip back to Lady Liberty, and... hey, it's our drunk friend again! Hey, I'll bet he'll drink this crap. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that even if you stood here, right in front of him, opened that vial, and dropped those crystals of clorowhatever hydrosomething into the drink, he'd STILL drink it (remind you of your old fraternity days?) It doesn't look like he'll be needing that coat anymore (Yeah, it's immoral, but I think you'll eventually agree that the end justifies the means). You know, we never really did make it all the way downtown. Go back to that pigeon and turn southwest. Did you feel guilty about stealing the coat? Redeem yourself -- give it to the panhandler. See? Charity brings great rewards. I know you're thinking "stopwatch" now, but you need those coins for other matters later in the game. In fact, if you want to put the solve away for a while and go see what there is to see on the train, be my guest. If you're starting to discover how unmanageable those napkins can get, pick up an envelope from the Post Office south of here and put the napkins into it. This won't get you any points, but I found that it made my life a bit easier. Well, what haven't we used yet? The sandwich! You can try to eat it if you like, but food like this is really for the birds. Incidentally, that's not just a bad joke, it's a clue. Don't try to hand-feed the pigeon, just drop it. After a few Hitchcockesque moments, you should find a business card with some very interesting scrawls on it. Now before you go blazing into battle, keep in mind that those thugs already roughed you over once. Before you go charging into battle again, maybe you should take those coins to a safe place. I recommend storing them on the table in the Goats, but do NOT just leave them on the floor, or the animal will feast on change tonight. Leave the pan and the yardstick on the table, too, since they can be a little unweidly. Now just fill in the blanks -- go back to the thugs, insult them a bit, ask them about their mothers, or just do what you did last time and try to stroll on past them. Whatever it takes, you'll end up back in the basement where you can dial the combination and open the safe, where you'll find another one of those nifty little plaques. You know the drill. Part Three -- Not all Herrings are Red Just in case you're wondering where you are, check your watch. If you still haven't figured it out, go upstairs, where the adventure continues. There aren't many directions available to you, so I recommend east. Again, our choices are limited, so go uptown where you'll find a deli packed with Yiddish-speaking pickle eaters and a barrel of herrings. Just to ensure you that you're not being jerked around, look at the herrings to confirm that they are indeed worth inspection. Search them, and you will have found a new tool for use in your quest for tiny screws. There's more going on uptown, so explore a bit, read a newspaper, check out the picketers, note that demolished building -- don't you know that building? -- and once you've had your fill of the east side you can head west along 14th street to Union Square. Any minute now, Emma Goldman is going to give a stirring speech on the rights of the American worker, followed by a stirring "Arrest en Masse" by the New York police department. You are welcome, again, to drop the walkthrough now and see a lot more of the world than you bargained for -- after all, at this point you should have a good feeling for how the author's mind works. If you want to see what there is to see, check out the subway station below (you'll have a lot of fun trying to track down a ticket for this guy), or just hang around and get arrested with the rest of the rabble-rousers. However, if you want to stay on track, don't hang around Union Square at all -- just continue toward the west side and into a turn-of-the-century Bloomingdale's. Now, the manager here is a very garullous type as long as you happen to be entering or leaving his store -- he will not, under any circumstances, actually help you buy anything. So when you look at the display case and notice that beautiful hairpin which our vending friend in 1880 would surely love to present to his beatiful wife, you can be sure that no one is going to help you buy it. Not that you could buy it if someone was there, but you'll feel better if you can be huffy about it. I don't recommend waving the hairpin in the manager's face -- just calmly try it on and then walk out. The upper west side has its attractions, as well. If you head north you'll find a fairly unimpressive monument, but if you take a closer look another plaque will reveal itself, and although this one isn't "special" in the sense to which we've become accustomed, you may want to take a peek behind it. Well, look at that, a secret compartment! You should probably bring the bottle with you, but if you try to open it you'll find that such simple tasks are just beyond you. Forget it for now, just continue west and, rebel that you are, climb the fence. You can go ahead and grab the shovel, and if you take a look at that plaque you'll see that it's another one of our favorite objects, with a twist. It doesn't work. You know, I have to wonder if these things work both ways. Let's head back to that dark basement under Mulberry Bend Park and do the time warp again. If we head upstairs, we'll find that we are, indeed, back at the infamous Five Corners. As long as we're here there's some business we can take care of. Go to the vendor and see what he thinks of that hairpin you got for him. Voila, the stopwatch is yours! Play around with it if you like, but it's really just a trinket at the moment. Now let's go to the train station at 42nd and 3rd (you should retrieve the coins from your hiding place of choice first). Give one thin dime to the gatekeeper and continue into the train station, taking the first train that comes along. It's always nice to get out of the city every once in a while, don't you think? Leave the train station and have a look around, particularly to the east. Peaceful scene, isn't it? And aren't you just dying to find out what that cute snuggly fox is trying to dig up? Well, you could just wait around until he finds something, but I think you have a tool better suited to the task. You may have to dig a little deeper to find what you're looking for, but I'm sure you'll be happy with what you find. Part Four -- Robert Moses and the Price of Progress (Incidentally, if you've been following along, you should have exactly half of the points -- again, a good time to break off and do your own thing for a little while) Depending on what version you're playing, Robert Moses may or may not be supervising the Brave New 1954 that he is creating. If you're a Hitchhiker's Guide fan, you may want to pull an Arthur Dent and lie down on the ground -- if you do so, Moses will reveal his presence and will cheerily show you the folly of your ways. This is, after all, what the "undo" command was made for. It's a good thing to try, because it should be made very clear that Robert Moses is not a nice man. Once you're back in one piece, head east to the "abandoned" building, up, and east again (you don't have a lot of choice here). I wish I could tell you how to save the old woman, but it just isn't going to happen except by some far less conventional means. However, if you search through the bits of cracked pottery, you will find something we might be able to use. Leave as soon as you're ready. Or again, stay if you're like me and prefer to die whenever possible. Once you're back in front of the 'dozer, fell free to zap back to more innocent times. With a moment or two to catch your breath, take a look inside the teapot and you'll find a ticket. If you've been spending any time at all wandering on your own, this is where you shout "Praise Jesus" and do a little jig. We're all set to run on back to the future and hop a ride on a 1905 subway, but first let's leave the stopwatch and coins (and the shovel, just to lighten the load) on the goat table for safe keeping -- those thugs are still waiting for us on the other side of the tracks. Once you're back to 1905, run over to Union Square and head down to the subway. If you've done some work on your own at this point you may be arrested in Union Square. If so, don't stress -- you can play around in the other time zones a bit and find your way back through to this point afterwards. Give your ticket to the ticket taker and proceed into the station. Well, this certainly looks like a professional, forward-thinking young man. Take a closer look. It's our good friend Robert Moses, and a glance at those papers under his arm will reveal why he holds them so closely. Remember the old woman who he was about to kill? Grab those papers and hold on tight. The tug of war is a bit of a stalemate, but don't give up yet. Wait until you hear the subway coming. Closer. Closer. Don't shoot until you see the lights ... now! Drop the papers, and you've done it. That shudder is Robert Moses being written out of the history books. My recommendation is to get out of Dodge. Once you've made good your escape, let's find out what kind of damage we've done. Head back to 1880, grab your coins and the stopwatch and catch a train out to the suburbs. Travel on to 1954, and ... everything's different. You've just scored one for cultural preservation, and saved the old woman in the process (well, I told you it would be unconventional). Take a look around and be psyched with yourself before you head west, over the bridge, and then south to catch a baseball game. Well, you can't see much from here, but if you hang out long enough, you'll have the opportunity to catch more than just the game. I wonder what a 1954 baseball would be worth in... oh, say, 2040? Let's find out. First, going back to the 1880, we're going to find a way to get your beautiful stopwatch past those thugs (you don't really need the coins any more, but you can hide them if you like). Again, conventional means won't do the trick. Where can we hide the stopwatch where it will undoubtedly remasin until 1905? Remember that niche we chose not to repair long, long ago? Stick the stopwatch in the niche and then seal it up. Now we can safely pass the thugs and move on to 1905, where, at the corner of third avenue and 14th street, we can search the bricks and find the stop- watch, safe and sound. To move on, all we have to do is get arrested. If you've already played that game, you can do it again fairly simply by trying to beat up the officer who's presiding over the riot scene. However you do it, end up in a comfy cell in The Tombs, and take a peek behind that loose stone. Part Five -- Stocks and Gallows Splash. My recommendation would be to head north onto that island and its lovely gallows. We're coming up on the last few puzzles here, so if you haven't tried it yet, tear up this solution and get to work. If you're in for the long haul, though, wait a little while until the two guys come to, well, hang you. I know it looks bleak right now, but if you take advantage of your surroundings (an idea may appear before your very eyes), you can take these guys out fairly easily. Just grab some sand and toss it in their eyes. Now if you've been here before, and these guys don't fall for it this time, then hopefully you're hearing a sputtering noise. That means you've already picked up the video game in 2040 and can now press play, giving these guys quite a scare. If you've been to 2040 and you don't have the game, then I hope you saved a game while you were there. Anyway, do what you must to distract or drive off the hangmen and commandeer their rowboat. After launching the rowboat, wait around until you pass beyond the marshes into a woody area (it will be the only place where "row boat" actually does anything). Once you've landed, have a look at your surroundings, particularly at the stones. That grey pair looks interesting enough to take with you. When you're done, take a look at the tree and make like a monkey. Well, what have we here? Meanwhile, in the year 2040, your sturdy oak tree has become a much sturdier lamp post. If you head south, you'll find the one true red herring in the game, so I recommend -- well, not heading south, actually. Instead, go east to the barter booth and check your inventory to see what might be valuable. Copper wire, no... empty vial, probably not... hey, how about that mint condition 1954 world series baseball you caught? Put it in the compartment, touch the screen, and take what you're offered. I know, you've seen one personal stasis field you've seen 'em all, but beggers can't be choosers. Head over to the west side and, naturally, drop down into the subway. This subway's really user friendly. Just put your hand on the scanner and off you go! That abandoned station seems interesting, but unfortunately the subway isn't going to stop there. If you look around, you'll probably find something that might force the issue, and if you like you can give it a try. Unfortunately, the subways of the future can recognize an emergency when they see one, so we'll get back to that. Ride the subway out to the suburbs, and then head upstairs to see what the world of tomorrow might look like. OK, so it's kinda drab, but if you head west to that cul-de-sac I guarantee you'll find something cool in the garbage can. Naturally, it wouldn't be in the garbage if it actually worked, but keep that sputtering noise in mind. Now we're ready to check out that abandoned subway station. This time, as you approach the subway station, create an emergency. Mugging yourself is probably not the answer, and a derailment might cause a little more bodily injury than you're looking for. A fire, though -- that you can do. Just pull out your happy little matchbook and... oops! I guess that little swim back in 1780 wasn't too kind to your box of matches. Do you have anything else that might be combustible? Well, the napkins should do the trick, but how to ignite them? Maybe you should give those grey rocks a try. Once you've got the napkin burning, pull the emergency brake and state the nature of the medical emergency. As long as you didn't take too long, you should be broken down right in front of the abandoned station. This place, incidentally, is pretty dirty -- it obviously hasn't been used for quite some time. If you take a minute to clean those signs, though, you should be greeted with yet another nifty little plaque. I'm sure you know what to do. Part Six -- Paradoxes are for Wimps You are SO close to the end, I shouldn't even finish this walkthrough. OK, so do you recognize that sputtering noise? Push play on the Zork generator and some companionship will appear -- don't be too concerned, it's only a hologram of a lurking grue (I recommend playing with this object wherever possible, particularly at the present-day Liberty). After all you've done, maybe now would be a good time to try that plaque on the other side of the fence again. I think these guys have other plans. Unless you want to go back to jail and cycle through the centuries again, hop back over the fence and take a moment to think. You have no weapons, and it's the three of them against one of you. What you need is a companion, and even a holographic one might do the trick. Drop back down into the subway, touch the plaque with the device (sending you back to 2040), and then do it again. Quickly now, while it's still sputtering, hop back over the fence and push play. That did the trick! Unfortunately, the plaque is still broken, but if you put two and two together -- a railroad engineer, a rich investor, an old man reflecting on the way things used to be -- you should come to the conclusion that you are standing at the future sight of Penn station. Oh, reading the sign might do the trick, too. Naturally, since this Penn station will be destroyed some time in the future, this plaque can't possibly take you anywhere! Now, if you checked out any of the items in 2040 -- the red Haring or the white house -- you discovered just what a personal stasis field generator can do. If you're still figuring that out, push the white button for more info. Maybe, if you put the generator on the foundation and push the red button, you can save... no, no, wait. If you set it up NOW, then the station will never be built! What you need is a timing device. Fortunately, you've got one. All you have to do now is connect it. First, tie the copper wire to the protrusion on the stasis field generator. Now just tie it to the stopwatch -- and, of course, there is nothing on the outside of the stopwatch to tie the copper wire to. But what about the inside of the stopwatch? Well, let's open it up. All right, so it's sealed with a bunch of tiny screws. Wait a second, we've got a screwdriver! All we have to do is unscrew the screws and... OK, now this is getting a bit frustrating. How are we going to get this screwdriver cleaned? We've got a bottle of cleaning solution, but when we try to open it, well... I beg you, if you haven't solved a puzzle on your own until now, give it a shot. If this is the only one you solve, you've done a great thing. If you absolutely give up, then read on: You gave up. All right, remember that political button we found on your knapsack, way back at the Statue of Liberty? Unpin it now. I know that all of your stuff just spilled all over the ground, but that's OK. You won't need it much longer. Open the bottle with the button, and you're started. Since the screwdriver won't fit through that tiny hole, you'll have to pour the cleaning solution into another container -- the teapot should do nicely. Now, put the screwdriver in the teapot and in no time at all, the herring brine is history. With the functioning screwdriver you should have no trouble opening the watch, and the copper wire will tie quite neatly to the stopwatch's guts. So, we've got our timing device connected to our stasis field. If you haven't done it yet, put the field generator on the foundation. Now, we can't be sure how long the station will take to build, or when it was torn down (unless you've done as much research as the game's author has, which I have not), but I found that 50 years was a safe guess. Set the years knob (on the stopwatch) to 50, and flip the alarm switch to get it going. Now, just push the red button and make up a password that you feel comfortable with. Another shudder, a subtle change -- hey, is that plaque working now? If so, then you've won. Just use the plaque as you always have, and you should be in the original masterpiece that was Penn station. It really was a beautiful piece of architecture once. Head upstairs, check out that headline, and read the bibliography to tie it all up. Congratulations! If you should find any bugs in this solution, please contact me at russbryan@aol.com to let me know. If you want to contact Neil about how much you enjoyed his game, his address is neild@echonyc.com. This solution is not intended to show you everything the game has to offer, so just because you've completed it doesn't mean you should stop playing. Just as an example, there's a secret casino that we didn't even go to. I recommend betting on the high card.