Pimania

Starting a Game

Pimania is a puzzle game, originally designed to accompany a real-life treasure hunt which tasked players with finding a valuable disk hidden somewhere in the UK.

The game begins with the player standing at the gates of PI, prompted with the phrase ‘A key turns the lock.’ to progress past this message, press CAPS + SYMBOL SHIFT to type the Spectrum PI token, and press Enter on the keyboard to turn the lock.

Gameplay

To move around the world of Pimania, type a number betwee 1 and 12. The direction each key moves the player is determined by their position on a circular analogue clock.

Some rooms contain items - any items in the current room will be listed in its initial description. Type the name of the object into the text prompt to pick it up.

The items you currently have are listed on entry into each room under the text ‘Within easy reach you can see’. To pick up an item, type TAKE, followed by the name of the item you wish to pick up. Some of the items found can be given to the PiMan when he appears.

PiMan Encounters

The PiMan can appear upon entering some rooms, requesting different items be given to him each time. The items required by the Pi Man can be found by exploring different rooms and picking up items.

The PiMan’s mood is displayed when he appears - depending on his mood, he will request different items, giving different gifts to the player depending on the item he receives.

• Hungry

  • Avoid giving him PORK PIES
  • BAKED BEANS
  • TV DINNER
  • CAN OF WORMS

• Scared

  • VALIUM
  • RUBBER DUCK
  • CUDDLY TOY
  • PORK PIE

• Bored

  • Avoid giving him a RUBBER DUCK
  • HULA HOOPS
  • SAXOPHONES
  • POGO STICKS

Interface

1. Area description
2. Items in area
3. Held items
4. Text prompt