GUIDE FOR BILBO

I have always found that The Hobbit stands alone above all other adventures, in the degree of difficulty I have answering readers letters for help. Despite having a check list of many tips, I find myself struggling to answer some of the questions I receive. Other adventures have a set answer to a given problem - Hobbit problems have different solutions according to the circumstances of the game.

Hobbit players will be delighted, then, to hear that there is now a book available to help them in their quest, A Guide to Playing The Hobbit, by David Elkan, takes the Hobbit player through the adventure at three different levels.

The first part of the book, entitled Through the Green Door, explains Inglish Language, gives advice collecting treasures a describes doors a passageways, a characters encountered in the game. There are also tips on mapping and scoring.

Part two is a Hobbit Helpline and divides the game up into seven sections, such as The Goblins' Caves and The Liven King's Halls. Each section is introduced with a general discussion on tactics and objectives, followed by a number of tips categorised as HELP, HINT, FURTHER HINT and EXTRA HINT. The last two levels of hint are written in a simple code and give fairly direct clues. The aim of the section is not to give a solution, but to help the reader help himself through the game.

The final part the book goes through the game location by location (there are 50 in all), with a detailed commentary on what to do, what might happen and how the player should proceed. By following this section, the player should no doubt able to complete the game without too much difficulty.

Having perused the book very thoroughly. I decided to put it to the test, and what better way to use it, rather than take me through the game, but to answer some the varied Hobbit problems of writers to the Adventure Helpfine?

The exercise proved invaluable, allowing me to give far clearer answers very quickly. Although not overlong - some 60 pages in all - the book is logically arranged, written in a clear, easy to follow style and being the perfect companion to the game, should belong the bookshelves all Hobbit players.

A Guide to Playing The Hobbit, by David Elkan, is published Melbourne House at the modest price of £3.95.

HELP ON THE HOBBIT IS AT HAND

PRICE: £3.95
SUPPLIER: Melbourne House Publishers

If you've had enough of blundering aimlessly along the dark stuffy passages of the Goblin's Dungeon or being killed by loathesome creatures in the early stages of the Hobbit, then this book by David Elkan may be just what you need.

It's divided into three sections, each of which is slightly more revealing. The first is a general introduction, with strategies and hints on mapping, the rules of Inglish and so on. Much (though not all) of this is also contained in the instruction booklet provided with the game and should be familiar to you.

The next section though is rather more useful. It offers a sample route while expanding on the hints already available with the HELP facility and providing them when there are none in the game. Extra hints are coded, but it's tempting to jump straight to the last section where complete solutions are given.

The final section describes all locations in alphabetical order, listing visible exits and guiding you painlessly through every conceivable hazard.

If you follow the recommended route, checking the visible exits before going into them, you'll avoid the worst of the pitfalls, which all too frequently bring the game to an abrupt end.

Fortunately the Hobbit is not a fixed adventure with only one solution so the book does not spoil the fun of playing it. There remains an element of uncertainty and sometimes you won't be able to do what the book advises. I've been captured in the most unlikely places and frequently ignored by those who are supposedly my allies. On one occasion I had to make do without Bard who ought to have slayed the dragon, but must have decided he didn't like the idea because he made off in the opposite direction and never returned.

But it was the goblins' caves in which I found the most tantalising problem of the game, and here the book proved to be invaluable. But there's one dilemma: you're specifically advised not to wear the ring until you are clear of the caves, so that Thorin doesn't lose you and yet, if you don't you're recaptured time and time again. I decided to wear it, and, while I lost Thorin for good, I nevertheless succeeded in raising my score from a mere 20% or so to 72.5%.

I did come across one error. In the route from the dark winding passage to Beorn's house the second direction is given as 'down' whereas the game tells you that you can't go down. The result was that I got hopelessly lost and had to start all over again.

What the book cannot do is to predict which way the game will proceed each time you play it. You must be continually alert to the dangers and may have to abandon some suggestions, but it's still a real boon for anyone who feels lost in the early part of the game, as the dramatic increase in my own score shows. Copyright: John Fraser.

HOBBIT HABIT

Probably the most frequently written about or discussed or discussed (and cussed) program is the Hobbit from Melbourne House.

Quick to recognise a good thing they have now published a book called "A Guide to Playing the Hobbit" by David Elkan at £3.95. Although only a slim volume it contains much valuable information information and, such is the nature of the program, the solution given is only one of many and Melbourne House emphasise that it is not THE solution.