GANTLET

To run The Gantlet, you must pass through twelve rooms in sequence. There is only one exit from each room. Your challenge is to find each of them.

Maneuver your player (a colored square) through the gantlet by typing U for up, D for down, L for left and R for right. Then respond to the prompt "How Many Steps" with the number of steps you want to take. Watch your player carefully as it responds to contact with the walls and other objects. You can catch subtle clues by noticing the way it moves or reacts.

After you've figured out the secret of each room, see how quickly you can run the gantlet. As you move through the rooms, try to discover the step-saving and time-saving moves that will enable you to move through it more quickly. The computer-displays your time after you exit the last room. Good luck!

SOLUTIONS
(USE ONLY IF YOU GET STUCK)

Please note: The Gantlet is not easy. Therefore, we're providing solutions to all of the rooms but the first. Try to figure out the puzzles one at a time.

Room One is so easy that even the ANTIC staff figured it out. We'll leave this one to you.

Room Two is a bit tricker. First, move down until you hit the bottom wall; continue to move down until you hit the next bottom wall. You'll find yourself back where you started. Next, move up until you hit the top wall, and you'll be in the top left box. Move to the right edge of this box, then move down and hit the bottom wall. Repeat this procedure twice, and you'll find yourself in the right-middle box; at this point, you'll see four boxes enclosed in a golden rectangle. Move to the lower left-hand corner of the bar, and the box, and the way out will become clear.

To find the exit from Room Three, first move down 10, then down 8. Next, move right 18, up 1, and right 3. That's it!

Room Four has an invisible door in the upper half of the right vertical wall. Find it and you will be in the fifth room.

Room Five has open corridors at the top and on either side. Each one leads to a number of rooms. Solve all three and the bottom of Room Five will open.

Room Six is at the end of the left corridor. First hit the green square nearest the entrance, then hit the green square at the far left. It will turn black. Hit it again, then hit the first square once more. A door will open to give you access to the last square. Hit it and exit.

Room Seven is at the end of the right corridor. Hit the red square closest to the bottom of the screen. The entrance door will close, but an invisible door will open in the bottom wall. Hit the bottom wall. Then hit the two squartes twice each in any combination. Hit any wall and your player will appear at the bottom of the screen. Hit the red square again to open the door and exit.

Room Eight, at the end of Room Five's top corridor, contains a maze that appears once every three moves and then becomes invisible. Hit the square at the upper-left corner without hitting the walls. Your player will appear in the upper right corner. Move back out of the maze.

Room Nine at the end of Room Five's bottom corridor, contains two white squares. You have two moves to hit one of them. If you do not, another white square appears. when you've hit all of the white squares another square will appear, blink a few times, and then vanish. You must hit the invisible square within four moves, or it will move to another place on the screen. After you've found and hit the invisible square four times, the door to the next room will open.

Room Ten contains two yellow bars. Hit the right bar either three or four times, then hit the left bar five or six times, and a door will open.

In Room Eleven, there are two light blue squares and two dark brown squares. One of each is surrounded by a green wall. Hit one of the exposed squares, and your player will turn the color of that square. If you hit the blue square, hit the bottom of the wall that surrounds the brown square and you will be given access to the square. Hit it, then hit the other brown square. Next, hit the left side of the wall that surrounds the other blue square. Once you've hit all four squares in any order, a door will open to the last room.

Room Twelve contains two black bars and one yellow bar. Touch the yellow bar and your player will turn yellow. Next hit the left black bar. Notice that the yellow bar drops one space. You must hit the yellow bar before you hit the black bars (each time). Hit the left black bar two more times, a total of three hits. Then hit the right black bar twice. Hit the left bar once, then hit the right bar two more times. Next, hit the left bar twice. By this time, the yellow bar should be in the bottom wall. Hit the left bar once, then hit the right bar once, and the yellow bar will rise, leaving a gap in the wall. Exit from here and your time will be displayed.

Stephen Groll is pastor of the First Baptist Church of Sonoma, CA. He purchased an Atari 400 about a year ago for use as an educational tool and his own amusement. He is a self-taught programmer.

Listing: GANTLET.BAS Download