CUTTHROATS (Infocom) (?)

Complete solution:

Welcome aboard, matey! Dust off your scuba tank, shake out your flippers, and prepare to go treasure hunting. But first, a word from our sponsor. Cutthroats, like most Infocom games, has several solutions. This walkthru will show you one way of completing the adventure. However, there are others, so when you've finished, you might want re-play the game, doing different things, to see if you can come up with another way of recovering the treasures successfully.

Also, you should be aware that you can only recover treasures from 2 of the ships, the Sao Vera and the S.S. Leviathan. The other wrecks are only red herrings, and you don't have to bother with them. Which of the two real wrecks you will dive for depends on the item you are shown by Johnny Red. If he shows you the gold coin, it's the Sao Vera; if it's the dinner plate, then the ship is the Leviathan.

Further, most of your actions up to the dive itself will be pretty much the same, so this section of the walkthru will take you up almost to the dive itself. After that, consult either the Sao Vera section, or the Leviathan section, depending on which ship you're investigating. Ok! The game starts with a long lead in, explaining how you came by the book of shipwrecks. You will have to sit through this on each boot-up; no way around it.

After that, the game really begins, with you lying in bed in your scruffy room at the Red Boar Inn. The first thing to do is stand up, then wind your watch (time is important in the game, and if your watch runs down, you can't keep track of the time). There's a note on the floor. Read that, then open your dresser. Inside are the shipwreck book, your bankbook, and a room key. Get the key, open the door, go out, and lock the door again. You don't want to leave the door open, or the Weasel will come by later and steal the shipwreck book.

If that happens, the game is over before it even starts. You don't need to take the book with you, so locking the door is effective here. Now, go downstairs and out to the Wharf Road. Follow the road East until you get to the Shanty. Enter the Shanty, and you will see Johnny Red and Pete the Rat already there. Sit down and order breakfast, then wait for Weasel to show. Order a glass of water when you get thirsty. While you're waiting, you might want to listen to the parrot.

He doesn't have anything important to say, but you might get a chuckle out of him. Eventually, Weasel will arrive, and Johnny will ask if you're interested in doing some treasure hunting. Say yes, and then Johnny will have you all meet again a little later at the lighthouse, in order to keep McGinty from finding out what you're up to. After that, leave the Shanty, go back West to the end of Wharf Road, and from there Southwest twice and Northwest once, which brings you to the lighthouse.

Now, wait for Pete, who will be the last person to arrive. Once Pete gets there, Johnny will show an object, either the coin or the plate. This indicates which wreck to dive for. After that, he'll give further instructions, which you should read carefully. When he's finished, go back to your room at the Red Boar. Get your passbook. If you're diving for the Leviathan, also get your scuba gear from the closet (scuba gear not needed for the Sao Vera).

Leave the room (lock the door behind you!), and go back out. Walk East along Wharf road to the end, and go Southeast to the Ocean Road. If you're going to use your scuba gear for the dive, go Southwest into the alley, and drop your scuba gear there. You don't want McGinty to see you lugging it around. Follow the Ocean Road south to the end, then go Southwest to the Ocean Road, and North into the bank. Make your withdrawl, then leave and return to Ocean Road, where you go Southeast to Point Lookout.

Drop your passbook here (that Mcginty has sharp eyes, and you don't want him to see you with that, either), and wait for Johnny. When Johnny arrives, show him the money you just took from the bank. He'll be satisfied, and then ask if the wreck is more than 200 feet underwater. Answer yes if it's the Sao Vera, no if it's the Leviathan. The two of you will then head back to International Outfitters to rent a ship and purchase supplies and equipment. McGinty will be in the store when you get there.

However, just wait, and he'll leave eventually. Johnny will make his purchases first, and you will have to chip in some of the cash you're carrying. However, you will have plenty of money left over to buy whatever you need. When it's your turn, buy the flashlight and the shark repellent. If you're diving for the Sao Vera, that's all you need. However, if you are diving for the Leviathan, also buy the following items: C battery, putty, and electromagnet, and also rent the small air compresser (so you can fill your tank).

All these items will be delivered to the ship for you, so you don't have to take them with you. Now, it's time to uncover a little double-dealing. Leave Outfitters, and go back East along Wharf Road to the end, then Southeast again to Ocean Road. Go along Ocean Road to the end, then Southwest to Shore Road, and continue West along Shore Road until you reach the Ferry dock. Wait around.

Soon McGinty will appear, and a short while later, Weasel. The two men will go off to a corner and talk. Then Weasel will hand something to McGinty, and board the Ferry (you can't get on it yourself, but you have other things to do, anyway). Ok, now you've seen that, go back to Ocean Road, and then into the alleyway. The alley runs behind all the buildings, and it will come in very handy! Go West along the alley (pick up your scuba gear if you dropped it here earlier) , until you're standing behind the vacant lot, which is next door to McGinty's.

Wait here, and McGinty will come by, heading from East to West. Continue waiting, and he will soon re-appear, going from West to East (he is walking along Wharf Road, of course). Once you see him the second time, go West once, and you're behind his store. The door is locked, but you can open the window and get through into the place. Here you will find an envelope that proves the Weasel is out to double-cross you all. Get the envelope, then leave by the window.

Go back along the alley to the Vacant lot, then go straight North until you come to the dock where the rental ships are moored. Both ships have approximately the same layout; they are slightly different on the top deck, but below they are exactly the same. Enter whichever ship has been rented for the dive, and go below deck. Then go north until you reach the crews quarters, and hide your envelope under the bed. You don't want Weasel to know you have it (he'll kill you), and if you show it to Johnny now, you'll cancel the expedition.

Now you have to do some more waiting. The delivery boy will come around, and drop off the items you've bought. Then the others will start to arrive. When Johnny comes, go to the Captain's Cabin, and tell him the longitude and latitude of the wreck, which you can easily get by looking at the shipwreck book that came in the game package. Then go back to the crews quarters, and wait some more. Eventually, you'll reach the dive site. At this point, you should now read either the Sao Vera section or the Leviathan section, whichever is applicable.

Ok, so it's time for the Leviathan. Get up, then go North to the storage locker. Here you will find all the things you bought at Outfitters. Put on your wet suit and flippers. Get the drill and the C battery, open the drill, put the battery inside, and close the drill. Get the remaining items, except the compresser. Fill your tank with the compresser, then go South. Along the way, get the envelope from under the bed. Stop in the galley to eat and drink, then continue on South to the Captain's Quarters.

Show Johnny the envelope. That will take care of Weasel! Now go North and up. Put on your tank and mask. Johnny will tell you about the orange line, but for this dive, it won't be needed. You're all set, so dive in! Once underwater, turn on your flashlight, because it's going to get dark pretty soon. Oops! A shark just showed up! Good thing you have the repellent. Open the canister, and the shark will take off. Now, just keep going down until you reach the wreck.

You're on the top deck of the Leviathan, with a hole at your feet. Go down through the hole, to the Middle Deck. Here, you can only go up or down, so go down again, to the Below Decks area. From there, go South, to the room with the closed door. You might want to read the sign on the door before you open it. Once past the door, you're in a mine locker. All the mines are tied down, except for one loose one, floating in front of a hole. Fortunately, you can take care of that problem without difficulty. Touch the magnet to the mine, then turn on the magnet.

Drop the magnet (why that doesn't blow you to bits, I don't know, but that's how it works). Now you can go up through the hole. You're on the Middle Deck again, although a different part of it. The way South is narrow, so remove your tank, then go due South until you come to the room with the safe. This is the tricky part. Turn on the drill, drill the lock, and then *immediately* turn off the drill again. Otherwise, it will burn out, and you'll have a big problem later!

Ok, inside the safe is a glass case containing some valuable stamps. Alas, there is a crack in the case, and water is starting to seep in. However, don't be alarmed; you'll have enough time to fix that. Go back North to the room with the hole in it. Put your tank back on. Go through the hole into the mine locker, then North, then up through another hole. Surprise! This room still has air in it. Good thing, too, because the water level in the case was starting to get too high for comfort! Now, turn on the drill, and drill a hole in the case.

As the water drains out, the drill dies (lasted just long enough). Now, open the tube of putty, and put the glob of putty on the hole. The putty will seal both the hole and the crack. And that's just about it for the Leviathan. All you have to do now is go back through the ship, and up to your own boat, where your comrades are waiting. Congratulations! You're now a very rich diver!

Ok, it's off to the Sao Vera. This one has a few more obstacles than the Leviathan did, but none of them are particularly difficult. The first thing is to get off the bed, and head North to the Storage Locker. Here you'll find the flashlight and repellent, as well as a deap-sea diving outfit. There is also a small machine here, that you won't be needing (it's a locater box. If you really want to fiddle with it, you have to buy a dry cell to make it work).

Get everything but the box, then go back South. Get the envelope from under your bed, stop off in the Galley to eat and drink, then continue on to Johnny's cabin. Show him the envelope, which will put an end to Weasel's double-cross. Now wear the suit and go up on deck. Johnny will be there, and will tell you about the orange line. Keep in mind what he says. If you look around, you'll see a large air compressor, with an air hose. Attach that to your suit, and then turn on the compressor.

You're all set, so dive in! Once underwater, turn on your flashlight. There's that pesky shark again! Open your canister to get rid of it, then keep on going down. It will be a long way down, but you'll get there. Now you're on the top deck of the Sao Vera, with a hole at your feet. Go down the hole. Crash! Looks like the ladder broke. You may have a problem getting back up again! Then again, maybe not. Leave that for now, and make your way South, into the room with the iron bars. Get one, because it will come in handy soon. Then keep going South, until you come to the room with the bunks barring the way.

Move the bunks with the bar, then wedge the bar under the bunks to keep them from moving back. Now you can go South again, to another room, with a ladder leading down. Climb down that one. Oops! Crash again! This time, though, the whole ladder didn't crumble. Still, it's going to be hard to reach it on your way back. No matter, you still have to find tha treasure, so go North. Uh Oh!! There's a giant squid here! Good thing for you it's asleep. And if you're smart, you won't wake it up! So, just go right on by, don't try doing anything to the squid at all.

In the next room is an oak chest, along with a hole in the side of the ship. Leave that for now, and keep going North. In the next room are some skeletons, remains of the crew. Examine them, and you'll see one wears a scabbard. In the scabbard is a sword. Get that, and go North again, to the last room. Here you will find a maple chest. The chest is to heavy to carry, so push it back South until you come to the oak chest (note: you must say 'Push Maple Chest South'). Hmmmm, now, which chest to take? Let's try the oak chest. Push that out West through the hole (carefully! You don't want to cut your air supply!). Wait awhile, and the orange line will appear. Get that, tie it to the oak chest, and tug on the line. The chest will slowly make its way upward, while you return to the ship. Now, push the maple chest south, past the sleeping squid, and south again into the room with the ladder. Climb on the chest, and you'll be able to reach the ladder and climb back up to the middle deck. From there, go North until you reach the room with the cask in it.

Now, push the cask north with you, until you come back to the room with the mast and the rope tied around it. Climb on the cask, then cut the rope with the sword. Drop the sword (you can't leave with it), and then make your way up and out. Once on the top deck, just keep going up until you're back on the boat. The chest will be opened to display hundreds of gold coins. Congratulations, you're now a very rich diver!

THE END!

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