Game Play Rules and Answers to the Atari SwordQuest Challenge — Earthworld

I was a Senior Copywriter at Atari in the early days of the video game industry. I wrote instruction manuals and packaging copy for several Atari 2600 and Atari 5200 video games. I also worked on special projects, like the Atari Swordquest Challenge, around the same time that I was writing the manual for WaterWorld, one of the games in the four-part SwordQuest series.

For one of the four playoff competitions in the Atari SwordQuest Challenge, I had all of two days to come up with a way to allow a half-dozen contestants to compete in a race to get through all the levels of EarthWorld, a brute-force adventure game that had required gamers to spend weeks of their lives trying to figure out the astronomical permutations regarding which 16 magical objects needed to go into which 12 rooms of the Zodiac at various points in their quest for a magical sword. Atari had sold over 500,000 of these games in a gigantic cross promotion involving DC Comics and the Franklin Mint, and, without clues to guide them through the adventure, only 7 people managed to get themselves invited to participate in the quarter-final playoff tournament. The playoff winner would walk off with a $25,000 prize, as well as earn a chance to compete in the final SwordQuest Challenge for a jewel-encrusted sword worth $50,000.

Since all the rooms in Earthworld were named after the houses of the Zodiac, I wrote a series of arcane clues that directed the keenest reader among the contestants where to place the correct magical objects and race to victory within less than two hours. Essentially, I provided word-clues with an astrological theme to blend aspects of the game's key elements in the context of a puzzle based on the game's theme. As the participants later acknowledged, the arcane word-clues added a twist that elevated the original design of the game to a more entertaining level, while also making it possible for someone to actually solve the game/puzzle in time for the luncheon award ceremonies. I got a nice memo of appreciation from the product manager for making the playoff competition a success, and the whole episode was written up in Atari Life, the Atari employee newsletter.

Of course, while it is not possible to play the limited edition playoff game that was programmed exclusively for the playoff, anyone wishing to try their luck deciphering the arcane clues can do so now by first getting very familiar with both the list of magical objects and the signs of the Zodiac. Your eye-hand coordination won't be tested like it was in the original game play, but at least you might have some fun trying to figure out what magical objects go into what astrological houses —based on the Earthworld play-off word-clues that I wrote for the playoff. Just don't expect a jewel-encrusted sword to be waiting for you if you succeed!

The playoff winner navigated through the puzzle in less than an hour, leaving us all plenty of time to enjoy the luncheon ceremony that followed. How well can you do?

There is a table below the horizontal rule on this page that contains the answers to the Atari SwordQuest EarthWorld playoff. Try not to peek!

Don't scroll down until you're ready. Even one glance ahead of time will spoil your fun.

The table below contains the answers to the Atari EarthWorld SwordQuest playoff rules and clues.

Level	Action Required (Programmer's Handwritten Notes— Object ID Number and Room ID Number)	Action Required (Translation of Programmer's Notes into Earthworld's Magical Objects and Rooms)	Room	Magical Object	Magical Object	Magical Object	Magical Object
1	Walk to Leo Room.	Walk to Leo.
2	7 into 2.	Put Leather Armor in Cancer.
3	14 into 0.	Put Grappling Hook in Virgo.
4	10 into 9.	Put Ring in Sagittarius.
5	3 into 8.	Put Lamp in Capricorn.
6	2 into 3.	Put Amulet in Gemini.
7	9 into 1.	Put Talisman of Passage in Leo.
8	0 into 5 and 11 into 5.	Put Key in Aries, and put Necklace in Aries.
9	13 into 0; 5 into 3; and 6 into 9.	Put Short Sword in Virgo; put Shoes of Stealth in Gemini; put Dagger in Sagittarius.
9	13 into 0; 5 into 3; and 6 into 9.	Put Short Sword in Virgo; put Shoes of Stealth in Gemini; put Dagger in Sagittarius.
9	13 into 0; 5 into 3; and 6 into 9.	Put Short Sword in Virgo; put Shoes of Stealth in Gemini; put Dagger in Sagittarius.
10	4 into 7; 1 into 7; 8 into 7; and 5 into 7.	Put Cloak of Invisibility, Rope, Water, and Shoes of Stealth in Aquarius.
11	12 into 6.	Put Warrior's Sword in Pisces.

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