§17.6. Actions applying to kinds of value

Almost all actions apply to things: the player picks them up, pushes them, looks at them and so on. We only occasionally need to recognise other kinds of value, but when we do, we can. For instance:

Adjusting it to is an action applying to one thing and one number.

Understand "adjust [something] to [a number]" as adjusting it to.

The substitution "[a number]" matches any number (actually any whole number that is not too large) typed by the player. Inform checks the various kinds being used to make sure that everything matches, so, for instance, this would be disallowed:

Understand "adjust [something] to [something]" as adjusting it to.


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arrow-right.pngOnward to §17.7. Understanding any, understanding rooms

paste.png "Safety"

The Vault is a room. "Snug yet paranoid, this represents the state of the art in cheerless security." The Safe is here. "A mammoth safe, with a dial which can spin to any number, has pride of place. It must weigh about the same as a small car, so don't get any ideas." Instead of opening the safe, say "The safe opens only when turned to the correct combination."

In the Safe is a silver florin. The Safe is closed and fixed in place. Understand "dial" as the Safe.

Spinning it to is an action applying to one thing and one number. Check spinning it to: if the noun is not the Safe, say "[The noun] does not spin." instead. Report spinning it to: say "Click! and nothing else happens."

Understand "spin [something] to [a number]" as spinning it to.

After spinning the closed Safe to 1384: now the Safe is open; say "Clonk! and the safe door swings slowly open, revealing [a list of things in the Safe]."

Test me with "open safe / spin safe to 1131 / open safe / spin safe to 1384 / x safe / get florin".

*ExampleSafety
A safe whose dial can be turned with SPIN SAFE TO 1131, and which will open only with the correct combination.

paste.png "Safety"

The Vault is a room. "Snug yet paranoid, this represents the state of the art in cheerless security." The Safe is here. "A mammoth safe, with a dial which can spin to any number, has pride of place. It must weigh about the same as a small car, so don't get any ideas." Instead of opening the safe, say "The safe opens only when turned to the correct combination."

In the Safe is a silver florin. The Safe is closed and fixed in place. Understand "dial" as the Safe.

Spinning it to is an action applying to one thing and one number. Check spinning it to: if the noun is not the Safe, say "[The noun] does not spin." instead. Report spinning it to: say "Click! and nothing else happens."

Understand "spin [something] to [a number]" as spinning it to.

After spinning the closed Safe to 1384: now the Safe is open; say "Clonk! and the safe door swings slowly open, revealing [a list of things in the Safe]."

Test me with "open safe / spin safe to 1131 / open safe / spin safe to 1384 / x safe / get florin".

paste.png "Safety"

The Vault is a room. "Snug yet paranoid, this represents the state of the art in cheerless security." The Safe is here. "A mammoth safe, with a dial which can spin to any number, has pride of place. It must weigh about the same as a small car, so don't get any ideas." Instead of opening the safe, say "The safe opens only when turned to the correct combination."

In the Safe is a silver florin. The Safe is closed and fixed in place. Understand "dial" as the Safe.

Spinning it to is an action applying to one thing and one number. Check spinning it to: if the noun is not the Safe, say "[The noun] does not spin." instead. Report spinning it to: say "Click! and nothing else happens."

Understand "spin [something] to [a number]" as spinning it to.

After spinning the closed Safe to 1384: now the Safe is open; say "Clonk! and the safe door swings slowly open, revealing [a list of things in the Safe]."

Test me with "open safe / spin safe to 1131 / open safe / spin safe to 1384 / x safe / get florin".

*ExampleTom's Midnight Garden
A clock kind that can be set to any time using "the time understood"; may be turned on and off; and will advance itself only when running. Time on the face is also reported differently depending on whether the clock is analog or digital.

**ExampleIbid.
A system which allows the author to assign footnotes to descriptions, and permits the player to retrieve them again by number, using "the number understood". Footnotes will automatically number themselves, according to the order in which the player discovers them.