If you have been back to the cloak room and given the attendant his money for cleaning your clothing and have also talked to the chef (again, it sounds like you did because you have the water glass, sandwich, and two pieces of meat), then after that I would suggest that you go back to the cloak room, arm your blade if you haven't already, save your game, and enter the left door.

If this isn't exactly where you are in the game in terms of progress, please let me know.

This is where I am Marian. I will try the cloak room guy again. He's already shot me once for touching stuff too many times. I'll try to figure out what I'm missing there. Thank you for the direction to concentrate on!

Good luck.

Not liking this second half of the game very much. I don't care for the type of gameplay where you are constantly fighting and/or getting killed.

I now have a rifle, ammo, bat, pool stick, hatchet, and scythe. Don't know what to do next though. Thought the scythe might work on the plant but it does not. Nothing works on the bubble things. Nowhere else to go.

Do you still have the meat in your inventory? I hope so.

Ah, I do, and reading that just made me think that bubble thing might enjoy it. The plant doesn't.

I think I'm off to bed for now though.

Thank you so very much!

You're welcome.

Hi Marian,

Dumb question maybe. Do they say how many bullets you need to kill Mr Cain for his book? I killed him with 10 bullets but I needed the gun to kill the janitor so I replayed and used 2 on the janitor and cannot kill Mr Cain with the 8 remaining bullets. Is it just a "skill" thing or does it take a certain quantity? I tried using other weapons but they didn't work.

I am getting fed up with the second half of this game. It is no longer fun to me. I think they ruined it with all of this combat stuff!

And then I had the chess guy's key but the librarian would not recognize it, maybe because I got it before I knew I needed it which stinks because that will require a replay also then.

There are 25 save slots. I am on about 45 already, afraid not to save after every step. I have to watch I don't box myself into a save that I can't proceed from.

Need to leave it be now. Hopefully tomorrow I can try again from a fresher (not so aggravated) state of mind.

Thanks Marian.

It doesn't say how many bullets you need to get rid of Mr. Cain. After you get rid of him, though, the walkthrough says that you can operate the ashtrays for some shotgun shells.

Yes, the latter part of this game looks like a real pain - you have to make saves everywhere, and there is too much combat. I think you have a lot of fortitude for getting as far as you have.

Thank you for the tip about the ashtrays. Maybe I can work on it some more tomorrow.

I very much want to know how the game ends if I can ever get there.

Onward and upward.

Marian - I was able to move forward with the help of the additional ammo. I am in the cave room now where the ceiling keeps crushing me. Just tell me this - is there some way out of this room or did I dead end myself and have to go back to an earlier save? I am now resaving over saves for the 3rd time.

There is something you can do in the cave room to stop the ceiling from crushing you.

Thank you. I hope to give it another go when I'm done reading in here.

Good luck.

Got out of that room right away. I had tried the flags last night but must have done it too late or something because it didn't work but I tried them first again today and it worked.

I'm in with Mr Pottsdam now but this is too draining and I need to quit for the night.

Am I close to the end of the game now?

You're getting there. The walkthrough I am looking at shows seven more sequences to get through (which all look relatively short, nothing too prolonged).

Unfortunately, "nothing too prolonged" probably means having to act faster than I like so I can kill somebody or something to save my own b..t!

I'll work on Pottsdam some more when I get home tonight.

I admire your persistence!

I did it Marian! Finally finished. I didn't appreciate either ending at first after all that action stuff but after replaying both endings a second time, I guess I kind of liked it, but the first and second halves really were like night and day.

Anyway, thank you so much for all the help and encouragement and listening to my griping!

Bravo - that's all I can say. I really admire you for sticking with it. If it were me, I probably would have thrown in the towel.