In this amusing but very puzzling game, you play as 6-year-old Emma Small. Dad's making dinner and wants you to pick up your toys and find some things for the table before the Taylors arrive. But when you go to fetch the tablecloth, you instead find a handkerchief. What's going on?
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
Note that room names can change based on which furniture they contain:
"Master bedroom" is any room containing the double bed. The bedroom without its bed becomes the "Room with baby blue wallpaper".
"Study" is any room containing the work desk. The study without its desk becomes the "Room with striped wallpaper".
"Sitting room" is any room containing the sofa. The sitting room without its sofa becomes the "Room with light yellow wallpaper".
"Kitchen" is any room containing the kitchen counter. The kitchen without its counter becomes the "Room with off-white wallpaper".
I leave the exercise of figuring out the pecking order of the signature furniture items for another day. It's entirely possible that the size of a signature matters too, after all.
Walkthrough
(prologue)
You are 6-year-old Emma. Dad wants you to pick up your toys.
> 1(say it's boring)
> 4(agree; +1%)
Kitchen
The kitchen also has a counter, fridge, and window.
> x Dad. take truck.(+1%)
> x truck.(has extendable ladder and steering wheel)
> e.
Sitting room
The sitting room also has a window, petunia, table, chairs, and a sofa.
> x fort. in.
Blanket fort
> look through gap. x lions.
> x mic. sing.
> x pillow. sit on pillow. x lava.
> stand. take all.(+1%)
> out.
Sitting room
> take blanket.(+1%)
> x blanket.
> n.
Entrance hall
The entrance hall also has coats and a shelf.
> x calendar.(June 2020)
> n.
Bathroom
This room also has a mirror, toilet, shower, and window.
> x sink. x soap. x sanitizer.
> s. u. n.
Your room
Your room also has a bed, karaoke speaker, and window.
> x dollhouse.(My, that's detailed.)
> x chest.(We'll look at all that later.)
> put truck in chest. put mic in chest.
> put pillow on bed.
> s. s.
Study
The study also has a desk, bookshelf, rolling chair, plant, and window.
> x Mom.(busy and concerned)
> w.
Master bedroom
The bedroom has a bed, vanity, and window.
> put blanket on bed.(Time to report to Dad.)
> e. n. d. s. w.
Kitchen
> talk to Dad.(He asks if you've seen his phone.)
> 1(re dinner)
> 1(re phone: +1%)
> 1(re eggplant)
> 3(re Taylors)
> 2(re toys)
> 1(agree)
Follow Dad as he checks the rooms for toys.
> e. n. u. s. w.(+4%)
Master bedroom
Dad tells you you've done a good job.
> talk to Dad.
> 3(re help)
> 1(re tablecloth)
> 2(re candlestick)
> 3(re vase)
> 4(re flowers)
> 1(re blue)
> 2(assert you'll find blue flowers)
The conversation ends and Dad heads back to the kitchen.
> goals. e.
Study
> talk to Mom.
> 2.(re Dad's phone)
You now hear a faint ringing from the north.
> n. n.
Your room
The ringing is in the toy chest?
> x chest. take wardrobe.(+1%)
> open wardrobe.
> x dollhouse.
> put wardrobe in master bedroom. s. s. w.
Master bedroom
The ringing stopped. If you opened the doll-sized wardrobe, this wardrobe will be open as well.
> x wardrobe. x clothes.(+1%)
> e.
Study
> talk to Mom.
> 2.(re Dad's phone again)
> w.
Master bedroom
> x clothes.(Ringing is from Dad's best jacket.)
> x jacket. look in it.(+2%. You get the phone.)
> x phone. answer phone.
> e. n. d. s. w.
Kitchen
> give phone to Dad.(+2. He thanks you.)
He learns he need eggplant, and puts the phone on the counter.
> talk to Dad.
> 3.(re phone: You get the phone back.)
> play Tetris.
Dad asks if you know where the basil plant is.
> e. n. w.
Laundry room
> x clotheslines. x washer. x dryer.
> open dryer.(+1%)
> take handkerchief. x it.
> e. u. s.
Study
> x enormous plant. smell it.(Smells like basil!)
> n. n.
Your room
> x study. x herb. take herb.(+1%)
> x sitting room. put hanky on dining table.(+3%)
> s. d. s.
Sitting room
> x table. x tablecloth.
> w.
Kitchen
> give basil to Dad.
> z.(+3%. Dad finishes the casserole and puts it in the oven.)
> z.(Dad leaves.)
Follow Dad:
> e. n. w.
Laundry room
> z.(+1%. Dad takes the vacuum cleaner out of the closet.)
> x vacuum.(Dad starts vacuuming.)
> n.
Top of the basement stairs
> turn on switch.(You can't reach it.)
> take shovel.(+1%)
> turn on switch with shovel.(Ack.)
> open cupboard.(+1%)
> take flashlight.
> turn on flashlight.(No light comes out.)
Around this time, Dad finds you and asks if you can guess what he found.
> 2(re noise)
> 1(re find)
> 1(re where)
> 2(ask for it)
> 1(re where exactly)
> 1(re dollhouse)
> 1(bye)
Dad resumes vacuuming and you can now hear a dinosaur stomping around upstairs.
> open flashlight.(Empty.)
> s. e. u.
Landing
> x dino. pet dino.
> w.(You knock on Nolan's door instead.)
> 3(re candlestick)
> 2(re entering)
> 1(re what he's up to)
> 4(re urge to play in another room: There's no TV.)
> 5(bye)
While you are upstairs, the stegosaurus follows you.
> s. w.
Master bedroom
> x vanity. x music box. take it.(+1%)
> play it.(+2%. The stegosaurus likes the music, but it's not loud enough?)
> e. n. n.
Your room
If the stegosaurus knocks these things out of the dollhouse, put them back.
> put phone in master.(+2%)
> take wooden chair. put it in master.
> put music box in master.
> s. w.(+4%)
Now that there's a TV and chair in the master bedroom, Nolan is no longer in his room, and you walk right in.
Nolan's room
> x desk. x computer. x bed. x chair.
> x shelves.(Nolan's impossible bottle is up there, out of reach.)
> x bottle.(Has a ship in it.)
> climb dino. take bottle.(+3%. But something black falls.)
> d. look. x black.(It's a woolly hat.)
> take hat.
> e. s. w.
Master bedroom
> x Nolan. x mechanism.
> turn crank. g. g.
The stegosaurus wants to dance, and although the music is loud enough to annoy Mom, it's not loud enough for the stegosaurus.
> e. n. n.
Your room
> x bed. x Nibbles. take it.(+1%)
> take mic and stand.(+1%)
> drop stand. put mic in stand. plug mic in speaker.
> take mommy doll. take music box.
> put music box on rolling chair.(+2%)
> s. s.
Study
> drop Nibbles. drop hat.
> push rolling chair north.(+2%)
Landing
> push rolling chair north.
Your room
Inside the dollhouse, the toy capybara is now a live hamster, and the woolly hat is now hamster-sized.
> look in dollhouse. take hamster.(+1%)
> take hat. put hat on hamster.(+2%)
> put hamster in cylinder.(The music starts playing.)
> turn on speaker.(+3%)
The music is now quite loud, and the stegosaurus dashes out the room where the music is even louder!
> s. s. w.
Master bedroom (or Room with baby blue wallpaper)
> z.(+3%)
The dancing stegosaurus is too much for the floor, and he falls right through!
> e. n. n.
Your room
> x kitchen. take dinosaur.(+1%)
> turn off speaker.
> take hamster. put hamster on bed.
> look.
Take a few moments to put miniature furniture knocked out of the dollhouse back into their usual places.
Also, return the rolling chair and Mom:
> push rolling chair south. g. n. n.
> take music box. put mommy on rolling chair.
> goals.
Before the stegosaur appeared, you were trying to get into the dark basement. Let's return to that task, but also, let's fix that hole in the master bedroom floor:
> x dollhouse. x hole. x plaque. x hatch. x screw.
> x piece. take it. put it in study.
> s. s.
Study
> drop shovel. take piece.
> n. n.
Your room
There's now a miniature shovel in the dollhouse's study.
> put piece in hole.(+3%)
> take shovel. unscrew screw with shovel.(+2%)
> open hatch. take batteries.(The house's power goes out!)
> put batteries in flashlight.(+1%)
> turn off flashlight.
> s. d. w. n.
Top of the basement stairs
> turn on flashlight. d.(+2%)
Basement
> x cobwebs. e.
Storage room
> x boxes. x machine. x pedal.
> open drawer. x thimble. take it.(+1%)
> w. u.
Top of the basement stairs
> turn off flashlight.
> s. e. u. n.
Your room
> put batteries in hatch. close hatch.
> put bottle in study.
> s. s.
Study
> x bottle. enter bottle.(It's not big enough.)
> x bookshelf. x Mom's book.("The Impossible Bottle")
> s.(You'd fall and probably die? Er, what?)
> n. n.
Around this time, Dad finishes vacuuming and finds you to tell you that he's lost his cufflink.
Your room
> take truck. put truck beside table.
> extend ladder.(+1%)
> s. d. w.
Laundry room
> open closet. x cleaning. x vacuum. open cover.(+1%)
> x dust. x cufflink. x key.
> take cufflink. take key.(+1%)
> close cover.
> e. s.
Sitting room
Well, here goes nothing.
> s.(+1%)
Smooth surface
You've just walked through the open side of your dollhouse onto the table it's on. If you put the fire truck beside the table in your room and extended the ladder there, there's now the top of a ladder here at the south edge of the surface.
> d.(+4%)
Your room (enlarged)
> x bed.(Too far to walk.)
> x truck. enter truck. retract ladder.
> x bed.(You drive there!)
> s. s.
Study (enlarged)
> x bottle.(You drive to it.)
> extend ladder. out. climb ladder. u.
Inside the bottleneck
> x ship. w.(You slip on the floor to...)
Outside the ship
> x ship.("Nelson")
> x stands. x bowsprit. x anchor. x rope.
> climb rope.(Not with inventory!)
> drop all.
> u.(+2%)
Deck
> x crate. x marks.(Crate was dragged.)
> x masts.
> w.(The hefty iron door is locked.)
> e.(The bowsprit wobbles and you return.)
> open crate.(can't)
> push crate.(+1%. You find a trapdoor.)
> x trapdoor. open it. d.
Cargo hold
> x ladder. x can.
> take can.(+1%. When you try, you make a hole in the hull.)
> take can.(+1%. This time, you get it.)
> enter hole.
Outside the ship
> take all. in. u.
Deck
> take rope. swing rope at bottleneck.(Rope is too short.)
> x rope. x windlass. x wheel.
> oil wheel. turn wheel.(+1%. Rope is longer.)
> throw anchor at opening.(+1%. It sticks!)
> e.(Line isn't tight enough.)
> turn wheel.(The rope tightens and the wheel locks in place.)
> e.(+3%)
Inside the bottleneck
You now need to go turn the diary key into the hefty key and return to the ship. If you see Dad on the way, give the cufflink to him. (+2% when you give the cufflink.)
> e. d. n. n.
Your room (enlarged)
> x table. extend ladder.
> out. u. ne. n. u. n.
Your room
> put diary key in sitting room.
> s. d. s.
Sitting room
If you still haven't given the cufflink to Dad, go find him and do that and return here. After you've given the cufflink, Dad will put the cooked casserole on the table and wait here for you to place all the remaining table settings he asked for.
Also, once you've proven you know how to use the truck and its ladder to get around in the enlarged rooms, you don't have to explicitly refer to the truck and ladder any more.
> take hefty key.
> s. d. s. s.
Study (enlarged)
> enter bottle. w.
Deck
> unlock door with hefty key. w.(+2%)
Capatin's quarters
> take candlestick.(+1%)
> take diary.(+1%)
> x diary.(Locked, of course.)
> e. e. d. n. n. u. ne.
Sitting room
> put candlestick on table.(+2%)
> drop hefty key.
> n. u. n.
Your room
> take diary key. unlock diary with key.
> open diary. read it.(+3%. Some forget-me-nots fall out.)
> take flowers.
> put flowers in thimble.(+3%)
> put thimble on dining table.(+2%)
> s. d. s.
Sitting room
Dad is pleased with how you set the table and heads off to shower and change clothes.
> goals.
> x casserole. smell it.
> x vase. x bouquet. x candlestick.
> z. z. z. z.(+1%)
The doorbell rings.
> n.
Entrance hall
> e.(You open the front door. A man has a package for Mom.)
> 1 —or— 2 (+1%)
> x package.(Dad arrives.)
> show package to Dad.
> u.
Landing
Mom arrives.
> show package to Mom.
If necessary, wait for Dad to arrive. Once both Mom and Dad are together with you:
> open package.(+1%)
> 1(Let's eat!)
*** Little does she know ***
> amusing
Extras
Amusing
The response to AMUSING after you've won the game is:
Have you tried...
...redecorating the house to your liking?
...talking to Mom on the smooth surface?
...talking to Nolan after he stops playing Tetris?
...climbing into the musical mechanism?
...playing?
...entering the blanket fort and looking out through the gap?
...licking the batteries?
...locking the bathroom door from the inside?
...jumping down through the stegosaurus-shaped hole?
...reading the text on Mom's computer?
...peeling the vegetables?
Characters
Dad is initially in the kitchen making Grandma's casserole. He first wants you to clean up your things, then find his phone and some basil. Then he wants you to set the dining table with a tablecloth, a candlestick, and a vase of flowers. In the middle of the game, he'll be vacuuming. In the late game, he'll be in the bathroom showering and getting dressed.
Mom is Dr. Felicia Small. For most of the game, she's in the study, talking on her pink phone and using her laptop computer.
Nolan is your big brother. He'll only emerge from his room if there's a big TV and a place to sit watching it.
The hamster is a smaller version of your plush capybara.
The stegosaurus is a larger version of your plastic dinosaur.
A balding middle-aged man delivers a package addressed to Mom.
Mentioned:
Whoever Mom is talking to on her phone.
Cornelia is someone that Nolan loves, according to the diary.
The Taylors arrive at game's end. Mr Taylor is a doctor. Mrs Taylor is a police officer. The boy is about your age and has a puppy. The girl is older and has a fishing rod.
Credits
The response to CREDITS is:
The Impossible Bottle An interactive fiction by Linus Åkesson.
Release 1. Serial number 200928.
Dialog compiler version 0m/01. Library version 0.44.
Written for the 26th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition, IFComp 2020.
Honed and hardened with heaps of help from: Brian Rushton, Mike Carletta, fos1, Hanon Ondricek, Mike Russo, Christopher Merriner, Arthur DiBianca, and Gabriella Åkesson.
In this story, you may come across quoted lyrics from songs by Robert Wells and Pete Seeger. There's also a mangled quote from the opening of Andrew Plotkin's “Freefall”.
Type help for game-specific instructions.
Inventory
In this listing, I will group all versions of an item together, whether portable or not. The versions listed in boldface are portable; the versions listed in italics are not portable.
an oversized version of Dad > Dad > a daddy doll > a really tiny daddy doll.
Dad's initially in the kitchen, and the daddy doll is the dollhouse's kitchen.
You can leave this doll alone.
an oversized version of Mom > Mom > a mommy doll > a really tiny mommy doll.
Mom's in the study, and the mommy doll is in the dollhouse's study. Both are on a rolling chair.
When you need to use the rolling chair, take the mommy doll. Put her back into the study when you're done with the chair.
an oversized version of Nolan > Nolan > a teenager doll > a tiny teenager doll.
Nolan will appear in the master bedroom after you've convinced him to leave his room by putting a TV and a chair into the master bedroom. The teenager doll appears in the dollhouse's master bedroom at the same time.
You can leave this doll alone. What's important is that you can now enter Nolan's room when he's not there.
a gigantic plush capybara > Nibbles > a hamster > a microscopic hamster.
Nibbles is a plush capybara on your bed.
Shrink Nibbles into a hamster. Put the hamster-sized woolly hat on the hamster to muffle its ears. Put the hamster into the cylinder of the large musical mechanism. The hamster will run in the cylinder and make the mechanism play music! If the mechanism is in your room and the microphone is set up to amplify the music, then the stegosaurus runs off to the master bedroom where the music is the loudest.
a gigantic stegosaurus > a stegosaurus (or a sleeping stegosaurus) > a plastic dinosaur > a tiny plastic dinosaur.
At some point, you'll talk to Dad and he'll tell you that he found a plastic dinosaur and put it into your dollhouse. Of course, the stegosaurus is now stomping about upstairs and, annoyingly, never in the master bedroom or study when you're in your room, so you can't just take the plastic dinosaur from the dollhouse to stop it.
Oddly, no one else seems to see the stegosaurus.
Whenever the stegosaurus is in your room, he will start to knock stuff out of your dollhouse onto the floor.
When in Nolan's room, climb up the stegosaurus and take the impossible bottle from the high shelf.
You need to get the stegosaurus to dance in the master bedroom by playing amplified music upstairs. Put the microphone stand in your room. Put the mic in its stand. Plug its cable into the speaker. Push the large musical mechanism on the rolling chair into your room. Put the hamster-sized woolly hat on the hamster, put the hamster into the mechanism's cylinder, then turn on the speaker. Go to the master bedroom; the stegosaurus, after a couple turns dancing there, falls through the floor. Quickly grab the plastic dinosaur from the dollhouse's kitchen. Repair the hole in the floor with the enlarged puzzle piece.
Pick up everything knocked out of the dollhouse and put it all back where it belongs. Put the mommy doll back in the dollhouse's study too.
If you encounter the stegosaurus again, he'll now be sleeping.
Electronics
Note that you can't get the laptop computer in the study at all. Mom wouldn't like it if you took the laptop, and the miniature laptop computer is glued to the miniature work table.
a ludicrously large microphone > an oversized microphone > a microphone > tiny microphone.
The microphone is inside your blanket fort in the sitting room. Drop the mic in your room as part of the cleaning up task at the start of the game.
In your room, take the stand out of the toy box and drop it. Put the mic in the stand's clamp and plug the mic's cable into the speaker's jack. Now you can turn on the speaker and use the mic; see music box.
Note that once you've set up the microphone and its stand, you'll be unwilling to move them again.
a ridiculously large TV > a TV > Dad's phone > a tiny black phone.
You know that Dad has lost his phone after you talk to him about it. Ask Mom about Dad's phone and she'll use her phone to call it. You'll hear ringing coming from the doll-sized wardrobe in the toy chest in your room!
Put the doll-sized wardrobe in the dollhouse's master bedroom. There will now be a wardrobe in the real master bedroom. Open the wardrobe and look in Dad's best jacket to find Dad's phone. Note that you won't find the jacket unless the phone is ringing, so if the ringing has stopped, go ask Mom again about Dad's phone.
In the kitchen, give the phone to Dad. He'll use it and put it down on the counter. Talk to Dad and ask for the phone to get it back.
You can play Tetris on Dad's phone, if you like.
Put the phone in the dollhouse's master bedroom. There's now a huge TV in the master bedroom! After you put a wooden chair in that room as well, Nolan will leave his room to play games on the TV.
a ludicrously large flashlight > an oversized flashlight > a flashlight > a miniature flashlight.
The flashlight is in the cupboard at the top of the basement stairs.
Open the flashlight. Put the batteries in it. At the top of the basement stairs, turn on the flashlight. Now you can visit the basement and storage room.
two ludicrously large batteries > two oversized batteries > two batteries > two tiny batteries.
The batteries are inside a hatch of the dollhouse. Unscrew the screw (of the hatch) with the miniature shovel.
Note that when you take the batteries, the main house's power goes out!
Put the batteries into the flashlight so you can use its light to see in the basement and storage room.
When you're done using the batteries for the flashlight, put them back in the dollhouse's hatch and close the hatch to restore power to the main house.
Furniture
Note that when the stegosaurus is stomping about in your room, he might easily knock any or all of the furniture out of the dollhouse. After you've dealt with him, you should put all the miniature furniture back where it belongs.
a gigantic wardrobe > a wardrobe > a doll-sized wardrobe > microscopic wardrobe.
The doll-sized wardrobe is in the toy chest in your bedroom.
Put the doll-sized wardrobe into the dollhouse's master bedroom.
In the real master bedroom, after Dad has told you that he lost his phone, ask Mom about Dad's phone so she calls it from her phone and Dad's phone starts ringing. The doll-sized wardrobe will ring until you put it into the dollhouse, then the real wardrobe is ringing. Open the wardrobe and examine the clothes to discover that Dad's best jacket is ringing. Look in the jacket to find Dad's phone. If the ringing stops before you find the phone, ask Mom to call it again.
a very large vanity > a vanity > a little vanity > a microscopic vanity.
The vanity is in the real master bedroom, and the little vanity is in the dollhouse's master bedroom. Both have working drawers, and both have a version of the music box on them.
a huge double bed > a large double bed > a miniature double bed > a grain-sized double bed.
The large double bed is in the real master bedroom, and the miniature double bed is in the dollhouse's master bedroom.
You should put the blanket back on the real bed when cleaning up at the start of the game.
Note that the double bed is what makes the master bedroom the "Master bedroom". Room names can change based on which furniture is in them.
an incredibly tall bookshelf > a bookshelf > a miniature bookshelf > very tiny bookshelf.
The real bookshelf is in the real study, and the miniature bookshelf is in the dollhouse's study.
You should examine the boring books and Mom's book that are on the real bookshelf.
a very large rolling chair > a rolling chair > a little rolling chair > microscopic rolling chair.
Mom's sitting on the rolling chair in the real study, and the mommy doll is sitting on the little rolling chair in the dollhouse's study.
After taking the mommy doll, the rolling chair is unoccupied and you can now push it from room to room without Mom rolling the chair back to the study.
In your room, put the music box on the little rolling chair. Then push the rolling chair from the real study into your room so the large musical mechanism is now there.
When you're done with the music box and the rolling chair, you should push the rolling chair back into the study and put the mommy doll back in the dollhouse's study.
a huge work desk > a flimsy work desk > a miniature work desk > microscopic work desk.
The flimsy work desk is in the real study, and the miniature work desk is in the dollhouse's study. A version of the laptop computer is on both.
Note that the work desk is what makes the study the "Study". Room names can change based on which furniture is in them.
a gigantic refrigerator > a refrigerator > a miniature refrigerator > a microscopic refrigerator.
The refrigerator is in the real kitchen, and the miniature refrigerator is in the dollhouse's kitchen.
There's some cake in the real fridge, but you won't take it.
an oversized kitchen counter > a kitchen counter > a miniature kitchen counter > a microscopic kitchen counter.
The kitchen counter is in the real kitchen, and the miniature kitchen counter is in the dollhouse's kitchen.
Note that the kitchen counter is what makes the kitchen the "Kitchen". Room names can change based on which furniture is in them.
six huge wooden chairs > six wooden chairs > six miniature wood chairs > six microscopic wooden chairs.
The actual chairs are in the real sitting room. The miniature wood chairs are in the dollhouse's sitting room.
Move one of the miniature chairs to the dollhouse's master bedroom. When both a chair and the TV are in the master bedroom, Nolan will leave his room to play games on the TV.
a ludicrously large dining table > a dining table > a miniature dining table > a microscopic dining table.
The real table is in the real sitting room, and the miniature dining table is in the dollhouse's sitting room.
Dad wants you to prepare the table by putting a tablecloth, a vase of blue flowers, and a candlestick on it. (Actually, you're the one who insists the flowers should be blue.) Finding and placing these items is the main task of the game.
a huge sofa > a sofa > a cute little sofa > a microscopic sofa.
The sofa is in the real sitting room, and the cute little sofa is in the dollhouse's sitting room.
Note that the sofa is what makes the sitting room the "Sitting room". Room names can change based on which furniture is in them.
Gewgaws
a gigantic musical mechanism > a large musical mechanism > a music box > a tiny music box.
The music box is on the vanity in the real master bedroom, and there's a tiny music box on the little vanity in the dollhouse's master bedroom.
To move the rampaging stegosaurus to the master bedroom, you must have loud music playing upstairs. You should first set up the microphone on its stand in your room and plug the cable into the speaker.
After taking the mommy doll, put the music box onto the little rolling chair in the dollhouse's study. Then go to the real study and push the rolling chair (with the large musical mechanism on it) into your room.
Put the hamster-sized woolly hat on the hamster, and put the hamster into the mechanism's cylinder. The hamster will run on the cylinder and the music will play.
Push the button on the speaker to amplify the music. The stegosaurus will go to the master bedroom where the music is loudest and it will fall through the floor into the kitchen! Quickly grab the plastic dinosaur from the dollhouse. Once you have the stegosaurus, you should put everything back where it belongs and repair the hole in the dollhouse with the enlarged puzzle piece.
Note: You can enter the gigantic musical mechanism and run to play music. You may want to wear the woolly hat while doing that. Just remember to extend the ladder of the fire truck so you can reach the cylinder.
an enormous impossible bottle > an oversided impossible bottle > an impossible bottle > a microscopic impossible bottle.
The impossible bottle is on a high shelf in Nolan's room. You can reach it by climbing the stegosaurus. Put the bottle into the dollhouse's study; now you can enter the enormous impossible bottle in the enlarged study. You'll have to extend the ladder of the fire truck, of course, to reach the bottle's neck.
Note that you may not take any of the plants from the window sills: the yellow primrose in the master bedroom, the reddish purple geranium in the study, the crimson red begonia in the landing, the white petunia in the sitting room, and the fern in the kitchen. None of these window plants are represented in the dollhouse either.
an enormous money tree > a huge potted plant > a small potted herb > a microscopic potted herb.
The potted plant is in the real study, and the small potted herb is in the dollhouse's study.
Smell the herb; this is basil. Give it to Dad in the kitchen.
some horrifyingly large flowers > an oversized bouquet of flowers > a bouquet of flowers > some pressed forget-me-nots > a microscopic bundle of blue flowers.
Either put the forget-me-nots in the thimble or put the bouquet of flowers in the vase.
Other cloth goods
an oversized blanket > a blanket > a scrap of felt > a tiny bit of fluff.
The blanket forms the roof and walls of your blanket fort in the sitting room. Just take it to the master bedroom and put it back on the bed there where it belongs.
BUG: Either there ought to be an even larger version of the blanket, or you shouldn't be allowed to put the blanket into the dollhouse.
a huge pillow > a pillow > a doll-sized pillow > a microscopic pillow.
The pillow is inside your blanket fort in the sitting room. Just put it back on your bed in your room.
a vast tablecloth > a tablecloth > a handkerchief > microscopic hankerchief.
The handkerchief is in the dryer in the laundry room.
Put the hanky on the miniature dining table in your dollhouse's sitting room; a tablecloth will appear on the dining table in the real sitting room.
an enormous woolly hat > an oversized woolly hat > a woolly hat > a hamster-sized woolly hat > a microscopic woolly hat.
The woolly hat falls onto the floor in Nolan's room when you take the impossible bottle.
Put the hamster-sized woolly hat on the hamster so it won't hear loud noises or be upset by them.
Note that although the oversized hat is described as tent-like, you can't enter it.
Other metal goods
a big fire truck > a fire truck.
This toy is in the kitchen. Take it to your room, put it by the table, and extend the truck's ladder. Now you'll be able to reach the expanded version of your room by going through the south wall of either the kitchen or the sitting room, then down the ladder.
Note that the toy truck is too big to put into the dollhouse.
You can drive the big truck to get around within an enlarged room or to go to other enlarged rooms, but just upstairs.
a huge microphone stand > a microphone stand > a miniature microphone stand > a very tiny microphone stand.
The microphone stand is in the toy chest in your room.
Put the stand in your room, put the microphone's cable in the speaker's jack, and put the microphone in the stand's clamp. Now you can turn on the speaker and make any music in your room much louder; see music box.
Note that once you've set up the microphone in its stand, you'll be unwilling to move them again.
an enormous shovel > a shovel > a miniature shovel > a microscopic shovel.
The shovel is on a hook at the top of the basement stairs.
Try to turn on the basement light switch with the shovel.
The dollhouse has a hatch held shut with a screw. Unscrew the screw with the miniature shovel. The batteries are inside the hatch.
a huge tin bucket > an oversized tin vase > a tin vase > a thimble > a microscopic thimble.
The thimble is the drawer of the antique sewing machine in the storage room.
Put the thimble on the miniature dining table. A tin vase appears on the dining table in the real sitting room.
a ludicrously large cufflink > an oversized cufflink > a cufflink > a microscopic cufflink.
The cufflink is inside the vacuum in the laundry room's closet after Dad finishes vacuuming. Just give it back to Dad.
an oversized iron key > a hefty iron key > a diary key > a microscopic key.
The diary key is inside the vacuum in the laundry room's closet after Dad finishes vacuuming. The diary key unlocks the diary.
The hefty key unlocks the door to the captain's quarters.
a large anchor (attached to a rope).
You first see the anchor when outside the ship, but you can't do anything with it there.
When on the deck, take the rope to pull up the anchor.
When on the deck, examine the rope to notice the windlass and wheel. Examine the wheel to learn it's rusty.
Oil the wheel (with the oil can) and then turn the wheel to lengthen the available loose rope.
Throw the anchor at the opening to hook the anchor there, then turn the wheel again to tighten the rope. Congratulations, you can now escape the enormous impossible bottle by traveling on the taut rope.
an oversized oil can > an oil can > a microscopic oil can.
The oil can is in the cargo hold. The mere act of taking it opens a hole in the hold.
On the deck, oil the wheel of the windlass with the oil can.
an absolutely huge candlestick > a very large candlestick > a candlestick > a miniature candlestick > a grain-sized candlestick.
The candlestick is in the captain's quarters.
Put the candlestick on the dining table in the real sitting room.
Other paper goods
an enormous puzzle piece > an enlarged puzzle piece > a jigsaw puzzle piece > microscopic puzzle piece.
The jigsaw puzzle piece is in the toy chest in your bedroom.
After the stegosaurus falls through the floor of the master bedroom, repair the hole by putting the enlarged puzzle piece into the corresponding hole in your dollhouse.
a ridiculously large diary > an enlarged diary > a diary > a miniature diary > a microscopic diary.
The diary is in the captain's quarters. Unlock it with the diary key. Read the diary and take the forget-me-nots that fall out.
Note that, of course, you can unlock the enlarged diary with the hefty key. However, the cover is too bulky to open and close at this size.
a brown paper package.
Several turns after you set the table and Dad begins his shower, the front doorbell rings. When you open the door, a man gives this package to you.
It's addressed to Mom. Dad says it's actually for you, but to open it in front of Mom, and Mom says to open it in front of Dad. So open it in front of both of them.
Progress
The response to SCORE or PROGRESS is:
Your current progress is percentage.
As best as I can determine*, progress percentages are awarded as follows:
1% for agreeing to put your toys away. (1% total)
1% for taking the fire truck for the first time. (2% total)
1% for taking the microphone for the first time. (3% total)
1% for taking the blanket for the first time. (4% total)
1% for agreeing to find Dad's phone. (5% total)
4% for Dad verifying that you've cleaned up your toys. (9% total)
1% for taking the miniature wardrobe for the first time (10% total)
1% for examining the clothes in the real wardrobe for the first time (11% total)
2% for finding Dad's phone. (13% total)
2% for giving Dad's phone to him. (15% total)
1% for opening the dryer, seeing the handkerchief for the first time. (16% total)
1% for taking the small potted herb (basil) from the miniature study. (17% total)
3% for putting the hanky on the miniature dining table. (20% total)
3% for Dad putting the casserole into the oven, a delayed consequence of giving the basil to Dad. (23% total)
1% for Dad taking the vacuum cleaner out of the closet. Possibly this is actually for seeing the vacuum for the first time. (24% total)
1% for taking the shovel for the first time. (25% total)
1% for opening the cupboard at top of the basement stairs, seeing the flashlight for the first time. (26% total)
1% for taking the music box for the first time. (27% total)
2% for playing the music box for the first time. (29% total)
2% for putting the phone in the dollhouse, making it a TV. (31% total)
4% for entering Nolan's room for the first time. (35% total)
3% for taking the impossible bottle off the high shelf. (38% total)
1% for taking Nibbles for the first time. (39% total)
1% for taking the microphone stand for the first time. (40% total)
2% for putting the music box on the miniature rolling chair. (42% total)
2% for pushing the rolling chair to another room for the first time. (44% total)
1% for taking the hamster for the first time. (45% total)
2% for putting the hamster-sized hat on the hamster. (47% total)
3% for amplifying the music generated by the large musical hamster-powered mechanism. (50% total)
3% for the dancing stegosaurus crashing through the floor of the master bedroom and falling into the kitchen. (53% total)
1% for taking the plastic dinosaur for the first time. (54% total)
3% for repairing the hole in the floor with the enlarged puzzle piece. (57% total)
2% for unscrewing the screw with the miniature shovel. (59% total)
1% for putting the batteries into the flashlight. (60% total)
2% for entering the basement for the first time. (62% total)
1% for taking the thimble for the first time. (63% total)
1% for extending the ladder of the toy fire truck the first time. (64% total)
1% for opening the cover of the vacuum cleaner for the first time. (65% total)
1% for taking the diary key for the first time. (66% total)
1% for visiting "Smooth surface" for the first time. (67% total)
4% for arriving at the enlarged "Your room" for the first time. (71% total)
2% for entering "Deck" for the first time. (73% total)
1% for pushing the crate, revealing the trapdoor. (74% total)
1% for creating a hole in the wall of the cargo hold. (75% total)
1% for acquiring the oil can. (76% total)
1% for turning the wheel, making the rope longer. (77% total)
1% for hooking the anchor at the opening of the bottle. (78% total)
3% for reaching "Inside the bottleneck" from "Deck", via the tightened rope. (81% total)
2% for giving the cufflink to Dad. (83% total)
2% for unlocking the door to the captain's quarters. (85% total)
1% for acquiring the candlestick. (86% total)
1% for acquiring the diary. (87% total)
2% for putting the candlestick on the dining table. (89% total)
3% for reading the open diary. (92% total)
3% for putting the forget-me-nots into the thimble. (95% total)
2% for putting the thimble on the miniature dining table. (97% total)
1% for the doorbell ringing, several turns after completely setting the dining table. (98% total)
1% for acquiring a package. (99% total)
1% for opening the package in front of Mom and Dad. (100% total)
* Unfortunately, there is no NOTIFY ON command to inform you when exactly you earn progress, but there is an ASCII art progress bar at the right end of the status line that gives a rough idea of your progress. (I note that the Dialog library does contain a NOTIFY ON command, but either it's new to the library or it was disabled for this game for some reason.)
Size-changing methods
To make something bigger:
Put it in one of the dollhouse's rooms. The larger version will be in the corresponding normal room.
Put it in one of the normal upstairs rooms. The larger version will be in the enlarged version of that room.
Make something doubly-larger by combining the two above methods simultaneously: put something in either of the dollhouse's upper rooms (master bedroom or study) and find the doubly-large version in the corresponding enlarged room.
To make something smaller:
Put it in one of these four normal rooms: kitchen, sitting room, master bedroom, or study. The smaller version will be in the dollhouse's version of that room.
Put it in one of the five enlarged rooms. The smaller version will be in the normal version of that upstairs room.
You can make something doubly-smaller by combining the two above methods simultaneously: put something in the enlarged version of the master bedroom or study and find the doubly-small version in the corresponding dollhouse room.
Note that you can't take objects that are too big or too small, but you might still be able to interact with the object in some other way.
the support of Robin Johnson, Ville Lavonius, Andrew Schultz, Kenneth Hon, Carl Muckenhoupt, Mark Musante, Phil Tatro, Mitch, Astringer, and Vivienne Dunstan;
the generous support of Janice M Eisen and Matthew Foxley;
