STRANDED

The Chronicle of the Robinson Family — How to Play

How to begin

Launch the game from the Tronsoft Games library. You wake aboard the wrecked ship FALCON, in the captain's cabin, as the eldest son of a shipwrecked family. The story appears in the central window; read it, then act. Your first task is to salvage what you can and get everyone safely ashore.

New to parser adventures? You never have to guess wording. Every possible action is offered as a labelled button beneath the story — just click. Typing is there if you prefer it.

Controls

Type a command in the input box and press Enter, or click a context-action button. The buttons are grouped into bands — Movement, Objects, Characters, Inventory — and change every turn to match the scene. Press ↑ / ↓ in the input box to recall earlier commands.

Category	Commands	Examples
Movement	N, S, E, W, UP, DOWN, IN, OUT	`north` · `go down`
Looking	LOOK, EXAMINE, READ, SEARCH	`examine chest` · `read log`
Objects	TAKE, DROP, OPEN, CLOSE, USE	`take rope` · `use gourd`
Building	BUILD, LIGHT, FILL, CHOP	`build boat` · `light fire`
People	TALK TO, ASK … ABOUT	`talk to father` · `ask ernst about tree`
System	I, SCORE, HINT, MAP, SAVE, RESTORE, HELP	`inventory` · `hint`

Turn order

STRANDED is turn-based and unhurried. Each world action — moving, taking, using, talking — advances the clock by a few minutes; the status bar shows the turn count and the in-game time, and the days pass as you work. Nothing on the island races against you: there is no timer and no way to trap yourself into an unwinnable state, so explore freely.

Movement

Travel between the island's fourteen locations with the compass directions and up/down. The Location panel (and the Movement band) always lists the exits available from where you stand. Some ways are blocked until you have solved a puzzle — you cannot go below decks without a light, and you cannot leave the wreck until you have built a boat. Press Map at any time to see where you have been.

Scoring

There is no combat. You are scored out of 200 points for salvaging useful things, reaching new places, completing your objectives, and reaching an ending. Your progress, in-game day, and the family's Spirits are shown in the Player panel; type score at any time for a full tally. Ten achievements reward exploration and both endings — some are hidden until you find them.

Winning

The adventure builds to a single choice on Prospect Hill. Once your signal-beacon is burning and a passing ship has seen your smoke, you may:

Signal the ship — be rescued and sail home (the ending Homeward Bound); or
Stay — let the ship pass and make the island your family's own (the ending New Switzerland).

Both are victories. Which is the right ending is entirely yours to decide.

Losing

You cannot die and cannot be stranded forever — the island is a place to solve, not to be killed by. If you are ever unsure what to do next, press HINT for a progressive nudge that runs from a gentle steer to the complete solution for whatever you are currently working on.

Saving & restarting

The game autosaves after every turn. Use the Save button to keep named saves and to restore or delete them. Saves live in your browser on this device. To begin again from the wreck, open Settings → Restart.

An original sound suite plays as you go — interface, movement, and event cues over a low ambient island bed. Ambient sound begins on your first command (a browser rule for audio). Prefer silence? Turn it all off under Settings → Sound.