Launch the game from the Tronsoft Games library. You begin on the Windswept Moor beside a lamplighter and a signal fire. Read the story window, then act: type a command at the prompt and press Enter, or click any button beneath the story. Every button is a complete composed command with a typed equivalent.
| Category | Commands | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Movement | N, S, E, W, UP, DOWN | NORTH · GO DOWN |
| Observation | LOOK, EXAMINE, SEARCH, READ | EXAMINE CRATE · SEARCH |
| Objects | TAKE, DROP, OPEN, USE | TAKE LAMP · USE ROPE |
| People | TALK, ASK | TALK TO LAMPLIGHTER · ASK WARDEN ABOUT CROWN |
| System | INVENTORY, SCORE, MAP, JOURNAL, QUESTS, HINT, SAVE, RESTORE, RESTART | SAVE vigil-1 |
The game is turn-based and waits for you. Each action advances the turn counter; nothing happens between your commands. After every turn the context-action bands beneath the story recompose to show what is possible right now: Movement from the room's exits, Objects from what you can see, Characters from who is present, Inventory from what you carry.
The LOCATION pane lists the current room and its exits; click an exit button or type its direction. Some ways are gated: the stair below the moor needs a light, the vault needs a key, the chasm needs a secured rope, and the last door needs something graven. If a passage refuses you, it tells you why — that refusal is the puzzle.
The game scores 100 points: points for each significant object the
first time you take it, and a final bonus at the coronation. The
PLAYER pane tracks Score, Lamp, and Regalia at all times. Five
achievements (two hidden) and an optional side quest reward thorough
delving — try SEARCH in likely places.
Recover the three regalia — the graven seal, the ashen cloak, and the warden's staff — carry all three to the Warden's Antechamber, speak with the Deepwarden, use the seal on the slate door, and take the Sunless Crown. A perfect run scores 100 points in about 34 moves.
You cannot die and no state is unwinnable. The only way to lose is to turn back — and the fire on the moor was lit for you.
SAVE <name> and RESTORE <name>
manage named saves in your browser's local storage; the Save button in
the quick row opens the Save Manager. RESTART begins the
vigil again. If you stall, HINT serves seven staged hint
levels, from a nudge to the full walkthrough.