INTRODUCTION Playing this game will take you through a year in the life of Adrian Mole. When you have loaded the first part of the game, following the instructions below (under the heading Using the Program), you will see that as you progress through the days in Adrian's diary you will be asked to make choices for Adrian. Press a number from 1 to 3 to choose one of the options suggested. Pressing key number 4 will display the command and help system menu. This gives a list of the additional features in the game and full instructions on how to use them. THE GAME Adrian is a worrier. The problems of existence hit him hard. Spots, bits of him that won't keep still, the cracks in his parents' marriage, all prey heavily on his mind. There are some consolations. A fourteen-year-old feminist, an eighty-nine-year-old chain smoker and his spoilt best friend all help to lift the gloomy introspection of Mole's moods. Mole believes he is an intellectual. He is dogged by ill-health as well as by an infuriatingly ever-present pet dog, and by a catalogue of misfortunes familiar to anyone over the age of thirteen. The aim of the game is to make Adrian as popular as possible with everyone - family, friends, and the dog! At regular points in the game your score will appear on the screen to indicate how well you are doing. (You can aim to make Adrian as unpopular as possible and see how low a score you can achieve!) The results of your actions may not be immediately obvious. It won't necessarily pay to overdo things: for example, being too neat and tidy might arouse his mother's guilt feelings. There are a number of random elements in the game and your course through the troubled path of adolescence may vary every time you play. If you have already read Sue Townsend's books The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ and The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole, you will find some characters you have met before and a number of familiar scenes. But, if you haven't yet read the books, you'll still be able to play the game - and knowing the books won't necessarily give you an advantage: in the game, familiar scenes may well have a new twist. USING THE PROGRAM The game consists of a number of separate programs. For some computer versions the whole game is recorded twice, once on each side of the cassette. For other computer versions the first half of the game is recorded on side 1 of the cassette and the second half on side 2. Details are given on the cassette label. Each program covers a few months of Adrian's life. When playing the game, press SHIFT (or RETURN on an Atari) to continue when the game pauses. Loading the game To load and start the cassette version of the game, insert the cassette in the recorder and ensure that it is fully rewound. Set the tape counter to zero if your recorder has one. Then follow the instructions below for your type of computer. The words that you type are those in bold print (remember to press RETURN or ENTER after each command you type). Amstrad CPC 464 Type RUN"" and start the tape. Amstrad Type |TAPE (for | press SHIFT and @ ) then RUN"" CPC 664/6128 Atari Remove any cartridges. Hold down START and OPTION while you 400/800/XL/XE switch on the Atari, then start the tape and press RETURN. BBC Micro B Type *TAPE then CHAIN"" and start the tape. Commodore 64 Press SHIFT and RUN/STOP together, then start the tape. MSX 64K Type RUN"CAS:" and start the tape. Spectrum 48K Type LOAD"" and start the tape. Spectrum + (as Spectrum 48K) WHEN THE GAME STARTS, STOP THE TAPE AND DO NOT REWIND IT. The next program follows this one fairly closely, and you don't want the tape to play on past it. When you reach the end of a program, a message on the screen will ask you if you want to go on to the next program. Type YES and press ENTER or RETURN. Start the tape on PLAY and press ENTER or RETURN twice. The next program loads in the same way as the first one. Remember to stop the tape when the game starts again. So playing through the entire game is simple. Load it as above, stop the tape when each program has loaded and restart it when it is time to load the next program. If you have a tape counter on your recorder, make a note of the reading at the end of each program. This will be useful if you want to start in the middle of a game. If you know the tape counter reading, wind the cassette until the tape counter is at the reading you want and continue as if you were loading the first part of the game. Loading advice The cassettes are tested thoroughly and you shouldn't have any problem in loading this game. If you do have difficulties, the following may help: * Try the other side of the cassette. * Load another game from cassette to check everything is connected properly. * Vary the volume and tone settings on the recorder if you can (fairly loud and fairly 'high' should work best). * Clean and demagnetise the recorder (following the manufacturer's instructions). * If you can, try another recorder. Saving the game position While playing the game you can save your current position (so that you can turn the computer off, yet return later to the same stage in the game). To do this, insert a spare, blank cassette in the recorder. Type 4 instead of 1-3 when asked to make a decision on behalf of Adrian Mole. This will display the command and help system on the screen. Press the RECORD buttons on the recorder, type SAVE and press ENTER or RETURN. (If the program asks for a "file name", type any short word and press ENTER or RETURN.) If the tape doesn't move press ENTER or RETURN again. When a message appears on the screen to tell you the save is completed, stop the recorder. Loading a saved game position To load a saved game position you must be playing the same program of the game that you were playing when you saved the game. (ie. that program must be loaded). Remove the game cassette from the recorder and replace it with the one used to save the position earlier. Type 4 instead of 1-3 when asked to make a decision for Adrian to display the command and help system on the screen. Type LOAD and press ENTER or RETURN. (If the program asks for a "file name", type whatever name you used to save the position and press ENTER or RETURN.) Rewind the cassette on which the position was saved and press the PLAY button on the recorder. Press ENTER or RETURN. When a message appears on the screen to tell you the load is completed, stop the recorder. The saved game position will reappear on the screen. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ - The Computer Game first published in Great Britain 1985 by Mosaic Publishing Ltd, 187 Upper Street, London N1 1RQ Game Design: Pete Austin Progammed by: Pete Austin Pictures: James Horsler Transport to your computer, adventure system and graphics system: Mike & Nick Austin Program Copyright © 1985 Level 9 Computing Based on the Adrian Mole Diaries by Sue Townsend Copyright © 1982, 1984, 1985 Sue Townsend Drawings Copyright © 1982, 1984, 1985 Caroline Holden First published in Great Britain by Methuen, London Ltd. Additional text and story lines for the game by Pete Austin Mosaic signature tune Copyright © 1984 David Stoll No part of this software may be reproduced in any form or by any means by any persons or institutions without the prior written permission of the publishers, Mosaic Publishing Limited. This software is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be re-sold, lent or hired out without Mosaic Publishing Limited's prior written consent and, in the case of re-sale, without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Production Services by Cosprint Ltd Printed in Great Britain