solutions/3monkeys_solution.txt

THREE MONKEYS ONE CAGE Solution
           OR
"How to construct a crude pulley system in public under life and death
circumstances, while a mischievous ape tries repeatedly to pull your
shorts down"

This document contains complete spoilers for the game "Three Monkeys One
Cage" by Robert Goodwin. It is inadvisable to be reading this if you
haven't looked at the general in-game hints (type "HINT" during the
game), and even then this document should be used sparingly. The game is
hard, but try to solve as much of it by yourself as you can, yeah?
You'll feel better about yourself.

This solution is explained by sections.

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THE MANDRILL -- Keeping him out of your hair

Generally whenever the mandrill enters your corner of the cage or you
enter his, you have one turn to act before he does you in. Early on you
can avoid death by simply moving to a differenct corner of the cage
whenever he approaches. After no sooner than 50 turns into the game the
mandrill will become more aggressive, chasing you almost every turn.
Temporary methods of fending him off, such as throwing dirt at him or
hiding under the bed, may give you a quick breather, but you need a
long-term solution. There are two...


THE HORNETS -- Dangerous when aggravated

The hornets will mind their own business just as long as you don't go
casting a stone at their nest, at which point they will fly all about,
attacking both monkeys and you. From this time on both the chimpanzee
and mandrill will do nothing but run around wildly. This is good in the
sense that the mandrill no longer poses a threat to you, but bad in the
sense that the chimpanzee can no longer help you. Therefore you must
wait until you no longer need the chimpanzee before taking this course
of action, because there is no way to recall the hornets. (If the game
becomes unwinnable when you throw the rock at the nest then you still
needed the chimpanzee to do something)

How do you survive the hornets yourself? Hiding under the bed is only a
temporary solution. To protect yourself for good you'll need to cover
yourself with a sheet or a blanket.


THE FIRE -- Ins and outs of taming flame

Neither the mandrill nor chimpanzee will enter any corner of the cage
where fire or smoke is if they can help it. In order to build a fire you
will need flint, steel, and tinder. The stone serves as flint. The
barbecue fork, the bucket, or the fan serves as steel. The sheet,
blanket, or jersey can be used as tinder. Obviously, to keep the fire
going you'll have to keep feeding it with flammable objects.

If you choose to build the fire in the southwest corner of the cage, you
have the advantage of being able to use the fan to blow smoke (when the
fire is large enough to produce sufficient smoke) to one of the other
three corners. By rotating the fan you can steer the mandrill out of any
corner of your choosing. In addition, the fire will last longer when the
fan is on.

The risk you take when you build the fire in the southwest corner is
that it might catch to your bed. If this happens you must act quickly.
Put out the fire by throwing or kicking dirt onto it.


THE BUCKET -- Don't kick it yourself, let somebody do it for you

How do you get the bucket off the platform? There is no way to get atop
the platform yourself. Only the chimpanzee can, but he needs an
incentive to go there. Hmm, I wonder what that might be. Yes, toss the
banana onto the platform. The chimpanzee will soon jump after it,
knocking the bucket off inadvertently. The bucket will land in the
southwest corner.


BUILDING THE PULLEY -- It's the only way to open the gate

The solution to Three Monkeys One Cage in a nutshell is to set up a
pulley system in which the cord is slung over the bar that protrudes
from the wall, with a bucket attached to the end of the cord. The other
end of the cord is already attached to the top of the gate permanently.
When a weight falls into the bucket, the bucket descends, causing the
gate to rise.

The cord can be tied to various objects, then thrown over the bar. It is
not enough simply to tie the cord to the bucket, for you'll find out
that the cord is short by just a tiny margin when the weight falls and
misses it. You must first tie the cord to a hook, then once the cord is
dangling from the bar you must get the bucket hanging from the hook
somehow. A hook can be found underneath your bed.

The only way to get the bucket onto the hook once it has been slung over
the bar is to lift it using the barbecue fork.


ACTIVATING THE PULLEY -- Getting the weight to drop

Once your pulley is all set up you are ready to drop the weight in the
bucket. If you haven't guessed already, it is a coconut that must be
used for the weight. Have the chimpanzee get one for you. (CHIMP, CLIMB
TREE followed by CHIMP, GET COCONUT)

The coconut must roll down the trough, which you cannot reach yourself.
You need the chimpanzee again for this. (CHIMP, PUT COCONUT ON TROUGH)
If the coconut isn't staying on the trough properly, that is because you
did not remove the husk. You can crack it open with the stone or with
the barbecue fork.

Just because the coconut is on the trough does not mean that it will
roll automatically. The trough must be inclined. You can use the
barbecue fork to raise one end of it. At last, the coconut will fall
into the bucket and the gate will open! (If the coconut isn't landing
squarely in the bucket, read the previous section carefully)


GETTING OUT ALIVE -- How to leap a great distance and live to tell

After you've gotten the gate open there is still more puzzle left to be
solved. The distance to the ground below is too great to jump, yet jump
you must. But you'll need to make some preparations. To begin with, you
must use the cord again in a different way. You need to hold onto it, or
tie it around your waist when you leap outside. The dilemma is in the
fact that the cord can only be used for one purpose at a time; it can't
be tied around your waist while it is being used for the pulley. Were
you to remove the bucket from the hook with the barbecue fork, then pull
away the cord, the gate would go back down. Thus you must keep the gate
open another way while you remove the cord from the bar. Do this by
placing an object in the opening to hold the gate up. Namely, the
barbecue fork.


DISMANTLING THE PULLEY -- But only once you no longer need it

The gate's open and you need that cord again. But the barbecue fork
which could otherwise be used to remove the bucket from the hook is no
longer available. How do you retrieve the cord? This is perhaps the most
difficult part of the puzzle, and it requires some timing. The fact is
that you DO need the fork for this. Before placing it in the gate you
must use that versatile tool in one more capacity--as a torch. The
barbecue fork can be used to lift burning objects out of the fire, such
as the jersey, or the banana peel, or the coconut husk. You can then
"light the fuse" by touching the torch to the cord. Then, before the
cord snaps, extinguish the burning object and wedge that fork in the
gate, as explained above.


THE FINAL STEP -- Before you can fly the cage

Using the procedure described in the previous two sections, you can
almost survive that drop. One more precaution need be taken in order for
you to fall the remainder of the distance without injury. You must
cushion your fall. Throw as many object out the cage as you like, but
the only one that will make any difference is the mattress. Be aware
that you can't pick up the mattress while you're carrying other things.


THE ANVILS -- Death from above

After precisely 100 turns into the game, panels on the ceiling will open
up to release heavy anvils. A falling anvil will most certainly crush
you in five turns unless you take cover by hiding under your bed.
Whereupon the anvils will cease, and bombs will begin dropping in their
stead. When the bombs start dropping you have only nine turns left to
complete the game, so act quickly! There is no way to outlive the bombs
save by completing the puzzle and escaping from the cage.



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Is Three Monkeys One Cage a fair puzzle? I'd like to hear what you
think. You can reach me at flowerthief@inbox.lv if you have additional
questions or feedback. 
Robert Goodwin