India Palace is the sixth adventure game written by Roger M. Wilcox for the TRS-80. He managed to recover the program from cassette tape in 2013 and rewrote it as a WPF .NET application as part of his “remember my past” endeavor. India Palace was never released commercially but is part of his private collection that he made public in 2013.
I was able to complete the game without too much trouble however there were a couple of things that were unique to India Palace compared to Space Traveller and Nuclear Sub.
When I arrived at the foot of the palace door I tried a number of things and could not get the door opened. When I finally typed HELP the program actually responded with WHAT YOU DO AT A NEIGHBORS. Aha! I knocked on the door and the door suddenly creaked open.
There is also a magic word inscribed on a stone wall within the palace. When I used the magic word it sent me to an area where I was able to find some hiking boots and a flying carpet. I had hit a dead end in the game and then discovered that you could use the magic word in another location of the game whereby you’ll find a miner’s pick. Once you find that you’ll know where to use it and it opens up another large section of the game. I did soft lock the game and had to start over because when I discovered the miner’s shaft I did not have the flying carpet with me. I had already deposited it in the score room and it is necessary to navigate the mine shaft.
There is an interesting bit where you need to discover how to cross a vat of acid and a secret door you’ll need to find in order to uncover the chest of jewels.
There are six total treasures that you have to find in order to win the game. It took me 45 minutes to an hour to complete the game and I found it to be a very enjoyable experience. Do not let the fact that this game was not released commercially sway you from playing it. It is just as good as many of the text adventures that WERE released commercially.