Introduction

In the days when the Wild West was roamed by bandits and murderers, lawmen had a lot to deal with. Honest sheriffs and brave rangers tracked outlaws over wild terrain, but very often they had to stop at the Mexican border, because they had no jurisdiction in Mexico.

Countless gangs of bandits used this to their advantage. They would cross the border to rob and kill in the southern states, then return to Mexico to spend their stolen loot.

In your role as the sheriff of Tucson, Arizona, you had experienced this humiliating situation many times, but this time was different. Manolo Ramirez and his gang had attacked a small community of settlers, kidnapped the girls and killed everyone else. That day, you decided that jurisdictional boundaries shouldn't be used to allow these criminals to get away with murder. There comes a time when humanity, compassion and justice must prevail.

So, you left your tin star on your office desk and entrusted the care of the town to your deputy. You were soon in hot pursuit of Ramirez and his gang.

The first three days of your search lead to nothing but dead ends. On the fourth day, your horse was spooked by a rattlesnake and galloped off, leaving you alone on foot without any supplies, apart from your weapons. Tired, and low on ammunition, you trudged on until you reached the outskirts of a small village, but there was no sign of life. Normally, there would be dogs and chickens and the children would run out to meet a stranger. You had a horrible feeling that the desperados had been here and the hoof tracks attested to that.

As you approach the village, your nostrils are accosted by the stench of death and decay. You are now sure that Ramirez's gang has once again ravaged a small, defenceless community. It's time for this to end once and for all. It's time to track down these murderers and make them pay!

Note: This is the third game in the Kenneth Johnson trilogy. The games are self-contained, but it is recommended that you play them in order. The trilogy consists of:

• Kenneth Johnson trilogy #1: Wild West
• Kenneth Johnson trilogy #2: Tin Star
• Kenneth Johnson trilogy #3: Desperados (this game)

Background

This is an enhanced version of the semi-graphic Italian adventure 'Kenneth Johnson: Desperados' by Bonaventura Di Bello. It was originally written with The Quill and Illustrator and published by Edizioni Hobby S.r.l. on the cover tape of Explorer, no. 12, November 1987 for the Commodore 64 and MSX.

This version has been translated to English and rewritten for a modern audience with the original author's permission. The new version includes many enhancements that weren't in the original. The coding was done using Inform 6 and the PunyInform library.

Instructions

This is a traditional text adventure. A text adventure is a form of computer game that presents you with a story. You take on the role of the main character in the story and control that character's actions. The story has a goal and you will need to solve puzzles to achieve that goal. The computer tells you where you are, what you can see and what's happening around you. You can then move around, examine the things you find and manipulate those things by telling the computer what to do using simple English commands.

Commands consist of a verb phrase, optionally followed by a noun phrase. Most commands can be abbreviated to a verb followed by a noun. For example, OPEN THE FRONT DOOR can be abbreviated to OPEN DOOR.

If the verb is followed by a preposition, this may alter its meaning. For example, GET BED will attempt to pick up the bed, but GET ON BED will attempt to climb onto it.

In some cases, the verb phrase and first noun phrase may be followed by a second noun phrase. The two noun phrases are usually separated by a preposition. For example, HIT MAN will attempt to hit the man with your hands (as you didn't specify a second noun phrase), but HIT MAN WITH ROCK will attempt to hit the man with the rock. If you only use a verb and a noun, the game will generally tell you if it needs an extra phrase or implicitly try to deduce what is needed for the second phrase.

Don't panic! It's not as complicated as it sounds. Just use simple English sentences starting with a verb and it will all feel quite natural.

Movement

To move around, use commands like GO NORTH and GO SOUTH. You can move in any of the four cardinal compass directions. To save typing, movement commands can be abbreviated to N, S, E and W. You can sometimes use other movement commands such as IN, OUT, ENTER, EXIT, GET IN or GET OUT. These will be reasonably obvious when the time comes.

Examining things

Make sure you EXAMINE everything you come across, even insignificant things like scenery and objects mentioned in room descriptions, as subtle hints and clues are scattered everywhere. To save typing, EXAMINE can be abbreviated to X. For example, EXAMINE HORSE can be abbreviated to X HORSE.

You can also try your other senses when it seems appropriate, e.g. SMELL, TOUCH or LISTEN. Unlike EXAMINE, these actions aren't necessary to solve any puzzles but may prove useful later in the game.

Manipulating objects

Apart from examining things, most of your time will be spent manipulating objects. Use commands like GET or TAKE to pick up an object, e.g. GET PISTOL. Use commands like DROP or DISCARD to drop an object, e.g. DROP PISTOL.

To see what you're currently carrying and wearing, use INVENTORY (or I). As you're not a pack horse, you can only carry ten items at a time.

There are many other verbs that can be used to manipulate objects. These will be fairly obvious when the time comes. Common verbs include OPEN, CLOSE, EAT, DRINK, READ and so on. Use PUT, PLACE or INSERT to put objects into containers or on supporters, e.g. PUT NOTEPAD IN POCKET.

Communicating with characters

You will encounter a lot of characters in this game. When you first meet new characters, in addition to examining them, you should try talking to them, e.g. TALK TO SHAMAN. To get further information from them, try asking them about something relevant, e.g. ASK SHAMAN ABOUT BANDITS. This game is primarily about gathering information, so you will need to ask lots of characters about lots of things.

Advanced features

You can use IT or THEM to refer to the noun used in the previous command, e.g. EXAMINE BAG, OPEN IT (for a singular object) or TAKE BEANS FROM BAG, DROP THEM (for plural objects). You can also use HIM and HER to refer to male and female characters used in the previous command, e.g. ASK BOY ABOUT RAMIREZ, ASK HIM ABOUT RAMIREZ, or EXAMINE BOY, TALK TO HIM.

You can refer to multiple objects by separating the objects with AND, e.g. GET PISTOL AND RIFLE. Using IT and THEM in the next command will only refer to the last of those objects, e.g. EXAMINE IT will refer to the key.

You can use ALL to refer to all the appropriate objects with GET and DROP, e.g. GET ALL to get everything in the current location, GET ALL FROM TABLE to get everything on the table, DROP ALL to drop everything you're holding, but not wearing.

When using ALL, you can use EXCEPT or BUT to exclude some objects, e.g. DROP ALL EXCEPT STOOL.

Finally, you can enter multiple commands on the same line by separating them with a period, e.g. EXAMINE BOX. OPEN IT.

Scoring

There is no score in this game. Your objective is to... Well, that's for you to find out.

Other commands

Use LOOK (or L) to refresh the display.

Use VERSION to get the game version. Use ABOUT or INFO to get background information and credits for the game. Use CREDITS to get the credits only.

Use SAVE to save your progress. Use RESTORE to restore a saved game.

Use UNDO to undo the last move. This is handy if you change your mind or make a mistake. You shouldn't be able to get killed or get into an unwinnable situation in this game. (UNDO is not available with the z3 version of the game.)

Use AGAIN (or G) to repeat the last command.

Use WAIT (or Z) to do nothing apart from passing the time.

Use HELP to get a brief reminder of how to play the game or HINT to get a context-sensitive hint related to the current location.

Use RESTART to restart the game from the beginning. Use QUIT (or Q) to quit without restarting. (Don't use QUIT with the online version of the game, as the game will appear to be locked up. If this happens, press the Back button in your browser.)

Most importantly, have fun and enjoy the game.

Keyboard shortcuts

Some interpreters have keyboard shortcuts. If you are using an interpreter on a computer with a conventional keyboard, most will allow you to press the up and down arrow keys to cycle through your past commands. This is handy if you want to repeat the previous command or correct a typo.

Playing the game

There are two ways to play the game:

• Download the z5 file and play the game using a z-code interpreter (see below). This will allow you to play on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. The z5 file can also be used directly on a Spectrum Next (see the "Install Instructions" further down).
• Download the appropriate disk image to play using an emulator (VICE, C64Forever etc.) or to play on real hardware.

Please read the "Install Instructions" for further details.

Finding a z-code interpreter

There are a variety of z-code interpreters for all the major platforms, as well as many minor and retro platforms. There are far too many to list here. The best source of downloads is probably the Interactive Fiction Archive. Navigate to infocom/interpreters for z-code interpreters and interpreters-multi for interpreters that interpret both z-code games and other formats.

Common z-code interpreters

Android: I recommend Hunky Punk from Google Play. (There are others, as well.)

iOS: I recommend Frotz from the Apple App Store. (There are others, as well.)

Linux: See the links above.

Mac: See the links above.

Windows: I recommend Windows Frotz from the infocom/interpreters link above. (There are others, as well.)

Credits

Inform 6 compiler, language and library originally written by Graham Nelson and now maintained by David Griffith, David Kinder, Andrew Plotkin et al.

PunyInform library written by Johan Berntsson and Fredrik Ramsberg based on the Inform 6 library.

Original concept, game design and coding © 1987 Bonaventura Di Bello.

English translation and game skeleton by Garry Francis.

Inform 6 game redesign and coding © 2025 Gianluca Girelli, with assistance from Garry Francis.

Play testing by Charles Moore Jr, Garry Francis, Jade, Piergiorgio D'Errico, RJ Kowalski and Robert Eggleston.

Cover image © 2025 Gianluca Girelli, created by editing assets freely available on the Internet.

Page layout and text adapted from Garry Francis's pages, with permission.