REPTON 1 WALKTHROUGH
version 1.0
by Michael S. Repton
(zarathustra47@yahoo.com)
- - -
Introduction
This walkthrough for Repton 1 comes some three years after my similar
walkthrough for the sequel Repton 3. The first game of the series has
suffered from neglect, simply because its sequels take its concept
and add new dimensions that raise it to the status of a classic
puzzle game. But Repton 1 is still an excellent game in its own
right, even if it cannot compare to the other games in the series,
and so I have decided to revisit it to complete my series of guides.
Because all of Repton 1's levels are easy compared to those of the
later games, I have given difficulty ratings out of 5 instead of 10.
- - -
Overview of game
Repton 1 introduces the main characters that form the basis of all
the puzzles throughout the series: diamonds to be collected and rocks
to be manoeuvred so as to reach the diamonds safely, without allowing
a boulder to fall on your head or block you in. In addition, there
are safes that require the player to find a key, and monsters that
pursue you around the level unless you kill them with boulders.
The game contains twelve levels, something of a mixed bag, as each
explores a different aspect of the Repton experience. Unlike later
games, it is not required to kill monsters; the level ends when the
last diamond is collected. This means the player can choose whether
or not to kill most of the monsters in the game. Two interesting
challenges are to complete either a "pacifist" run (killing no
monsters) or a "warlord" run (killing as many monsters as possible).
This walkthrough will give a guide to completing both challenges.
- - -
Scoring
For collecting a diamond: 50 points
For digging an earth section: 1 point
The maximum possible score on a level is obtained by digging as much
earth as possible; there are some earth sections that cannot be dug
without losing a life. This walkthrough will not give a complete
description of how to dig as much earth as possible, since this is
largely obvious, but it will state, for each level, how many earth
sections there are that cannot be dug.
- - -
Inventory of objects
REPTON the lizard-man is your playable character.
DIAMONDS must be collected to complete a level.
KEYS open all safes on a level (turn them into diamonds) when they
are collected. Collecting a second key has no effect. Note that
since diamonds are "curved" objects (see BOULDERS, below) but safes
are not, collecting a key may sometimes destabilise a boulder.
EARTH is harmless.
WALLS are simple immobile and indestructible obstacles.
BOULDERS can be pushed horizontally, and fall downwards if they
are manoeuvred above an empty space or if another object is removed
from below them. They also "roll" around the corners of curved
objects. Repton can stand below a boulder, but if one falls from a
height onto him he will die.
EGGS are equivalent to boulders, but once they fall any distance
they will crack and after a time a MONSTER will emerge.
MONSTERS emerge from eggs and try to follow Repton around the level.
They can be destroyed by running a boulder (or egg) over them.
- - -
A note on curved objects
Boulders and eggs will fall off "curved" objects if they are able to
do so (that is, if both the square next to them and the one below
that are empty). If a boulder or egg is above an object curved on
both sides and is free to fall to either side, it will always fall
left. Conversely, if two boulders or eggs are simultaneously able to
fall into the same space, the one on the right will fall first.
Diamonds and boulders are curved on both sides. Some wall sections
are curved on just one side; some on both.
- - -
The Repton shuffle
One trick that is worth special mention, as it is not obvious until
you have seen it done, is that Repton can stand under a boulder, step
to one side and push the boulder to the other side as it falls. This
is most often useful to prevent a boulder from falling where it would
block you in or trap a diamond.
- - -
The levels
Level 1
Password: Screen one
Difficulty: 1/5
Uncollectable earth: 1
Overview: An easy starter to get newcomers initiated into the purpose
of the game, with just one little trap to avoid falling into.
Walkthrough: Go right and down, get the diamonds and return. Head
right along the top of the level, clear the earth and step aside so
the boulder falls. Then get the diamonds in the top-right, but do not
push the boulder. Instead, go down the centre of the level and along
the zigzag route. Make sure to take both bottom-left diamonds before
going under the bottom boulder. Then clear up the bottom-right.
Level 2
Password: Chameleon
Difficulty: 2/5
Uncollectable earth: 1
Overview: A couple of genuine boulder puzzles, albeit elementary ones
at this early stage, and the game's first monsters.
Walkthrough: Step aside from under the first boulder. Go right, and
down to the very bottom, then left. Go under the boulder below a
diamond, and let this fall off the curved wall. Let the next boulder
drop, then let the stacked boulders fall so the other boulder is
free. Push it left and retrieve the diamond.
Now journey to the bottom-right of the level. Go under the row of
boulders, but stop after the gap in the floor. Get the diamonds and
come back up. Then just go round the level and take all the diamonds.
PACIFIST SOLUTION: Leave the diamonds adjacent to the two eggs until
last. Take the diamond below the lower egg, then run to the other
egg, push it and take the diamond above it.
WARLORD SOLUTION: Take the earth under the boulder that's up and
right of the lower egg. Then take the diamond under the egg, and
quickly push the boulder to kill the monster. Push the other egg to
its right, and quickly get round the boulder below it, wait there
until the monster is adjacent to the boulder, and push it.
Level 3
Password: Terrapin
Difficulty: 1/5
Uncollectable earth: 6
Overview: One memorable boulder puzzle to reach the key (the first
key in the game) and lots of diamonds to collect.
Walkthrough: Go down. Push the boulder just one square left, then
take the earth to let it fall. Get the diamonds behind it. Head to
the right and come down on the far right of the level to the bottom.
Head left until you reach the two horizontally adjacent boulders.
Clear the earth to their right, then step under them, and when the
first one falls, push it right. Push the top one of the three stacked
boulders right, then the next one to either side. In the bottom-left
corner, push the top boulder to its left and take the diamond.
Move up to the safes, then left. Let the first boulder fall, let the
next roll off the one below it, then push the free boulder right.
Take the diamond and push the boulder left, then push the boulder
that falls behind you right. Take the next two diamonds, each time
stepping right and then pushing the boulder left. Get the key.
The rest is just diamond-collecting, except for the four boulder
puzzles in enclosed boxes in the top-right. To deal with these: (1)
Top-left: just take the diamonds. (2) Top-right: Let the boulders
fall, then take the diamond. (3) Bottom-left: Let the top boulder
roll off the other, then take the diamond. (4) Bottom-right: same.
The diamond below a rock and between two walls must be taken last.
Level 4
Password: Sidewinder
Difficulty: 3/5
Uncollectable earth: 0
Overview: Also known as "the level with the really annoying monster".
Walkthrough: Go down on the far left and along. Get the key, and
immediately run through and up. (On the original game, the egg rolls
all the way down to the corner. On the PC remake, it breaks on top of
the first diamond, but this is compensated for by the cracked egg
taking a longer time to hatch.)
PACIFIST sOLUTION: Quickly release the boulder before it can kill the
monster. Run up and left under the L of "TYLER" (spelt out in earth).
Get the three diamonds in this area. Return to the monster's area and
lure him out; let him follow you to under the L. By running quickly
around it anti-clockwise, ensure that the monster gets trapped in the
top-right of this area! Return for the diamond from the safe above
where the key was. Push the other egg, quickly take the diamonds and
get away before the monster starts following you. The diamond to the
left of the second egg must be taken last.
WARLORD SOLUTION: Wait under the boulder until the monster is
directly below you, then step aside and hope you hit him. Take all
the diamonds except the one that must be last and the two behind the
second egg. Push the egg and take those diamonds, but this time, let
the monster follow you round to the boulder near the last diamond.
Drop the boulder on him to kill him.
Level 5
Password: Gecko
Difficulty: 1/5
Uncollectable earth: 0
Overview: Not just a pretty face? Actually, it is; there's really
nothing else to this level.
Walkthrough: Go down and right, following the chain of diamonds, then
up to get the key. Get all the diamonds except those blocked by eggs.
PACIFIST SOLUTION: Start with the egg on the right; drop it, grab the
diamond and run before the monster can start chasing you. Do the same
for the lower-left egg, run up to the upper-left one, and take the
three diamonds supporting it.
WARLORD SOLUTION: Clear the earth below the lower-left egg, and push
the upper boulder left so it falls below and right of the egg. Drop
the egg into the square next to the boulder and kill the monster.
Clear the earth below the central mass of boulders and let them all
fall; release the far right egg and get round the back of the boulder
on the wall section to kill the monster. For the last monster, let
him chase you and run under one of the remaining boulders (the other
one on the left is a good choice) and use it to kill him.
Level 6
Password: Python
Difficulty: 2/5
Uncollectable earth: 0
Overview: An elegant maze of winding passages, fun but easy to find
your way around.
Walkthrough: Go up and right to the far right of the level, then down
the "staircase". Keep going down, taking the diamond by the right
wall, and let the boulder over the column of empty space fall. Go
down past it and along the twisty path, then up to the boulders
enclosing the key. Let the top one roll left and take the key.
Clear out the bottom-left area from the bottom up, and return to the
bottom-right. Come up into the next area without worrying about the
boulder that falls behind you. Take the diamonds and push the boulder
left to escape. Now come up the centre of the level, getting all the
diamonds, and left to return to Repton's start. Go down on the far
left to reach four more diamonds. Now go back along the top of the
level and back down to reach the last few diamonds from safes.
Level 7
Password: Salamander
Difficulty: 3/5
Uncollectable earth: 1
Overview: One egg is poised to break at the start, and there are some
boulder puzzles a bit trickier than those on previous levels. There
is also one egg enclosed by wall that cannot be broken; this does not
count as a monster for the purposes of the warlord solution.
Walkthrough: Here, you have to choose between pacifist and warlord
solutions right at the start of the level.
PACIFIST SOLUTION: Go down and right, releasing the three boulders.
Push the boulder overhanging the empty space to its right. Go right
as far as you can, then three squares down, six left, two down, three
left. Return to Repton's start and go down to lure the monster to
chase you. Go back to the "circuit" you just made and go around it
clockwise until the monster gets stuck.
WARLORD SOLUTION: Go down and left, let the monster chase you, run
under the boulder just to your right and push it to kill the monster.
BOTH SOLUTIONS: Continue beyond the boulder you used to kill the
monster in the warlord solution. Step under the next boulder, then
step left and push it right. Go under the next boulder then push it
left. Push the loose boulder left, go straight down, take the diamond
and step left, step down and two left to clear a route to the key.
Return to Repton's start, take the diamonds, go up to the top of the
level and all the way right. When returning, in the chamber with the
single square of empty space, step back from under the boulder and
push it left so as not to trap yourself.
Go down to the bottom on the far left, enter the bottom-right area,
and go along the bottom to take both diamonds.
PACIFIST SOLUTION: Let the second egg fall, and quickly run past
before the monster starts chasing you. Take all the diamonds.
WARLORD SOLUTION: Let the monster chase you to the far right of the
area beyond it, and run up and drop the boulder to kill it.
- - -
The pacifist and warlord challenges end here, as four of the last
five levels have no monsters, and the monsters on Level 11 can only
be killed with luck, so they are not counted. If you have already
completed Repton 1, you may consider it a successful completion of a
pacifist or warlord run if you simply complete the first seven levels
in a single run under the conditions. The "hardcore" challenge is to
complete all twelve levels in a run, but again, the monsters on Level
11 are not counted towards success in either of the challenges.
- - -
Level 8
Password: Iguana
Difficulty: 3/5
Uncollectable earth: 1
Overview: The first appearance of what would become a familiar trap:
collecting the key too early destabilises a boulder and traps a
diamond. Getting down the right-hand side of the level can be tricky.
Walkthrough: Go down and right, then up and round to reach the centre
of the maze. Head right, taking the next two turnings up to get the
diamonds, then go down to the bottom-right of the maze and up on the
far right. Get the diamond to your left and continue beyond it,
taking the earth to free the boulder. Return to the top-right corner
and emerge from the maze, without taking the key.
Go to the top-right corner, then down to the three stacked boulders.
Let the top one fall right, then get past. Go under two boulders and
push the second one right. Come down to the two pairs of two stacked
boulders; take the earth between them so the right-hand boulders
fall. Come down past them until you reach another pair of stacked
boulders; let the top one fall either way and go down to the bottom
diamond. Clear the earth at the bottom of the level and go back up,
letting all the boulders fall to reach all the diamonds in this area.
Push the loose boulder to enter the bottom-left, but push it only
three squares and then walk down. Take the diamond under the boulder
on a safe. Let the two boulders at the far left roll off the curved
barriers. Go up to re-enter the maze. Take the diamond on the far
left, then one on the bottom row, then go up the second-left column
and push the boulder you freed earlier to its right to reach the key.
Then go back for the diamond from the safe at the bottom.
Level 9
Password: Cuttlefish
Difficulty: 2/5
Uncollectable earth: 1
Overview: The first level without a map; perhaps that is why it is
unadventurous and should present few difficulties.
Walkthrough: Go down and right to get out of the maze, and head right
along the bottom of the level. Clear the earth under the column of
safes, then go up, letting the boulders fall to reach the key.
Go left and up along the column of earth. Push the top boulder right,
then let the next fall left. Push the loose boulder left. Go down on
the right and push the free boulder into the empty space. Clear the
earth under the bottom boulder to obtain the diamond. Head up into
the top-right area, clear the earth to let the boulders fall, and
take all the diamonds. Then head left along the bottom of the level.
The first bottom diamond is obtained by pushing the boulder away from
the curved barrier; to reach the second, clear the earth left of the
boulder and do the same thing. The extreme bottom-left diamond is
reached by letting the boulder on the curved barrier fall right.
Level 10
Password: Octopus
Difficulty: 3/5
Uncollectable earth: 1
Overview: This will always be remembered as the level that first
introduced the "Repton Shuffle" and stumped a generation of puzzlers.
Walkthrough: Go straight down. Clear the earth right of the two
stacked boulders, then push the lower one right to get past. Step
under the row of three boulders, then push the first one back left.
Push the free boulder into the empty space, then go down on the far
left and take the nine diamonds from the bottom up.
Return to the field of earth, then go down on the right until you
reach the boulder that can be pushed left. Push it, then stand under
it. Step left and immediately push the boulder right as it falls, and
it will not trap the diamond.
The diamonds at the bottom of the level should present no difficulty.
Push the loose boulder right to enter the right half of the level.
Let the stacked boulders fall left to get the diamond under them. Go
up, and take the diamond at the bottom of the "snake" of empty space.
Also retrieve the diamond on the far right under the boulder on a
safe. Then go to the top of the level and take the key.
Come down to the bottom-right, pushing the boulder on a curved wall
to the side to reach it. Repton shuffle the next boulder to stop it
blocking the bottom-right area. You can shuffle it to the left if you
are confident you have taken all the diamonds except those in this
area (there are three); if you shuffle it right, however, you can get
these three diamonds and get out again. Push the lower of the stacked
boulders two squares left, not three, and get all the diamonds.
Level 11
Password: Giant clam
Difficulty: 5/5
Uncollectable earth: 0
Overview: Tim Tyler contributed twelve levels to Repton 3, some of
them harder than this, but this will always be his most infamous
creation. One quarter of Repton fans voted this their least favourite
level. Yet Repton would not be Repton without this; monsters would
not be so monstrous if there were not, just once, a madcap pursuit
around a field of diamonds with three of them chasing you at once.
Walkthrough: Run down and right to where the middle egg is hatching.
As soon as it hatches, run up to the second row from the top of the
level, and wait. When the nearest monster has nearly reached you, run
to one side; if the nearest monster is not directly below you then
choose the side away from it. Now, the trick to this top section is
to get and keep the monsters in a straight line behind you. To do
this, each time you are about to turn a corner, wait as long as you
can before moving. If you move too soon, when you turn the next
corner the monsters will be ahead of you again. Move in long lines;
try to collect the diamonds in a spiral, but when few are left, go
all the way to the top or bottom of the area each time rather than
trying to get two rows in every back-and-forth journey. Be prepared
to adapt your movements to the monsters' position; do not worry if,
once the diamonds remaining are thinning, you sometimes have to
circle around a few times before you can take any more. Remaining
alive is the primary consideration.
Once the top area is clear of diamonds, come down on the far left and
run under the boulder. (It is possible to kill a monster here, if one
is close enough behind you as the boulder falls, but it would be
foolish to take the risk.) Go down to the bottom-left; do not push
the boulder to reach the key, but go round. When you take the key, a
boulder will immediately fall on you; quickly step aside.
Head right along the bottom of the level. In the area with some empty
space, leave the first diamond, take the diamond on the right, and
roll the boulders off the first diamond to leave the exit open.
Go to the area in the centre of the lower half, and take the diamonds
so the boulder falls. Then go back left and up. Take the first three
of the row of diamonds, push the boulder that falls behind you back
to the left, then run along the lower row of diamonds and then the
upper row. Head to the right and push the free boulder to the right.
Take the five diamonds, then let the three boulders on the right fall
to reach the six in the top corner. Let the boulder on the curved
barrier fall left, and take the diamonds in the long corridor. Finish
by taking the diamond under a boulder near the bottom-left.
Level 12
Password: The kraken
Difficulty: 2/10
Uncollectable earth: 0
Overview: After the chaos of the previous level, a gentle finish.
Walkthrough: Head right along the top of the level. Perform a Repton
shuffle to get past the first boulder. Take the diamond right of the
two stacked boulders, then step right and take the diamond below you.
Take the earth to let the first boulder fall, then push the loose
boulder right, then push the last boulder left. Come down until you
reach the three stacked boulders. Push the middle one left, then push
the one that falls behind you right. Now take the diamonds.
Come left and down, push the boulder into the bottom-left area, and
get the three diamonds in this area and the key. Emerge from this
area and go straight up; shuffle the boulder to avoide trapping the
diamond. Clear some earth before releasing the six boulders to reach
the diamonds behind them.
Return to Repton's start and take the diamonds in the areas behind
the safes. Finally, enter the central octagon, take all the lower
diamonds, and finish by taking the diamonds under the boulder stack.
(It is possible to clear the central octagon without blocking the way
out, and finish the level with a different diamond. The solution to
this challenge is left as an exercise for the interested reader.)
- - -
Congratulations! You've completed every level of Repton 1!
If you have any queries, corrections or additional information for
this FAQ, feel free to e-mail me about it. Or if you just want to
tell me that you liked (or disliked) the FAQ or that you disagreed
with my opinions about the difficulty of some of the levels.
Michael S. Repton
7 May 2009
