You have to drop the knapsack in order to put objects into it or take them out, but I have not always made this command explicit. If you get a "You can't see any ... here" or "The knapsack isn't open" message when trying to put something in it or take something out, drop the knapsack first. Don't forget to pick it up again before moving on!
Translations of the hieroglyphs are approximate.
In the Desert
Stand up out of your cot. Go south twice to the Fire Pit and get the matchbook. You can ignore the rock and "bright piece of foil" (an empty cigarette pack). The plane circling overhead is the one delivering the navigation box mentioned in the introduction (read the game documentation for more background). You don't actually need the box at all with this walkthrough, nor does it score points to get it, so we're going to skip it.
Go west twice to the Supply Tent. Get the pick axe and shovel. Go east twice and south twice to the Work Tent. Read the note. (Well, well. Someone was a jerk, and it seems it was you.) Open the knapsack, put everything you can inside it (put all in sack), and take it. (Taking the knapsack automatically makes you wear it.)
Go back north four times to Your Tent. Break the lock on the trunk with the shovel. Take the lock, drop it, then open the trunk. Get the dried beef and the map. (When the game tells you that your stomach growls in hunger, eat the beef.) Unfold the map and take the stone cube. Read the cube. ("The Queen and all her treasures")
Go south, then west twice to the River Bank. Drink from the Nile. Drop the knapsack. Get the canteen, open it, and fill it from the river. (You won't likely need to drink again above ground, but the game will want you to drink after you eat the dried beef.) Close the canteen and put it in the sack. Pick the knapsack up again.
Go east three times to Northern Path, south twice to Southern Path, then east twice to a Desert location. Dig in the sand five times. When you have "uncovered what could only be the top of a pyramid" , drop the sack, get the cube, and put the cube in the square opening. Drop the map, shovel, and note. Make sure the knapsack has the beef, canteen, matchbook, axe, and rope. Get the knapsack. Save the game. Go down into the Chamber of Ra.
For Your Amusement:
Read the matchbook. Read the coupon, fill it out, and send it.
Wave at the plane.
Pay attention to some of the messages from putting things in the knapsack: the shovel, the knapsack...
Wander around in the desert (take some water with you so you'll last longer).
Read the inspection sticker in the trunk.
Fold the cot, take it, leave the tent, then unfold the cot and sleep on it.
Drink from the Nile 5 times.
Swim in the Nile. (save first)
Look into one of the holes in the sand.
Sit on the crate.
Attack the crate with the axe.
Fill the canteen with sand, then empty it, fill it with water, and drink.
The Chamber of Ra and Circular Room
Get the torch and the jar. Open the jar, pour some oil on the torch, then close the jar. Drop the knapsack. Put the jar in the knapsack. Get the matchbook, open it, and get a match. Close the matchbook, light the match, and light the torch. (Pour more oil on the torch when the game tells you it is dim or "beginning to sputter.") Drop the match. Get the rope. Examine the knapsack: it should have the canteen, matchbook, jar, and axe. Get the sack.
Tie the rope to the altar. Throw the rope north (down the steep staircase). Go north to the Circular Room. Get the golden cluster. Notice that here are doors "balanced" halfway open in all four hallways off this room. The statue might make a good counterweight; try pushing it. ...Oops. Get the statue's head.
Push the (now headless) statue northwest to the Northwest Hallway. Drop the head next to the statue. Go southeast three times to the Room of Neith. Read the hieroglyphs. ("First, turn to the southeast and place first offering to Ra") Get the opal cluster.
Go northwest three times and get the head. Push the statue southeast, then southwest. Drop the head. Go northeast three times to the Room of Selkis. Read the hieroglyphs. ("Second, turn to the northeast and place second offering to Ra") Get the ruby cluster.
Go southwest three times and get the head. Push the statue northeast twice. Drop the head. Return southwest three times to the Room of Isis. Read the hieroglyphs. ("Third, turn to the southwest and place third offering to Ra") Get the emerald cluster.
Go northeast three times and get the head. Push the statue southwest, then southeast. Drop the head. Go northwest three times to the Room of Nephthys. Read the hieroglyphs. ("Fourth, turn to the northwest and place fourth offering to Ra") Get the diamond cluster.
Drop the sack. Put all clusters in sack. Pick it up again. Return southeast twice to the Circular Room. Go up to the Chamber of Ra.
The Barge and Temple
Go south twice and northeast to a Narrow Hallway location. Read the hieroglyphs. ("The Queen travels on the night winds and returns with the dawn") Go northwest, north, and west to Fore Cabin. Get the scroll and read it. ("Remove one, three, then five and a new pathway will appear") Drop the scroll.
Go east twice, down, then west to West End of Hold. Put the torch in the knothole. Get the shim, then drop it again. If you're carrying anything in your hands, drop the knapsack, put everything in it, then get the knapsack again. Now lift the beam. Get the torch and go back east, up, and west to Center of Barge. Get the beam.
Go south, west, north, east to one of the Barge Chamber locations, then north five times through the Steep Passageway to the Inner Chamber, where there is a skeleton. Ignore the ring it's wearing (unless you'd like to die in a few moves). Go east, then south to Silver Alcove. Take the silver chalice. Go north, west twice, and south to Golden Alcove. Take the golden chalice. Return north and east, then retrace your steps back to the Chamber of Ra: south five times, west (or east), south, east, southeast, southwest, north twice.
For Your Amusement:
In the Barge Chamber, walk the plank. (this may only work in some versions)
Wear the skeleton's ring. (save first)
The Cube and Burial Chamber
From the Chamber of Ra, go east then west (or west, then east). In this Cube room, read the hieroglyphs. ("Go east from the south room to go to the Queen") Go south. Read the hieroglyphs in the chamber you come to. (These are the numerals one through nine.) Take the first, third, and fifth bricks (as hinted at in the scroll), then drop all bricks. Go east through the revealed passageway (Turning Passage), north, then west to Bottom of Stairs. Read the hieroglyphs on the plaster. ("Remove the plaster and go west")
Drop the knapsack, get the axe, and pick up the knapsack again. Break the plaster with the pickaxe. Go west three times to the end of the Narrow Passageway. Put the beam you're carrying in the niches, stand on the beam, and then break the plaster with the axe again. Open the door and go west into the Antechamber. Take the beam. Go south into another Antechamber location. Wedge the beam in the doorway. Open the door. Go west into the Annex.
Examine the stone slab. Drop the knapsack. Get the diamond cluster and put it in the first hole, the ruby in the second, the emerald in the third and the opal in the fourth. (They are in the same layout as the Goddess rooms were, reading right to left and top to bottom. The holes give a "light click" when you put the correct cluster in them.) Lift the slab. Get the spatula and the book. Open the book with the spatula. Read the page. ("Put the book on the Queen's large area and the scarab on the Queen's small area")
Get the knapsack. Return east to the southern location of the Antechamber. Take the beam. Go north twice to the northern location of the Antechamber. Wedge the beam under the lintel. Break the seals with the axe. Open the door. Go north to the Burial Chamber, then east to the Treasury. Drop the knapsack, get the canteen, and open it. Fill the silver chalice with water. Put the chalices on the left and right discs (it doesn't matter which goes on which). Get the scarab.
Go west to the Burial Chamber. Put the scarab in the smaller recess on the sarcophagus and the book in the larger one. Turn Neith, Selkis, Isis, and Nephthys, in that order. Open the sarcophagus. Well... that's what you get for tomb-robbing.
For Your Amusement:
Drop objects into the pit when you're standing on the beam.
For Your Amusement at various times:
Jump repeatedly.
Try the following commands: pray; eat me, drink me, take me, kill me with [something], examine me, rub me, play me, get on me, clean me, close me, leave me, follow me, search me, smell me, make me, and wear me.
Extras
For further entertainment, you may be interested in:
Lists of bugs in Infidel: Nathan Simpson, Graeme Cree, XyzzyNews (This last link actually goes to Hollywood Hijinx because the page doesn't have a named anchor for the Infidel section. Just scroll down a little.)
Posts about this game at The Digital Antiquarian, The Adventure Gamer, and SPAG
Source code
Points
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| In the Desert | |
| Break lock | 5 |
| Discover top of pyramid | 25 |
| Put cube in opening | 20 |
| Chamber of Ra and Circular Room | |
| Enter Circular Room | 30 |
| Enter Room of Neith | 25 |
| Get opal cluster | 5 |
| Enter Room of Selkis | 25 |
| Get ruby cluster | 5 |
| Enter Room of Isis | 25 |
| Get emerald cluster | 5 |
| Enter Room of Nephthys | 25 |
| Get diamond cluster | 5 |
| Barge and Temple | |
| Get beam | 15 |
| Get silver chalice | 15 |
| Get gold chalice | 15 |
| Cube and Burial Chamber | |
| Take first, third, and fifth bricks | 25 |
| Break plaster at Bottom of Stairs | 10 |
| Break plaster at west end of Narrow Passageway | 25 |
| Get book | 10 |
| Open door in Antechamber | 40 |
| Get scarab | 10 |
| Open sarcophagus | 35 |
| Total | 400 |
Last updated: 4/28/2021