
    NINE GREEN MURDERS ACTIVITY. COPYRIGHT (C) 1988 LEVEL 9
    -------------------------------------------------------

The game starts with the younger Farleighs arriving at intervals 
by car. Anthony arrives in his sports car, William/Kathy in their 
Rolls, Fiona/Clifford by taxi, and Sue Lombard by taxi. 

They will arrive in a specified order for each murder, ringing the 
doorbell and waiting for someone to open it (normally Jarvis, unless 
you get there first). Then they enter and wait for Jarvis to escort 
them to their rooms (he carries their cases). 

The game is so arranged that the murder will occur within 5 minutes 
(real world time) of the start. We will try to step on clocks at a 
rapid rate, so that e.g meals happen at reasonable times, but will 
not let them race ahead too fast, but rather take the advantage of 
the gap when you move from room to room to catch up. The opposite 
also happens - time stops when you summon or talk to someone. 

After a short while, the young Farleighs leave their rooms and 
wander about; tending to stick together when they meet up. Possible 
activities include: 
* admiring the garden (and picking a buttonhole flower?); 
* taking down and skimming through a book in the Library; 
* taking a drink of sherry in the Drawing Room; 
* going to the toilet (not seen - and trying to see loses points); 
* meeting any of the family they have not met yet; 
* talking (I think it will work better if speech is kept as short 
  as possible, to avoid swamping the game in too much text). Topics 
  will typically concern the weather and events since they last met 
  and will be influenced by personalities and by the opinions that 
  people have of each other; 
* sitting to read a newspaper in the study; 
* going to dinner at the appropriate time, and sitting and eating. 

Sir Robert will remain in his room until dinner, though the friendly 
members of his family will arrange to visit there before then. If you 
enter, he carries on working at his desk for a while, or walks over 
to the window, before asking how you're getting on (talking to him 
presents suitable options for continuing the conversation) and then 
signalling that you should leave. While at dinner, he behaves much 
the same way as anyone else. 

Jarvis answers the door and anyone who tugs on any bellrope; 
otherwise he patrols the house, before going to help carry food from 
the kitchen and to sound the bell for dinner. If he's unavailable, 
eventually his wife will leave off cooking to answer the door. 

Vera stays in the kitchen, stirring the pot and making polite 
conversation with any of the family who enter (though she is less 
polite to you). She then serves dinner and clears away. 

Should a murder happen at night, there will be a pause while night 
happens (possibly showing the outside of the house fading to black 
and back) and then the game restarts in the morning. This avoids 
any need to show people in their nightclothes. 

Once the murder happens, Jarvis or someone else rings the dinner 
bell and the family accumulate in the Study. Inspector Gormley 
arrives and stays there, effectively guarding them, though you 
can ask anyone else to follow you. The others probably wait fairly 
quietly, smoking or drinking. 

