time tunnel Commodore 64 game

Time Tunnel is a dynamic adventure video game released for the Commodore 64 in 1985, published by US Gold.

Plot: The adventure unfolds inside the mansion of an elderly gnome situated in a forest in central Scandinavia. According to gnome tradition, when a king reaches the age of 350, a successor must be elected. The player takes on the role of the gnome, who, at 114 years old, is the first eligible candidate for the throne. To become king, the gnome must collect seven pages of a text that were scattered across various historical eras by an evil Cyclops. Only after retrieving all the pages and deciphering the text can the gnome obtain the magical power required to free the gnomes trapped in the trees of the forest from spirits and ascend to the throne.

Game Modes: The game features the gnome navigating through different screens with perspective or profile views, connected by doors and other passages. The gnome can pick up and deposit objects. The objective is to travel through various historical eras to locate the seven pages, each found in a specific era. To initiate time travel, the player must activate a time machine in the gnome's mansion by lighting the fire in the fireplace. The eras available for exploration include the gnome's mansion, Stone Age (9600 BC), Magical Persia (893 BC), Mythological Greece (86 BC), Colony Salem, Maine (1692), California Gold Rush (1849), Intergalactic space (3456), and Black hole (9999).

Solving puzzles and overcoming obstacles is necessary to obtain the pages. The player can access the inventory of owned objects, represented as a room in which the gnome moves, by pressing the fire button on the joystick for a few seconds. Initially equipped with a torch, essential for illuminating dark areas, the gnome can collect various objects during the game.

The original packaging of the game includes advice on solving puzzles encountered during gameplay.