| Chapter 7: Basic Actions |

| 7.4. Try and try silently

A useful little phrase allows us to trigger off actions ourselves, rather than waiting for the player to type something which generates them. Thus:

> Instead of entering the trapdoor, try going up.

The effect of this is that the original action is stopped and converted into a new one. The word "try" is chosen to make clear that there is no guarantee of success. For example:

> Before locking the front door, try closing the front door.

"Try" can be modified with the word "silently" thus:

> try silently taking the napkin;

Silence is maintained only if this new action, the taking of the napkin, is successful (so if the napkin is successfully taken, the text "Taken." will not appear): if the action should fail, a suitable objection will be voiced as usual. The following:

> Before locking the front door, try silently closing the front door.

is better than our previous attempt because the closing action is meant to be something that the player would do quite unconsciously, so that it seems inappropriate to mention it at all.

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| Example Hayseed A refinement of our staircase kind which can be climbed.

Presumably all staircase-type connections between rooms should respond when the player says CLIMB STAIRS (or the equivalent). So "Hayseed" A staircase is a kind of door. A staircase is usually open. A staircase is seldom openable. The ladder is a staircase. It is above the Barn and below the Hayloft. Instead of climbing a staircase: try entering the noun. Test me with "climb ladder / g". Attempts to climb other types of door will still be treated as useless.

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