The basics

Your task in Infinity Quest II is simple: survive the attacks on your person and manage to find the exit to each level. Once you reach it, you will be transported to the next level in the game. When (or if) you reach the last exit, you win the game.
 
When you are attacked, you will lose Life points. You start with a good number (which may be different in adventure “A” from the number in adventure “B”) at the beginning, but they go down pretty fast. Obviously enough, monsters will deal out damage if they hit you. Certain traps also cause damage when you step on them. Worse still, the very air you breathe in these dungeons is poisonous. Every few turns, you will lose one Life point from the poison in the air. Life points, fortunately, may be replenished, by consuming healing potions.

You are not defenseless against monsters; your two basic weapons are your sword and your bow (you have an unlimited supply of arrows). The sword does 2 points of damage per hit, the arrow only 1.

Several types of magic objects exist: they are usually defensive (making you invisible or invulnerable, say) or offensive (bombs, for instance). All different items will be covered in detail later on.

Scenery in Infinity Quest II is quite complex and includes various types of doors, walls and traps. Teleporters and gates will shift your location magically. Each kind of scenery is fully detailed further on.

Poison in the air
Poison intensity varies from level to level, as indicated by the number next to the death’s-head symbol on the right side of the display. If this number is 5, for example, it means you lose 1 Life point every 5 turns. A value of 1 means you lose a life point every turn! If there is a dash (-), there is no poison on the level. Poison intensity otherwise varies between 1 and 10.

Time limits
To the right of the poison intensity indicator is an hourglass. This indicates how many turns you have left to complete the level. Usually, the hourglass is followed by a dash (-), meaning there is no time limit. When there is a time limit, if the timer counts down to zero, you will be forced to exit the level (this is bad if you haven’t had time to pick up desirable items). If you find an hourglass in the level, taking it will give you 25 extra turns on the timer.

Creatures of light and darkness
One further confusing aspect of Infinity Quest II is the light intensity: not all levels are sufficiently lit to allow Prince Argonn to see to the full range of 6 squares. When it is too dim to see completely, the outermost squares on the display will be black. Light intensity may be increased or decreased by various means.

States of being: paralysis, confusion and weakness
Under various circumstances, Prince Argonn may find himself operating at less than peak efficiency. These states are as follows.

Paralysis, whatever its source, affects Prince Argonn by giving monsters 2 extra turns to act. (Thus, you make one move, monsters make three moves, and then you’re no longer paralyzed). Paralysis may be caused by traps, by monsters casting spells, or by stepping into a web.

Weakness is caused by weakness traps. It lasts for 12 turns, during which blows from Prince Argonn’s sword will do only 1 point of damage, due to his depleted strength. His shots will still do the same damage as before.

Confusion makes Prince Argonn’s movements erratic. He can be confusing left and right, up and down, or all directions. When left and right are confused, any move or shot is interpreted as though left and right were reversed: if you try to shoot an arrow upward and to the right, it will be shot upward and to the left. If up and down were confused, the arrow would be shot downward and to the right. If all directions were confused, the arrow would be shot downward and to the left.

When affected by confusion (from a trap, a magical attack, or passing through a magic mirror), either left and right or up and down will be confused. This initial confusion lasts from 5 to 10 turns. If you get confused yet again, confusion becomes complete (all directions) and is prolonged by another 5 to 10 turns. Further confusion attacks merely add to the duration. Once the duration runs out, all confusion leaves you.

Exits and escapes
For each level of an adventure, a “next level” is defined. If and when you take an exit that leads to a level that doesn’t exist, you escape the dungeon and win the game. It is a sad fact that levels can be (and have been) designed in a perverse fashion, so that taking a normal exit leads you back to a previous level (or to the same level all over again). In this case, you must find and use a special exit that leads to a level you haven’t visited before.

Scoring

Your performance in Infinity Quest II is measured by your score. You score points by
- fighting generated monsters and generators (every time a generated monster or generator takes damage, you score some points)
- destroying unique monsters (no points are scored unless and until the monster is actually slain)
- gathering objects (most objects are worth points).

Notes for old questers
If you’ve played the original Infinity Quest, you’ll find that the game is basically the same, only with greater variability. One important change is that monsters are now much better at shooting you, because their shots are no longer blocked by traps, and because they don’t care where you’re standing. The old tactic of hiding “on” a door to prevent monsters from shooting you will no longer work!