NIGHT BRIDGE
Bridge and torch — for a real breadbin C64.
The rabbit crosses the bridge in one minute, the fox in two, the bear in seven, the turtle in ten. The bridge holds two at most, a pair walks at the slower one’s pace, and nobody crosses in the dark without the firefly jar — so someone has to bring it back. How fast can all four get across?
- The fastest in the group carries the jar, each in their own way: the rabbit in its mouth, the fox on its tail, the bear in its paw, the turtle on its shell. If the rabbit crosses with the turtle, it rides on its back.
- The planks light up only as the jar comes near. The firefly circles the jar, stars twinkle, the river flows, crickets chirp, and every animal has its own footsteps.
- Every trip goes into a log at the top: who crossed, who brought the light back. Plus a best time for the session.
- The game never tells you the answer. Once everyone is across it only says whether a faster way exists.
- The puzzle is known as bridge and torch; its oldest record is from 1981. With two going and one coming back there are 108 different plans.
What it needs
| Machine | PAL Commodore 64. Timing is built on the PAL frame; NTSC is not supported. |
|---|---|
| Sound | SID 6581 or 8580. |
| Controls | Joystick in port 2, or the keyboard: A and D to move, space to pick, W to cross. RUN/STOP restarts. |
| Language | English and Turkish, both on the disk: LOAD"NIGHT BRIDGE",8,1 (the Turkish one is GECE KÖPRÜSÜ). |
| Size | One file, 17 KB. After it loads, the drive is never touched again. |
| Version | v1.1 |
Download
Disk image (.d64) 171 KB
Program, Turkish (.prg) 17 KB
Program, English (.prg) 17 KB
Everything + notes (.zip) 46 KB
The .d64 is a disk image: copy it to an SD card device, or mount it in an emulator. The .prg loads directly. Either way it is LOAD"…",8,1 then RUN. The zip has both, plus the release notes and screenshots.
The answer is not on this page. It can be solved with pen and paper, but watching it on the bridge is different. When you find it, the game will tell you.