After the intro, if you have already played the game before, the following menu box appears.
Here you can choose to Continue the introduction (where Dr. Brain gives you your assignment), skip his introduction and go straight to the Navigation Puzzle, restore a game, or view the game information (also accesible from the control panel in the game).
Toolbar
While in the game and not working on a puzzle, lift your mouse to the top of the screen to view the game toolbar.
Eye icon: Click the eye icon and click your cursor anywhere on the screen to get a description of it. Hand icon: Click the hand icon and click it anywhere on the screen to perform a certain action. This can be the activation of a puzzle, walking through a door or a simple animation that was built in for fun. Item icon: Loks like a picture frame. When you select an inventory item, it will show in the frame and can be quickly accessed from the game screen, rather than having to return to the inventory window. Currently hint point are displayed in it. Inventory: click the inventory icon to access the inventory window where you can select an inventory item (see below). Go back icon: Looks like an arrow pointing back the way you came. Click it if you want to return to the previous room you came from. Since any puzzle can be replayed indefinitely, the island can be roamed from the beginning to the end. Control Panle icon: Clikc to access the control panel (see below). Help icon: Looks like a question mark. click it and move the cursor over the other icons to get information on them. Dr. Brain icon: Click on Dr. Brain to get a description of the island location you are currently at.
The Puzzle bar
The puzzle bar is a miniature version of the toolbar within each puzzle. It contains three icons: Hint Watch, Exit, and "?".
Clicking the hint watch will provide a hint or solution to solve the puzzle but also costs you points.
Clicking the "Exit" sign will take you out of the puzzle and back into the room. If you click the puzzle again, it will reappear as you last left it. Hint: if you want the puzzle to reset, change the difficulty setting in the control panel, start up the puzzle under the new setting (for the puzzle to reset), change back to the previous difficulty setting, and there it is - a new puzzle.
Click the "?" to repeat instructions on how the puzzle works.
Normally your puzzle bar is found at the top of each puzzle. However a few puzzles required placing the puzzle bar in unusual places on the screen:
- in the animated jigsaw puzzle, you exit the puzzle by clicking on the word "exit" on the lower left front of the chest on the beach.
- the botanical garden puzzle has the puzzle bar hidden on the garden sign.
- the art concentration puzzle in Dr. Brain's art gallery has the puzzle bar on the panel to the left of the busts.
Inventory window
Although Island of Dr. Brain has just a few inventory items which are usually immediately used as you obtain them, there is nonetheless an inventory window. Click the inventory icon in the toolbar to access it.
You can click the eye icon to get information on the inventory item or the hand icon to select it. Upon slecting an inventory item and pressing "OK", you will return to the game and the inventory item will be visible in the game toolbar.
There are a few special items in the inventory. First off are the hint charges. As you solve more puzzles, you will obtain more of them. They are also worth points which count in the total score. hint charges are automatically used when pressing the hint watch in any puzzle. Secondly there is the Achievement Board where you can keep track of your progress and view your detailed score and achievements.
Control Panel
Click the control panel icon in the toolbar to access the control panel.
In this panel you can save, restore or restart or quit the game. You can also change the difficulty setting or sound volume (not functional under DOSBox) and view your game score. Note that the score is only the actual game score, so not including the hint charges points or extra points (see the point system for details). You can also get more game information and help in the control panel.
Keyboard controls
It is possible to play Island of Dr. Brain without a mouse. In general, when playing a puzzle, use the keys as follows:
ENTER - select
ARROW KEYS - move the cursor up, down, left, or right
ESC - exit a puzzle
? - puzzle instructions
K - bring up specific puzzle instructions
Cide Bridge Puzzle
I - insert a space
D - delete a space
L - swap letter
W - swap word
R - restart
K - view these commands
Magic square
C - clear
1 to 9 - enter the numbers 1 to 9
K - view these commands
Spectrum analyzer
b - burn
k - view these commands
Programming robot maze
f, b, l, r - forward, backward, left and right
u and d - pick up and drop
c - clear
x - delete
i - insert
p and n - previous and next command
k - view these commands
Polyominos puzzle
r or spacebar - rotate a piece 90 degrees
