The Hitchhiker's Guide Online

When you play the online game of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the answer is very rarely 42. It's much more likely to be "Get out of bed" or "Pick up the towel".

HHGTG creator Douglas Adams, was an early adopter of all sorts of technology. Way back in 1984 (six years after the BBC had broadcast the first series, which started life as a radio program) he co-created a computer game based on the show. Given the times, it was text-only: you were given narrative prompts and typed in an action, which then advanced the story.

Adams occupied an unusual position with his fans, inspiring cult-like devotion while racking up huge sales. He died in 2001 at age 49, having sold 15 million or so copies of his books, including the 5-title HHGTG "trilogy", but those fans ensure his surreal comedy lives on, not least through a spiffy version of the HHGTG game with graphics (pictured), available on the BBC website here. (Purists can play the original version here.)

In the game you are Arthur Dent, the hapless and massively hungover Earthling whose house and planet are both about to be demolished to make way for variously sized by-passes. As the notes on the BBC site put it, "This adventure is not easy or straightforward - you are quite likely to die before even reaching the pub! But if you persevere and tune into Douglas' unique logic (or 'consistent illogic'), you will be rewarded …"

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