A pixelated adaptation of a goofy, smarmy comic book series by Steve Purcell , Sam & Max Hit the Road is the first game in the Sam & Max series. The only 2D entry, Sam & Max Hit the Road is a point-and-click adventure in the vein of Maniac Mansion, and is just as quippy and nonsensical as you'd expect.

Typical of point-and-click adventures, Sam & Max Hit the Road can be a bit obtuse at times. It's easy to get backed into a corner and not have the slightest clue what to do, or where to go next. This guide will take you through the entire game, step-by-step, while avoiding spoilers wherever possible. (Not that spoilers matter all that much with this kind of story, but still.) First, though, we should have a look at the mechanics.

Gameplay

Sam & Max Hit the Road is a point-and-click adventure game. You play as Sam, a doggish detective, and you need to poke around a variety of different areas, looking for clues. Once you find the right item you can use it on other objects, items in the scenery, or the various NPCs you meet to push the story forward. There's no combat, so you can explore at your leisure. You can walk Sam around by clicking the cursor on the spot where you want him to go.

In the bottom-left corner of the screen is a picture of a box. If you click the box you'll be presented with a series of options, each of which does something different if used on the environment:

  • Eye - Allows Sam to examine items of interest. The eye closes if you can't examine something. Typically used to trigger snarky commentary from Sam and Max, though occasionally of use for ferreting out important clues.
  • Fist - Allows Sam to pick up and use items in the environment, or place them in his inventory. The hand opens if you can't interact with a part of the environment.
  • Mouth - Allows Sam to speak to NPCs. The mouth closes if you can't speak to something.
  • Squeaky Toy - Allows Sam to manipulate the environment. Occasionally its function overlaps with the fist, though the squeaky toy also allows you to operate doors, elevators, levers, your car, and plenty else. The squeaky toy stops being squeaked if hovered over something that can't be manipulated.
  • Box - Closes the inventory screen.
  • Max - Allows you to use Max on the environment, which may have some... interesting results. Unlike other items you'll never lose Max from your inventory. You can also use Max by clicking the fist on him while exploring the world.
Move the cursor to the edge of the box menu to exit back to the game. You can cycle through the default commands by right-clicking your mouse. As you acquire items they will go into the box, and you can use them on the world to see what happens. 


Saving and Loading

If you know what you're doing you can probably beat this game in a single long sitting. Players coming in for their first romp may need to save and quit, however, and Sam & Max Hit the Road does not offer an obvious menu screen. To bring up the menu for saving and loading a game you'll need to hit the F5 key. Use this in conjunction with the FN key if F5 on its own doesn't work.

(You can also use ALT + a number for saving, and CTRL + a number for loading. I recommend going into the menu, as you'll get a little screenshot of the room where the game was saved. ALT and CTRL require more memory work on your part.)

Sam & Max Hit the Road offers an autosave option whenever you enter a new area. You're better off not relying on this. Save whenever you accomplish something.


Background Fun

Although there's a lot of stuff in Sam & Max Hit the Road that's unnecessary to completing the game, all the background touches are what give this story its, uh, charm. This guide won't go into the details too much, but you're encouraged to inspect and interact with everything you come across. There are a lot of extra scenes that give Sam and Max a chance to mess around and get into trouble. The dart board and Max's roach farm in their office are just two examples.

In addition to all the background stuff, there are also four optional minigames that you can play:
  • First is Highway Surfing, accessible via the road icon on the world map. You'll ride around as Max, using the mouse buttons to jump over signs and swerve the car. Press the Q button to stop.
  • Second is Dress Up, found by checking the spinner with the Sam and Max heads on the top in the western-most Snuckey's. This is a simple dressing game where you can put different clothes on Sam and Max.
  • Third is Paint-by-Number, found on the spinner in the southern-most Snuckey's. This is a painting game where you can fill in a picture of Sam and Max.
  • Fourth is the Portable Carbomb Game, found on the spinner in the northeastern Snuckey's. This is a Battleship clone. Place your cars (right click to change their orientation), then square off against Max. The only difference between this and Battleship are the trampoline squares you put down, which can deflect bombs back onto Max's board.
All of the mini games found in the Snuckey's establishments need to be purchased by speaking to the attendant before you can play them. You can begin playing by using each of the games from the inventory screen. Press the Q or ESC buttons to stop playing.

That should be enough to get you started. Shall we get on with the game?

Sam and Max's Office

  • You'll start off on Sam and Max's home turf. Check the rat hole in the rear wall to receive Money.
  • Walk to the right side of the office, which is bigger than it looks, to find a closet. Grab the purple Black Light out of the closet.
  • Go out into the hallway via the door on the left side of the room.
  • Go down the stairs to the south of the office entrance. Click on the black space above the box menu icon to leave the office.
  • You're now out on the street. Speak to the black cat on the left side of the street, then use Max on the cat to receive the Orders.
  • Use Sam and Max's car (the police cruiser) to leave.
This will put you on the, erm, 'world map'. Click on the moving icons to ferry Sam and Max around the country. From here you can either go to the Carnival, in the top-right of the map, or to three different burger joints. We'll check out the burger joints first.


Snuckey's

The three Snuckey's stores, each appearing on the map as burger icons, are functionally identical to each other. You'll get some different descriptions when you scope out the surroundings, but you only need to visit one of them. Items gathered from one will disappear from all three. (The only exception are the items on the spinners, which are described under 'Background Fun', up above.)
  • Outside the front door is a Snuckey's Cup that you should grab off of the ground.
  • Go inside the front door.
  • Grab the box of Candy off of the shelves on the left. They're above several rabbit statues and a cluster of four red cylinders.
  • Wait for Max to say he has to go to the bathroom, then speak to the guy at the counter. Choose the ? or ! option to make more options appear. You can pay for the Candy here - the attendant will force you if you try to leave without paying - and you can ask for the bathroom key for Max.
  • Max will leave to use the bathroom. Follow him outside, then wait for Max to come back with the mouth option ready. Use it on him, then hit the ? or ! option to receive an additional for option for the keychain. Ask Max about it to receive the Rasp. (If Max returns the key you'll need to leave Snuckey's and return to repeat this process.)
That's all for Snuckey's. Hop back in the car and drive over to the Carnival.


Carnival

Cheery. When you arrive at the Carnival you'll find a fire-breathing man who will refuse Sam and Max entrance. Your first order of business is to get past him.
  • Show the fire-breather the Orders. He'll stop breathing fire and let you through.
  • Inside the Hall of Oddities you'll learn the main plot of the game. The owners will give you a Pass.
  • Grab the Severed Hand that's beneath the Insect Lad sign on the left side of the hall.
  • Grab the Sasquatch Hair off of the ground, near the thawed block of ice on the right side of the hall.
  • Exit the Hall of Oddities through its right side.
  • Head to the left side of the next screen, past the trailer, and over to the Wak-A-Rat game. You'll need to smack rats to win this game. Hit at least twenty rats out of forty to make a prize appear on the side of the machine. Check the side of the machine to receive a Flashlight.
  • Combine the Black Light you found earlier with the Flashlight. Now it works.
  • There are two other games next to Wak-A-Rat. The ball game isn't working, but if you check the stand with the red circle on top you'll find a Fisheye Magnifying Glass. Grab it.
  • Walk left of the Wak-A-Rat game to find a ride called the Cone of Tragedy. Speak to the attendant and ask about the cone to go for a ride. This will empty Sam's box of stuff.
  • Speak to the Cone of Tragedy's attendant and ask about Sam's box to receive a Claim Ticket.
  • Take the Claim Ticket to the Lost and Found, the green tent on the right side of the Carnival's first screen. Use the Claim Ticket on the tent to retrieve your items.
  • Check your inventory and you'll see that you now have a Fridge Magnet. Examine it to reveal the World of Fish on the map. You can travel here later, though we're not done with the Carnival yet.
  • Take the path to the left of the Hall of Oddities to find the Tunnel of Love. Use the squeaky toy on the swan boat to enter the tunnel.
  • Pull out the Flashlight while riding through the tunnel and use it on the darkened section of wall that's sparking. This will reveal a fuse box. Hit the X button to switch to Max, wait for the boat to float over to the fuse box, then use Max on the fuse box. This will stop the boat, and Sam and Max will jump out.
  • Grab the beard of the man on the right. This will open the door on the left. Go through.
  • Speak to Doug, the fellow watching TV, until you see a Bruno icon. Choose Bruno. This will unlock the World's Largest Ball of Twine, another location on the world map.
  • Give Doug the Candy you got from Snuckey's. He'll give you a Crowbar.
  • Use the controls on the left side of the door to get the boat running again. Leave the room to exit the Tunnel of Love.
  • Return to the trailer near the Wak-A-Rat game. Use the Crowbar on the door to open it up. Head inside.
  • Check the blue box with the star on the top, on the right side of the trailer, to receive a Stiltwalker's Costume.
  • Open the pink wardrobe on the right side of the trailer. Inside is a Score Card. Grab it to reveal the Gator Golf Emporium on the world map.
That's all for the Carnival. Return to the entrance with the fire-breathing fellow, then head left off the screen to exit to the map.


Snuckey's

Pick any of the three Snuckey's and speak to the attendant inside. Give him the Severed Hand and he'll get it out of the glass jar for you. Head back to the world map.


World's Largest Ball of Twine

Yep, that's sizable.
  • Walk to the right side of the screen. There's a tram that goes up to the top of the twine. Get on top of the stairs, wait for the tram car to stop, then walk inside.
  • You're now atop the twine. Step behind the shack to enter an unseen elevator.
  • This brings you to a restaurant. Look to your right to find a man at a table. Speak to him and ask about his tools to receive a Spanner.
There's more here, but you can't do anything else just yet. Return to the car and leave.

(Quick tip: There are binoculars that you can use on the left side of the restaurant. This will put you in  constant spinning view that seems impossible to leave. Hit the ESC key to return to the game.)


World of Fish

How quaint.
  • Grab one of the Buckets of Fish next to the Bait Shop with the shark jaw on the front.
  • Use the Spanner on the huge fiberglass fish on the left side of the screen.
  • Use the fiberglass fish to make Sam crawl inside. 
  • Use Max on the fiberglass fish to get him inside as well.
This will send you back to the World's Largest Ball of Twine, though you'll be in a spot you couldn't reach before. Use Max on the ball of twine beneath the platform, where there's a strand hanging loose. After the next cut scene you'll be on the ground, with 91 Yards of Twine in your inventory. Hop in the car and leave.


Gator Golf Emporium

How... Florida.
  • Head to the left of the entrance until you see the front desk. Next to it is a waste basket with a Broken Golf Ball Retriever for you to grab.
  • Head down the central boardwalk to the driving range. You'll run into some unpleasant fellows, and Max will wind up in a dunk tank on the far side of the range.
  • Use the Bucket of Fish on the bucket of golf balls next to Sam.
  • Grab one of the golf clubs to Sam's left. This triggers a minigame where you can hit balls - or, now, fish - into the driving range. The fish will travel to any spot that you mark with a flag. If an alligator is horizontally adjacent to the fish it will swim over and eat it.
  • Create a more or less vertical path from Sam's position to the dunk tank across the driving range by positioning the gators with your golf shots. This process is a bit fidgety, but once you get it right Sam will walk across to the dunk tank on his own.
  • Use the glass door on the left side of the dunk tank to open it and free Max. He'll give you more Sasquatch Hair.
  • Open the door on the front of the dunk tank. Inside it, on a shelf, is a Sno Globe. Grabbing the Sno Globe will reveal the Mystery Vortex, another location on the world map.
We're done with the Gator Golf Emporium. Walk down and to the right to leave the dunk tank, then return to the car.


World's Largest Ball of Twine
  • Combine the Broken Golf Ball Retriever with the Severed Hand. This will create the Broken Golf Ball Retriever with a Severed Hand Attached To It.
  • Combine the Fridge Magnet with the new item. This will create the Broken Golf Ball Retriever with a Magnet Attached To It.
  • Walk to the museum at the base of the ball of twine and head inside. Use the Broken Golf Ball Retriever with a Magnet Attached To It on the ball of twine to retrieve a Mood Ring for your inventory. This will turn the former item back into the Broken Golf Ball Retriever with a Severed Hand Attached To It.
We're still not done at the World's Largest Ball of Twine, but for now you're needed elsewhere. Return to the car and leave.


The Mystery Vortex

Trippy.
  • Walk inside the front entrance tunnel of the Mystery Vortex.
  • Walk down the crazy hall to the curtained doorway to the right. It will take a while, but you'll get there.
  • You're now in a gift shop. Check the front of the dripping display box on the left side of the room for more Sasquatch Hair.
  • Return to the size-changing hallway and use the mirror. Sam and Max will step inside.
The next room contains several huge magnets, and each is attached to a lever. Pulling the levers will activate and deactivate the magnets, changing the color of the room. The color of the room is tied to the various doors in the size-changing hallway, and you can only open the doors if you set this magnet-filled room to the correct color. One of the doors will take you to the next important NPC...


... but which is completely random each game. The door colors in the hallway are also random. You'll just have to try all the magnet / door combinations until you find the correct door. The following magnet combinations will trigger these colors:
  • White - Left on, middle on, right on
  • Red - Left on, middle off, right off
  • Purple-Pink - Left on, middle on, right off
  • Mustard - Left on, middle off, right on
  • Blue - Left off, middle on, right off
  • Green - Left off, middle on, right on
  • Yellow - Left off, middle off, right on
Once you enter the correct door you'll meet a guy naed Shuv-Oohl. Ask him about Bruno, then give him the Mood Ring. He'll give you some Mystic Mole Man Powder. Shuv-Oohl will also mention two place names, and you need to take note of them to track down another new location. Leave the Mystic Vortex once you're done speaking to Shuv-Oohl.


World's Largest Ball of Twine
  • Use the tram on the right side of the screen to travel to the top of the ball of twine, then use the elevator on top to get into the restaurant.
  • Grab the sparking wires to the left of the elevator. Use them on the mounted binoculars on the left side of the restaurant.
  • Use the Fisheye Magnifying Glass on the binoculars. This will allow you to zoom in when using the binoculars.
  • Use the binoculars.
When you first check the binoculars they will be sweeping uncontrollably across the landscape. Now that you've attached the wires, however, you can change the direction of the binoculars, as well as slow down or speed up the movement. Right and left click on the metal tab between the white and blue wires to change the speed and direction.

With the Fisheye Magnifying Lens in place you'll receive a zoomed-in view of the landscape. Move slowly around, looking for the two locations Shuv-Oohl IDed for you. Between them is a rock. Stop moving the binoculars on the rock and Sam will recognize it as Frog Rock, which places Frog Rock on the world map. Exit the binoculars (ESC key) and head back to the car.


Frog Rock

Walk right from the car to find Frog Rock. Place the three pieces of Sasquatch Hair that you've picked up over the course of the game on the rock. Here's a quick reminder of their locations, if you missed any:
  • In front of Bruno's thawed ice cube at the Carnival
  • Given by Max when you free him from the dunk tank at Gator Golf World
  • On the dripping display box in the Mystery Vortex's gift shop
Dump the Mystic Mole Man Powder on the rock once you've placed at the Sasquatch Hair and you'll unlock a new location: Bumpusville.


Bumpusville

The lair of the enemy.
  • Enter the mansion.
  • Take a right from the entrance and go in the room at the far right end of the hall, with the bull horns over the door.
  • You're now in Bumpus's bedroom. Don't touch the Toupee on the right side of the room or you'll get kicked out of the mansion.
  • Get up onto the monster truck bed and grab the Pillow that's covered in green goo. 
  • While still on the bed, use the Broken Golf Ball Retriever with a Severed Hand Attached To It on the books above the door on the left. This will earn you the Maintenance Droid Guide.
  • Wait for the Maintenance Droid that cleans the mansion to come along. Use the Maintenance Droid Manual on it.
  • You'll find yourself staring at the Maintenance Droid's brain. Each of the colored cords stuck in the brain corresponds to a room in the mansion. Remove all of the cords, then plug in the blue (far left) cord. This will sound an alarm.
  • Enter the curtained room on the right side of the main hallway.
  • Use the VR machine's headset.
  • Pull the Sword out of the stone.
  • Try to enter the cave on your left, then use the Sword on the thing that comes out of the cave.
  • Grab the heart that appears to receive a Cheesily-Polygonned Key.
  • Head left through the main hallway until you find a room full of stuffed animal heads. Grab the Portrait of John Muir off of the back wall.
  • Go through the door on the left side of the room with the stuffed animal heads. Once the musical number is done you can look around. Do not touch the green beam that runs across the right side of the room.
  • Use the Cheesily-Polygonned Key on the key slot near the right door, beneath the alarm. This will trigger a cut scene, and reveal the Savage Jungle Inn on the world map.
That's all for Bumpusville for a little bit. Return to the car and head back to the world map.


Savage Jungle Inn

Sounds like you just walked into an elevator.
  • Enter the inn's front door. The entrance is behind Sam's car.
  • Speak to Evelyn Morris, the woman at the front desk. Once you're done asking her questions she'll give you Brochures.
  • Inspect the Brochures to unlock the Dino Bungee National Memorial, as well as the Celebrity Vegetable Museum.
There's a party going on at this inn that's very important, though you can't get in right now. Head back to the car and leave.


Celebrity Vegetable Museum

This is some niche entertainment.
  • Head right from the entrance and speak to the woman at the front desk. 
  • Grab a Conroy Bumpus Eggplant from the vegetable box down and to the right of the woman, beneath the plants that are hanging in a display.
  • Give the woman the Portrait of John Muir.
The woman will need a bit of time to do something, so we'll leave the Celebrity Vegetable Museum for now. Head back to the car.


Dino Bungee National Memorial

What an ecclectic combination.
  • Head right from the car, then go north and take a left, into the small clearing with the dinosaur and mammoth statues.
  • Use Max on the mammoth to receive a bundle of Faux Wooly Mammoth Hair.
  • Use the speaker at the feet of the dinosaur to make it start talking. Click the button again while the dinosaur's mouth is open to stop it from speaking.
  • Use the 91 Yards of Twine on the dinosaur's open mouth, then use Max on the twine to receive a Dinosaur Tooth.
  • This will put you back at the car. Walk back down the path, this time heading north. You'll find a pool of tar with a line of kids. Walk to the right side of the pool to find an elevator. Go up the elevator. The elevator will put you on the bungee jumping platform.
  • Use the Broken Golf Ball Retriever with a Severed Hand Attached To It on the Snuckey's Cup. This will give you a Broken Golf Ball Retriever with a Cup Attached To It.
  • Use the folding screen to the right of the elevator. Sam will change into bungee jumping gear.
  • Use the bungee jumping cord on the right side of the screen.
  • Sam and Max will bounce above the tar below. Use the Broken Golf Ball Retriever with a Cup Attached To It on the sludge to collect a bunch of Tar.
  • Use the Tar on the Siltwalker's Costume, then use the Faux Wooly Mammoth Hair on the costume. This will get you the Stiltwalker's Costume Covered With Tar and Faux Wooly Mammoth Hair.
  • Use the folding screen to change Sam back to normal.
We've done all we can here. Return to the car and leave.


Celebrity Vegetable Museum

Speak to the woman at the desk and ask about the John Muir Gourd. She'll hand it over. Hop back in the car and leave.


Bumpusville

Enter the mansion and head down the right side of the entrance hallway, to the bedroom with the truck bed. Use the Conroy Bumpus Eggplant on the toupee on the right side of the room. You'll get kicked out of the mansion, but you'll have Conroy's Toupee in your inventory. Attach the toupee to the Stilkwalker's Costume to receive the Stiltwalker's Costume Covered With Tar, Faux Wooly Mammoth Hair, and a Toupee. Hop back in the car and leave.


Savage Jungle Inn
  • Enter the inn.
  • Give the Rasp to the bigfoot by the front door.
  • Use the Stiltwalker's Costume Covered With Tar, Faux Wooly Mammoth Hair, and a Toupee on Max while in the lobby. The pair will change into the costume, and the bigfoot will let you enter the back room.
  • You're now in the convention room. Grab the Wine Bottle off of the food table. It's near the white bigfoot.
  • Go through the door to the right of the stage. It's between the stage and the white bigfoot.
  • This will put you in the kitchen. Check the left side of the freezer on the left side of the room for an Ice Pick. It has an orange handle.
  • Try to leave the kitchen and you'll be stopped. Use the Stiltwalker's Costume while on the inventory screen to remove it.
  • Use Max on the freezer door.

After you've handled the business with the baddies the bigfoot elder will take Sam and Max to the inn's pool area, and you'll find four totem poles. Each of these poles corresponds to an item that you can find elsewhere in the game. If you've been following this guide you already have three of the items, and you're ready to get the last one.
  • Travel back to the World's Largest Ball of Twine and visit the restaurant at the top. Give the Ice Pick to the man sitting at the table on the right. He'll turn it into a Twisted Ice Pick.
  • Use the Twisted Ice Pick on the Wine Bottle. This will get you a Cork. Use the Cork on the Sno Globe.
  • Head to the Mystery Vortex and enter the gift shop. Use the Mini Vortex (the booth by the doorway) and use the Sno Globe on the Mini Vortex while Sam and Max are inside. This will earn you a Sno Globe Full of Pseudo Mystical Energies.
Head back to the Savage Jungle Inn and return to the totems. Click the bottom-right corner of the screen, near the bigfoot by the totems, and Sam and Max will walk around the pool in the background to a new area. Here you'll find the bigfoot chief, and you can hand over the four items needed to solve the totem riddles. The items are as follows:
  • The Sno Globe Full of Pseudo Mystical Energies
  • The Dinosaur Tooth (Dino Bungee National Memorial)
  • The John Muir Gourd (Celebrity Vegetable Museum)
  • The Pillow (Bumpusville)
Give the bigfoot elder all four items and you'll trigger the ending, as well as the credits - which consist of an endless shooting gallery. You've completed Sam and Max Hit the Road! Congratulations!