The instructions are useful, but not necessary. The majority of the game involves trying to figure out how things work together.
As an aside, it took me forever to get the pun in the name of the dwarven mine. I thought it was "It's not your zits", and I was wondering why the dwarves cared about acne...
__________________
_________________
|...............| We live in the nick of times.
| Len 17, Wid 3 |
|_______________| [pics]
|