OK, first of all, do a quick visit to
MobyGames and see if you remember the name of the game correctly. Also check out the different versions of the game, that could become handy.
Now, follow these steps:
1) Is the game new-ish and/or has console versions? Then it's likely that
Replacement Docs has it.
2) Looking for manuals for an older graphic adventure / text adventure / RPG? Try the
Museum of Computer Adventure Game History.
3) A game guide will do? This is often true when dealing with RPGs, adventure and strategy games. Then
GameFAQS is the place to go.
Still no luck? Then let's see if we can find a manual for a different system. Most of the time they are identical, except for loading / install info.
1) The game has an 8 bit version:
- Amstrad CPC: Try
CPC Power. They often have scanned French, Spanish and English versions of manuals, in PDF or JPG.
- ZX Spectrum: Try
World of Spectrum. They have tons of manuals, usually in PDF or TXT, in English or Spanish. It's also a great place if you're looking for maps or walkthroughs for old games.
- C64:
Commodore 64 Boxed Sets has few games, but with those they have they provide scans of covers and manuals, usually in one JPG per page.
You can join them together later with a free PDF service such as
SmallPDF.
- Apple II:
Apple2Online has a few PDF game manuals.
2) The game has a 16 bit version:
-
Lemon Amiga is a site dedicated to this computer. Among other things, they have rescued many manual transcripts from pirate docs disks. No PDFs or fancy stuff here, just HTML.
- Looking for the real thing? Then try
Amiga Hall of Light. They have tons of PDF manuals, and many of them come in different languages.
-
The World's Finest Atari ST Database: Not only a great database, they also preserve many manuals in JPG format, one pic per page.
This can get a bit cumbersome, but as in
Commodore 64 Boxed Sets you can join them together later with a free PDF service such as
SmallPDF.
3) The game only appeared for PCs.
Try Google. Seriously. Somebody may have uploaded the manual to a hosting service such as Archive.org, Google Docs, Scribd or an FTP, and if they have the results will show.
4) The game has a console version.
There are many places out there which carry console manuals, but I really thing this should be your last option. Not only console versions are often different from DOS / Windows games in terms of game mechanics, but also the control sections, which usually are the reason to search for a manual in the first place, will be completely different.
If you still want to proceed, do as above and use Google.