Does the parser not support l for look without the at? or other shorthand like ex for examine? I have to type out 'examine barman' or 'l at barman' rather than just 'l barman' correct? Not a complaint. Just trying to get my bearings. I almost gave up on a game because I didn't realize that I had to type 'at' and I kept getting an error returned like 'I only understood you as far as "l" but then you lost me.

You can use 'x' as shorthand for 'examine'... 'x barman' etc. 

ooooooooooo!!!! ty

And L for LOOK to refresh the room description.

Other abbreviations include N, S, E, W, U, D for NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, UP and DOWN; G for AGAIN (to repeat the previous command); Q for QUIT; Z for WAIT (you might need this in 'A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity').

These games use an Infocom-type parser that tries to parse full english commands, e.g. "get all the books but the blue one", "look at the door", "put all in the box", "open the box then enter it". You can skip articles, but not prepositions.