New walkthroughs for January 2023

On Sunday, January 29, 2023, I published new walkthroughs for the games and stories listed below! Some of these were paid for by my wonderful patrons at Patreon. Please consider supporting me to make even more new walkthroughs for works of interactive fiction at Patreon and Ko-fi.

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According to Cain (2022) by Jim Nelson

In this Bible-inspired game, you play as a novitiate Indagator of the Academy. The Provost orders you to discover the answer to this ancient mystery: What is the Mark of Cain? You are sent back in time to East of Eden to investigate.

Content warning: This game contains descriptions of murder, animal abuse, self-mutilation, and incest.

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2022 where it took 6th place overall; it also won 1st place for Miss Congeniality.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Hollywood Hijinx (1986) by Dave Anderson and Liz Cyr-Jones

Your Aunt Hildegarde has just died. To inherit everything, you must find ten “treasures” hidden in and around Hildebud, the Hollywood estate she shared with your Uncle Buddy, the famous producer of several questionable schlock movies. But you only have one night to do it, or one of their other nieces and nephews will get their chances. Good luck!

This game was written in ZIL and published commercially by Infocom, Inc.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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The Seven Doctors (1998) by David Burke

In this game inspired by Doctor Who, you play as the Seventh Doctor. Old foes have captured your previous six incarnations. Rescue the Doctors by giving each a time-ring; they will return to when and where they belong.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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The Time Machine (1981, 1983, 1998) by Brian Howarth

In this Scott-Adams-style game, you play as a newspaper reporter who wants to interview Dr. Potter in his home in the foggy moors. But instead of finding the doctor, you find his time machine and a request to rescue him.

This is a port of Episode 2 of Brian Howarth’s Mysterious Adventures, published by Digital Fantasia in 1981 or 1983. (My sources give conflicting dates.)

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Advent Mirror (2022) by Andrew Plotkin

In this sequel to Advent Door, you are once again a Traveller in the City of Doors. Where has the portal taken you? Featuring a very interesting and tall mirror.

This game was an entry in the Confounding Calendar 2022.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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IF Aquarium (2010) by Michael Kichline and Michael Eckhart

In this short and flawed art piece, you play as anyone visiting an aquarium. You begin in a glass tunnel, with sharks swimming on the other side of the glass. The exits are east and west, and there’s a closed trap door above you.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Trial of the Inuop (2017) by Jordan Jones

In this short one-room game, you are a homeowner abducted by aliens called the Inuop. They invite you to escape their space vessel before a timer runs out or they’ll invade Earth. Examining and taking inventory do not use up turns. The timer shows 11 turns left. Good luck!

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Who Shot Gum E. Bear? (2022) by Damon L. Wakes

In this mystery game, you play as Bubble Gumshoe. You and Officer Donut are in an alley. At your feet is the lifeless body of Gum E. Bear, lying in a puddle of his own liquid centre. Investigate this crime and ACCUSE the culprit.

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2022 where it took 35th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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New walkthroughs for December 2022

On Friday, December 30, 2022, I published new walkthroughs for the games and stories listed below! Some of these were paid for by my wonderful patrons at Patreon. Please consider supporting me to make even more new walkthroughs for works of interactive fiction at Patreon and Ko-fi.

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Arborea (2022) by Richard Develyn

In this arboreal/ecological themed game, you begin in a simulated vast forest generated by Program Arborea. You have a gourd with markings on it. Your goal is to retrieve the kernel, whatever that is.

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2022 where it took 15th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Finding Light (2021) by Abigail Jazwiec

In this fantasy game, you play as the guardian familiar known as Ezra, formed from light and given to Aurel when he was a child. Today, you wake up bleeding in a forest. You remember raiders attacking. Aurel is gone. You must find him. Your astral gem lets you turn into a black fox with enhanced smell and the ability to speak to animals.

In this fantasy game, you play as the guardian familiar known as Ezra, formed from light and given to Aurel when he was a child. Today, you wake up bleeding in a forest. You remember raiders attacking. Aurel is gone. You must find him. Your astral gem lets you turn into a black fox with enhanced smell and the ability to speak to animals.

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2021 where it took 18th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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What Heart Heard Of, Ghost Guessed (2021) by Amanda Walker

In this game, you waken in a shadowy place, without memories, feelings, or a physical body. You can’t touch anything. But as you examine things, you gain emotions that can affect things. Your FEAR shatters glass. Your EXCITEment opens doors. Explore this house and learn who you are.

Content warning: violence and child abuse.

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2021 where it took 4th place. At the 2021 XYZZY Awards, it won both the Best Game and Best Story awards; it was also a finalist in three other categories (Best Writing, Best Puzzles, and Best Use of Innovation).

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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The Tiny House (2010) by Dan Doyle III

In this sprawling fantasy game, you play as Christine Doyle, a young teacher. You come home from work to discover your husband and son are missing. If you search your home, you’ll find a spellbook, some scrolls, and eventually learn your son was stolen by David Bowie?! Wasn’t that just in a movie?

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Civil Seeming Drivel Dreaming (2022) by Andrew Schultz

You overdosed on candy and now you’re dreaming somewhere very strange. This is a small wordplay game where everything is based on alliterative phrases that rhyme with other alliterative phrases: the names of places and things. Change your environment, defeat foes, and explore until this drivel dreaming ends.

This game was an entry in Le Grand Guignol (English) division of Ectocomp 2022, where it took 15th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Wisp (2013) by Lea

In this very small adventure, you’re on a road late at night, trying to get home to bed, when you see a light ahead. You soon find yourself in a confusing marsh, hazy with mist.

This story was an entry in Ectocomp 2013 where it took 23rd place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Within a Wreath of Dewdrops or, A Poisoned Zenith (2005) by Sam Kabo Ashwell and Jacqueline Lott (writing together as “Alphonse de l’Entaille”)

In this small game, you are the only actor onstage in Within a Wreath of Dewdrops, a historical opus which has entered its final act. Using just four pathetic props, can you act as the hero, the heroine, and the evil wizard, and save a burning Paris from the Spaniards?

This game was a participant in the Third 24 Hours of Inform event.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

New walkthroughs for November 2022

On Monday, November 28, 2022, I published new walkthroughs for the games and stories listed below! Some of these were paid for by my wonderful patrons at Patreon. Please consider supporting me to make even more new walkthroughs for works of interactive fiction at Patreon and Ko-fi.

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Nowheresville (2022) by Morpheus Kitami and Cody Gaisser

In this game, you’re in a strange town you don’t recognize. It’s too clean. Unused. Everyone’s a job stereotype. And there’s no way to leave. The diner’s waitress calls it Nowheresville, or Hell. She says everyone’s been here a very long time, and asks if you’ll try to break out again. For mature adults only.

This work was an entry in Le Grand Guignol (English) division of Ectocomp 2022 where it took 14th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Mrs. Pepper’s Nasty Secret (2008) by Jim Aikin and Eric Eve

You play as a kid on your way home from school on a Monday afternoon. Last Friday, ugly crabby Mrs. Pepper took your skateboard away from you when you had a freak spill in front of her driveway. She wouldn’t give your skateboard back then, but maybe you can get it back now?

This game won first place in both the IFBeginnersComp and in the Interactive Short Fiction Contest.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Jungle Adventure (2022) by Paul Barter

In this old-school-style adventure game that uses lots of ASCII art, you play as someone lost in the jungle after an unexplained plane crash. Your main goals are to survive and escape, but feel free to get some treasure too, if you can.

This game was written in Python and was an entry in IF Comp 2022 where it took 67th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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City of Dead Leaves (2016) by Felix Pleşoianu

In this short story, you play as the outsider, the one who left. You have returned here, hoping to find your lost love and reconcile with him.

This story was written in ALAN 3 and is licensed under Artistic License 2.0.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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The Enigma of the Old Manor House (2022) by Daniel M. Stelzer

Dared by your friends, you’ve broken into the house where old Doctor Black mysteriously died decades ago. Based on the ghost stories you’ve heard, you think there’s now a poltergeist in there, and if you’re right, that’s a ghost you can find… and trap.

This game was an entry in La Petite Mort (English) division of Ectocomp 2022.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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The Hidden King’s Tomb (2022) by Joshua Fratis

In this small adventure, you’re exploring the Hidden King’s Tomb, searching for treasure. Unfortunately, your adventuring partner pushed you into the sinkhole “entrance”, so you’re also searching for a way to escape.

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2022 where it took 60th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Interface (2009) by Ben Vegiard

You play as a young boy whose mind is trapped in a pyramid-shaped robot body. Your uncle Floyd, an electronics genius, invited you to his home to be the first person to try out his latest invention. But something went wrong. Uncle Floyd orders his scrawny assistant, Gilby, to take you home and fix everything. But Gilby is planning to quit and just leave you in his house like this! How can you escape your predicament?

This game was entered in IF Comp 2009 where it took 8th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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I pressed on, being chased by a stapler with my name on it. (2013) by Charlie Marcou

In this extremely short and on-the-rails story based on quotes from Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, you play as an office worker named Rick. Papers are flying everywhere, and a stapler is chasing you.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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The Ngah Angah School of Forbidden Wisdom (2008) by Anssi Räisänen

In this fantasy romance, you are a new arrival at the very secretive Ngah Angah School of Forbidden Wisdom. Now prove you have the right to be there by completing three extreme tests. The penalty for failure is death.

This game was written in ALAN 3 and was an entry in IF Comp 2008 where it took 18th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Rock, Paper, Scissors (2022) by William Moore (as “Masterful Interactions”)

In this one-room joke game, you are a player in the largest Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament ever. Note that this minimalist work offers almost no player agency: you can either attack your opponent over and over again, or quit.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

New walkthroughs for October 2022

On Sunday, October 30, 2022, I published new walkthroughs for the games and stories listed below! Some of these were paid for by my wonderful patrons at Patreon. Please consider supporting me to make even more new walkthroughs for works of interactive fiction at Patreon and Ko-fi.

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Additional Tales from Castle Balderstone (2019) by Ryan Veeder

Once more, you are Ryan Veeder’s invited guest to an evening of spooky storytelling at Castle Balderstone. Victor Atencio, the van Gogh of Gore, presents “Mittens”. Johanna C. Quinn narrates a true story with a few details changed. It’s set on an asteroid. Eddie Carlyle surprises everyone with a Dia de Muertos theme in his tale. And Allison Chase tells a story she found in a cabinet, but the author’s name was her own!

This is the second game in the Castle Balderstone series. It was an entry in Le Grand Guignol, English division of Ectocomp 2019 where it took 3rd place. At the 2019 XYZZY Awards, it was a finalist in the Best Setting category.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Campus Invaders (2022) by Marco Vallarino

In this game, you’re visiting the Vigamus Academy to learn more about the game design course taught by Professor Mark M. Etal. But as you arrive, aliens from space invade the campus! The gate will keep them out of the building for a while, but only you can save the campus.

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2022 where it took NTH place. It is also a spin-off of something called “Zigamus”.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Moon-Shaped (2006) by Jason Ermer

In this game partly inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, you play as Rosalind Wechsler, a girl on the cusp of her 13th birthday. What begins as a trip to Grandmother’s house in the woods leads to disturbing family secrets, and may end in a family reunion, death, or both.

This game was entered in IF Comp 2006 where it took 5th place. At the 2006 XYZZY Awards, it was a finalist in two categories (Best Story and Best NPCs).

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Art D’s First Batch Adventure (1997) by Arthur DiBianca

In this simple limited-command-set adventure game, you play as somone walking along a sunny path. You soon find a knife, a wrapped box, and the entrance to the Cave of Thrills. It looks like the local breadstick-loving king wants to help you have an adventure!

This game was written in Batch. This is the first in a series of games.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Art D’s Next Batch Adventure (1997) by Arthur DiBianca

In this simple limited-command-set adventure game, you continue your adventure, starting in a sunny clearing with the King’s word from the last adventure. Soon you will find a solid gold torch and explore a cave.

This game was written in Batch. This is the second in a series of games. Please play Art D’s First Batch Adventure before this one.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Art D’s Third Batch Adventure (1997) by Arthur DiBianca

In this simple game, you continue your adventure. Back outside the caves, you find a dusty old book in a meadow near a village. Follow its whimsical directions to learn what the king wants you to do next.

This game was written in Batch. This is the third in a series of games. Please play Art D’s Next Batch Adventure before this one.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Compliance (2012) by Chris Conley

In this espionage game intro, you play as Reg, an employee of the Company. She warned you. She begged you to leave. She’s missing. Now you’re looking for a file in the sub-basement that can help you.

This game was an entry in IntroComp 2012 where it took 2nd place. It was designed to be played with music and sound effects.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Ghosterington Night (2012) by Wade Clarke

In this short horror-filled treasure hunt, you play as Jubilee Grief, the famous adventurer. Every Samhain night, for three hours before midnight, a manor materializes atop of a lonely cliff. Inside the danger-filled home are hidden the four last and worst poems that Vigilance Ghosterington ever wrote. Those horrible poems are now worth millions and you’re going to find them.

This game was an entry in Ectocomp 2012 where it won 1st place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Shallow (2012) by Austin Eady

In this empty work, your character could be anyone in a bottomless void with shifting voices and swirling colours. There’s three locations of static prose and nothing else.

My walkthrough and map

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Storm Over London (2014) by Juhana Leinonen

In this short story, you play as a young woman driving home in a rainstorm but the GPS is offline and you get lost and then your car stalls in front of an old house. You need to call a tow truck, but your cell phone has no reception. Hopefully whoever lives here will let you use their phone.

This story was written in Hugo and was a participant in the 7th annual New Year’s Minicomp.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

New walkthroughs for September 2022

On Friday, September 30, 2022, I published new walkthroughs for the games and stories listed below! Some of these were paid for by my wonderful patrons at Patreon. Please consider supporting me to make even more new walkthroughs for works of interactive fiction at Patreon and Ko-fi.

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Save Princeton (1991-2002) by Jacob Sager Weinstein and Karine Schaefer

In this game, you’re a tourist at Princeton University, NJ, but the guided tour bores you, so you wander off into a dormitory. After hearing some unexpected gunfire outside, you soon learn that an invading army has taken over the campus. Someone brave needs to save Princeton, and that someone is you!

In 2004, Mike Caesar ported the game to Inform 6 and the Z-machine.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Seasonal Apocalypse Disorder (2020) by Zan and Xavid

In this fantasy game, you play as a druid sent back in time to prevent the Order of the Fiery Doom from enacting a ritual that will destroy everything in flames. Using the right plants and a mystical cocoon, you can time-travel to all four seasons in your mission to stop this apocalypse.

This game was entered in IF Comp 2020 where it tied for 33rd place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Can You Escape (2013) by Last but not Least

In this tepid, unpolished, minimalistic challenge, you have decided to escape from the haunted house. Some creatures in the house are helpful, but most are not. Find the right path through the house to win. Easy.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Kii!Wii! (2014) by Adri

In this tiny one-room art piece, you’re in a grassy park with the cutest creature known to man, a kiwi bird. Relax, interact with your new friend, and enjoy the experience.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Let’s Play: Ancient Greek Punishment: The Text Adventure (2019) by Pippin Barr

In this text adventure, you play as someone newly dead. But exactly who are you: Sisyphus, Tantalus, Prometheus, Danaids, or Zeno? Everyone gets a different punishment in the afterlife!

This text adventure was an entry in IF Comp 2019 where it took 54th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Weary Eerie Way (2021) by Andrew Schultz

In this acky-way-wacky wordplay game, you are dreaming. You just crashed your blimp in Blimp Limp Bay, but fortunately, local weirdo Ump-Gray-Grump will fix it for you. Ah-Yay Yah! But he needs you to find a part to fix it with. Rat-Day Drat!

This game was an entry in the La Petite Mort (English) division of Ectocomp 2021 where it took 11th Place. It is also a sequel to Under They Thunder from IF Comp 2020.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

New walkthroughs for August 2022

On Saturday, August 27, 2022, I published new walkthroughs for the games and stories listed below! Some of these were paid for by my wonderful patrons at Patreon. Please consider supporting me to make even more new walkthroughs for works of interactive fiction at Patreon and Ko-fi.

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Curses (1993-1995) by Graham Nelson

In this huge puzzlefest, you’re an Englishman about to go on holiday, and your main goal is to find a map of Paris in the attic of Meldrew Hall. Downstairs, your family has made quite the meal of moving suitcases around; avoid them all. This game features time-travel, Tarot cards, Rods of Power, daisies, a family curse, and a tourist map of Paris.

This game tied for 22nd place on the 2011 Interactive Fiction Top 50 of all time, and tied for 13th place on the 2019 Interactive Fiction Top 50 of all time.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Foreign Soil (2021) by Olaf Nowacki

In this science-fiction game, you play as a female pilgrim to another planet. After recovering from stasis, you note someone else woke before you and that the other coffins are contaminated with flora. Find the other person, and turn the crater you landed in into something more habitable than endless orange sand.

An incomplete version of this game was an entry in Introcomp 2020. The full game was an entry in ParserComp 2021 where it took 3rd place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Alchemist’s Gold (2022) by Garry Francis

In this game, you play as a would-be thief. You heard a rumour about an alchemist in the forest who’s used alchemy to make a large stash of gold. After getting a lead on where the alchemist’s house is, you decide to visit him and take some of his gold for yourself.

This game was an entry in ParserComp 2022. It also used the PunyInform v4.0 library.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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The Colour Pink (2005) by Robert Street

In this game, you are a spaceman sent to investigate an out-of-contact colony on an abandoned planet. Your mission is to find out what happened to the scientists and report back to the Captain. But what do you do when the world turns pink and your communicator stops working?

This game was an entry in the IF Comp 2005 where it took 6th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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The Horste (2017) by Roger Carbol

In this short HBO Westworld fanfic, you play as a robot horse (a “horste”) named Alba. You start your day in the stables with Francis the mule. Dolores should be arriving soon.

This story was a participant in the Tent Annual New Year’s Minicomp.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Room serial (2012) by merricart

In this short surreal game, you are but a shadow of your former self. You don’t know who you are or what happened, but you do know you’re in the 7th room. Your only powers are to look or to examine. An open green door beckons you, but you must first regain the power to enter before you can use it.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Save the Cheshire Cat! (2014) by Marco Vallarino

In this game, while at the old town book fair, your friend Mario tells you that the games club mascot, the Cheshire Cat, is missing! The club can’t organize events without it, so you must find it! Mario suspects it was kidnapped for its fur; other cats have disappeared and there are rumors of a fur trade.

This is an English translation of the Italian game, Salvate lo Stregatto, by Marco Vallarino.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Under the Sea: The Treasure of the Santa Tortosa (2019) by Heike Borchers

In this small underwater adventure, you play as Professor Oliver von Bremen, adventurer, noble, and bon vivant. At London’s Adventurers’ Society, you heard about the sunken galleon Santa Tortosa, its treasure, and the tiny Caribbean island that has a map that leads to it. Now’s the time to find out if those rumours were true.

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2019 where it took 20th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

New walkthroughs for July 2022

On Monday, July 25, 2022, I published new walkthroughs for the games and stories listed below! Some of these were paid for by my wonderful patrons at Patreon. Please consider supporting me to make even more new walkthroughs for works of interactive fiction at Patreon and Ko-fi.

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Impossible Stairs (2022) by Mathbrush

In this puzzling game, you play as CJ, a young woman at her family home who gets a list of chores in an odd way. Did you forget that you have spatio-temporal disjunction? That is, whenever you go upstairs, you go 20 years into the future, and whenever you go downstairs, you go back 20 years into the past, aging or de-aging as appropriate.

This work was written in Dialog and was an entry in ParserComp 2022 where it took NTH place. It’s also an authorized sequel to Impossible Bottle by Linus Åkesson.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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The Bony King of Nowhere (2017) by Luke A. Jones

In this game, you play as a Northerner living a quiet life in your hovel with your faithful dog, Dylan. When you step outside, a foul-mouthed pigeon drops a letter at your feet, but when you look at it, you learn to your dismay that it’s addressed to the Bony King of Nowhere who lives far to the south, and that you must now deliver the letter personally to the King or be executed. Well that’s just perfect.

This game was written in Quest 5 and was an entry in the Main Festival of Spring Thing 2017. A sequel to this game, Citizen of Nowhere, was published in 2019.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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FORK: The Great Underground Dining Room (2007) by Chris Federico

In this large puzzle game, you play as someone on vacation who enjoys old video games, especially Atari and Commodore ones. Therefore, you’re at a games convention in this odd hotel, looking for adventure. Explore far enough and who knows what you’ll find? Maybe you’ll even have dinner with some old friends.

CAUTION: Many read-author’s-mind moments.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Text Adventure Collector (2020) by Rex Mundane

In this minimalist-style adventure, you play as someone who wants to collect text adventures. Find ten text adventures and drop them in your basement library to win.

This game was written in Adventuron and was a participant in the Adventuron Treasure Hunt Jam where it took 6th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Grue (2017) by Charles Mangin

In this tiny adventure, you play as a grue, lurking in your lair. It is pitch black. Your goal is simple: eat a tasty adventurer.

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2017 where it took 54th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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In The Spotlight (1998) by John Byrd

In this tiny one-room puzzler, you are someone whose vision fades while at the computer. The remaining light condenses into a spotlight high above you. All you can see are two dangling strings, a pair of heavy scissors, a wad of cotton, and a matchbook.

This game was an entry in IF Comp 1998 where it took 21st place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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A Masochist’s Heaven (2002) by Tne Mad Monk

In this tiny game, you play as a masochist in Heaven, and you don’t like it. You want pain! You want suffering! Find a way to get kicked out of Heaven and into Hell where you belong.

This game was written in ADRIFT 4 and was an entry in the ADRIFT 1st 1-Hour Comp 2002.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Mystery! (2016) by Gene Welborn

In this game based on the board game Clue, you play as an investigator summoned to Tudor Mansion to do one last job for Rick Mortis. Unfortunately, you’ll be solving his murder. Who did it where with which weapon? A random solution each time you play.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Perilous Magic (1999) by David Fillmore

In this very short fantasy game based on a comment in the Enchanter manual, you play as a civil servant. You need to triplicate a report in the next half hour, but you’re all out of paper.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Weird City Interloper (2014) by C.E.J. Pacian

In this game driven exclusively by topics of conversation, you play as a hooded stranger visiting the city of Zendon. Orz, the city gate barnacle, wants to know if you’re here for [trade] or [worship].

At the 2014 XYZZY Awards, this game was a finalist in the Best NPCs category.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

New walkthroughs for June 2022

On Tuesday, June 28, 2022, I published new walkthroughs for the games and stories listed below! Some of these were paid for by my wonderful patrons at Patreon. Please consider supporting me to make even more new walkthroughs for works of interactive fiction at Patreon and Ko-fi.

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Dessert Island Adventure (2022) by Nils Fagerburg

In this fantasy game, you play as Orange Mehringer, an apprentice to Mary Hollywood, the famous pastry wizard. As part of your midterm exam, you must find as many magic ingredients as you can from this dessert island. (And no, that’s not a typo.)

This game was written in Javascript and was a participant in the Text Adventure Literacy Jam 2022 (TALP 2022) event where it took 4th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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A Very Hairy Fish-Mess (2009) by Byron Alexander Campbell

In this absurd horror-comedy, you were making a cheese sammich when Cthulhu summons you to her throne room deep below your home. She tells you that Fishmas, the Time of Giving, is nigh. She orders you to give Cthulhu the largest, stinkiest fish in Cthulhu’s Great Realm. Now begone! Fetch it, Human! There shall be much Fishmas Cheer!

This game was written in ALAN 3.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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The Witch’s Apprentice (2019) by Garry Francis

In this game, you play as Susan, a 14 year-old apprentice witch, assigned to Broomhilda, a much older witch. When you first meet in her basement, she orders you to find eight ingredients for her cauldron. She’s brewing a spell that will keep children safe from restless spirits this Halloween.

This game was written in Adventuron and was an entry in Adventuron Halloween Jam 2019 where it took 1st place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Magic (2008) by Geoff Fortytwo

In this odd game, you play as a magician-for-hire the day after a bad gig and a night in the rain. You find your top hat and flip its catch to release Rupert, your rabbit, who immediately attacks you like a demon and starts a reign of terror. You also find a Meta trick that lets you COMPARE things to other things to transform them.

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2008 where it took 14th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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The Blue Lettuce (2021) by Caleb Wilson

In this short fantasy, you play as a groundhog in a wizard’s garden. There’s lots of tasty magical plants you want to eat today, but the blue lettuce is the tastiest!

This game was a participant in the Text Adventure Literacy Jam 2021 event where it took 5th place. It was also a top-five finalist for the Scott’s Choice Award.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Dash Slapney and the Calamitous Candy Corn Cornucopia (2011) by Andrew Schultz

In this silly small buggy game, you play as Dash Slapney. You foil the bad guys with a bare minimum effort and dumb luck. Your new mission: save Halloween here in Vanillaville. It’s being taken over by candy corn.

This game was an entry in Ectocomp 2011 where it took 5th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Heated (2010) by Timothy Peers

In this frustrating slice of life, you wake up to the blaring of your alarm clock. But don’t get heated! Your future is at stake! Can you get to work on time, looking good, smelling good, and with a cool head? If you fail, you could lose your job. But success could mean a raise or even a promotion!

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2010 where it took 20th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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The Queen of Swords (2003) by Jessica Knoch

In this one-room art piece, you play as a woman in a reserved room at the local library where you and your husband, David, will practise using electric fencing equipment. There’s quite a lot of it, and you’re not sure what order to put everything on or what connects to what. David, of course, will try to help.

This work was an exhibit at the 2003 IF Art Show where it was awarded a Best of Show ribbon.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Threediopolis (2013) by Andrew Schultz (writing as “Ned Yompus”)

In this wordplay game, you play as a citizen of the multi-level city of Threediopolis in the year 2100. Today, you got lost and found Ed Dunn in a penthouse. He immediately hires you to visit several people and places, but his list is rather cryptic. Still, it includes all the addresses, so how hard can it be?

This work was an entry in IF Comp 2013 where it took 7th place. At the 2013 XYZZY Awards, Threediopolis was a finalist in both the Best Puzzles and Best Individual Puzzle categories.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Wedding Day (2014) by E. Joyce

In this short story, it’s your wedding day. You are not young for a bride. Once dressed, you try to enjoy the celebration in the village square. But as the crowd dances and the Village Elder stands apart, watching, you wonder if you can truly go through with it. Are you ready?

This story was an entry in Ectocomp 2014 where it took 5th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

New walkthroughs for May 2022

On Monday, May 30, 2022, I published new walkthroughs for the games and stories listed below! Some of these were paid for by my wonderful patrons at Patreon. Please consider supporting me to make even more new walkthroughs for works of interactive fiction at Patreon and Ko-fi.

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Sage Sanctum Scramble (2020) by Arthur DiBianca

In this wordplay fantasy game, you play as someone visiting the Sage Sanctum. Quorbus tells you that by solving puzzles, you’ll collect keywords that will aid you in defeating a monstrous zarblot that threatens the Sanctum. The more keywords the better, so start solving!

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2020 where it took 15th place. At the 2020 XYZZY Awards, it was a finalist in the Best Puzzles category.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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So, You’ve Never Played a Text Adventure Before, Huh? (2014) by Ryan Veeder

In this tutorial game, you are playing as Robin Monaghan, a high school senior exploring an abandoned house. The game begins with you in the attic, trying to get a better look at something shiny, but instead you fall through an unexpected hole into the bedroom below.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Igor’s Quest (2020) by Garry Francis

In this minimalist wordplay game where all commands and responses are only two words or less, you play as Doctor Frankenstein’s assistant, Igor. He orders you find a head, hair, eyes, ears, a body, arms, hands, legs, and feet and bring them to his laboratory.

This game was written in Adventuron and was a participant in the Adventuron Treasure Hunt Jam (2020) event.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Santa’s Trainee Elf (2020-2021) by Garry Francis

In this pleasant Christmas game, you play as Eldrid, a 16-year-old elf in Santa’s Workshop. It’s the day before Christmas Eve, and Santa wants you to complete some last minute chores, mostly making toys for the children on his list. He also wants you to ask Mrs Claus in the kitchen and Volodar in the stable if they something done as well.

This game was written in Adventuron and was a participant in the Adventuron Christmas Jam 2020.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Carpathian Vampire (2022) by Garry Francis

In this horror game, you play as Franz, a vampire hunter, hired by Romanian villagers who believe a recently deceased count is now a strigoi who has been killing their children. You begin outside the former Count’s castle.

This game was a participant in the Text Adventure Literacy Jam 2022.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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A Christmas Quest (2020) by Richard Pettigrew

In this small game set at the North Pole, you play as Yitshak the Elf on Christmas Eve. Santa is already flying around the world, delivering presents, but he’s missing one. Find the missing present and bring it to Santa.

This game was written in Adventuron and was an entry in the Adventuron Christmas Jam (2020) where it took 7th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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The Lonely Troll (2022) by Amanda Walker

In this small pleasant fantasy game, you play as a lonely troll who lives in a snug house in a valley of apple trees. You want to talk to someone. You want an adventure. You want a friend.

This game was an entry in the Text Adventure Literacy Jam 2022 event.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Lowell’s Paradise (2008) by Jesse McGrew

In this very short game, you play as someone who accidentally falls away from their experiment and into a park. Professor Lowell explains you’re in Lowell’s Paradise, a bubble in space, but a giant broke the conduit back, so everyone’s trapped. Just stay away from that rip in the sky, okay?

This game was a participant in the bouchercomp event.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Seeker of Magic (2019) by Garry Francis

In this short adventure, you play as Rowan of Bunglewood Downs, a would-be thief and a seeker of magic. You intend to find and enter the Cave of Magic and take its magic for yourself.

This game was written in Adventuron and was a participant in the Adventuron Cave Jam 2019.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

New walkthroughs for April 2022

On Thursday, April 28, 2022, I published new walkthroughs for the games and stories listed below! Some of these were paid for by my wonderful patrons at Patreon. Please consider supporting me to make even more new walkthroughs for works of interactive fiction at Patreon and Ko-fi.

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Ditch Day Drifter (1990) by Michael J. Roberts

In this game, you play as an underclassman at the California Institute of Technology. Today is Ditch Day, where seniors lock their doors with devices and puzzles called “stacks”, and underclassmen attempt to solve the stacks.

This was a sample game included with its source code in the TADS 2 distribution. The sequel Deep Space Drifter was also released in 1990, followed by Return to Ditch Day in 2004.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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Ferryman’s Gate (2020) by Daniel Maycock

In this game, you play as a kid who recently moved from New York to west Georgia to live in the manor house that your family inherited from your eccentric great uncle, Osmond Ferryman. You soon learn that your uncle was obsessed with commas and how to use them correctly. You also learn that he may have hidden a secret inheritance just for you!

This game was a participant in IF Comp 2020 where it took 23rd place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and maps

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The Legend of Horse Girl (2022) by Bitter Karella

In this comedy western, you play as Horse Girl. Normally, you’d be riding the open plains, but that sidewinder, Judge Lazarus Dives, stole your horse! He also wants to own every snake oil well in Texas, so he must be here in Santa Diablo. You’re certain of it. You’re gonna find that buzzard and settle the score.

This game is an entry in the Main Festival of Spring Thing 2022, ranking to be determined.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Gnu in the Zoo (2016) by Alex Ball

In this game, you play as a gnu in a zoo. You wake up in the middle of the night and discover that the gate to the gnu enclosure was left unlocked. The thought of exploring the zoo is thrilling. Is tonight the night you escape from the zoo?

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Corrupter of Dreams (2017) by Robert Patten

In this short story, you are Nightmare, the Corrupter of Dreams. You have entered a boy’s pleasant dream about a garden, peaceful and beautiful, and dominated by a huge blossoming tree. How you ache to touch it. When the tree dies, the dream will die too.

This story was an entry in the La Petite Mort, English division of Ectocomp 2017 where it took 4th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Dr Ego and the egg of Man-Toomba (2020) by Wesley Werner (as “Special Agent”)

In this small adventure game, you play as Dr Ego, an archeologist in search of treasure. Today, you’re in an uncharted area of Papua New Guinea looking for the legendary Golden Egg of Man-Toomba.

This game was an entry in IF Comp 2020 where it took 44th place.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Islands Far Away (2010) by Shanon Fernald

In this small juvenile game, you play as someone struggling to write a computer game with an islands theme. If only you could get rid of your distractions and focus, maybe, just maybe you can write a game so awesome, it’ll be your ticket to fame, fortune, and your own island far far away.

Content warning: masturbation and dog excrement.

This game was an entry in the Ludum Dare Game Competition #17.

IFDB | My walkthrough and map

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Looking for Godot (1996) by Patrick Shaughnessy

In this small whimsical game, you’re searching your home for a copy of Waiting for Godot to return to your English teacher. It’s not on the porch; you only found a rotting fish there. Now where could that book be?

IFDB | My walkthrough and map