"Classic"-style games?

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I'm talking about stuff like the old Zork and Enchanter games -
basically a paper-thin story connected by tons of puzzles.
Lately, it seems like most games have the focus on story...
which, of course, is nice, but I'd really like some more
puzzle-fests.

So - does anyone have some recommendations? Maybe some relatively
unknown ones that still have good puzzles (and not "Guess what I'm
thinking while hiding stuff in a maze")? I surfed around a bit at
Baf's and SPAG, but I can't read all the reviews on SPAG
(way, way too many)... and I'm basically through with the 5-star
games on Baf.

Thanks in advance!
 
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In article <40E4AC99.72C2346A@gmx.de>,
Jan Klinkhammer <stalkers@gmx.de> wrote:
>I'm talking about stuff like the old Zork and Enchanter games -
>basically a paper-thin story connected by tons of puzzles.
>Lately, it seems like most games have the focus on story...
>which, of course, is nice, but I'd really like some more
>puzzle-fests.

This is another time where the IF Scoreboard is just what you want.
http://www.carouselchain.com/if/statistics.php?genre=23&type=genre&limit=30
should keep you busy for a while, although you may want to read the
descriptions to sort out the ones with story from the ones without.

--
Dan Shiovitz :: dbs@cs.wisc.edu :: http://www.drizzle.com/~dans
"He settled down to dictate a letter to the Consolidated Nailfile and
Eyebrow Tweezer Corporation of Scranton, Pa., which would make them
realize that life is stern and earnest and Nailfile and Eyebrow Tweezer
Corporations are not put in this world for pleasure alone." -PGW
 
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On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 02:30:17 +0200, Jan Klinkhammer <stalkers@gmx.de>
wrote:

>I'm talking about stuff like the old Zork and Enchanter games -
>basically a paper-thin story connected by tons of puzzles.
>Lately, it seems like most games have the focus on story...
>which, of course, is nice, but I'd really like some more
>puzzle-fests.
>
>So - does anyone have some recommendations? Maybe some relatively
>unknown ones that still have good puzzles (and not "Guess what I'm
>thinking while hiding stuff in a maze")? I surfed around a bit at
>Baf's and SPAG, but I can't read all the reviews on SPAG
>(way, way too many)... and I'm basically through with the 5-star
>games on Baf.
>
>Thanks in advance!

Muldoon Legacy, First Things First, Curses, Jigsaw, Anchorhead.
 
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Jan Klinkhammer <stalkers@gmx.de> wrote in message news:<40E4AC99.72C2346A@gmx.de>...
> I'm talking about stuff like the old Zork and Enchanter games -
> basically a paper-thin story connected by tons of puzzles.
> Lately, it seems like most games have the focus on story...
> which, of course, is nice, but I'd really like some more
> puzzle-fests.

(snip)

For shorter puzzle-festy games: Anything by Michael Roberts (I like
his latest game, Return to Ditch Day, the best, but they are all good
for puzzles). The Meteor, the Stone, and a Long Glass of Sherbet by
"Angela M. Horns" (aka Graham Nelson).

A longer one is Augmented Fourth by Brian Uri.

The Unnkulian series is fun, though less robust than more recent games
(IMHO), but certainly comparable to Zork/Enchanter. I'm talking about
UU1, UU2, and UU 1/2. UU Zero I never got far in, but seemed fun, and
there was another UU game by an unrelated author in a recentish IF
comp, I think (yes, it was Unnkulia X, in the year 2000), but I never
played that at all. Also related is The Legend Lives!. Very
different in style, with some story, but mostly you're solving
puzzles. Good help included in the game. GC: A Thrashing Parity Bit
of the Mind (by Dave Baggett, an Unnkulian author) has a lot of MIT
injokes and is also puzzley.

You can find these games through Baf's Guide.

--
Daphne
 
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"Jan Klinkhammer" <stalkers@gmx.de> wrote in message
news:40E4AC99.72C2346A@gmx.de...
> I'm talking about stuff like the old Zork and Enchanter games -
> basically a paper-thin story connected by tons of puzzles.
> Lately, it seems like most games have the focus on story...
> which, of course, is nice, but I'd really like some more
> puzzle-fests.
>
Amen! I think a lot of games today are getting to "artsy-fartsy." If you
like that sort of thing fine, but I loved the older ones. Didn't know my
character's name, why I was in a maze, in a cave, and why there was a
vending machine there, but I loved it.
 
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John <menichel@cox.net> wrote:

> "Not Just an Ordinary Ballerina", a z-code game with a pretty good
> story and a *ton* of puzzles.

But be sure to read up on your USAnian Christmas legendry, both
commercial and sentimental but not religious, before you play. It is
_highly_ culture-specific.

Richard
 
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Uh-oh... then it doesn't help that I'm from Europe, I guess.

I'm already stumped with it... maybe it's one of those things you
are talking about? I just can't figure out the code... but I hope
I overlooked a hint somewhere, because otherwise, that puzzle
seems awfully cruel.

Richard Bos schrieb:

> John <menichel@cox.net> wrote:
>
> > "Not Just an Ordinary Ballerina", a z-code game with a pretty good
> > story and a *ton* of puzzles.
>
> But be sure to read up on your USAnian Christmas legendry, both
> commercial and sentimental but not religious, before you play. It is
> _highly_ culture-specific.
>
> Richard
 
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I looked the solution up in the hints... that puzzle is insane.
Did anyone without a degree in Maths solve it? If the
other puzzles are of the same calibre, I might as well
stop playing.

Jan Klinkhammer schrieb:

> Uh-oh... then it doesn't help that I'm from Europe, I guess.
>
> I'm already stumped with it... maybe it's one of those things you
> are talking about? I just can't figure out the code... but I hope
> I overlooked a hint somewhere, because otherwise, that puzzle
> seems awfully cruel.
 
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Jan Klinkhammer wrote:

(Not Just A Pretty Ballerina spoilers...)







> I looked the solution up in the hints... that puzzle is insane.
> Did anyone without a degree in Maths solve it? If the
> other puzzles are of the same calibre, I might as well
> stop playing.

Yeah, I solved it. IIRC, the math equation on the chalkboard in the
play room is a clue.

The one puzzle I could not get -- and after looking at the answer,
realized I never would -- is the password for the bakery's computer.
There are two hints in the game for it, but they're so oblique I still
never would've made the connection.

And the train puzzle. I eventually would've solved it, but by that
point did not care. =P

Besides that, the game is solvable. Hard, but solvable. Only one other
math related puzzle, and its obvious.

As for Americanisms in the game: I think there's only knowledge of one
that's required:






(spoiler)





(spoiler)







You leave a plate of milk and cookies for Santa by the fireplace.

--Colin McGuigan