So I previously mentioned a game I had pre-ordered for what I estimated was 5 years (turns out it was 7 years ago). It finally came out last Friday and long story short, it was well worth the wait. The Fool and his Money is a sequel to the game The Fool's Errand. I'm not sure if you have to play the original to understand the sequel, but it's free and it's awesome, so there's really no reason not to play the original, especially if you like puzzles.
The game is set up much like an Usborne Puzzle Adventure. There is a page of story text with an associated puzzle to solve. One difference is each page only shows a few sentences until the puzzle is solved. It's ideal to play the puzzles in order so you can understand the story, but it's not necessary. The game starts with around 10 puzzles unlocked with a new one unlocked for every puzzle solved. So if you get stuck on one puzzle, you can move on to another and come back when you're ready. Each puzzle solved unlocks a part of the Moon's Map. Once all the pieces are unlocked, they will have to be arranged appropriately to unlock the final set of puzzles.
All told there are well over 150 puzzles in this game that need solving. That's not counting the fact that you will have to figure out what the puzzle is in many cases. For example, there are 5 different card games whose rules you will have to learn through deduction and trial and error. Once you learn the rules, it's a whole other matter to defeat the other player. The best part of all the puzzles is that you can trust them to be fair. You don't have to worry about any trick questions, any hidden pixels, or any scattered information. Everything you need to solve a puzzle is on the page you find it or has a link to send you to where the information is. The clues are also subtle while still being obvious that there clues to be found. If you're really stuck on solving a puzzle, the main menu has a link to a very well crafted hint page that can guide you to a puzzle's solution without necessarily ruining the answer.
For $40, this brain buster is a grand bargain for anyone who loves having their smarts challenged. It's especially wonderful for fans of word play. However, be warned, you better really love anagrams.
Exactly...this is probably the best puzzle game since 3 in Three, and I think TFAHM surpasses that.
ReplyDeleteIt is unbelievable to me that anyone would complain about the $40 price tag, especially when we're used to seeing commercially pumped out $60 XBox games. Cliff spent a decade killing himself to put out an immense puzzle game that could take months if you don't use any hints and really take your time savouring the clever writing/story and detail.
It's a one man labor of love that we will be lucky to see a handful in a lifetime.