Home | Profile - Edit | Your Page | Your Inbox Browse | Search Games   |   Log In

Download


Rematch.gam
For all systems. To play, you'll need a TADS 2 Interpreter - visit tads.org for interpreter downloads.
rematch.txt
solution

Have you played this game?

You can rate this game, record that you've played it, or put it on your wish list after you log in.

Playlists and Wishlists

RSS Feeds

New member reviews
Updates to downloadable files
All updates to this page

Rematch

by Andrew D. Pontious

2000

(based on 43 ratings)
1 member review

Game Details

Language: English (en)
Current Version: Release 1.0.4
License: Freeware
Development System: TADS 2
Baf's Guide ID: 1114
IFID: TADS2-3FA303BD4E8E3D9E6244BB10E0081089
TUID: 22oqimzgf8snv002

Awards

Winner, Best Individual Puzzle - 2000 XYZZY Awards

Editorial Reviews

Baf's Guide


Like Aisle, this is a game that only lasts one move; you're expected to repeat that move many, many times. Unlike Aisle, though, this is a puzzle game--there's a problem you're trying to solve in that one move. It's a pretty complex problem, moreover, and the parser is accordingly expanded--in some syntaxes, up to five nouns, well beyond the norm. Not only is the puzzle difficult, but there are some red herrings that make the puzzle even harder--but it's also very satisfying when you finally do solve it. Both funny and grim--lots of amusing stuff around the edges, but the puzzle itself isn't particularly funny. A few nudges are included in the game, but no explicit spoilers.

-- Duncan Stevens

IF-Review
It's a successful if somewhat evil puzzle. I was confused when it was going on, then gradually had more and more of a sense of what I wanted to do; at the end, however, it all clicked together with a satisfying snap, leaving no loose ends.

As writing or story I think it is slightly less successful. Even excellent descriptions and dialogue begin to pall on the 129th reading, and much of the NPC conversation has a somewhat stiff and unconvincing quality. There is a good reason for this, gameplay-wise, but it lends strength to the impression, especially on repeated playings, that these are clockwork people carrying out their clockwork functions in a world where you alone are sentient.
See the full review

Tags

- View the most common tags (What's a tag?)
(Log in to add your own tags)

Member Reviews

5 star:
(12)
4 star:
(19)
3 star:
(11)
2 star:
(0)
1 star:
(1)
Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 1
Write a review


9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Snapshot of some characters, June 17, 2009
by Brian Conn (Rhode Island)
As the reviews above say: one turn, one monster puzzle, and so you have to keep replaying, exploring, and dying in order to gradually construct the single complex move that will leave you with a happy(ish) ending.

My favorite feature is the way the relationships among the three main characters (player character and two friends) become clear as you keep playing. There's a history behind the moment you find yourself in, and you can use your turn to explore that history as well as your physical environment. I end up being more interested in the way the solution (as well as certain unsuccessful attempts) affects the interpersonal dynamics of the characters than in the technical details of how it saves everyone's life.

I like it. I like Aisle too. (Aisle is another one-turn game, also very good, and so an obvious comparison. But if you haven't played it, then this paragraph won't do much for you.) There's something about about the idea of approaching one key moment from a hundred different angles that appeals to me. Rematch is different from Aisle in that you have a clear and difficult goal, and the fictional world and characters are consistent from run to run -- so it's maybe more reality-bound than Aisle, less whimsical, more a problem to solve than an identity to explore.

As for the puzzle, it's difficult, but certainly solvable with patience.

If you enjoyed Rematch...

Related Games

Other members recommend these games for people who like Rematch, or gave both high ratings:

Aisle, by Sam Barlow
"Late Thursday night. You've had a hard day and the last thing you need is this: shopping. Luckily, the place is pretty empty and you're progressing rapidly. On to the next aisle... Aisle started out as a game which would not need the...

John's Fire Witch, by John Baker
A small, witty text adventure. Its clever puzzles received quite a bit of acclaim on rec.arts.int-fiction upon its release. You've come to visit your old friend John Baker, but he's missing, and a blizzard has rolled in outside while you...

Walker & Silhouette, by C.E.J. Pacian
Team up with a dashing detective and an iconoclastic flapper to solve absurd and unfathomable crimes in this interactive story - where you control the action just by typing or clicking highlighted words in the text. Walker & Silhouette...

Suggest a game

Recommended Lists

Rematch appears in the following Recommended Lists:

Xyzzy "Best Individual Puzzle" winners by Nusco
All the games that won the Best Individual Puzzle award, year by year. I'll avoid giveaway spoilers in my comments, but I'll still comment on the type and difficulty of the puzzle. I'll describe the puzzles by my own categories....

Replay puzzles by Emily Short
Games which are entirely devoted to a single big puzzle, usually one that the player has to replay a number of times to get exactly right. Often these involve time restrictions or events that the player has to observe in order to...

Games to be Replayed by Raksab
These games should be played through more than once, for full effect.

See all lists mentioning this game

Polls

The following polls include votes for Rematch:

Most unique games by Jeremy Freese
Whatever else might be said about ___________, there's not another game like it.

Games with Difficult Puzzles and a Forgiveness Rating of Tough or Lower by Athe
While searching for games that were difficult, I found many games that had a very unforgiving forgiveness rating, which I don't find very appealing. I do like puzzles, however, so I would be interested in finding games with challenging...

Influential Games by Rose
As a historical exercise, I've begun compiling a list of IF games that have either done something ground breaking with the medium or otherwise influenced it; and I've turned it into a poll so everyone can have input on the expansion....

See all polls with votes for this game

Links




This is version 2 of this page, edited by Emily Short on 5 April 2008 at 1:12pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item