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Rematch

by Andrew D. Pontious

Slice of life
2000

(based on 89 ratings)
4 reviews

About the Story

You thought you were such a great pool player.

But Nick has beaten you once tonight already, and Ines is watching him more closely than you would like. So you challenge him to a rematch. "Sure, Kurt!" Nick laughs. "You break."


Game Details


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
Care For Another?
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.
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SPAG
Rematch highlights the real strength of one-move games, in that they make it easy for the author to provide for absolutely everything the player could come up with (since the combinatorial factor--objects being combined in unexpected ways--is limited). In giving you multiple views and variations on the central event of the game (not revealed here, since the surprise of it is part of what gives Rematch its impact), the game enhances its mimetic qualities: you can try just about anything logical, and the parser will handle just about anything you type. The AMUSING section at the end is well populated, and in fact there are many things worth trying that don't, in fact, show up in that list.
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Member Reviews

5 star:
(24)
4 star:
(42)
3 star:
(21)
2 star:
(1)
1 star:
(1)
Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 4
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Most Helpful Member Reviews


13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Snapshot of some characters, June 18, 2009
by Brian Conn (Eureka, California)

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.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
A one-move game with only a single puzzle, but ..., February 24, 2022
by cgasquid (west of house)

everyone is, i think, familiar with the genre of "one move" games, originated by Aisle and followed up on by titles such as Pick Up the Phone Booth and Aisle and 50 Shades of Jilting.

unlike most such games, this one has a puzzle. you have one move to act. that action, all by itself, a single command, has to completely solve the puzzle.

the puzzle.

that damnable puzzle.

the evil, insidious, dastardly, cruel, vicious, mean, demonic ... incredibly interactive, deeply implemented puzzle.

i mean, i found my experience with this game to be one of incredible frustration, but it was the kind of frustration where the parser is being perfectly responsive and the reactions to your actions make perfect sense and you always feel like you're this close to the solution when in fact you're still another fifty iterations away.

five stars for That Damnable Puzzle. one star deducted because something important isn't made sufficiently clear: (Spoiler - click to show)the event isn't always exactly the same, and the differences are of paramount importance.

absolutely not recommended for beginners or inexperienced players. for all that there's only a single command required, i rank this with some of the hardest IF i've ever played.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Totally brilliant., June 12, 2018

I'm the person who wrote the true and proper walkthrough. I solved it on my own, though it took a couple hours.

Some people have mentioned that the puzzle seems to fight against the story. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The game is very good at making you, the player, go through what the character would be feeling, if this event was real for them. The horror at the accident, the despair that there seems to be no way to save you, Nick and Ines. The frustration at the trap you have found yourself in, the eventual detachment required to actually work out the solution, and the great satisfaction when you finally manage to break the cycle.

If you haven't played it, do so. I highly recommend not reading the walkthrough. The puzzle is 100% solvable with observation and exploration. (Spoiler - click to show)First you must escape the trap of thinking all you need to know is visible before you type your first command. Having done that, you may then escape the actual trap in the game.

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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....

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These games should be played through more than once, for full effect.

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...

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Polls

The following polls include votes for Rematch:

Give me a second chance! by verityvirtue
I'm looking for games which work like Bigger Than You Think - where dying isn't the end, where you're given second chances, where your second chances give you gear or skills or knowledge that you need to know to win the game.

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...

Games with great puzzles by Molly
Games that have great puzzle-design. The puzzles need to be logical and internally consistent.

See all polls with votes for this game




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