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Kidnapped! A Royal Birthday

by Charles Battersby

Fantasy
2020

Web Site

(based on 2 ratings)
1 review

About the Story

Escape your captors…and endure your rescuers, but don't be late to the ball! When you are kidnapped, you must take charge of your rescue, and reclaim your rightful throne.

Kidnapped! A Royal Birthday is a 158,000-word interactive comedy by Charles Battersby, where your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

Conspirators have imprisoned you in a tower, and are plotting to usurp your throne. And it's your birthday! Take command of the inept but well-intended crew sent to rescue you from your tower–a brazen knight, a snarky amazon, a cursed enchantress, and a humble peasant. Work together to escape your captors, outwitting your foes to make it back to the castle and regain your power as royal Heir.

But first: fight the three-headed chimera, the two-eyed biclops, and a horde of insatiable gnomes! (They're surprisingly dangerous after a few drinks.) Wield swords, magic, or fight with your wits and grace. If all else fails, pummel your enemies with a chamberpot tied to a stick.

*Play as male, female, or nonbinary, gay, straight, bisexual, or asexual
*Act like a damsel in distress (or an imperiled person) and let your rescuers do the work, or grab a sword and fight your own battles.
*Unravel the conspiracy behind your abduction and thwart your scheming siblings.
*Side with the aristocrats, or join a peasant rebellion.
*Gain stature to prove that you are the one true Heir.
*Harness fairy magic to bewilder and defeat your foes!
*Disguise yourself as an Elder Vampire, stare down a giant, and take a nap in a glass coffin!
*Find love with any of your rescuers...or marry a goblin. (You know you're curious.)
*Bring peace to the kingdom, or revel in the chaos of civil war.


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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
An entertaining farce about being rescued in a fantasy setting, August 22, 2020
by MathBrush
Related reviews: about 2 hours

This is very entertaining title from Choice of Games.

It's a self-aware farce with characters drawn from broad fantasy/fairytale stereotypes.

You play as a royal heir who is constantly surviving kidnapping attempts. The bulk of the game concerns one kidnapping attempt, which involves you and four heroes (a bold knight, a proud Amazon, a peasant, and human raised by faeries) descending layer by layer through an enormous tower full of traps.

One compelling thing about this game is that it rewards bad behavior. Being a helpless drama magnet is one of the strongest ways to make it through the game. So is being selfish and mean, but being kind is okay.

It even makes good use of bad relationship stats. You have plenty of opportunities to decide who to throw in the mix of danger.

Some people have expressed difficulty knowing which stats connect to what. I admit to being a little unclear on the use of strategy vs intuition (neither of which I maxed out), and I stayed almost exactly 50% on 'ready for the ball' vs 'ready to fight'. I think one issue is that much of the humor relies on you making specific choices, so it can feel forced at times because it IS forced due to the humor requirements. I also found it a bit hard to get started.

I received a review copy of this game.

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This is version 1 of this page, edited by MathBrush on 22 August 2020 at 11:34am. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page