External Links


Mobius.zblorb
Requires a Z-Code interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
Mobius.zblorb
original competition entry
Requires a Z-Code interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
solution.txt
Walkthrough
README.txt
A brief author's note

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 external links
All updates to this page

Möbius

by J.D. Clemens profile

Science Fiction
2006

(based on 34 ratings)
5 reviews

About the Story

Another mission. Just when you had settled in for a nap.


Game Details


Awards

9th Place - 12th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition (2006)

Nominee, Best Puzzles; Nominee, Best Individual Puzzle - 2006 XYZZY Awards

Editorial Reviews

Baf's Guide


As a member of the Drop Team Beta of the Galactic Marines, you are send on a mission to some research institute. For some reason, your team mates do not arrive there. As it turns out, you need to shut down a temporal reactor. The only catch here: there is more than one reactor to be shut down...

The game's only meta-puzzle is a time-travelling paradox, which is set up in such a way that, on one hand, it's possible to die, but on the other hand the player has an unlimited number of attempts to solve it. The puzzle as such is very logical, challenging and creative. While the puzzle-oriented nature of the game doesn't leave much space for plot and setting, the little bits of characterization that are there are brilliant. All in all, it's definitely worth playing, at least if you're not an absolute puzzle-hater.

-- Valentine Kopteltsev

Tags

- View the most common tags (What's a tag?)

(Log in to add your own tags)
Tags you added are shown below with checkmarks. To remove one of your tags, simply un-check it.

Enter new tags here (use commas to separate tags):

Member Reviews

5 star:
(2)
4 star:
(17)
3 star:
(10)
2 star:
(5)
1 star:
(0)
Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 5
Write a review


Most Helpful Member Reviews


8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Solid replay puzzle, December 24, 2007

A solid and entertaining puzzle game requiring multiple play-throughs and an inventive twist on classic time travel. The framing of the game is maybe a little disappointing -- there's less of a story here than it originally appears, and so much effort goes into the solution that it would be nice if the ending offered more narrative reward.

All the same, a polished and technically accomplished piece of work, with some inventive game-play.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A one-room, one-puzzle time travel game, February 3, 2016

This time travel game has been compared to many other such games, including ones before it (like Sorceror's and Spellbreaker's puzzles) and those after it (such as Fifteen Minutes). It works, and it is simpler than many, but the story is a bit weak.

You are a member of the Galactic Marines investigating a lab. The rest of the review is in spoilers, though it doesn't give away more than the first ten or twenty turns.

(Spoiler - click to show)You soon find yourself stuck in a time loop, where a critical event sends you back in time every few turns. You see the previous version of yourself, performing your last set of actions. You have to figure out how to stop the explosions, and how to interact with you doppleganger, and the interactions can occur in strange ways.

I recommend it, but not for everyone. Mostly those who enjoy puzzles.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Nice short puzzle, December 29, 2009
by Grey (Italy)

Don't be mistaken by the plot-driven intro. This is actually a one-room, one-puzzle game.
The actual puzzle is quite original and well implemented, (Spoiler - click to show)based on a time machine, repetition, and multiple copies of yourself.

The parser is perfect, the writing is clear, and the game is short and fun (IF you like puzzles).

Only three stars for me tough because at times I found it frustrating, and the 'time limit' is really unforgiving, even if you can't really die. When I had already an idea of how to solve it i just checked the walkthrough.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

See All 5 Member Reviews

Möbius on IFDB

Recommended Lists

Möbius appears in the following Recommended Lists:

Time travel games by MathBrush
These are games where the main puzzles are centered on time travel. I'm splitting this off from my science fiction list. Many games include one or two time travel puzzles, such as Spellbreaker or Curses!. But this list is for games whose...

Games to be Replayed by Raksab
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...

Polls

The following polls include votes for Möbius:

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 centered around a "groundhog day" loop by Merk
Two that come to mind, which I haven't played in years and may be remembering wrong, are Moebius and All Things Devours. Games with fail states, by their nature, fit the bill from a mechanical level, but I'm curious about games where...

Fun single-room games by Jeff Sonas
My kids (9 and 12) like to play IF games on my phone during car drives so they are looking for something quick and fun that doesn't require much mapping. What single-room adventures are out there?

See all polls with votes for this game




This is version 5 of this page, edited by Zape on 13 April 2021 at 1:33am. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page