little mermaids

Boing Boing
7 cool text games with less than 300 words
A twist on the classic fairy tale that feels a little bit like The Odyssey from the perspective of the Sirens.
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Average Rating: Number of Reviews: 2 Write a review

little mermaids is an entry in Twiny Jam, which has a 300 word size limit. You are a siren, setting out with your sisters to charm and drown the sailors of an approaching ship -- not because you're evil, but because the law of the sea is the same as the law of the jungle: hunt or starve. And your sister is going to die unless she feeds soon.

This piece is completely linear, but the writing is excellent enough that I'm not taking any points off for that. While the story is short and simple, there is enough wealth of detail that I didn't feel the wordcount limit. The Twine links pace out the story well, with a nice effect in the ending.

A lushly written, tragic work. Well worth a read if you're a fan of mermaids or the darker side of folklore.

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This is a Twiny Jam game (hence, a short Twine) in which you are a mermaid - think sirens. But instead of luring sailors to their death for seduction’s sake, you’re doing it for your sister and your survival.

This game casts the sirens’ song as performative: born not out of a desire to seduce, but of necessity. Each attempt to lure a ship to its doom is built on the backs of your sisters. No one can win: either they die, or you perish.

Although tiny, little mermaids reveals just enough about the universe to form a thought-provoking retelling of the mythology surrounding sirens.

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