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Puzzle intensive and absorbing, June 9, 2016This game is huge and took me 24 days to solve. For the beginner? Definitely not. Admittedly, I had to consult a walkthrough, and on at least one occasion, I had to start over--but as I always say, that's par for the course in games worth playing. As with another game I reviewed, Curses!, this game is full of puzzles and conundrums on many fronts, and I would recommend it to any seasoned veteran who is looking for such challenges. I would recommend a thorough and accurate map, objects list, and list of problems/obstacles--which you will definitely need, because this game is so sprawling and hither-and-yon, that while working in one area, it's easy to forget what obstacles you found in another a while back. There are also a number of games-within-a-game 'vignettes'--one consolation here is that some are well self-contained(=with solutions near-to-hand), and even give you chances to 'try again'.
I think I do need to mention that even if you are very observant, some things in this game are easy to miss. You will need to move some things or do some actions that you might not think you would be allowed to move or do. Plus, remember that EVERY object that you find in this game is crucial to your completing it. And there is at least one object that will totally stump you as to its use--but when you realize what its use is, you will be very amused--which I thought was a stroke of genuine genius by the author.
I did not give this game 5 stars, but I would give it an additional 1/2 star if this were possible. I say not 5 stars, because of the above mentioned situations where things are not made obvious or details not made clear, also because in some places, the grammar and syntax in the descriptions are somewhat 'off'(at least in the release that I played). Words are unnecessarily repeated, there are typos, high school mistakes(of the type 'where is he at?' or 'an object which you don't know where it is', etc). And what are called 'Britishisms'--which can put off the already awkward-feeling beginner. However, I am a frequent watcher of British television, and am thoroughly amused by Monty Python, so this did not put me off, in fact I felt entertained by it, but others may not. But when you consider that Mr. Ingold wrote this game while also burdened by student work, he still did an excellent job. An A- from me.