Lost Pig

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- aluminumoxynitride, March 10, 2024

- witchcock (Gainesville, FL), February 24, 2024

- Max Fog, February 19, 2024

- Wallace, February 18, 2024

- Iceman, February 2, 2024

- comfysynth, January 24, 2024

- TruePikachu, January 8, 2024

- itschloe (Texas), November 24, 2023

- feamir, November 18, 2023

- Arioch, October 30, 2023

- k42write, October 28, 2023

- Snen (United States), September 23, 2023

- fidwell (Ohio), September 20, 2023

- jonathanhuston, September 17, 2023

- Zape, September 15, 2023

- gattociao, August 23, 2023

- ledzeppelin295, August 6, 2023

- palindrome, July 28, 2023

- Drew Cook (Acadiana, USA), July 26, 2023

- Ms. Woods, July 11, 2023

- rabbitking, July 7, 2023

Laugh loud ha! Puzzle gud., July 4, 2023

I'm revisiting games I played so long ago that I don't remember details, but were so good that I remember the impression they left.

I remember laughing all the way through Lost Pig. Proper, loud laughing. And I remember the puzzles being so good that I enjoyed them. I usually hate IF puzzles so much that I joked to another author I might fund a prize for puzzle-less IF.

This game's a joy.

- ldk, June 18, 2023

- Nitori, June 11, 2023

- querent, June 4, 2023

- Trant Heidelstam, May 15, 2023

- elysee, April 24, 2023

A review for my second ever text adventure, March 31, 2023

I remember being new to text adventures and playing this after painfully crawling through the Dreamhold, and it was a well-needed break that really got me pumped for finding future text adventures. I often need breaks, and during those I enjoy more light-hearted stories like this one! It was funny and simple to get through. I adored the characters and the dialogue between them. Grunk was the love of my life and probably still is. I would read a fully fledged novel on these characters.

I really should replay this soon.

- ilyu, March 24, 2023

- Kastel, March 21, 2023

- biscuit, March 2, 2023

A gem of a find!, February 16, 2023

This made me laugh. I couldn’t do without the hints (had to get help from external hints to exit as well), but the puzzles were great and made sense. I liked how one could just go to a room without re/navigating using directions. This is such a cute game. I even tried putting pants on Pig and also giving pants to Gnome when I was stuck XD Great theme, great storyline. Would replay this just to explore the funny interactions between Grunk and Pig!

- Jaded Pangolin, February 10, 2023

- TCWT, January 13, 2023

- Rachell.L, January 7, 2023

- Ann Hugo (Canada), December 30, 2022

- viv, December 29, 2022

- arslonga, December 11, 2022

- brewton, December 11, 2022

- tonietto (Berlin), November 7, 2022

- Bloxwess (Bellaire, Texas), November 3, 2022

- OverThinking, October 24, 2022

- RonFromPgh, October 16, 2022

- jayel, October 13, 2022

- TagoMago69, October 6, 2022

- chopin, October 2, 2022

- WorstPunk, September 29, 2022

- Amun100 (UK), July 27, 2022

- HappyDooder (New Zealand), July 4, 2022

- SherwoodForbes, June 21, 2022

- jakomo, June 20, 2022

- jgkamat, June 17, 2022

- VanishingSky (Nanjing, China), June 14, 2022

- fartbox, April 21, 2022

Pleasant surprise when gnome examines you!, April 19, 2022

Yeah this was fun, I was a little rusty, and got stuck, eventually needing a peek at the walkthrough, but just a peek.

- Stu Dobbie, April 7, 2022

- Second Lemming, April 4, 2022

Great beginners introduction to text adventures, March 13, 2022

I enjoyed this game, got loads of humour and I liked being an Orc for a few hours. The clues and puzzles are solid and pretty easy, and conversations with the Gnome were hilarious.

Great place to kick off you career in IF!

- Zerthimon, March 9, 2022

A must-play text adventure. Great for beginners., January 28, 2022

Lost Pig is possibly the most beloved text adventure around. Grunk is possibly the most endearing protagonist in interactive fiction. The game is perfect for beginners, but still enjoyable to experienced players. Lost Pig is short, fun, humorous, unpretentious, and relatively easy to solve without being too obvious. What are you waiting for? Play it!

A must play for every adventurer., January 9, 2022

I am playing the top rated adventures.
When I started to play this game I thought this was a poor one, but afterwards I enjoyed it a lot.

This game is full of details so it is a simulacionist one. You can try any action you think about.
The map is a cave that you can explore it by yourself. You should EXAMINE exhaustively all names in description so there are objets hidden, more or less.

The puzzles are nicely, coloured and logical. There are several ways to reach some actions.

In the heart of the game there are two NPCs, a pig and a gnome:

Taking the pig is the first task but also is untakeable as a fish. You find the pig rather soon, but you aren't able to catch up it untill later. The pig has its own life and seems that it want to do things in its own exploring all things while standing around you. Also the pig has responses to your actions.

The gnome has a personality, patience, acid humor, resignation, that fits perfectly with Grunk's simpler point of view about life. There are many, many things you can ask the gnome, most of which enrich and has no effect on the game, but several ones are major clues. You have to read carefully. There is fun talking about these lot of topics and you can spend currently a lot of time trying to exhaust the topics.

This is a re-playable game because you earn more point as you do the things in a better way. The game is middle-low difficult and some hours of gameplay.

- Jade

Grunk like, November 29, 2021

Grunk like, lots of fun, really liked the e character interaction and it was nice to have something on the lighter side!

- sitehomes, November 29, 2021

- NotDot, November 20, 2021

- bkirwi, November 20, 2021

- NorkaBoid (Ohio, USA), November 14, 2021

- Odin, November 12, 2021

- civilstat (Maine, USA), October 21, 2021

- Malasana, October 16, 2021

- falling leaf, August 11, 2021

- Hellzon (Sweden), July 13, 2021

- Joakin Thorne (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), June 19, 2021

- knockupwood, June 18, 2021

- windchaser, April 29, 2021

- sw3dish, April 22, 2021

- Karlok (Netherlands), April 14, 2021

One of the most intuitive games I've ever played, March 26, 2021

Lost Pig was my first exposure to interactive fiction in many years, and I continue to be stunned at how immersive, expansive, and unexpected a world the author was able to create with a relatively small map.

I heard it once said that great game design makes you feel like you can do nothing wrong, and Lost Pig is a perfect example of this. The parser was incredibly intuitive, and even though I might not have grasped the solution to a particular puzzle right away, the good-natured humour meant that I was never - not once - frustrated with my lack of progress. There was always something new to examine, and the joy was in searching every room, every object until a hint was revealed. Meanwhile the living, breathing characters seemed to mill about at their own pace, willing to interact but not simply for your entertainment. I wouldn't have been shocked to discover that they had private conversations about me when I wasn't in the room.

There's nothing I don't love about this game!

- TheBoxThinker, January 25, 2021

- inte (USA), December 22, 2020

- dodge (Europe), December 19, 2020

- wawa, November 28, 2020

- Romana Inthevoid (Toulouse, France), November 18, 2020

Hard but fun puzzles, thin story, October 23, 2020

My partner and I had a mostly fun time playing this game. The characters are cute in concept, but the general story is underdeveloped (though the 'moral' is pleasing).

The puzzles were definitely clever and challenging. It took us---relative novices---about two hours to play the whole thing, getting just two or three hints. (The hint menu offers tiered hints---we went only two or three in on a single topic.)

Other reviewers seemed to get a kick out of chatting with the gnome, but we weren't so engaged.

We quite liked the "point counter" approach---getting a point was a lovely reward for our struggles! Guessing the first move ((Spoiler - click to show)you could say we followed our nose) set us up with some unrealistic expectations about what else we'd learn. We were disappointed to finish with only 6/7 possible points, though. When we read the corresponding hint, well... maybe we would have gotten that point if we had been more immersed? Or maybe not.

- aparrish (NYC), October 15, 2020

- smrq, September 27, 2020

- C4rd1n4l, September 24, 2020

- newtonja, August 31, 2020

- Rainbow Fire , August 30, 2020

- antperson, August 20, 2020

- Sothea Chhum, August 14, 2020

- William Chet (Michigan), July 19, 2020

- Edo, July 17, 2020

- Arrowhead12 (Edmonton, Alberta), June 11, 2020

- quackoquack, June 10, 2020

- JWYT14, June 7, 2020

- Cognitive_Prospector, June 6, 2020

- Panawe, May 28, 2020

- katerinaterramare, May 20, 2020

- kierlani, May 17, 2020

Lost Pig: an unWinnable State review, May 9, 2020

Grunk must retrieve a lost pig for his employer, and in doing so helps a gnome deal with his past and his place in the world today.

Grunk is one of the most charming PCs you are likely to come across, and the little gnome man, a fun NPC with a delightful story of his own. The writing is sharp and funny, in both its general descriptions and its handling of commands from the player.

Grunk is the reason to play Admiral Jota’s Lost Pig. Look, the first three paragraphs of this review begin with his name, that’s just how great Grunk is. I would say don’t let him hear it or it might go to his head, but the truth is not much actually goes to Grunk’s head. And here’s the thing: You don’t actually play as Grunk. Lost Pig is not written in the second person. Grunk is telling the story. Everything from Grunk point of view… Excuse me, everything is from Grunk’s point of view. The commands you the player type in are more like suggestions for Grunk, which he usually follows.

The puzzles in Lost Pig are quit good, and the difficulty ramp up is smooth, with nothing diabolical A pause and a think will get you through most. There is one puzzle I found frustrating, its solution not entirely fair, but we’ll get to that in the spoiler-y section.

There is an extensive, topic driven, conversation system implemented for the one character Grunk runs into during the game. Through this conversation system you can find bits of guidance on how to complete the tasks laid before Grunk, but more importantly these conversations are what give you the lore of the game. (Lore is definitely overselling it, but hey, I like the word.) What you learn about the world and the character fill out a game that would be little more than a series of tasks otherwise.

While I doubt Lost Pig is going to make my Top 10 list, it is a definite must play. The game is especially great for newer players of parser based IF.

You can find the SPOILER-Y portion of unWinnable States review of Lost Pig here.

- Sitri Salmacis (Atlanta), April 8, 2020

- Case, January 26, 2020

- mark.mitchell.brown (Quispamsis, NB), January 24, 2020

- Tropical Gothic (Asia), December 2, 2019

- Rovarsson (Belgium), December 2, 2019

- elias67, October 18, 2019

- Hrothdel, October 13, 2019

- erzulie, September 24, 2019

- Durafen, September 18, 2019

- Tarienna, July 5, 2019

- Kommissar Verboten, July 1, 2019

- Galgador, May 18, 2019

- IanAllenBird, April 8, 2019

- Steffan LW Sitka (Los Angeles), February 28, 2019

- lcs70, February 20, 2019

- PCBToxin (Jacksonville, FL), February 18, 2019

- Swoopy, February 5, 2019

- Princessthe1st (USA), January 24, 2019

- seltzer, January 17, 2019

- Superfreq (Southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia, Canada), December 23, 2018

- Bartlebooth, December 7, 2018

- anarchaferromagnetism, November 26, 2018

Favorite, November 20, 2018

Really spoils you with the amount of things you can do. I loved the EXPANSIVE dialogue options you can have. Enjoyed a few sentimental moments too.

- davidar, November 10, 2018

- kevan, October 12, 2018

- Joey Jones (UK), September 15, 2018

- NaturalSound, September 5, 2018

- Accatitippi (Italy), August 27, 2018

- e.peach, August 2, 2018

- imollo, August 2, 2018

- yaronra, July 16, 2018

- gatebuildr, July 4, 2018

- wisprabbit (Sheffield, UK), July 1, 2018

- Seth Fisher (Texas), June 28, 2018

- Sungorus, June 20, 2018

- ikkinlala, June 16, 2018

- play_all_day, June 11, 2018

- calindreams (Birmingham, England), April 13, 2018

- Stas, March 26, 2018

- fredfredfred, February 10, 2018

- Shchekotiki, February 5, 2018

- eme, January 23, 2018

- mjw1007, January 15, 2018

- 1PainfulPocket, January 10, 2018

- tylermac92, January 9, 2018

- Naeemah, December 23, 2017

- Prosilire (New York City), December 3, 2017

- stet, November 22, 2017

- ArchDelacy, November 2, 2017

- beriaearwen, October 11, 2017

- hollowaytape, October 6, 2017

- Yaktaur, September 21, 2017

- Zed (Berkeley, CA), August 7, 2017

- Wanderlust, August 3, 2017

- doodlelogic, July 19, 2017

- gilhova, July 19, 2017

- jamesb (San Antonio, Texas), July 15, 2017

- dixonjd, July 14, 2017

- Arkaedi, July 6, 2017

- mapped, July 3, 2017

- Denk, June 7, 2017

- Laney Berry, May 15, 2017

Fun game!, April 28, 2017

short and moderately difficult. Funny

- shornet (Bucharest), April 25, 2017

- snickerdoddle, April 23, 2017

- Meka (Chicagoland, Illinois), April 21, 2017

- ifMUD_Olly (Montana, USA), April 21, 2017

- enigmity, March 21, 2017

- pox, March 18, 2017

- Spike, March 7, 2017

- Audiart (Davis, CA), February 17, 2017

- Greg Frost (Seattle, Washington), February 11, 2017

- RoboDragonn, February 3, 2017

- lkdc, January 31, 2017

- TheAncientOne, January 28, 2017

- magicnumber, January 9, 2017

- EngineerWolf (India), December 22, 2016

- Christopher Hall (London, Great Britain), December 8, 2016

- Azul, November 25, 2016

- Dhary, October 26, 2016

- jenzwick, October 7, 2016

- chairbender, September 23, 2016

- JcmMike, September 20, 2016

- Xavid, May 10, 2016

- CMG (NYC), May 7, 2016

- jrc (Stockholm, Sweden), April 30, 2016

- missjith, April 24, 2016

- Matt Bates, March 28, 2016

- iwk, March 5, 2016

- E. W. B., February 23, 2016

- primal, February 11, 2016

A silly but deep game. Humorous, but wears thin on replay, February 3, 2016

I played Lost Pig five years ago when I started playing interactive fiction. I remember thinking that it was a wonderful, wonderful game. I loved the humor of the PC, the silly idea of chasing the pig, the contrast of me with the gnome, and the interesting color puzzles.

However, whenever I go to revisit it, I quickly lose interest. The puzzles were fun the first time, but I find little replay value in the game. If you strip away the narrative voice, the puzzles are only slightly above average.

I recommend this game for everyone to play through once, though. The gnome NPC is brilliant. The color puzzle is fun.

Overall, I found To Hell in a Hamper funnier, and the Rogue of the Multiverse. I think this is a great game, but I wouldn't call it the best of all time, as some have.

- Teaspoon, January 30, 2016

- IFforL2 (Chiayi, Taiwan), January 29, 2016

- Guenni (At home), January 24, 2016

Highly enjoyable and entertaining, January 6, 2016

I played this game as an IF novice and found it to be a great introduction to the (modern version) of the genre.

The game focuses on its puzzles, but there is enough plot to keep it interesting. The use of humour is the game's greatest strength, making the characters memorable and the playthrough feel worthwhile.

Brilliant, December 28, 2015

I have never played an IF that made me laugh and cry at the same time. The difficulty getting the pig tempered by the hilarious commands that kept me playing this game. I have never found an IF I have found more entertaining that Admiral Jota's Lost Pig.

- gaite, December 19, 2015

- Aryore, December 13, 2015

- insufficient data, December 9, 2015

- paulmr, November 9, 2015

- bignose (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), November 7, 2015

- CasualGamer33356, October 14, 2015

- KingofSushi, October 12, 2015

- CHEESEROBOT, August 27, 2015

- Ivanr, August 25, 2015

- felicitations, August 14, 2015

- Harry Coburn (Atlanta, GA), August 14, 2015

- arnoud999, August 11, 2015

- veronica, August 9, 2015

- leanbh, July 30, 2015

- Khalisar (Italy), July 29, 2015

- Julia Myer (USA), July 11, 2015

- Thrax, July 8, 2015

- Pegbiter (Malmö, Sweden), June 15, 2015

- Pope of Gainz, June 3, 2015

- chux, May 20, 2015

Cute Game, April 17, 2015

A small map with deceptively simple puzzles! Just right on the difficulty scale.

- guinevak, April 13, 2015

- Doug Orleans (Somerville, MA, USA), March 19, 2015

- Keiya, March 15, 2015

- cabalia (Ohio), March 3, 2015

Excellent tightly constructed IF, February 25, 2015

The writer makes excellent use of the game's relatively small world. Questioning the gnome is a joy, and the game accepts a wide variety of responses to encourage experimentation. The pig and Grunk are also well implemented. Furthermore, subtle narrative clues cleverly aid the player. Highly recommended.

- Matt W (San Diego, CA), February 23, 2015

- Katastrophy9 (The Intranets), February 16, 2015

- hoopla, February 12, 2015

- NikkiT, February 2, 2015

Interesting characters, sensible puzzles, and just fun to play, January 29, 2015

I've played a lot of interactive fiction, and Lost Pig stands out, because it was really fun to play from start to finish. The interactions with the pig and other characters in the game are enjoyable. The descriptions, written from the perspective of your curious, observant, but not-so-literate character, are quite funny. I felt myself sink into the character I was playing very easily. The puzzles were interesting, and made sense. This is a really well designed game.

One puzzle near the end gave me a little trouble, and I was appreciative of a built-in hint system which, invisi-clues style, would only give you as much help as you needed.

An orc and a pig, January 19, 2015

This short game was deservedly lauded on its appearance. Lost Pig seems to start off as a concept piece: Grunk is an orc and communicates as such. But as it progresses, it becomes more than this. Grunk starts to function as a Candide-like observer of a small and seemingly static world: the distance induced by his vocabulary eventually vanishes and the player ends up identifying with Grunk. This is an impressive feat.

It can only work because the game as a whole has an internal structure that is unusually coherent and whose logic meshes with Grunk's ability. The NPC is a gem: quite different from Grunk, but complementary. By the end, the player is urging both NPC and Grunk on as they bring the game to a conclusion.

There have been discussions about the place of Lost Pig in the pantheon of contemporary IF. Without entering that debate, I would argue that Grunk is (written as) one of the most memorable IF characters, one who is transparent and who ends up being, in his own small way, a hero. The pig is a tremendous character, too.

- morlock, January 14, 2015

Really fun! You get to burn pants.... :D..., December 30, 2014

The people who came before me gave this game its praise, but I just HAD to comment on the burning pants. That really had me laughing. The imagery.... Thanks for giving me a laugh! ^_^

- Sean Callahan, December 30, 2014

Non-Stop Laughs!, December 28, 2014

I loved this game. It had me laughing all the way through and the puzzles were tricky but not impossible to solve. I enjoyed how much effort the maker put into the extra conversations and commands you can use that don't necessary further your progress but give the game color. The only thing I didn't like was how hard it was to get all the points, but maybe just because I'm too impatient to play a second time. Overall, amazing!

- BlitzWithGuns, December 4, 2014

Me enjoy playing Lost Pig, November 5, 2014

As a new player of Interactive Fiction me like exploring the world of Lost Pig with Grunk and his pig. Me get confused a few times, and needed hint. Me finish game and smile. Me recommend Grunk to others.

- Catalina, October 30, 2014

- dustybits, October 28, 2014

- Witchy W, October 20, 2014

- Sobol (Russia), September 12, 2014

- nosferatu, August 27, 2014

- M. Tea, August 21, 2014

- Egas, August 16, 2014

- Pinkeye (The Czech Republic), July 21, 2014

- blue/green, July 16, 2014

- Simon Deimel (Germany), July 6, 2014

- Venya (Olalla, WA, US), May 18, 2014

- Lotus Watcher, May 14, 2014

- Miron (Berlin, Germany), April 18, 2014

- Taffer, April 8, 2014

- kris, April 4, 2014

- Jason McIntosh (Boston), March 11, 2014

- KimNJ, March 11, 2014

- favonia, March 9, 2014

- Snave, March 7, 2014

- trystero, February 13, 2014

- 10CallClear, February 11, 2014

An excellent IF Haiku, January 31, 2014

Lost Pig is perfect in its execution of a light puzzler through the eyes of a character who seems perfectly real despite being a fantastic beast in a world which seems intriguing despite the small glimpse we're provided.

Honestly, after I'd played, I wondered why it received such high praise - neither its gameplay nor narrative ambitions are particularly high - but after reflecting on the experience, I began to truly respect the perfection of its implementation. Funny without being corny, challenging without being obtuse, and finally, subtly moving without overburdened pretensions.

Good stuff, though I docked it a star because I did, in the end, want more...(and I wanted so badly to wear the thought-augmenting hat which sadly never appeared.)

- Pawndawan, January 26, 2014

- ThatFedoraGuy (Indiana, USA), January 26, 2014

- francisthe3rd (Horseheads, NY), January 23, 2014

- KidRisky (Connecticut, USA), December 20, 2013

- John Simon (London), October 31, 2013

- grainne6, October 25, 2013

- Mostly Useless (Leicester, UK), September 26, 2013

Onion A. V. Club

While the game is short, and a few of the puzzles rely on conveniently magical explanations, Lost Pig makes a hilarious case for why text still matters.

Wyrmis.com

Well crafted, not too long, requires pleasantly clever choices, and written strongly through to the end. Excellent IF title. Going up there as one of my favorites.

Jörgs Wort[be]reich
Rezension zum IF-Comp 2007 (German)

Du bist ein Ork auf der Suche nach einem Schwein, das deinem Chef gehört und stiften gegangen ist. Dies führt dich des nächtens in den Wald, und bald darauf findest du dich in der unterirdischen Behausung eines alchimistisch interessierten Gnoms wieder. Die Sau hast du damit aber noch nicht im Sack...

Der Erzählstil bedient sich des grammatikalischen Verständnisses unseres Hauptdarstellers -- Grunk. Das hört sich anstrengend an, wurde aber so liebevoll und geschickt umgesetzt, daß es tatsächlich schon den ersten Humorbonus dafür gibt. Sämtliche Standardantworten scheinen ebenfalls daraufhin angepaßt worden zu sein, was von großer Gründlichkeit seitens des Autors zeugt. ...

- Adam Myers, September 19, 2013

- Artran (Taipei, Taiwan), September 3, 2013

- Indigo9182, August 14, 2013

- Enrique, July 31, 2013

Charming, enjoyable and a nice break., July 2, 2013

I really enjoyed playing this- It's difficult not to love grunk. The humour is pleasant and the puzzles are quite quirky. It's a nice break from those longer, tougher IFs and a breath of fresh air.

Me love this game!, June 21, 2013

There's really not much to say about this game that hasn't already been said before. It has been featured in countless best-of-lists and lists with games that are accessible for beginners, it's almost legendary, and rightly so. I finally managed to finish the game on my iPhone, this is what I can say:

Grunk is hilarious. There's hardly a command absurd enough not to be greeted with a funny response from this memorable PC. It's worth playing the game for this alone. The implementation is deep. The NPCs are believable, loveable and crafted with a nice bit of character. The puzzles are logical and clued well, and, despite the small map, exploring is fun, as we're playing a loveable dunce manipulating magical artifacts. And despite all zaniness, the exchange between Grunk and the gnome is memorable in several ways. A true classic noone should miss.

- softestbullet, June 19, 2013

Pig maybe smart, but Grunk catch pig. So that mean Grunk more smart, June 6, 2013

Play it if: you want simple, accessible puzzles and a short, sweet family-friendly game that's big on humor and character interaction.

Don't play it if: you're in the mood for something long, challenging, or particularly serious.

It's difficult to say something particularly new about a game like this. With its small scope and broad appeal, a lot of the obvious things have been already stated. But I'll go ahead and try to unpick what I like about this game anyway.

The appeal of Lost Pig all about its main character. Grunk is ostensibly the narrator of this tale, so his attitudes towards things colors the player's entire experience. I find Grunk's fairly simplistic descriptions of things interesting because they are reflective of the archetypal IF player's experience. Like Grunk, we put ourselves into a situation where we're confronted with machines and mechanisms we don't really understand, and we're made to figure out how to use them for our purposes. Grunk describes the world with the naivete of a child, and more importantly the naivete of a first-time player. And like the player, Grunk overcomes that naivete with cunning and shrewdness. Sure, he's not great with auxiliary verbs, tenses, or writing, but he does figure out all the steps needed to get the pig back. And with the addition of the gnome, Grunk can even display a fairly deep level of curiosity by learning about advanced principles of chemistry.

So Grunk's traits are those most IF players wish to cultivate in themselves: intelligence (in solving puzzles) and curiosity (in talking with the gnome).

Add to this his sense of humor. I've always held a soft spot in my heart for those throwaway pieces of coding, like Zork's patronising response to jumping for no reason ("Wheee!" "Very good. Now you can go to the second grade"). Little bits that added some personality to the game world and gently steered you away from the game's inability to let you do absolutely everything. Lost Pig almost feels like a game that's composed of that stuff. A lot of the joy in the game comes from having Grunk try stupid or outrageous things just to see his responses. And because the game is so thorough in implementing the things Grunk can try or do, it gets you to sympathize with him even more. Grunk lets the player act out the more childlike side of their sense of humor, because his willingness to try anything mirror's the player's willingness to make him do anything. Take the act of Grunk taking off his pants in front of the gnome. By itself, it's not particularly funny. But the fact that we're complicit in that act does make it funny. While playing this game, I found myself laughing at stuff I haven't been able to laugh at since the fourth grade.

That may not sound like a compliment per se, and I suppose it isn't if you're looking for something a little more literary. But I think the point that this game has constructed a uniquely sympathetic and charming main character stands.

So what about the secondary aspects of the game? Well, there are no obvious holes in the implementation of the setting. The gnome and pig are lovely characters in and of themselves - the pig for his variety of emotions and reactions (including intellectual disdain for Grunk!), and the gnome for the breadth (if not depth) of conversation you can achieve with him. I liked immensely the fact that the gnome is not immediately hostile towards Grunk - I mean, Grunk could realistically eat the guy - nor is he dismissive towards this comparatively dim and uneducated protagonist. Rather, he's willing to talk in basic terms about most any topic Grunk can think of and a few more besides that. For that he becomes a likable character and his relationship with Grunk, small in scope as it is, compelling.

The puzzles are few and simple, but they rely on intuition rather than method (intentionally so, as the maze demonstrates) and so they give you the pleasure of experiencing those little "eureka" moments every puzzle designer strives to cultivate in a player.

If I had something I'd change about this game, it would simply be the length. The core magical mechanism feels productive for more diverse and complex puzzles than what Lost Pig gives us, and even putting that aside I would have loved to have seen a game where the rather simple initial quest gets this young orc embroiled in something a lot bigger. Failing that, I think Grunk is easily a rich enough character for future adventures.

But that quibble aside, Lost Pig really is a gloriously fun and engrossing way to spend an hour or two.

Family friendly and heartwarming, May 26, 2013

This was a fairly easy game in which things worked realistically and smoothly. The pig was incredibly frustrating and I was stuck on how to catch it - not because the solution eluded me but because I'd missed a step. I eventually figured it out by myself with some experimentation. And that's a lot of how to get the answers. Playing with things, seeing how they work, and figuring out how to execute the obvious solutions. Thankfully, everything's well-clued. I got the full score on the first try, and I was pleased to see good behavior rewarded. I did use hints, but not for solutions. Just helpful nudges.

(Spoiler - click to show)I really liked the gnome. I didn't stay to chat about everything, but he was kind and made me smile with some of his comments. His speech is very polished and intelligent, so I was thinking at some parts that Grunk would not understand what he was saying, but I appreciated that the gnome didn't try to dumb down his words. It said something about the gnome's character to treat the clearly less academic Grunk as an equal. Some of the narration was funny, too. One of the ones I still remember is when you "x leaf" at the tunnel entrance. Grunk reasons the carving must be part of the stone because it's made of stone and vines are "made of vine." LOL Grunk's description of the pig is funny, too. "Tasty" is right.

I don't tend to make characters do crazy things, so my play of the game was fairly somber and straightforward. But with amusing and likable characters, fun toys to play with, and a lighthearted atmosphere, this is a wonderful story to lose oneself in for a little while. Highly recommend, and I think would be pretty easy for beginners because of the hints.

- Kuffen Bach (Brno), May 7, 2013

- nf, April 21, 2013

- DAzebras, April 18, 2013

- Beable, April 18, 2013

- Shadow Fox (Texas), April 17, 2013

- Floating Info, April 3, 2013

- Brown_Cow, March 10, 2013

- Edward Lacey (Oxford, England), March 8, 2013

- ptkw, March 1, 2013

- deathbytroggles (Minneapolis, MN), February 7, 2013

- Cosbino, January 18, 2013

- Fantacide (California), December 31, 2012

- Yggdrasil, December 29, 2012

- Lingling (Perth, WA), November 20, 2012

- Sdn (UK), November 6, 2012

- Puddin Tame (Queens, NY), October 27, 2012

- heatherb (United States), October 24, 2012

- platy, September 10, 2012

- Lubulos, September 9, 2012

- Juleske, September 3, 2012

Impressed by the work behind the game, August 31, 2012

I've given this game 3 stars because I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.

I was very impressed with the attention to detail and the level of implementation. This is good if you like messing about in your IF and hate unpolished responses that don't make sense. I noticed the NPCs struck a good balance between reacting to the player and living their own lives. I respect the work that goes into creating something like that.

Unfortunately, I lost interest in the puzzles quite rapidly. I felt they left me a bit too clueless a bit too early on in the game. Earning just one point per solved puzzle only served to alienate me further. I suspect that the puzzles work well for experienced IF/Zork players who are accustomed to trying more obscure commands, knowing they might do something useful. They are probably more hungry for unusual thinking, too, having seen most tricks played before. Not the best for beginners, though.

- Jordan Magnuson (Corvallis, Oregon), August 26, 2012

- lastplaneout (Boone, NC), August 12, 2012

- Binderman, August 1, 2012

MUST PLAY GAME!, July 28, 2012

After being abstinent from IF for over 20 years, this game was the perfect starter to get into the IF way of thinking again. And also the perfect game to get me addicted again. Not too large, nice puzzles, great use of language, sensible parser and good humor.

But now no time anymore. Must play next game. Where next Grunk game????

- Destarex (Colorado), July 7, 2012

- Karl Ove Hufthammer (Bergen, Norway), July 3, 2012

- kala (Finland), May 25, 2012

- zylla, May 2, 2012

- CharlietheSpiffy, May 1, 2012

- Herr Rau (München, Germany), April 28, 2012

- Cobangrrl, April 27, 2012

- Christiaan, March 27, 2012

Good but not great, March 25, 2012

Most of the game takes place in seven rooms, and still this is no small game. It has simulations of both fire and water, and an NPC that responds to 250 topics! If you like to replay a game to find hidden stuff, this is the game for you! But the game also has bad sides. It might sound fun to be able to talk with an NPC about 250 topics, but in reality it gets boring after a while. Physics simulations like fire and water is not something that improves a game. The puzzles are difficult and the story about an orc looking for a lost pig is charming but also silly. It is overrated but still a fun game.

Pretty Funny, March 7, 2012

Funny narration from the point of view character. Most of the game revolves around a series of enjoyable puzzles. I was able to win without hints or walk throughs, but it took me a couple of days and some thinking to do it.

- Relle Veyér, March 1, 2012

- JasonMel (Florida), February 29, 2012

- The Real JD (Louisiana), February 25, 2012

- tjax, February 21, 2012

- Greenspun (Grande Priarie, Alberta), February 19, 2012

- Hywel Dda, February 11, 2012

- Lea, February 5, 2012

Grunk, January 24, 2012

Having seen this game mentioned in Jason Scott's documentary Get Lamp, and as it had been hanging around my hard drive I considered it high time I played it. For some reason I had assumed the protagonist was a pig, so a genuine smile was brought to my face when i tried EXAMINE ME. It made me laugh out loud when I continued with EXAMINE PANTS.. and a genuine lol too, not one of those fake ones you send in chat messages. The overwhelming attention to responses makes it one of the best games I have ever played.

At first I felt possibly the biggest drawback to the game was its title, which somehow undersells it, it could have been called Grunk the Orc, or something of that ilk. However, after receiving a Microsoft Paint drawing my girlfriend had made after playing the game - of the aforementioned pig being chased around the fountain - I felt it necessary to withdraw this criticism! I also didn't like the room titles, which felt like they should be in a 1980s cave crawl game, and a Homer Simpson reference seemed out of context to me personally, but these were extremely minor niggles. What did seem in context though was the reference to looters killing and pillaging, which reminded me of the inanity of certain MUDs. This was the author using content external to the created world, but relevant content. I appreciated how the Grunk described locations by what wasn't there, and the author had obviously done a lot of work, as generic messages were all in the style of the Grunk's way of thinking. (So much so that I was beginning to think in a Grunkian way)

The basic premise of the game is that Grunk somehow has to return a pig to his master, and integral to this is interrogating the gnome with your grunt-like intelligence. Even though I was incredibly impressed with the range of conversation options, I did find the questioning of the gnome a little tedious - especially with the constant suggestions, something which may be inherent to Inform, as I noticed it it other games. Even in games like Monkey Island though, it was always the case of try all the options till you ran out; even so, perhaps it could have been implemented better than ASK ABOUT. There was a nice shortcut to "ASK GNOME ABOUT" anyway, and eventually I found out from the Help menu that there is also a short form TOPIC or T, so I suppose it was my fault for not reading the Help file, but I tend to avoid those like the plague for fear of solutions to puzzles being given away.

I did feel I was being driven to puzzle/story explications that I (and the grunk) might not necessarily have got, which leads me to some of the gnome's definitions. One of the reasons why adventure games have been so popular is that they inspire the mythological. Fabled stories have been passed down over generations, and do have a lot to offer. The explanations of alchemy were not in keeping with this world base, coming from modern misunderstandings of what alchemy is due to the limited notions of science today. So, a gnome having to account for alchemy to an orc seemed completely unnecessary on a variety of levels. Of course the world view of the author (or his character) is up to the author, but here it felt a little strained and not really in keeping with a fantasy setting. Joseph Campbell is a good source for the importance of mythology (he inspired Star Wars for instance) and why we shouldn't underestimate the past. So the downplay of alchemy felt something of a betrayal of the world to me (and not just a spurious one, as alchemy is an integral aspect of mythology). But this is just me waxing lyrical, and it doesn't have much of a bearing on gameplay.

But the scope of questions that could be asked was VERY impressive. In fact, where the conversation became interesting was when I impulsively asked the gnome about the author and got a response, which urged me to try a few more off-kilter questions. (Spoiler - click to show) There were responses to other names off the IF-MUD, OOPS, Harry Potter, Grue, and some others I spotted.The mossfuressence dialogue was a bit over-explanatory, which I think could have been funny with a bit more subtlety. I did think that asking the gnome about "gnomes" was more relevant than asking about "gnome" as I really did want to find out more about this created world, and so thought both should be implemented, even if it were the same message. At times we really got a sense of a mad-scientist personality in this gnome though. Ultimately I thought a lot of the suggested questions were redundant, and rather than having them as options they could have been there in the background to surprise the player if he typed them. There was no need to impress the player with the quantity of responses coded for (via the suggestions), as it seemed evident in the tightness of the game. The possibility of typing in fairly random questions and getting some responses was excellent, and reminded me of the Zenobi games written in the few years at the end of the life cycle of the 8-bit machines. They were witty and entertaining and experimental, just like this adventure (even the help files are amusing).

As far as possible inputs went, I did expect that I might be able to try pole vaulting the stream, so I was a bit disappointed that it seemed I couldn't. I was finding this strangely hard going despite the plethora of seeming clues with only 1 scored out of 7 (also my score went down one point, and I wasn't sure why) but with only a little more effort I had scored 3, and I found it such an incredibly and elegantly made game that I didn't care about my own ineptitude to solve the puzzles.

If I had so many critical niggles, it was only because this game really fascinated me and it seems not far off perfection itself.

- theorbtwo, January 2, 2012

- amciek (Opole), December 18, 2011

- EJ, December 10, 2011

- Ouroboros, December 5, 2011

- Nav (Bristol, UK), November 24, 2011

- djbiology (New York, NY), October 25, 2011

Clever Game, October 19, 2011

I chose to review the game "Lost Pig." I enjoyed this game because it’s very cute and the title suits it so perfectly. There are a few of the puzzles that rely on the little magical explanations. This game has a good sense of humor. When you’re stuck looking for a solution to the puzzles, it funny little actions keep you entertained and interested in the game. I think games like this are a good reason as to why text is still important. I thought it was very clever, informative, and enlightening. This is definitely my favorite game among the three on my recommendations list. I think laughter is an important factor when it comes to playing games. That’s the whole point of games, in my opinion. Lost Pig deserves 5 stars. 

- trojo (Huntsville, Alabama, USA), October 14, 2011

- AndyC (Japan), October 12, 2011

- Molly (USA), October 10, 2011

- perching path (near Philadelphia, PA, US), September 24, 2011

- Ann R. J., September 11, 2011

- heleneotroy (Washington, DC), September 8, 2011

- Neo, August 23, 2011

- Digibomber, July 29, 2011

- Ryan Veeder (Australia), July 22, 2011

- Corwin71, July 10, 2011

- Nemansphere, June 27, 2011

- Xeinok (Cali/Osaka/Pattaya), June 10, 2011

- Adam D, June 6, 2011

- dr. quux, June 2, 2011

- Nathanial, May 27, 2011

Fun, engaging with excellent writing, May 25, 2011

This is a fun game with a very immersive style. Great to play in a group!

- RandomExile, May 19, 2011

- Rotonoto (Albuquerque, New Mexico), May 16, 2011

- SweetMeliisa (Michigan), May 5, 2011

- Joshua Wilson, April 25, 2011

- Ollie (UK), April 16, 2011

- Felix Pleșoianu (Bucharest, Romania), April 10, 2011

- Carlo, April 10, 2011

- Pure, April 4, 2011

- WidowDido (Northern California), March 28, 2011

- rootmos (Stockholm, Sweden), March 26, 2011

- Vaughany (Devon, United Kingdom), March 16, 2011

- JohnW (Brno, Czech Republic), March 16, 2011

- OtisTDog, March 12, 2011

- reidab (Portland, Oregon), March 10, 2011

- Ryusui (Out in the middle of a field!), March 9, 2011

Love, March 8, 2011

This is my favorite game in a while. It’s funny, well-written, and the perfect size and scope for a text adventure. Everything you do enhances the story, instead of only helping to solve the game puzzle. Well done.

- Melikika, February 6, 2011

- The Year Is Yesterday (California), December 25, 2010

- Mattlistener (Boston), December 25, 2010

- Markoff23, December 8, 2010

- GreenSnake, December 4, 2010

- salty-horse, November 20, 2010

- Dr. Dagon (Göteborg, Sweden), November 20, 2010

- Softbagel, October 22, 2010

- armandch, October 13, 2010

- srh (Seattle, WA), September 26, 2010

- Xervosh (San Jose, Northern California), September 3, 2010

- Black Hole Bomb (Knoxville, TN), August 28, 2010

- Clemency Jones (England), August 26, 2010

- Muskie, August 15, 2010

- schifter (Louisville, KY), August 13, 2010

- Joel Webster (Madison, WI), July 26, 2010

- Buffaloelvis, July 22, 2010

- SarahTheEntwife (USA), July 15, 2010

- Mark Jones (Los Angeles, California), July 6, 2010

Lost Pig is a crack up., June 28, 2010

Fun game. I thought the writing was great. I need to retrain my mind to figure out these puzzles. I got stuck a few times. I did try mapping the game with IFM and that was also very cool.

- lagran-G-an (Tel-Aviv, Israel), June 26, 2010

- smurfas666 (Klaipeda, Lithuania), June 17, 2010

- tekket (Česká Lípa, Czech Republic), June 13, 2010

Greatness, June 10, 2010

The writing of this game is enough to draw you in by itself. Your character is stupid- an orc, and the descriptions of everything keeps that in mind, continually reminding you that you are seeing things simply and not thinking too much.

The game is puzzle based, where you need to find a lost pig (not too hard), and catch it (a bit harder). Everything seems fairly well implemented, and the character you can interact with seems to respond to the appropriate topics.

There isn't much to say about this game without giving away puzzles or solutions, but I would definately reccommed this game to anyone in favor of the wandering around solving puzzles genre of IF, like Zork or similar. If you want Galtea conversation or Cadre's IF experiments, this isn't for you.

- Masada, May 29, 2010

Very accessible and truly hilarious, May 20, 2010

The main story is very good and puzzles are challenging.
But the best caracteristic of this game is the choice of the main character. His poor language allows hilarious descriptions of rooms and items, getting closer to Interactive Fiction syntax (improving immersion), but also allows non-english people (like me) to fully enjoy the great humor of the author.
Secondary characters are also great and highly responsive.

Honestly it's the best IF I ever played!

- Patrick M. McCormick (United States), May 4, 2010

Re-ignited my IF obsession, April 11, 2010

I've loved IF since I was a kid with a copy of Zork, and every once in a while I'll jump back in, but I hadn't played any titles in a few years. I downloaded Frotz for my iPhone, though, and one day while I was bored I started it up and thought "Lost Pig, huh? Well, let's see what this is about."

Well, Grunk stole my heart. I played the game all the way to the end on my iPhone, which, given the difficulty of entering commands on the tiny keyboard, says a lot. I simply couldn't stop until I'd found the end and picked out as many of the narrative gems as I could find. The clever use of language and the bewildering varieties of orc-like behaviors that Admiral Jota rewards with amusing results makes this game a winner, and the inability to make the game unwinnable makes it possible to try many actions just to find out what the response will be, without having to worry that you'll do something wrong.

The puzzles were neither overly simple nor brain-achingly difficult. I did resort to a walkthrough for one puzzle, but felt a bit dense afterward since the solution was rather obvious in hindsight. The NPC interaction can feel a little "consult the encyclopedia" if one hammers away at it long enough, but the conversation mechanism is thoroughly implemented and the writing is immersive enough to minimize the "ask a question, ask another question, ask yet another question" feeling.

The game is also ideal for people who prefer their environments small and manageable; the setting is confined to a handful of rooms that are easy to navigate and difficult to get lost in. At the same time, it's implemented fully enough that it never feels too limiting or claustrophobic.

All in all, this game has re-ignited my fascination with interactive fiction, and has even inspired me to pull my own unfinished title out of mothballs. I'm glad I went looking for that pig: me found a lot more than me expected.

- Danielle (The Wild West), March 16, 2010

- TanRu, March 13, 2010

- omenofdoom, March 6, 2010

- Martinellis (California), March 1, 2010

- Sam Kabo Ashwell (Seattle), February 15, 2010

- Ken Hubbard (Ohio), January 24, 2010

- loungeman (Bilbao, Spain), January 4, 2010

- Imperator, December 26, 2009

- Nicholas, December 26, 2009

- Grey (Italy), December 21, 2009

- Nusco (Bologna, Italy), December 5, 2009

- Mr. Patient (Saint Paul, Minn.), December 3, 2009

- Matt Wigdahl (Olathe, KS), November 12, 2009

- Pepisolo, September 30, 2009

- finferflu (Manchester, UK), September 26, 2009

- DJ (Olalla, Washington), September 24, 2009

Practically perfect, September 21, 2009

I can't really add much to what has been said about this game already, except to say that I simply found it virtually perfect. The writing is absolutely beautiful, consistently funny, and often surprisingly moving. That is partly because Grunk, as a character, has such integrity and believability. Although presented as incredibly dense, the way he describes locations and objects, often incorporating quite shrewd observations along the way, suggests that he's not all that stupid at all. That gives him depth and emotional resonance. It must be said also that by having Grunk narrate the game in its entirety offers a neat approach to the problem of who the parser is supposed to be, and whether the narrator of the game is a different person from the PC. This game solves that problem by identifying the PC with the narrator, although at the cost of distancing the player from the PC (if Grunk is telling me what's going on, I'm clearly not Grunk, just in case I'd had any uncertainty on that score). There's no emotional distancing though, because Grunk is so engaging a personality.

The puzzles are nicely logical and the gnome NPC has a dry, educated wit that meshes perfectly with Grunk's rather more straightforward approach to life. There are a truly vast number of things you can ASK GNOME ABOUT, most of which have no bearing on the game itself, although some of course contain vital clues. It's a lot of fun to explore these topics, although this can result in the gnome seeming a bit like one of those information-dispenser sort of NPCs who are inexplicably willing to be grilled at length by over-curious PCs. But the gnome's sardonic wit and the fact that he's busily doing other things whilst satisfying Grunk's curiosity make him much more than a talking pedia.

The pig also has a lot of character, making this whole thing rather like one of those children's books that adults can also enjoy. I liked the author's attention to detail, which often brought out extra little elements of the characters (e.g. try taking your trousers off in front of the pig). I must admit that having apparently completed the game I was puzzled by how to gain the elusive last point and looked it up fully in the hints. I rather wished I hadn't, not only as it would have been more fun to work out by myself, but also because the behaviour required to get the last point is the sort of behaviour that I instinctively engage in when playing this sort of game anyway, but generally don't bother, because it seems not to matter. The fact that it mattered in this game says a great deal about it. This is a game with heart.

- Sorrel, September 2, 2009

- Cuxxu (Albany, NY), August 26, 2009

- Jimbo, August 23, 2009

A runaway success, July 27, 2009

When I first spied this title listed on a favorite IF site, I was somewhat skeptical of the premise. An IF game where the protagonist is an oafish orc? And the objective is to recover a loose pig?!

A mere half-hour later, I had soundly proven myself wrong and hadn't been so glad for the fact in a long time. Grunk's simple-mindedness on the level of Dumb and Dumber provides nearly endless opportunities for hilarity; Lost Pig can be literally a laugh a minute. Old IF buffs as well as younger children may get the most enjoyment as the game generously rewards experimenting with zany behaviour. Sing, burp, yell, light your pants on fire and see what happens!

But that's not all - Admiral Jota isn't one to write a one-trick pony. Catching the little pile of porkchops is not at all an easy task, although it's debatable whether that's due to an amazingly clever pig or just that Grunk is such a dunce! Swine-snatching aside, the superbly detailed scenery and character interaction add immensely to the game's depth, as does the system of rewarding behavior. The only ways to lose are through foolishness or carelessness (such as (Spoiler - click to show) lighting the forest on fire to drive the pig from under a bush), and the 'best' ending is a reward that takes a good deal of effort to earn.

With an excellent balance in everything from humor to difficulty, Lost Pig is an enjoyable IF romp you'll be glad you took the time for.

- Ben Cressey (Seattle, WA), July 16, 2009

- GDL (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), July 8, 2009

- Brian Conn (Eureka, California), June 19, 2009

- Sly Curado, June 8, 2009

- ReasonAnce (Poland), May 18, 2009

- Hipster Scumbag, May 4, 2009

- Dannii (Australia), April 28, 2009

Casual IF should be a myth, but..., April 27, 2009

I asked some friends who are not even very computer-savvy to try "Lost Pig" and they became engrossed after a few minutes of user-interface confusion. I had always thought the confusion would be enough to put off the average user (and still do not believe in IF as a profitable venture), but each of them greatly enjoyed the game and wanted to continue playing longer than my laptop was available to them.

- Halcyon, April 12, 2009

- four1475 (Manhattan, KS), April 10, 2009

- Rhian Moss (UK), April 3, 2009

- Mastodon, March 26, 2009

- Newbot, March 8, 2009

- Mortchek (United States), February 28, 2009

- googoogjoob, February 26, 2009

- MyTheory (Missouri), February 15, 2009

- Adam Biltcliffe (Cambridge, UK), December 28, 2008

- meatwhore, December 9, 2008

Making fun of orcs never gets old., November 25, 2008

A short but fun game that relies on the inherent humor of its orc protagonist. Fortunately, the game is easily solved before the joke of doing things to your pants wears thin. This would be a great introductory game for anyone new to IF.

- ensoul, November 15, 2008

- Stagrovin, November 10, 2008

- Linnau (Tel-Aviv, Israel), October 31, 2008

10 year olds review Lost Pig, October 14, 2008

It was very fun and exciting and I liked the characters, especially Grunk. I liked the part with the bread machine. I also liked that whatever you ordered Grunk to do he did, including burping. I also liked that one thing led to another and you had to do things in order to solve the game.

I enjoyed how the game felt realistic, like it really was happening. The gnome dude was really cool and nice. It's not like you can talk to a gnome every day! I also enjoyed the fact that you had to be precise on your commands. I thought it was cool that you had to say exact directions... not like right,and left. More of N,NW,NS,E,SW,SE,S,AND WEST. It was an awesome game. I hope there are other games with Grunk included!!!!!!

Raquel & Liza
Age 10

- savagegreywolf (a secret underground bunker beneath the Astrodome), September 22, 2008

- hywelhuws (Clynnog Fawr, Wales, UK), September 21, 2008

- Sam Minnée (Wellington, New Zealand), September 14, 2008

- burtcolk, September 4, 2008

- Wesley (Iowa City, Iowa), September 1, 2008

- Genjar (Finland), August 31, 2008

- declain, August 27, 2008

- Timo Saarinen (Finland), August 27, 2008

- tylluan (Vermont), August 24, 2008

- Quitch (UK), August 23, 2008

- Maze (Rome, Italy), August 6, 2008

- NotVerySubtle, July 31, 2008

- Tetsuo (Taipei, Taiwan), July 31, 2008

- Martin Braun (Berlin, Germany), July 30, 2008

Loved it, July 24, 2008

I loved this IF more than any other I've played. I couldn't help but laughing out loud! It was fun to play.

- ErWenn (Bloomington, IN), July 22, 2008

- alice-meynell, July 20, 2008

- LisariaUS, July 17, 2008

- zibahkhana, July 15, 2008

- dfreas, July 3, 2008

- Nathaniel Kirby (Pennsylvania), June 28, 2008

- Zoltar, June 23, 2008

- Shigosei, June 7, 2008

- Sarah Mitty (Ypsilanti, Michigan), June 5, 2008

- Seren (Paris, France), June 4, 2008

- reepeecheep (Harare), May 20, 2008

- Steve Blanding (Redmond, WA), May 6, 2008

- DrFredEdison (CO, USA), April 17, 2008

- Tom Hudson (Durham, North Carolina), April 15, 2008

- brattish (Canada), March 26, 2008

- Ghalev (Northern Appalachia, United States), March 13, 2008

- Lady Sarah (Portland, Oregon), March 7, 2008

- zer, March 3, 2008

- Juhana, March 2, 2008

- J. Robinson Wheeler (Austin, TX), February 22, 2008

- Allonym (California), February 18, 2008

- mrihel (Philadelphia, PA, USA), February 1, 2008

- Michel Nizette (Brussels, Belgium), January 25, 2008

- frankpape (San Jose, California), January 17, 2008

- onyx (Ann Arbor, Michigan), January 17, 2008

- Wendymoon, January 13, 2008

- Havoc Crow, December 25, 2007

- RichCheng (Warwickshire, UK), December 19, 2007

- Tyrog, December 14, 2007

Suitable for kids, December 9, 2007

I just finished playing through this game with my two children (ages 8 and 9). They both enjoyed the game. It's not always easy to determine whether a game is fully suitable for young kids, so I thought I'd mention that, as far as I can tell, Lost Pig has no objectionable content.

- Neale Grant (Hove, England), December 6, 2007

- VK, December 1, 2007

- Emily Boegheim, December 1, 2007

A Perfect Little Underground Adventure, November 30, 2007

This game has single-handedly (that is NOT a masturbation reference) brought me back to the joy of Interactive Fiction. It's been some time since I've had to type 'NW', and hearing about Lost Pig, I felt compelled to, as in the days of my chronically be-seated youth, madly type basic sentences and weird abbreviations into a computer. And oh, how wonderful to return to the fold! Lost Pig is a perfect example of the form, in my opinion. I can't imagine the amount of play-testing that went into making almost every warped combination of disparate objects or obviously ridiculous actions something that doesn't baffle the parser, but instead, produces a hilarious and preconceived result. And while that is admirable in itself, the core puzzles are extremely well thought out; every one, at least for me, was of the head-slapping 'Goddamit why did I spend a half hour on that?!' variety. Including the elusive 'seventh point'.
And the NPC is sweet as well.
Sadly, playing this first has raised my expectations for the genre -- while there are other fabulous IF games available, few are as tightly knit as this one. I love expansive IF, of course, but I could play a million shorter ones if they covered almost every possibility as well as this one!
I mean, in how many computer games, no matter how graphically endowed, can you set your own pants on fire?

- Sami Preuninger (New York City), November 30, 2007

Started Strong And Then Lost Its Way, November 25, 2007

Unlike others who have loved this game (and most games I review it seems are of this variety), I can't say that I enjoyed Lost Pig after about an hour. It starts strong, unfolding the world of the PC and who the PC is bit by bit. Then the impossible puzzles hit. You'll bang your head against the keyboard as you strive for even two points and move game objects around at random, utterly perplexed as to what is supposed to do what. The NPCs that you find may be loquacious, but they talk an awful lot about nothing at all. As that doesn't help you in any way with your objective in the game, their conversational skills quickly become annoying and frustrating. In short, the pacing and puzzle difficulty are seriously out of whack. It's a shame, because there's obviously been no small effort expended on the early parts of the game and the conversation structure. Playing Lost Pig is like you're driving a new car and just as you reach second gear, you drive off a cliff.

- Naeradan, November 24, 2007

GRUNK PANTS ON FIRE!, November 23, 2007

Aw, this is brilliant! Excellent attention to detail, and an awful lot of fun. It's well worth playing around and trying silly things that have no chance of advancing the game, just because the responses are so funny (e.g. try taking your pants off in company). Besides that, the implementation's solid, the puzzles make sense, Grunk and the pig both have a lot of character, and the ending is quite uplifting.

- flatluigi (Massachusetts, USA), November 20, 2007

- Leland Paul (Swarthmore, PA), November 19, 2007

- jgerrish (Ann Arbor, MI), November 18, 2007

- yandexx (Saint-Petersburg, Russia), November 17, 2007

- Benjamin Sokal (Elysium pod planting enclosure on Mars), November 16, 2007

- Emily Short, November 16, 2007

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