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Praser 5

by Andrew Plotkin profile

Surreal
1989

(based on 8 ratings)
2 reviews

Game Details

Editorial Reviews

Baf's Guide


A plotless riddle-game in an abstract environment peppered with mythical beasts, inspired by The Fool's Errand. Very tough; most people who attempt this will not complete it. This game was originally implemented as a series of files on an academic file server in the days before the Web. As such, it uses a simplified system of one-word commands (filenames from the original system) rather than the usual Inform parser.

-- Carl Muckenhoupt

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Number of Reviews: 2
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Insanely, unfairly difficult; but fun, April 5, 2015
by MathBrush
Related reviews: 2-10 hours

By far the hardest interactive fiction I have ever played. It is just a series of puzzles, represented by characters. Puzzles include Euclidean geometry, wordplay (similar to cryptic crosswords), and a maze.

Some of the puzzles are bewilderingly difficult (such as the name of the Mark of Water). I don't think that it was ever intended to be solved without cheating. Using a decompiler gave a few answers that I could not otherwise get.

This is a pure mental-exercise game with no plot. I've brought up some of the puzzles on Stackexchange and Reddit, and it provoked some good discussion, so this is a good game to mine for interesting puzzles.

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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
High Praise for Praser 5, November 6, 2010
by godric (Seattle.)

This game could be likened to exploring the Moebius strip while breathing in Haiku. Plotkin has an incredible mind and the only way to beat this game, is to unravel it. I am addicted to solving the Griffon and Sphinx's riddles. I have not succeeded yet... but, the game is so simple and so elusive that I can't put it out of my mind. It may be strange to see I've rated the game before having finished, but - I don't need to finish my dinner to know that it is and will be satisfying to the end. What I appreciate about Praser 5 is that it has reactivated my own mind. It got me thinking and problem solving. Praser 5 will turn your mind in on itself, will shift planes and turn back again. It's a great mental calisthenic.
Note to Plotkin: have pity for the simple mind - even the hints need hints.

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Praser 5 on IFDB

Recommended Lists

Praser 5 appears in the following Recommended Lists:

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Polls

The following polls include votes for Praser 5:

Games That No-one Has Ever Knowingly Finished by Canalboy
I mean games that have no posted solutions. I realise that a lot of these could be buggy and therefore unfinishable but some will be just too difficult. I guess only the authors would know for sure.

very hard games by aw1231
I am look for the hardest IF games ever.

The absolute hardest non-broken games you've played by MathBrush
After reading Jason Dyer's post on his excellent adventure blog (at bluerenga.wordpress.com) about the hardest adventure ever (which I haven't tried yet, but want to!). Everyone has a game that they've experienced that is just absolutely...

See all polls with votes for this game




This is version 2 of this page, edited by Zarf on 7 November 2010 at 1:21am. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page