For a Change

5 star: (33) 4 star: (46) 3 star: (28) 2 star: (4) 1 star: (2)

Average Rating: Number of Ratings: 113 Write a review

- lobespear, April 25, 2008

- Dave Chapeskie (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), April 23, 2008

- jfpbookworm (Hamburg, New York), February 25, 2008

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

- Wendymoon, January 13, 2008

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

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

- Emily Boegheim, November 13, 2007

- Wesley (Iowa City, Iowa), November 11, 2007

- Hauston (Seattle, WA), October 30, 2007

- Stephen Bond (Leuven, Belgium), October 26, 2007

- Michael R. Bacon (New Mexico), October 23, 2007

For a Change has one of the most memorable opening lines in IF, and also one of the most cryptic. The start is disorienting not just in the standard IF sense of being thrown into an unfamiliar world or situation and having to act as a native, but additionally shocked by an unfamiliar language, along the lines of The Gostak.


The game is a puzzle-fest, however it is small and sufficiently clued such that playing without a walkthrough or built-in hints is possible. I found the largely grid-like world map and hollow nature of the world and characterization to be off-putting, but overall the puzzles were satisfying and the game is kept together very neatly. It was just long enough, I don't think the game would have been sustainable for much longer.

Overall I recommend it as a fun diversion, it took me approximately an hour to complete.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  

More Options

Promote this user

Demote this user

Plonk this user

Flag spoilers

Flag as inappropriate

Direct link

View my user filters

Explain these options

 | Add a comment 

- Emily Short, October 21, 2007

Baf's Guide

"The sun is gone. It must be brought. You have a rock." So begins For a Change, one of the most unusual games in recent memory: the language is distinctly nonstandard, in an e.e. cummings sort of way, and figuring out exactly what's going on requires some lateral thinking. (Another example of the syntax: "This subsection of the inset brightens and flickers. The shadows . . . walk the cordstone walls; they move and excite.") While it's not as accessible as most IF, it's still a richly rewarding playing experience; once you learn to think in the same off-kilter way as the game's written, it all comes together. The puzzles are a mixed bag--some make more sense than others--but generally this works both as a game and as a linguistic experiment, and rewards the imagination.

-- Duncan Stevens