Fox, Fowl and Feed

by Chris Conroy

2007

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Number of Reviews: 5
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1-5 of 5


2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Sly take on a classic puzzle, March 9, 2018

Yep, it's an IF take on the old fox, chicken, corn puzzle.
Therefore there isn't much to it ... or so I thought!

This is a neat and 'sly' little game that surprisingly kept me amused for over 400 turns - not complex and it's not in the running for the Bookers but fairly well crafted with some deceptive little catches thrown in.

Yes, there are some issues with rope use that could have done with a bit more debugging but they don't stop you solving anything.
The parsing range was reasonable, though there were a few obvious things (e.g. throwing things in the water and 'mend') that it really should have given a response to.
Having said that, two unexpected nods had me grinning:
(Spoiler - click to show)"It is made of twisted little threads, all alike." and (Spoiler - click to show)the response it gives when you try both old magic words.
I enjoyed the conclusion and it left me wanting another adventure in the same style.

All in all, a fun little game from a simple premise just in need of a touch more technical polish.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A tricky take on the classic logic problem, March 8, 2018
by MathBrush
Related reviews: 15-30 minutes

I expected this game to just be a straightforward implementation of the classic logic puzzles (involving getting a fox, a duck, and some grain across a river. Other versions have a wolf, a goat, and some cabbage, and so on).

However, the author assumes that everyone already knows this puzzle. Instead, each step of the classic solution is hampered by a different difficulty.

I felt that most of the solutions were of the moon logic variety, or like late Sierra point and click games. Also, the implementation was at times spotty with the rope, which is a notoriously difficult thing to code.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A little charm, but no ambition, November 17, 2007

This game is an expansion on the classic logic puzzle hinted at in the title, expanded with a few extra challenges along the way. Even with those additions, though, it offers only about fifteen minutes' worth of play, in an unambitious setting, without much by way of story or characterization. There are a few cute moments in the descriptions, and the narrative tone is good-humored and pleasant; but it's nothing very memorable either.

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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Nice but buggy, November 3, 2007
by Nusco (Bologna, Italy)
Related reviews: IF Competition 2007

I tend to like single-puzzle games, so I had high hopes for this one. The concept is very good: take a classic puzzle and twist it by making the standard solution impossible.

The game itself is a bit underimplemented, but the strong concept makes up for that in part. I had a good time playing it, but unfortunately I ended up winning easily because of a bug. I didn't even realize it was a bug, so I headed straight for the hints and ended up surprised and somewhat disappointed. Overall a nice effort, but wait for a post-comp release.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Amusing, but not exceptional, October 20, 2007
by Tracy Poff (Hamlin, West Virginia, United States)
Related reviews: IF Competition 2007

Fox, Fowl and Feed is an IF version of the classic puzzle: you have a fox, a duck, and some grain to transport across a river, but you may take only one in your boat at a time. Of course, the fox would like to eat the duck, and the duck would like to eat the grain, so you have to be clever about how you do it.

The solution to that puzzle is fairly simple and well-known, but, being IF, it isn't that easy. The game consists not of trying to discover that solution, but of trying to implement it. The fox and duck don't want to cooperate, and even the grain presents a problem.

The puzzles are sufficiently clued and their solutions make sense. Despite being pretty easy, they aren't dull, either. The mechanics worked as expected, although I did find it a little annoying getting in and out of the boat repeatedly; if I had one suggestion, it would be to make that step automatic.

This is a nice take on the classic puzzle: short, fun, and well-motivated. It isn't terribly deep, and the ending is only just satisfying, but for a short game, it's quite worthwhile.

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