Get out of *that*!

OK, I admit it, I'm stuck.

Sphere - "Escape from the locked room" - is a simple point-and-click puzzle thing, with the object of the game being pretty clear. You can click on things to interact, use objects you pick up by clicking on them, look at them closely by selecting the magnifying glass, etc. I've got a fair way in (I think) but I've run out of ideas now. Thankfully, you can also save and load your position to come back to it later.

All in all, a great fun little game - very reminiscent of Myst et al, but any hints as to how to proceed would be greatly appreciated... ;)

New Puzzle number 2

I decided to give the Perplex City "Create-a-puzzle" engine another spin, so this new puzzle is up over there. It's rated a blue:

Countdown to...?

New Puzzle

Have put a new, fairly simple riddle up over here: Three of a Kind. No prize, no points, just for fun.

It's the third in a series, in case you want to catch up :) More to come soon...

Perplex City 2.0 is Go

So, once again I've been neglecting my blogging duties, tut. The new Perplex City website has been launched a little while ago, featuring a veritable plethora of puzzles that are free to play. These include Japanese puzzles, so all you sudoku, hitori, hashi/bridges/"ponturu", etc fans can get an interactive fix. In addition, there are plenty of word-based puzzles such as crosswords and rebuses (rebii?), various visual puzzles, and some rather addicitive flash games lurking in the sidebar too. Phew. Ought to keep you going for quite a while.

Regarding the ARG and the cards, which were the part of season 1, these look like they're being "separated"s lightly. The first wave of new puzzle cards were released yesterday (and can be bought from many places, including Firebox), although it looks like the PXC technical team are working their socks extra hard, as the functionality to actually enter solves on the site has been delayed until today. (5pm, apparently.) Meanwhile, the ARG side of things is set to go in April, over at Perplex City Stories, with fancy new video and everything. Could be an interesting ride.

So, opinion? The new site has a great range of puzzles that have kept me clicking for hours now. There are a lot of nice and easy puzzles, but a few ones that look pretty evil too. Alas, it does seem that quite a few of particular puzzle types - e.g. wordplay ones - have been taken straight from the board game, so some possible deja vu/spoilers there. What's great though is the integration of the puzzle creation tools. It looks like you're still limited to multiple-choice, which is a shame in a way (although maybe this is for future use in some "Slamboozle" feature they mention...), but it's nice to see the community aspect continue. The cards themselves are looking just as devilish as ever, too. The map of Perplex City on the back has gone, but I won't give away what's replaced it.

So go have a play with it all, if you haven't already. More free puzzles, who can complain? :)

An Update on NIN: Year Zero "arg"

The NIN Year Zero "ARG" (unfiction thread) is continuing apace into ever more intriguing climes. 3 days ago, one of the tracks from the forthcoming album was found on a USB key in a toilet stall at a gig. Static at the end of the song reveals an image of The Presence, which is lurking darkly beneath the ARG-like story so far.

Interesting times...

Cubed: A Beginning and an End.

The PXC Sentinel reports, after many years, that the Receda Cube has finally been found, bringing Perplex City's first season to an end. Unfiction member Rand0m (listed as 'astro_random') was the lucky (read "dedicated", although it was a close-run thing) locator.

Useful links:

• Rand0m's UF post


• BBC News coverage


• Gamasutra coverage, with small picture of small cube


• Details for Season 2! Looking good...

Join us at the party on the 24th :)

A time of Great Change

So, it seems, February brings great upheaval. Apart from MindGames dripping out of the ear and running off into the night, rumours are that the Receda Cube has been found by an unknown party. The Malice Box Quest is set to finish on the 12th (and looks like I have some catching up to do...) Other ARG, Vanishing Point is wrapped. All good things, apparently, come to an end. But an end is just a beginning in disguise...

Anyway, this post is a semi-reminder to myself for things to post later. Here's my todo list...

• Slyly advertise my new T-shirt "store". (Done. More designs to come. So many more...)


• Maybe give away a T-shirt.


• Run a competition to win my old Rubik's Linky Ringy Deluxey Thingy.


• Reviews! Polarity and Fluxx will hopefully follow.


• Some stuff on Season 2 of Perplex City, as it's imminent now...

Sigh. So much writing, so little time. Watch this space, anyway.