I prefer to eschew hints for two reasons:
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Few things annoy me more than seeing the solution to a puzzle I could have solved if I’d just given it a little more time and effort; and
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There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of solving a problem that had been bugging me for some time.
The end result: a few pleasing successes along with a pile of unfinished games. One of these is So Far, which I’ve been battling off and on since 2006. Try as I may, I can’t get out of Caught in Metal.
As @mathbrush pointed out, confidence in the author is vital. Having solved both A Change in the Weather and Spider and Web without hints, I’m willing to give Mr. Plotkin the benefit of the doubt that he isn’t wasting my time. That said, I see four ways this could end. From most to least preferable:
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I finally solve the puzzle and spend the rest of my life reveling in my brilliance and my tenacity.
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I give up and discover I’d been wasting all these years working on something I was never going to solve.
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I give up, only to find out I’d been on the edge of a solution but had stupidly missed a vital clue.
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I’m involved in a serious car wreck, and as I’m being rushed to the hospital, I spend my final minutes wondering how So Far ends.
Unless I get ending #4, I’ll keep you posted.