I haven’t seen enough discussion about Sugarlawn, so lets get it going. I helped beta test it and think it’s an excellent puzzle and optimisation game.
So how about a little informal contest - who can get to $80,000 first? I see no reason why IFComp entrants couldn’t participate either.
And if you need some hints, I’m here with answers.
I meant this to be one of the first things I played: it sounds fun, and I’m curious to see what @Spike does with a non-math-related (?) game. But then I got distracted by spending way too much time beating my head against Hard Puzzle 4 and tinkering with Skies Above. I’m definitely getting to it today.
Edit: First playthrough, almost exactly half an hour real-time, oddly enough. Score: $6305. I can see that getting to $80K is going to take a while. 
Dannii, you mean in an unlimited amount of real-world time, right? Within the 2-hour limit, I managed a haul of $24969. But there’s still so much I haven’t found out about!
Hrm. Second playthrough, 15 more minutes, mapped out behind some of the locked doors. Seems like getting to $80K is going to take some serious optimization.
Let’s see. You have 120 moves. If you don’t use the sack, then placing 28 items would give you 28 * 29 * 100 = $81200. But that would give you only 4 moves per item, with 8 left over. Even though dropping multiple items only uses a single turn, you’d have to have damn near perfect routing for that. It would be perfectly possible to design the game with a perfect route and then throw in 22 red herrings, but finding the solution seems like it would be hard.
If you place 24 items, you get 24 * 25 * 100 = $60k. That gives 5 moves per item exactly, and then you hope for 10-12 high-value items in the $1600-2000 range? That sounds more reasonable.
At 20 items, you get $42K and 6 moves per item, which seems doable, but you’d need your items to sell for an average of $2K each. I haven’t opened any of the cases yet, so maybe there are some really expensive items and that’s reasonable.
OK, time to stop playing with numbers and get back to the game. 
I rated after 2 hours, but this one is surprisingly addictive. I wouldn’t mind a nudge in the right direction on a couple of things – the message in the schoolroom, the protesters, and the speaker in the piano?
For the speaker in the piano, there’s an object that has a tune you can play. As you might expect if you’ve found other voice codes, it gives you the voice code for the door you needed to unlock in order to get the item.
Yes, play for two hours and vote on the game, and then join us if you like in the real competition 
The message in the schoolroom concerns a door code, but is incomplete by itself.
If you do something horrible the protesters will let you pass.
I can give more specific hints, but these two weren’t particularly hard.
I was initially deterred from playing this game since the summary made it sound like a silly joke game, but I’m glad I chose to give it a try! I’ve become addicted to trying to get as much loot as I can and felt pretty darn satisfied every time I figured out one of the game’s hidden puzzles — finally figuring out the north and south door codes in particular made me feel very clever!
My high score is $59,368 but that was before I found the north and south door codes so I’ll have to do another walkthrough to see how much I can improve on that. The only door code I still haven’t found is the pantry one.
By the way… does anyone have a hint about how to solve the Mardi Gras message in the dining room? I’ve put on every single colorful piece of clothing I found (Terri said I looked like a paint explosion, hah) and walked in my technicolor gear to every room possible, and nothing. Do I need to do something else?
You’re on the right track, but you may have missed a room (I did as well when I first tried this).
Appreciate the hints! I may be back for more specifics later but I’ve got some ideas now.
Does the message on the chalkboard go with the marks on the desk? I was assuming it did, but I’m still not seeing it.
Edit: Oh, never mind. It doesn’t go with that at all.. The funny thing is, I recognized the word at the end even with the missing letters: I should have tried it on the back porch case just to find out.
Edit Edit: also, woah! The secret bonus is serious cash!
Thanks, Avonyel! Turns out I had missed entering that room too, d’oh. That bonus is big enough that I now need to decide which other items to cut out to have enough time to get it in a full playthrough - I had just been not picking these clothing items since they were worth so little on their own, but now I need to actually pick them up.
I was kind of hoping the Mardi Gras bonus would be the pantry code, though. Still beating my head against the wall on just what the heck to do with the classroom marks…
There’s another thing in a totally different part of the house that goes with the classroom marks. You’ll know it when you find it.
Have you figured out the library case password? I’m having trouble putting the pieces together for that.
This is really fun!
My current high score is 51809, but I’m also stuck on some parts.
Josh, could you give a (gentle) nudge which part of the house you mean regarding the classroom marks?
A hint for the library case password: Following the advice of the motto on the wall is helpful there.
The marks are on a surface that gets marked up by normal use, as the desk does. That’s probably too vague, so part of the house: as all the other door codes are, it’s beyond the point where you need it or to give a specific part of the house, it’s in the northern part of the ground floor.
As for the library, I got the reading part, but I’m not sure what to do with the letters that reveals. I don’t see an obvious unscrambling or ordering…
Edit: Oh, never mind. I’m an idiot. Got it.
There is an obvious unscrambling, I actually accidentally brute forced it early on, before I had a chance to get all the pieces. Think about the theme of the episode.
Edit: Making sure I spoiler the right things is tough!
Edit 2: I just broke $75,000. I’m still looking for the north wing code, one object I haven’t found yet, and how to wind the clock from the Wine Room. Right now I’m operating under the assumption the first and last are related.
Did you find the south wing door code but not the north? Those were related, sort of.
Got any hints about the combination lock? I was guessing it had something to do with the antique objects, since there are five of them, but haven’t gotten any farther.
I forgot I hadn’t done anything with the other half of that!
You’re overthinking the combination lock. The next time you see a 5-digit number, just try it.
I improved my high score to $82594 after a few more playthroughs!! Will Terri ever be satisfied with my payload, though… now she’s telling me that I can make it a six-figure haul!
I CAN improve that total, though, as I got it without even getting the diamond ring or the protestors to go away. I’ll have to think about Josh’s hints about the marks for a bit and see if I can finally figure them out.
Huh. The only five digit number I’ve seen (I checked all my transcripts) was the zip code on the envelope and that definitely didn’t open the lock. Guess there’s something I didn’t look at.
@JanetLin Congratulations! If you actually want the marks completely spoiled, the other ones are on the butcher block.
And has anyone made it out the front door? I’ve been guessing that’s tied up with the safe.
Avonyel: For the clock - in a room that you need no keys or codes to access, there’s a certain item that suggests when you examine it that you do a certain action that you might have liked to do with it as a child. Hope that helps!