OK NAMELESS LAMENESS You are surrounded by nameless lameness. It's all very, very grey. You can't really see much beyond yourself. But you need to start somewhere. N.B.: my mail address to send the transcript to is blurglecruncheon@gmail.com. TUTORIAL CUE: An author frequently implements an ABOUT commands page for big-picture introductory information that might disrupt the starting narrative. So try ABOUT to get started. >ABOUT Quirky Test was made for the 2025 Text Adventure Literacy Jam (TALJ) after years of judging it. It placed 4th of 7 entries. I always wanted to write an Adventuron game. It, or the tutorial bit, was particularly inspired by The Interactive Adventurer's Tutorial Adventure, a 2023 entry by Cobwebbed Dragon (clickable links,) as well as the Shake a Tower section of Infocom's classic Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It. You can see what sort of commands Quirky Test uses with VERBS, though I'd like to note that each point-scoring command follows a certain sort of wordplay. The THANKS/CREDITS command lists people and entities who helped in Quirky Test's production. LINKS lists relevant links, and VERSIONS lists summaries of versions. ONE-TIME NOTE: if you want the mechanic for point-scoring commands spoiled or explained, POINTS will do so. ONE-TIME NOTE: finally, while Quirky Test has a lot of meta-commentary with footnotes (once you've won) and an NPC you'll find, it's my hope Quirky Test can be enjoyed just as a game. TUTORIAL CUE: The VERBS meta-command is useful to see what the most common commands are. A meta-command is defined as a request for game status that doesn't cause time to pass in-game. Some other games use HELP, though I find it too similar to HINT or HINTS. Since VERBS will show you other meta-commands, too, let's try that next. >THANKS ONE-TIME NOTE: General credits from Chris Ainsley, the creator of Adventuron, can be seen with *CREDITS. Also, clicking on green text below opens a link in a new tab. Thanks to TALJ (formerly TALP, p = project) admins past and future: Chris Ainsley, Garry Francis and Pinkunz. Thanks to those who came before who wrote so many great games that made me want to write something more welcoming than my usual efforts. LINKS will lead you to past comps. Thanks to John Doolittle for offering generous prizes for TALP. I'd have written Quirky Test anyway, but my prize was a wonderful motivator to release the post-comp version sooner and not later. Thanks to Chris Ainsley for creating Adventuron. Thanks to Khurasan for the Game Bubble font which appears in the MAP. Thanks (in alphabetical order) to people who found bugs and/or offered big-picture advice. ____Pre-comp: Wade Clarke, Garry Francis (who also helped me with collections,) Leon Lin, Christopher Merriner, and Deborah Sherwood. ____In-comp: DemonApologist and Olaf Nowacki. ____Post-comp: Wade Clarke, Leon Lin and Tabitha. Thanks to you, for giving Quirky Test a chance. ONE-TIME NOTE: this tutorial wanted to highlight VERBS as the most useful of the meta-verbs. So you re-trying this command after doing that will satisfy the next step. TUTORIAL CUE: The VERBS meta-command is useful to see what the most common commands are. A meta-command is defined as a request for game status that doesn't cause time to pass in-game. Some other games use HELP, though I find it too similar to HINT or HINTS. Since VERBS will show you other meta-commands, too, let's try that next. >VERBS While Quirky Test requires you to guess some verbs as part of a puzzle, it has a simplified parser otherwise. Quirky Test uses all eight planar directions, abbreviated N S E W NW NE SE SW (don't worry! The diagonal directions are restricted to two hubs,) and U for up as well. You can use the long form of each direction, but it is not necessary. Also, OUT (O) leaves if there is only one exit, and G tries to go in the most useful direction. You can TAKE an item, but there is no need to DROP it. You can also X it, which is short for EXAMINE. You can TALK (T) to people you see. A subject or "to" is not necessary, as there will be no more than one other character per room. No other standard commands are needed to win Quirky Test. However, META will describe meta-commands, and OPTIONS shows options that toggle. Also, many verbs have abbreviations. TUTORIAL CUE: The ABOUT and VERBS meta-commands tipped off additional other meta-commands, listed in orange, to help navigate the parser. The next step is to try any one now. >OPTIONS Many games have options for sound, etc. Quirky Test uses YOUROPT YES/Y and YOUROPT NO/N to change them. YOUROPT shows its status. TUTORIAL toggles the tutorial early in the game. With the tutorial finished, it recaps the lessons taught. CH or COLORHINT is used to toggle colored text hints. NOTIFY is used to toggle score notification. Note that Quirky Test uses YES/Y or NO/N to toggle options instead of ON and OFF, since ON is a preposition, which is often ignored by the simplified version of Adventuron's parser used here. Also note that typing an option will not set it. At least, not in the initial version of Quirky Test. TUTORIAL NOTE: You found one specific meta-command. There are others, but I didn't want to force you to see them all. You can if you want. You just need to know that a robust text adventure takes steps to help the player not feel lost. This wasn't always the case back in the '80s, when disk space was much scarcer. TUTORIAL CUE: Now you've looked into the meta-commands, you'll want to have a look at yourself. One convention of text adventures is that X ME provides clues of who you are and what you're doing with relatively few keystrokes. So try X ME as your first in-world command. >X ME You search yourself, wondering if you forgot something, and hoping something will turn up. You stumble around a bit as you do so, and you kick something. It's a rolled-up parchment. You unroll it. It has Ooh, Task to Ask in big letters. Well, that's a start! You're not sure how or why it got here, but all the same, you're glad you might have some direction, now. TUTORIAL CUE: now you examined yourself with X ME, another common command is to take INVENTORY to verify you are carrying the item you found. This can be shortened with I. >I You're only carrying Ooh, Task to Ask at the moment. TUTORIAL CUE: Now that you verified you found something new, the next thing to do is to examine it with X TASK. Adventuron also recognizes X ASK and X OOH, but not X TO, as TO is part of complex commands such as GIVE A TO B. >X TASK It's a request to find the Rare-Thing-There Ring. There's small print on the back you can't read in this dimness. You'll probably have to leave here to find the ring, but how? You are just stumbling around here. But wait ... the silence is shattered! Perhaps you can use one of your senses and pick up a clue. TUTORIAL CUE: sometimes a game will indicate you should use one of your senses. While guess-the-verb is frowned upon in parser games, having only five physical senses should limit the required guesswork nicely. >LISTEN You hear a voice. It's a happy one. For whatever reason, you mark it up as a Veering Choice Cheering Voice. It greets you, sort of, with a "Whoa! Guest!" You'd like to see where it's from. But which direction is that? TUTORIAL CUE: that voice is talking to you. While it's not likely the voice will talk back, you can still try with TALK (Quirky Test can figure the subject) or TALK VOICE. You can even abbreviate TALK to T. >TALK You get no response from the voice, which is not surprising. It seems powerful, and it probably comes from afar. But it was worth a try. Perhaps you will get a better response once you figure its alternate meaning and find its source, or when other people or things are close by. TUTORIAL CUE: the "Whoa! Guest!" must be a hint. Perhaps you should determine which direction it wants you to go. >GO WEST The voice says "Yes, yes. That is the right way." The fogginess clears a bit, but as you go west, you can't see anyone. "Just a little more vetting. A minor roadblock, then you'll meet someone who, uh, failed. Don't worry, though. They're obnoxious but harmless." Your score just went up by a point! BURST FACE Having come west from the nameless lameness, you find yourself stuck at this burst face. It's time to take another initial step. Or it would be, without that burst face in the way. TUTORIAL CUE: "Whoa! Guest!" had you GO WEST. What about the burst face? >SCORE You have completed 9 of 10 tutorial steps. Your core score is 1 out of 23. You haven't found any of the 17 bonus points yet. TUTORIAL CUE: "Whoa! Guest!" had you GO WEST. What about the burst face? >FIRST BASE You're not sure whether to think or say "first base," so you say it, cautiously. You hear a slow rumbling as the burst face crumbles. You feel sad, but maybe you are releasing it from tedium. As you walk forward, you look back, and funnily enough, it builds back up again. So you continue on, mangling common baseball terminology in your head. Plome hate? Fight reeled? Fen tour, sealed? Mitcher's pound? Nah... A loud shout interrupts these thoughts. You're confronted by someone who introduces themselves as a Pro Boor! They warn you against going forward, because that way, pointlessness lies. Your score just went up by a point! Congratulations! You've finished the tutorial. Now on with the game. With the tutorial over, there are no in-game hints, but there should be a walkthrough provided. Hopefully it won't be too necessary. One other thing: someone ahead discusses rules game designers should adhere to and your rights as a parser game (or any game) player. There's no penalty for skipping this. Similarly, there are bonus points for observant players, and there are also footnotes and achievements to revisit on replay. All this is only for really interested players. The number one rule for you to follow as a player, though vague, is: enjoy yourself. Focus on what you like if and when you can, whether it's the necessary puzzles, the optional puzzles, or the discussion of what players have a right to expect from a game. And don't worry about the rest. FIRST BASE Finally, a better-lighted place! It's wide open here. But less peaceful. The Pro Boor is blustering away. It's pretty high-energy bluster, too, the sort that only grows more intense if you get sucked in. How to cut through it? >BRO POOR The Pro Boor looks taken aback. They don't need this nonsense. If you want to go forward and suffer some boring game where you don't get to shoot or beat up anyone, that's your business. They can't stop you. You yourself are not worth shooting or beating up. As a parting gift, they shove something into your hands, a discussion of what you're getting into, which they assure you is nothing near as good as Tad Beecher's writings. It's titled Prayer Lights. Which doesn't seem QUITE right. You make a note of the direction the Pro Boor left. Probably the opposite of where you wish to go. But first, what's with Prayer Lights? Your score just went up by a point! >I You're carrying Ooh, Task to Ask and Prayer Lights. >X TASK It's a request to find the Rare-Thing-There Ring. The small print on the back is easier to read with more light. It says: THERE ARE TWENTY THREE CORE POINTS TO ACHIEVE IN QUIRKY TEST AS WELL AS SEVENTEEN BONUS POINTS WHICH YOU FIND BY MAKING SPOONERISMS OF ALL YOU ENCOUNTER HERE WHETHER IT BE A PLACE OR THING OR PERSON WITH NO WAY TO LOSE SO HAVE FUN AND TRY THINGS __ ____ ___ ___ ___ ANDREW >X IGHTS You notice nothing special. >X LIGHT It's a weird book. It seems slightly in code. It's like it's not talking about what it's really talking about, and you need to figure that out. It's almost a plea for help, to claim something intangible you believe you deserve as an adventurer, even if it feels like too much of an ask. >READ IT It's a weird book. It seems slightly in code. It's like it's not talking about what it's really talking about, and you need to figure that out. It's almost a plea for help, to claim something intangible you believe you deserve as an adventurer, even if it feels like too much of an ask. >L FIRST BASE It's quieter here with the Pro Boor gone, but you still aren't sure why you're here. Figuring Prayer Lights's main secret may help. >PLAYER RIGHTS Yes. It makes sense. A few things still seem a bit hidden, and shockingly, after ten pages, the writing turns to Norse runes! You're helpless here, not having played Ultima IV or V for a good long while. But you're curious: you should be grateful for any game at all, right? Especially if it's free? Programmers work so hard on their games! Asking for more seems pushy. You look around and listen. You hear something in the distance -- it sounds like the voice that said "Whoa! Guest!" You walk towards it. Your score just went up by a point! PLAIN BASE You are in a plain base. While it's rather plain, it links to other places that look more interesting. You notice paths to the northeast and northwest, and it seems weirdly fuzzy north, as if something should be there but isn't. Yet. You don't see any way back to First Base. An establishment called Seth Denton's is off to the side here. You have a feeling you don't want to ENTER, and maybe you can figure why. A man twice your size stands here. "Glad you made it! I'm Beery Thor." You nod, recognizing his voice. He notes your recognition and continues. "Thanks for taking good care of Player Rights. I'll trade you this Pile/Stack Style Pack for it. You'll be able to carry everything you can pick up -- that's a courtesy of many modern parser games, so you don't have to juggle things. But you can still TALK to learn details of what's in Player Rights. If you want. No obligation." Sounds fair. You make the trade. Exits: Northeast, Northwest. >READ RIGHTS You notice nothing special. >DEATH SENTENCE "Yes, that's it. This is one of those traps where you're given adequate warning that going somewhere might kill you." You just found a bonus point! ONE-TIME NOTE: Quirky Test contains several bonus points that are uncued. SCORE will let you know how many you've found, and BONUS will list where you found them. >L PLAIN BASE You are in a plain base. While it's rather plain, it links to other places that look more interesting. You notice paths to the northeast and northwest, and it seems weirdly fuzzy north, as if something should be there but isn't. Yet. You don't see any way back to First Base. There's no trace of Seth Denton's, and maybe that's all for the better. Beery Thor stands here, smiling, waiting to TALK whenever, about whatever. Exits: Northeast, Northwest. >X THOR He could maul ten tall men at once. None would dare taunt him with "Boo, tough, too buff!" >TEARY BOOR Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs, though special commands are cued in puzzles throughout Quirky Test. >TEARY BOR Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs, though special commands are cued in puzzles throughout Quirky Test. >TEARY BORE Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs, though special commands are cued in puzzles throughout Quirky Test. ONE-TIME NOTE: well, not exactly. You've discovered half of a bonus point. But the first time through, Quirky Test won't be hinting them, so as not to distract you from the main quest. If you continue after the win-and-restart, you'll get a nudge, since it's assumed you know the main way through. >THEORY BORE You worry Thor will be upset by this observation, but he booms "Ha! Good one. I was sort of hoping you'd figure that. I actually don't mind people saying that. It implies I said something too smart. Better than being called a musclehead or whatever." You just found a bonus point! >TALK TO THOR "So, yes, about the Player Rights. Fella name a' Graham Nelson wrote 'em, over thirty years ago now. About what players could and should expect from a game. So it feels challenging but not unfair, and you get your money's and time's worth. It's held up well. It's got seventeen total rules. Some apply more than others in Quirky Test. "You can ASK me about them by number, or RULE works, too. Just the numbers, to keep things simple. I have three things to say about each rule: its original form, what it means and why it's there, and how it applies here in Quirky Test. "Oh, ask as much or little as you want. It won't affect your final score." ONE-TIME NOTE: ASK 1-17 is the main command, but ASK 0 notes one thing you haven't asked about yet. Or one thing you haven't asked fully about yet. >ASK 0 You haven't asked Thor at all about rule 1 yet. >ASK 1 "The first rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is not to be killed without warning." >G You can make progress to the northwest or northeast, so strictly speaking, there's no right way to go. Though if you try again, I'll send you to where you can do more at once. >ASK 1 "This can refer to rooms you step into that just kill you. Even with UNDO available, they're still a pain and can interrupt the flow of the game. Of course, there are exceptions. Groundhog Day style games where you learn more with each death can be very intricate and well-received." >ASK 1 "Here, there was only one way to potentially die, and even that, well, it's lampshaded or explained." ONE-TIME NOTE: the up-arrow on your keyboard will show your previous command. This is useful for if you typed something wrong, or you want to see what you did, or you typed the right thing at the wrong time and want to save keystrokes. Or, here, you can just adjust the number at the end. >ASK 2 "The second rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is not to be given horribly unclear hints." >ASK 2 "There's a delicate balance, of course. It's fun to be able to solve tricky hints, and it's boring if they're too easy. And it's fun for a player to laugh at themselves realizing they missed a hint in plain sight. But sometimes even something that works well and seems simple when it's done requires a lot of fiddling from the author." >ASK 2 "Here hopefully the pattern of spoonerisms is established. The author tried to throw out a few in descriptions. There's a worry they may be stale if they go on too long." >ASK 3 "The third rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is to be able to win without the experience of past lives." >ASK 3 "This can overlap with rule 1 about not getting killed unfairly, and while Groundhog Day games are a thing, that sort of exception may prove the rule. You're generally in a tight loop to start. Then the world expands as you learn more. This isn't just about death, though. Say you have a timed maze where you need to get through in X steps without a map, but you can't go down any dead ends. That creates a lot of busy work which shortly stops feeling like a game. "An exception may be a game where you survive but lose contact with friends (a neutral ending,) and then you piece things together to escape with all your friends. Good-better-best endings are common and add depth to a game. But they should only be there if the player wants more." >ASK 3 "The author likes to wimp out about this by allowing only joke deaths, or having a MISSED option in Inform for stuff that's not quite bonus points (for Adventuron, he's still learning!) And of course, if a puzzle is too hard, this rule is less important (The author's done that to players!)" >ASK 4 "The fourth rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is to be able to win without the knowledge of future events." >ASK 4 "This ties into being able to win without the experience of past lives. But again there are exceptions, such as where you play as different people and piece together what actually happened." >ASK 4 "The author avoids this by going in for abstract puzzle-fests. Yet it's sort of neat to have surprises thrown in the way. Just make them surmountable." >ASK 5 "The fifth rule in Graham Nelson's Bill of Rights is not to have the game closed off without warning." >ASK 5 "This means more than just not having the game shut down. It means you shouldn't have something arbitrary put it in a non-winnable state. But if, say, you are wearing a watch and need to do something by 10:30 PM, that is permissible. Whether or not these constraints are fair goes beyond the basic bill of rights." >ASK 5 "Of course, certain fun minor things may be closed off. Here, there were two bonus points in First Base. You missed them, but you can go back if you want. And while there's a special accomplishment for getting all bonus points, missing either doesn't impact your main quest, finding the Rare-Thing-There Ring." >ASK 6 "The sixth rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is not to have to do unlikely things." >ASK 6 "Of course, in some of the most fun games you do generally unlikely things in real life. But if you veer from swordfights to having to derive the cubic formula, well, that is not so easy to believe." >ASK 6 "Here, you are constantly doing unlikely things, but they're all related. So hopefully it all makes sense in the small world created here." >ASK 7 "The seventh rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is not to need to do boring things for the sake of it." >ASK 7 "This was less of a worry when there were fewer games to play, and fewer games to fall back on and compare to, so even the busy work seemed new. But with time, there are certain puzzles everyone groans when they see, even if they were neat the first time: wolf/goat/cabbage, 5- and 4- and 3-liter jugs, Towers of Hanoi, liar/truthteller. Mazes are a "favorite," too, though authors have found many entertaining ways to subvert this nuisance or provide a reasonable way to jump through the maze. "Oh, and some may find all this discussion, uh, boring. But it's not necessary to win, and you can just bulldoze through it if you're that sort of completionist. >ASK 7 "Here the author realized having too many spoonerisms might ruin things. In fact, the original leadup to here had some buffer puzzles which were just me leading you on. I had a word with him." >ASK 8 "The eighth rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is not to have to type exactly the right verb." >ASK 8 "It's frustrating to have PUT X IN Y fail only to realize you needed to INSERT X IN Y. That's a problem with parsers that accept a lot of words. They may expect exact ones, or they may allow synonyms, and it's tough for the player to decipher." >ASK 8 "Since parsers are no longer shiny and new, and we aren't blown away with being able to type stuff in and get a response, people have seen the advantage of a simplified parser. But authors can also put in notes to direct a player to a good common verb. Or a VERBS command lists all the verbs, and it's pretty clear which to use. USE X ON Y can even be a blanket solution, though it's not terribly evocative. "So taken at face value, Quirky Test fails this rule miserably. You need the right pair of words, and they don't generally fall in the standard set of parser verbs. But on the other hand, they're clued pretty strongly. This is one of those cases where the author thinks or at least hopes he broke a rule judiciously to provide a new interesting experience. All authors need to, sometimes." >ASK 9 "The ninth rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is to be allowed to try reasonable synonyms." >ASK 9 "This should apply to verbs and nouns. Parser command abbreviations over the years have made this easier. Conventions have settled on I for inventory and X for examine, and one- or two-letter abbreviations for directions. Many games use custom abbreviations for verbs they have the player use a lot. Adventuron accepts singular or plural versions of a noun. "Inform allows pronouns as shorthand (TAKE BOTTLE/X IT, and MAN might be a synonym for SORCERER and WOMAN for SORCERESS, and so forth. NEWS and PAPER could cue NEWSPAPER. It's fun to be able to type things out if you want, but it shouldn't be a chore." >ASK 9 "There are a few synonyms in Quirky Test, though the items are dissimilar enough that not much is needed. Quirky Test also short-circuits this problem by not making you use many items explicitly." >ASK 10 "The tenth rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is to have a decent parser." >ASK 10 "This rule may have evolved since the initial document to read: to have the game use the parser judiciously. There's a certain thrill in writing your own parser for your own game and programming neat side verbs, but it does not always rub off on players. For instance, a vastly different response for SEARCH and EXAMINE may frustrate players. One thing that helps provide a buffer is a VERBS command, so they know how much they need to focus on the right word. I've enjoyed games where you LOOK BEHIND and LOOK UNDER, and the right one is based on the object. But this was prompted by VERBS." >ASK 10 "Quirky Test uses Adventuron's simplified two-word parser, since all point-scoring commands are two words. You never need to USE THIS ON THAT explicitly." >ASK 11 "The eleventh rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is to have reasonable freedom of action." >ASK 11 "Sometimes having too much to do is confusing, but sometimes not being able to do something indicated (e.g. X SCENERY) is annoying to the player. So programmers need to account for a room name or interesting words in the description with, if nothing else, something like 'That's just for decoration.'" >ASK 11 "Here, well, there aren't a ton of verbs implemented, and the first bit was on rails, but I wanted to open it up and have something to do right away in the main area." >ASK 12 "The twelfth rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is not to depend too much on luck." >ASK 12 "It's difficult, of course. If there is no luck, a game may not be replayable. And it can be fun to strategize to lessen bad luck. But bad luck isn't just throwing the RNG at the player. It can mean a player being misled on what to do if they take one of three equal paths in a fork." >ASK 12 "In Quirky Test, there's no luck whatsoever. Which means that one time through may be enough, though Quirky Test does have bonus points and achievements to hunt down. But only if you're interested." >ASK 13 "The thirteenth rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is to be able to understand a problem once it is solved." >ASK 13 "Of course, problems you've seen before aren't fun to solve. And being pushed to make that leap of logic without a spoiler is very gratifying. The player has a right to feel accomplished." >ASK 13 "So, in a one-trick pony adventure such as Quirky Test, 'understand it once it's solved' is likely, and the hope is, the understanding's more than semantic. A problem from the other side is that the player says yeah, yeah, I get it, already, before tuning out." >ASK 14 "The fourteenth rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is not to be given too many red herrings." >ASK 14 "A too on-rails game is boring. It's fun to have those side ventures. But they can be inane, or they can make the player worry they missed something." >ASK 14 "Here, well, there are a few bonus points I hope you enjoy, and for those who enjoy hunting down footnotes and achievements, I have them too. Do as much or as little as you want. Or just poke through the source code to save time. The author made an effort to make it readable." >ASK 15 "The fifteenth rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is to have a good reason why something is impossible." >ASK 15 "Parsers, since you can type anything in, give you the feeling anything should be possible. But one doesn't have the time to implement everything. So there are some barriers required to say: this standard verb isn't really relevant here." >ASK 15 "Quirky Test isn't a terribly ambitious game interactivity-wise. But of course we still need to tell you why you can't eat something right now, or whatever. And hopefully if you run into a puzzle where you have the right phrase, the reject makes some sense." >ASK 16 "The sixteenth rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is not to need to be American." >ASK 16 "This was one of the more controversial rules, as the definition is not very exact. But of course, it's not just about being American. Needing to know obscure stuff specific to any culture or trivia might make it hard for people to enjoy things fully, even if along the way you learn interesting things about a culture or hobby." >ASK 16 "For Quirky Test, there's a slang word or two here that originate in the US, and there was even lampshading the puzzle that brought this about (Zork II's baseball puzzle, getting by Burst Face.) But hopefully every critical puzzle is either relatively common or logical with only so many possible misspellings." >ASK 17 "The seventeenth rule in Graham Nelson's Player's Bill of Rights is to know how the game is getting on." >ASK 17 "Progress tracking with points is a staple of text adventures, but it can feel a bit artificial and distracting to look up, even if the score is in the upper right. But a murder mystery may ask you for five pieces of evidence, or you may know a mansion has three stories and you've only visited one." >ASK 17 "Here, the hub areas beyond give an idea of progress by closing off spokes as you figure what to do there." ONE-TIME NOTE: you've asked Thor about everything he can teach you. Such perseverance merits an achievement! You'll see a list of them all once you win, with an option to replay for more. >E The only viable passages (for now) are northeast and northwest. >L PLAIN BASE You are in a plain base. While it's rather plain, it links to other places that look more interesting. You notice paths to the northeast and northwest, and it seems weirdly fuzzy north, as if something should be there but isn't. Yet. You don't see any way back to First Base. There's no trace of Seth Denton's, and maybe that's all for the better. Beery Thor stands here, smiling, waiting for you to ASK about more of the rules in the Player's Bill of Rights. Exits: Northeast, Northwest. >S The only viable passages (for now) are northeast and northwest. >BANE PLACE Thor chuckles a bit. "Well observed. 'Lurk, jokey jerk Loki!'" he calls out. "Well, I tried my best to bring in an antagonist, but I guess he's busy. Maybe that works for the best. Well, except for whomever he's busy with." You just found a bonus point! >NW As you start, Thor calls out to you. "Oh, hey, those diagonal directions? Sorry about them. Usually not done in a text adventure. It can confuse people. But we have a good excuse. It keeps the map symmetrical, and the passages from bending too weirdly. There're just hubs with dead ends northeast and northwest, so hopefully you can visualize the map in your head." WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or up to a hill. You haven't figured what to do in any of the seven outward spokes here. Yet. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), East (Ű), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >X RUNES Five orange runes stand out against the green grass: two v's, two number-sevens too wide at the top, one v. >ORANGE JUICE Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs, though special commands are cued in puzzles throughout Quirky Test. >U STEALING HILL A stealing hill squints at you (the hills have eyes, you know) as if to say, you're not getting anything useful from it! And yet, there's so much junk lying around, if you know what to get and have a plan to get there, you can nab it quickly. Two paths slope down here, back to West Tiles and east. Exits: East (Ű), West (ű). ONE-TIME NOTE: since this location is up from two different rooms, going down is ambiguous. Nonreciprocal directions aren't usually a recommended part of adventure games, since they can confuse the player, but here, I wanted the directions to give the feeling of a hill. >HEALTH STILL One of those words felt right, but the other didn't. You must be halfway there. >HEALING STILL With the stealing hill watching you, it'll be tough to nab or feel anything. You'll need to know what you want and how to get there. ONE-TIME NOTE: you've found the right thing to say or do, but you weren't prepared yet. THINK will record the details, while SCORE and the status bar (with +1, etc.) record the number of commands figured. The passage back here will also be marked on the map. >THINK Here is something that seemed like it should work, but you didn't have the resources yet: -- feel (or discover a) HEALING STILL here >L STEALING HILL A stealing hill squints at you (the hills have eyes, you know) as if to say, you're not getting anything useful from it! And yet, there's so much junk lying around, if you know what to get and have a plan to get there, you can nab it quickly. Two paths slope down here, back to West Tiles and east. Exits: East (Ű), West (ű). >W WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You haven't figured what to do in any of the seven outward spokes here. Yet. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), East (Ű), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >SW GIFT SHOALS Gift shoals are here. They sure have washed up a lot of gifts! Nothing you particularly like or can use, but you're drawn to them anyway, in your current mental state. Only way OUT: Northeast. ONE-TIME NOTE: you can use OUT (O) to leave any dead-end spokes like this, as an alternative to going the opposite direction you came. >SHIFT GOALS You'd like to shift your goals, but it's not as easy as just wanting to. Perhaps helping some other folks shift their goals to something better would give you enough resilience. >O WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You haven't figured what to do in any of the seven outward spokes here. Yet. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), East (Ű), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >W - GRUNTERS' HILLS - Grunts from big hills, here. Well, from around the hills. That must make them grunters' hills. It's like people are trying to forage for food, but of course their grunts scare off prey. Said grunts are mainly about not having enough food. Only way OUT: East (Ű). ONE-TIME NOTE: Adventuron doesn't like apostrophes, so you don't want to use any here, even if one's in the description. >HUNTERS GRILLS You try to start up a feast, but alas, you don't have any food. >E WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You haven't figured what to do in any of the seven outward spokes here. Yet. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), East (Ű), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >NW YELLOW FIELD Someone is blocking you here in this yellow field. Why, or from what, you're not sure. But, boy, they're persistent! Only way OUT: Southeast. >FELLOW YIELD You'd like to convince the fellow to yield, but you don't feel slick enough, and you can't offer anything worth leaving this field for. >SE WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You haven't figured what to do in any of the seven outward spokes here. Yet. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), East (Ű), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >N PLASTER MAN A plaster man stands here. Perhaps there is something inside it. Only way OUT: South (ů). >MASTER PLAN You sort of hope there's a master plan inside the plaster man, but you're not sure. You sense you're not focused enough on being able to carry out a big plan, and you're not nourished enough to break him down. >S WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You haven't figured what to do in any of the seven outward spokes here. Yet. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), East (Ű), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >NE SCENE MORE MEAN/SORE A malice chap stands here, radiating malice intensely. Only way OUT: Southwest. >CHALICE MAP To your surprise, the malice chap actually does pull out a chalice map, claiming he would use it, but he obviously has much better opportunities lined up, and if he can't figure out how to use it, you sure can't. You step back, overwhelmed by this display of arrogance. Man, this guy's tough. But with some serious experience and confidence blowing off other belligerent types, perhaps you could outmaneuver him mentally. >SE This is a dead end, at least for Quirky Test's purposes, so you can really only backtrack southwest to West Tiles, though OUT (O) always works, too. >O WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You haven't figured what to do in any of the seven outward spokes here. Yet. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), East (Ű), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >E SHELL FORT A shell fort sits here. It occasionally fires rounds that get close to you. While there's no danger of you getting hit, it's still annoying and gets in the way of trying to find anything. Only way OUT: West (ű). >FELL SHORT You believe in yourself and use the power of words to make the artillery fall short. The people inside give up on you. They have much easier targets. Oh! And what did they leave behind? Some very, very sensible pacing rations. They taste bleah enough so you pace yourself eating them, but not so bleah they're inedible. You take them. Your score just went up by a point! ONE-TIME NOTE: every critical puzzle you solve in the area beyond Thor will add an item to your INVENTORY, which will be used up implicitly when solving another puzzle. While it's not critical to track the item names, their identity may offer clues where to go next. >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) pacing rations\ >RACING PATIONS Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs, though special commands are cued in puzzles throughout Quirky Test. >W WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in six of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >SE PLAIN BASE You are in a plain base. While it's rather plain, it links to other places that look more interesting. You notice paths to the northeast and northwest, and it seems weirdly fuzzy north, as if something should be there but isn't. Yet. You don't see any way back to First Base. There's no trace of Seth Denton's, and maybe that's all for the better. Beery Thor stands here, smiling, waiting for you to ASK about more of the rules in the Player's Bill of Rights. Exits: Northeast, Northwest. >NW WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in six of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >W - GRUNTERS' HILLS - Grunts from big hills, here. Well, from around the hills. That must make them grunters' hills. It's like people are trying to forage for food, but of course their grunts scare off prey. Said grunts are mainly about not having enough food. Only way OUT: East (Ű). >E WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in six of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >SW GIFT SHOALS Gift shoals are here. They sure have washed up a lot of gifts! Nothing you particularly like or can use, but you're drawn to them anyway, in your current mental state. Only way OUT: Northeast. >NE WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in six of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >NW YELLOW FIELD Someone is blocking you here in this yellow field. Why, or from what, you're not sure. But, boy, they're persistent! Only way OUT: Southeast. >SE WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in six of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >W - GRUNTERS' HILLS - Grunts from big hills, here. Well, from around the hills. That must make them grunters' hills. It's like people are trying to forage for food, but of course their grunts scare off prey. Said grunts are mainly about not having enough food. Only way OUT: East (Ű). >HUNTERS GRILLS You try to start up a feast, but alas, you don't have enough food to do so. You need something besides the pacing rations. >E WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in six of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >SE PLAIN BASE You are in a plain base. While it's rather plain, it links to other places that look more interesting. You notice paths to the northeast and northwest, and it seems weirdly fuzzy north, as if something should be there but isn't. Yet. You don't see any way back to First Base. There's no trace of Seth Denton's, and maybe that's all for the better. Beery Thor stands here, smiling, waiting for you to ASK about more of the rules in the Player's Bill of Rights. Exits: Northeast, Northwest. >NE EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You haven't figured what to do in any of the seven outward spokes here. Yet. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), East (Ű), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). Now that you've seen all of Quirky Test's non-endgame locations, here are several jump commands you can use in case you don't want to fiddle with directions. EB = East Branch PB = Plain Base SH = Stealing Hills WT = West Tiles >X RUNES Five orange runes stand out against the green grass: a caret, a straight vertical line, two geometric angle signs, another straight vertical line. >XYZZY A low voice booms "Vexing howls? Hexing?! VOWELS!" >HEXING VOWELS Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >* HMM LOOKS LIKE AN EASTER EGG Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >U STEALING HILL A stealing hill squints at you (the hills have eyes, you know) as if to say, you're not getting anything useful from it! And yet, there's so much junk lying around, if you know what to get and have a plan to get there, you can nab it quickly. Two paths slope down here, back to West Tiles and back to East Branch. Exits: East (Ű), West (ű). >W WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in six of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >U STEALING HILL A stealing hill squints at you (the hills have eyes, you know) as if to say, you're not getting anything useful from it! And yet, there's so much junk lying around, if you know what to get and have a plan to get there, you can nab it quickly. Two paths slope down here, back to West Tiles and back to East Branch. Exits: East (Ű), West (ű). >E EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You haven't figured what to do in any of the seven outward spokes here. Yet. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), East (Ű), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >SE - HURT DOME - A hurt dome sits here. Fortunately, it just looks hurt and doesn't seem to want to hurt anyone or anything actively by launching missiles. But perhaps you could remove the hurt? Only way OUT: Northwest. >DIRT HOME Poof! The hurt dome transforms into a dirt home. It looks like it needs a resident, but you're too busy, now. However, you take a set of trial pics left at the doorstep, which show the home in the best possible light. Your score just went up by a point! ONE-TIME NOTE: some locations, like this, change their header name and color once you figure what to do. You'll need to L again or MAP to see them. They have (-) surrounding the text. I couldn't get Adventuron to refresh the centered header automatically. >PILE TRICKS You've found a lot of wordplay tricks so far, and you wonder if you should branch off into salesmanship tricks. There are ethical boundaries, of course, but some of your ideas for home improvement are ones you'd actually follow yourself, and a spoonerism's a spoonerism! You look towards the fourth wall. It's a good spoonerism, right? Isn't a bonus point in order? Apparently, this is just an observation for salesmanship purchases and not for adventuring. And there's still a bit to go. >NW EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in six of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), East (Ű), West (ű), Northeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >E - WARRING BAY - You don't know how or why a war started in this warring bay. Everyone seems quite excited to be dedicated to their own cause, whatever it is. Only way OUT: West (ű). >BARRING WAY Again, you feel like you got halfway there. >RE WAY One word right, one word wrong. >BARRING ADFA Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >BARING WAY One word right, one word wrong. >BEARING WAY One word right, one word wrong. >BORING WAY You somehow manage to get into the fighters' heads that it's not as exciting as it seems. At first they're mad, but after a while, they realize it's all for the best. You feel peace surging within you. Peace may be boring, but then again, the excitement of war is draining. Your score just went up by a point! >L BORING WAY Well, you made this a boring way. You feel content having contributed to peace, but all the same, this being a boring place, you can't imagine having anything interesting to do here. Only way OUT: West (ű). >W EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in five of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), West (ű), Northeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >NE TRENDING BOOTH A trending booth sits here, spouting all sorts of things you can and should be doing that are more exciting than silly old text adventuring. The arguments seem convincing, and yet ... Only way OUT: Southwest. >BENDING TRUTH You realize that the trending booth's Stone Cold Facts are ice-cold when it comes to universal truths. You take some time to pause and think how and why the overgeneralizations and out-of-context anecdotes and such are inaccurate. Yet you also realize there's a place for brevity and not having to explain every detail. Some of the rhetorical tricks coalesce into a fast vision -- it came to you so quickly, and it's going to stay! Your score just went up by a point! >L TRENDING BOOTH Noise continues to emanate from the trending booth, but you sort of recognize a lot of its rhetorical tricks, so you can ignore it and leave when you want. Only way OUT: Southwest. >SW EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in four of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), West (ű), Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) pacing rations\ \ (*) a fast vision\ \ (*) peace surging\ \ (*) trial pics (of the dirt home)\ Boy! You're carrying a lot, but the Pile/Stack Style Pack is holding up well. You idly wonder if you can test its strength further. ONE-TIME NOTE: items listed in GREY aren't quite in your Pile/Stack Style Pack, of course. They're abstract moods or feelings that will automatically help you overcome obstacles when the time comes. You can manipulate some of them beyond this, if you're clever enough, but that's not necessary to win Quirky Test. >VAST FISSION You extrapolate on the fast vision you have and re-interpret events from your past life in many new ways. The mental fission of previous complaints is fast. You make plans for, uh, fishin' for more, once this quest is over. More what? Lighting fires, fighting liars. You just found a bonus point! >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) pacing rations\ \ (*) a fast vision (+)\ \ (*) peace surging\ \ (*) trial pics (of the dirt home)\ ONE-TIME NOTE: the plus in parentheses (+) after an item means you found how to get a bonus point from it. >CEASE PURGING You use the feeling of peace, surging, to formulate what to do to march towards peace, or to make things more peaceful. Naturally there are things society needs to purge, but then there are too many it doesn't. You just found a bonus point! >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) pacing rations\ \ (*) a fast vision (+)\ \ (*) peace surging (+)\ \ (*) trial pics (of the dirt home)\ >PILE TRICKS Pile up too many tricks, and you wind up playing tricks on yourself. >NE You already bent the truth a bit to the northeast. You don't want to do too much of that sort of thing. At least, I hope you don't. >N SKY FLOOR The sky floor here gives you poetic thoughts. Well, maybe not quite poetic, maybe wordless. You're not quite sure, but when you figure it out, you're sure you'll think up something cool. Only way OUT: South (ů). >FLY SCORE The poetic nature of the sky floor embeds itself in your head, and you think up a tune you're surprised you were able to. You now have a low song running through your head. Where to release it? Your score just went up by a point! >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) pacing rations\ \ (*) a low song\ \ (*) a fast vision (+)\ \ (*) peace surging (+)\ \ (*) trial pics (of the dirt home)\ >SO LONG You use the low song in your head to compose a kiss-off to people whom you don't want to stick in your memory, but they do. It helps lighten a few burdens. You just found a bonus point! >SW This is a dead end, at least for Quirky Test's purposes, so you can really only backtrack south to East Branch, though OUT (O) always works, too. >S EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in three of the seven planar directions. Exits: South (ů), West (ű), Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >NW WRATH/POUT PATH/ROUTE A trim goon sits here, ready to rough you up if provoked. Fortunately, you've given them no cause, but boy, it'd be fun to tweak them and win a psychological victory. You suspect it's what Thor would want. Only way OUT: Southeast. >GRIM TUNE A grim tune might be just the thing to repel the trim goon, but you can't build one. You'd need a combination of catchy music and lyrics. You have music, so far. >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) pacing rations\ \ (*) a low song (+)\ \ (*) a fast vision (+)\ \ (*) peace surging (+)\ \ (*) trial pics (of the dirt home)\ >SE EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in three of the seven planar directions. Exits: South (ů), West (ű), Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >W - MONEY FOUNTAIN - A money fountain is here. People dive in, trying to get the money, but they somehow come up empty. It's very upsetting and soul-draining for them. Only way OUT: East (Ű). >FUNNY MOUNTAIN Nothing happens at first. Then a slow rumbling. A small hill pokes through the ground, sending the money in the fountain everywhere. Outside of the fountain, the money flies into the mountain and helps enlarge it. There must be a lot of money in the fountain, because it takes a while. The resulting funny mountain is an improvement, though the scavengers don't think so. They leave in disgust. As they do, two smaller but approximately as funny mountains poke up and out, creating an even more pleasing landscape. You think a bit and realize you feel no greed for the coins in the fountains, wherever they went to. Your score just went up by a point! >GO NEED One word right, one word wrong. >GO ASDF Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >GROW NEED Not wanting anything is proof you have no greed, right? It's proof of super virtue? Well, yes and no. It also means you are perhaps too content with the status quo. So you think of needs to grow, not for power or fame or wealth, but stuff that can help others. You just found a bonus point! >L FUNNY MOUNTAIN A mountain with a cheery face somehow carved in its side makes all who walk by laugh or smile as they go on their day. It helps you, too, though you recognize true happiness is a journey that extends away from here, and the mountain just gives a temporary boost. Only way OUT: East (Ű). >E EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in two of the seven planar directions. Exits: South (ů), Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >W You changed the funny mountain to a money fountain. You can't think of anything else you need to do to the west. >N You don't feel as though the sky/floor to the north has anything more to offer you, with the fly score stuck in your head. Well, maybe you can go back for new artistic inspiration, after you completed the quest for Thor. >NE You already bent the truth a bit to the northeast. You don't want to do too much of that sort of thing. At least, I hope you don't. >E You cooled off the warring bay to the east. While you wouldn't die of boredom in the now-boring way to the east, hanging around there wouldn't get you any closer to your goals. >SE You changed the hurt dome to a dirt home. You can't think of anything else you need to do to the southeast. >SW PLAIN BASE You are in a plain base. While it's rather plain, it links to other places that look more interesting. You notice paths to the northeast and northwest, and it seems weirdly fuzzy north, as if something should be there but isn't. Yet. You don't see any way back to First Base. There's no trace of Seth Denton's, and maybe that's all for the better. Beery Thor stands here, smiling, waiting for you to ASK about more of the rules in the Player's Bill of Rights. Exits: Northeast, Northwest. >NE EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in two of the seven planar directions. Exits: South (ů), Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >S - ROARING PAIN - You feel roaring pain. While there's some shelter here from above, it doesn't help with the internal stuff. Only way OUT: North (Ů). >PORUING RAIN One word right, one word wrong. >POURING RAIN As your pain recedes, you feel a drip from above. Then another. Then two, then four. Thank goodness for the shelter nearby! You sit there and find watching the rain surprisingly poetic. You feel something rise within you ... a soul full of rain or, more succinctly, a rain soul. Your score just went up by a point! >SANE ROLL Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) pacing rations\ \ (*) a low song (+)\ \ (*) a fast vision (+)\ \ (*) peace surging (+)\ \ (*) trial pics (of the dirt home)\ \ (*) a rain soul\ \ (*) no greed (+)\ >L POURING RAIN The shelter keeps you safe from the pouring rain, which shows no sign of letting up. Probably just have to make a run for it when you can. Only way OUT: North (Ů). >OUT EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in one of the seven planar directions. Exits: Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >SE You changed the hurt dome to a dirt home. You can't think of anything else you need to do to the southeast. >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) pacing rations\ \ (*) a low song (+)\ \ (*) a fast vision (+)\ \ (*) peace surging (+)\ \ (*) trial pics (of the dirt home)\ \ (*) a rain soul\ \ (*) no greed (+)\ >SAIN ROUL Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >SANE ROLL Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >SANE ROLE Not that things are insane here, but you justify why working through such apparent nonsense is, indeed, good for the soul, even if it doesn't help society right away. You just found a bonus point! >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) pacing rations\ \ (*) a low song (+)\ \ (*) a fast vision (+)\ \ (*) peace surging (+)\ \ (*) trial pics (of the dirt home)\ \ (*) a rain soul (+)\ \ (*) no greed (+)\ >L EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in one of the seven planar directions. Exits: Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >SW PLAIN BASE You are in a plain base. While it's rather plain, it links to other places that look more interesting. You notice paths to the northeast and northwest, and it seems weirdly fuzzy north, as if something should be there but isn't. Yet. You don't see any way back to First Base. There's no trace of Seth Denton's, and maybe that's all for the better. Beery Thor stands here, smiling, waiting for you to ASK about more of the rules in the Player's Bill of Rights. Exits: Northeast, Northwest. >E The only viable passages (for now) are northeast and northwest. >NW WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in six of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >S - CAKE TRACKERS - Cake trackers mope about here, looking for cake, mumbling about how they only have boring food to eat. They are nonspecific about what boring food it is, but maybe you can figure that out. Only way OUT: North (Ů). >TAKE CRACKERS While the cake trackers aren't looking, you pinch a box of crackers. They don't notice at first, but when they fail to find any cake, they notice some crackers are missing, then start getting mad and accusing each other. In the argument that follows, they ignore the wonderful variety of crackers they brought along, dredging up small beefs from the past instead. They chase each other away, leaving you alone. Your score just went up by a point! >BALL SMEEFS Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >L CRACKERS Man! Those folks sure had a lot of crackers. But they were greedy and wanted cake. You've taken all you possibly need, and there are still several boxes left over. Only way OUT: North (Ů). >X BOXES All shapes and textures and colors--the boxes and the crackers themselves. What a variety! You vowed, when you were a kid, that you would buy one of each box of crackers you found in the story and eat one from each, each day. But this dream burst as you got older. >EAT CRACKERS Too much for you. You need to share. >AKE CRACKERS Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) pacing rations\ \ (*) crackers\ \ (*) a low song (+)\ \ (*) a fast vision (+)\ \ (*) peace surging (+)\ \ (*) trial pics (of the dirt home)\ \ (*) a rain soul (+)\ \ (*) no greed (+)\ >CRACKERS Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >L CRACKERS Man! Those folks sure had a lot of crackers. But they were greedy and wanted cake. You've taken all you possibly need, and there are still several boxes left over. Only way OUT: North (Ů). >N WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in five of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >SW GIFT SHOALS Gift shoals are here. They sure have washed up a lot of gifts! Nothing you particularly like or can use, but you're drawn to them anyway, in your current mental state. Only way OUT: Northeast. >NE WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in five of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), West (ű), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >W - GRUNTERS' HILLS - Grunts from big hills, here. Well, from around the hills. That must make them grunters' hills. It's like people are trying to forage for food, but of course their grunts scare off prey. Said grunts are mainly about not having enough food. Only way OUT: East (Ű). >HUNTERS GRILLS You tell people to stop whining and start making a fire, or something. Your advice is so level-headed, it levels the hills into more level terrain! What's more, the grunters agree with you, especially when you show them your crackers and pacing rations. There's enough for everyone, with nothing left over. As they depart, they vow to use the energy from their meal for action and not complaining. Who knows but that one day they will run into the cake trackers and set them straight! Your score just went up by a point! ONE-TIME NOTE: solving puzzles that depend on others, like this one, will usually cause you to gain an item but lose two. Parser games often do this to avoid inventory bloat and worries the player may need to use a certain item again. >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) deal-mood meal, dude (eaten)\ \ (*) a low song (+)\ \ (*) a fast vision (+)\ \ (*) peace surging (+)\ \ (*) trial pics (of the dirt home)\ \ (*) a rain soul (+)\ \ (*) no greed (+)\ >X DEAL You notice nothing special. >L HUNTERS' GRILLS Well, you've had your feast, and it was delicious. It's filled you up for the journey ahead. Hanging around here wouldn't burn any calories, so you should probably get going. Only way OUT: East (Ű). >E WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in four of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >SW GIFT SHOALS Gift shoals are here. They sure have washed up a lot of gifts! Nothing you particularly like or can use, but you're drawn to them anyway, in your current mental state. Only way OUT: Northeast. >SHIFT GOALS You stop looking for something direct from the gift shoals. You begin, like, meditating and stuff. You gain general focus! Your score just went up by a point! >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) focus\ \ (*) deal-mood meal, dude (eaten)\ \ (*) a low song (+)\ \ (*) a fast vision (+)\ \ (*) trial pics (of the dirt home)\ \ (*) a rain soul (+)\ >X FOCUS It's hard to focus on your focus, but you know you have it, since you feel less distracted by what doesn't matter. >NE WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in three of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Up (Ų). >NW YELLOW FIELD Someone is blocking you here in this yellow field. Why, or from what, you're not sure. But, boy, they're persistent! Only way OUT: Southeast. >FELLOW YIELD You take a balanced tone of friendship and defiance, showing the trial pics and explaining you saw this neat home just waiting for someone more worthy than you to occupy it. You're surprised how well it works, as the pics are quickly snatched from your hand, and you feel clever for having dealt with negativity. The fellow looks at thr trial pics and says, rather oddly, "Nice, but something's still missing." Your score just went up by a point! You also gain confidence from this small contretemps. >SE WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in two of the seven planar directions. Exits: North (Ů), Northeast, Southeast, Up (Ų). >NW You got the fellow to yield in the yellow field, which was pretty barren otherwise. So you don't need to go back northwest. >N PLASTER MAN A plaster man stands here. Perhaps there is something inside it. Only way OUT: South (ů). >MASTER PLAN You have reason to find a master plan, and your feast with the hunters has left you stronger. Without much trouble, you bust open the plaster man (checking to make sure it's inanimate) and find said master plan. Your score just went up by a point! >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) a master plan\ \ (*) Confidence (a bit of)\ \ (*) a low song (+)\ \ (*) a rain soul (+)\ >X PLAN It's written in straightforward but general language. You sense you may need something else to make full sense of it. >READ IT It's written in straightforward but general language. You sense you may need something else to make full sense of it. >S WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in one of the seven planar directions. Exits: Northeast, Southeast, Up (Ų). >NE SCENE MORE MEAN/SORE A malice chap stands here, radiating malice intensely. Only way OUT: Southwest. >CHALICE MAP The malice chap wags his finger again, sneering. You step back, still disoriented just enough by this display of arrogance. Man, this guy's tough. But with a bit more experience and confidence blowing off other belligerent types, perhaps you could outmaneuver him mentally. >SE This is a dead end, at least for Quirky Test's purposes, so you can really only backtrack southwest to West Tiles, though OUT (O) always works, too. >OUT WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in one of the seven planar directions. Exits: Northeast, Southeast, Up (Ų). >SE PLAIN BASE You are in a plain base. While it's rather plain, it links to other places that look more interesting. You notice paths to the northeast and northwest, and it seems weirdly fuzzy north, as if something should be there but isn't. Yet. You don't see any way back to First Base. There's no trace of Seth Denton's, and maybe that's all for the better. Beery Thor stands here, smiling, waiting for you to ASK about more of the rules in the Player's Bill of Rights. Exits: Northeast, Northwest. >NW WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in one of the seven planar directions. Exits: Northeast, Southeast, Up (Ų). >U STEALING HILL A stealing hill squints at you (the hills have eyes, you know) as if to say, you're not getting anything useful from it! And yet, there's so much junk lying around, if you know what to get and have a plan to get there, you can nab it quickly. Two paths slope down here, back to West Tiles and back to East Branch. Exits: East (Ű), West (ű). >HEALING STILL With the stealing hill watching you, it'll be tough to nab or feel anything. You know how to sneak around, thanks to the master plan, but not where. >E EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in one of the seven planar directions. Exits: Southwest, Northwest, Up (Ų). >NW WRATH/POUT PATH/ROUTE A trim goon sits here, ready to rough you up if provoked. Fortunately, you've given them no cause, but boy, it'd be fun to tweak them and win a psychological victory. You suspect it's what Thor would want. Only way OUT: Southeast. >GRIM TUNE With a bit of thought, you see how the low song and rain soul hook together. Why didn't you see it before? The moment must not have been right. It is now. The trim goon, on hearing the grim tune, displays a rush of discomfort with their lot in life. Don't they deserve more? They go off to join a pyramid scheme, in hopes of finding it. Unfortunately, they get fleeced by people more awful than they, but fortunately, they learn a lesson from it and dedicate the rest of their life to helping other people! Okay, not really. They just move along and mope about how society is out to get them. But that's actually better for society than before. Your score just went up by a point! You also gain even more confidence from this small contretemps. >* LOL Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >SE EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You've taken care of business in all the side areas here. Exits: Southwest, Up (Ų). >U STEALING HILL A stealing hill squints at you (the hills have eyes, you know) as if to say, you're not getting anything useful from it! And yet, there's so much junk lying around, if you know what to get and have a plan to get there, you can nab it quickly. Two paths slope down here, back to West Tiles and back to East Branch. Exits: East (Ű), West (ű). >W WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You still need to take care of things in one of the seven planar directions. Exits: Northeast, Southeast, Up (Ų). >NE SCENE MORE MEAN/SORE A malice chap stands here, radiating malice intensely. Only way OUT: Southwest. >CHALICE MAP The malice chap wags his finger again, sneering. You offer to relieve the malice chap of his chalice map. He looks at you like you're crazy. You mention he's probably had it a while and hasn't figured what to do with it. He mentions he's just had more valuable things to search for. But he might sell it. You, of course, don't have money. But what you do have is confidence. And as annoying as he is, you realize you may be annoying him more. Especially when you start asking what he's searching for and imply he missed a few obvious things around the general area. You even guilt-trip him by saying, why, there's a whole world to the northeast he can explore but you can't. He gets sick of you pretty quickly. "Look, if it's really THAT important to you, have it. It'll be funny, thinking of how close you might be to your goal, but you'll still miss out." Because he's heard there are traps the map doesn't tell you how to get by. This doesn't faze you. You've internalized your confidence without realizing it. It's so internalized, it even, well, disappears from your inventory to make way for the chalice map. Your score just went up by a point! >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) a chalice map\ \ (*) a master plan\ >X MAP It seems to lead to and from somewhere, but the key is missing. You need another document as reference. The chalice map and master plan seem to fit together well. They'll help when you need them, without having to do anything fancy. >SW WEST TILES Such nice, orderly tiles here. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the west mini-hub. You can go southeast back to the plain base or back up to the stealing hill. You've taken care of business in all the side areas here. Exits: Southeast, Up (Ų). >U STEALING HILL A stealing hill squints at you (the hills have eyes, you know) as if to say, you're not getting anything useful from it! And yet, there's so much junk lying around, if you know what to get and have a plan to get there, you can nab it quickly. Two paths slope down here, back to West Tiles and back to East Branch. Exits: East (Ű), West (ű). >HEALING STILL With the chalice map handy as well as the master plan, you know what to look for and where. Plan keys can please, you think, as your trusty map exposes many a musty trap. Of course, it takes a while to get there, as you need to step carefully so the stealing hill isn't alerted. Eventually you find the travel grail. But where can it take you? As you take it, you think you hear the beginnings of an angry inhuman groaning. If it's the hill, now might be a really good time to move on. You can't see anything else to do here! Your score just went up by a point! >GRAVEL TRAIL That feels right, but you don't just want to go opening up random trails. You're not equipped to go exploring any deep caves or long paths, anyway. >L STEALING HILL The stealing hill seems quiet, for now, but it will probably figure someone stole its grail, eventually. Two paths slope down here, back to West Tiles and back to East Branch. Exits: East (Ű), West (ű). >E As you slip away, you hear the hill screaming. It realizes you have stolen something. Something valueless to it, since hills don't generally move around a lot, but hey, the principle's the important thing. EAST BRANCH The paths here are not super tidy or straight, but they don't look dangerous. You also see big runes carved into the ground here in the east mini-hub. You can go southwest back to the plain base, which is your only choice, given the stealing hill's mood. Exits: Southwest. >I In your Pile/Stack Style Pack: \ \ (*) Ooh, Task to Ask ('Ooh Task')\ \ (*) a travel grail\ >GRAVEL TRAIL That feels right, but you don't just want to go opening up random trails. There are already enough here, which you've explored thoroughly. >SW PLAIN BASE You are in a plain base. While it's rather plain, it links to other places that look more interesting. You notice paths to the northeast and northwest, and it seems weirdly fuzzy north, as if something should be there but isn't. Yet. You don't see any way back to First Base. There's no trace of Seth Denton's, and maybe that's all for the better. Beery Thor stands here, smiling, waiting for you to ASK about more of the rules in the Player's Bill of Rights. Exits: Northeast, Northwest. >GRAVEL TRAIL You look over at Thor. He nods. You summon a gravel trail which appears to the north! "There you go," he cheers. "The rest shouldn't be too hard, if you got this far. But wait, you'd better let me take this grail. I don't think you'll need it, but the next person to stop by might." You'd sort of grown attached to it, but he is bigger than you, and it is a little heavy. Your score just went up by a point! >I You're only carrying Ooh, Task to Ask in your Pile/Stack Style Packat the moment. >SCORE Your core score is 20 out of 23. You've solved all places by West Tiles and all places by East Branch. Your bonus score is 8 out of 17. >N GRAVEL TRAIL This is a gravel trail running south back to the plain base and north to, well, nowhere at the moment. Exits: South (ů). A hissing mouse hisses here! It's not lethal, but you can't blame it for feeling scared and nervous, vulnerable out here in the open. >MISSING HOUSE BOOM! A missing house appears to the north. The mouse squeaks with joy and then goes and hides under it. And yet, it seems to wave at you before you enter, grateful not to be alone in the open. You also hear something new, more musical than hissing. Your score just went up by a point! >LISTEN You locate where the tone is coming from. Teary chimes, at the front of your house. They remind you of many things. Maybe there's some specific tangent to ponder before moving on with things. >CHEERY TIMES The teary chimes bring back memories of an old couple down the street, when you were a kid. You didn't like the chimes at first, but then when you talked with them, chimes started to remind you of them. They died when you were ten. You haven't heard chimes for a while. While the chimes seem to be saying "time to move on," there's also optimism there will be other, different, good times ahead. Eventually, the chimes fade away. You blink, and they're gone. You just found a bonus point! >L GRAVEL TRAIL This is a gravel trail running south back to the plain base and north to the house you summoned. Exits: North (Ů), South (ů). >N MY HOUSE Glee simmers here as you think, yes, this really is my house! It has a bookshelf and poster and table and everything! And yet, owning a house is nice and all, but ... what about Thor's quest? You glance again at your inventory. Exits: South (ů), Exit (ų). >I You're only carrying Ooh, Task to Ask in your Pile/Stack Style Packat the moment. >X TASK It's a request to find the Rare-Thing-There Ring. THERE ARE TWENTY THREE CORE POINTS TO ACHIEVE IN QUIRKY TEST AS WELL AS SEVENTEEN BONUS POINTS WHICH YOU FIND BY MAKING SPOONERISMS OF ALL YOU ENCOUNTER HERE WHETHER IT BE A PLACE OR THING OR PERSON WITH NO WAY TO LOSE SO HAVE FUN AND TRY THINGS __ ____ ___ ___ ___ ANDREW >L MY HOUSE Glee simmers here as you think, yes, this really is my house! It has a bookshelf and poster and table and everything! And yet, owning a house is nice and all, but ... what about Thor's quest? You glance again at your inventory. Exits: South (ů), Exit (ų). >HI MOUSE Hmm, it might be worth calling the mouse back to look around, but you don't have anything concrete for it to search. Maybe look around. >X BOOKSHELF You take the time to inspect the whole bookshelf. Perhaps the Rare-Thing-There Ring, or a passage to it, is hidden behind one of the books. However, you find nothing, even after removing the books to see if the bookshelf can be pushed to reveal a secret passage, or something. Even a "Books, hidden hooks biddin'?" goes unanswered. However, you do notice Hook-Bold-Book Hold engraved on it. (It DID seem insufficiently spoonerism-y!) And hey, some of those titles look interesting, too! >READ BOOK One book is Two Trolls' True Tolls. >G You're where you need to be. >READ BOOK Another book is Say, Gritty Grey City. >READ BOOK Another book is Thumb, Sing Something. >READ BOOK Another book is See Bunny, Be Sunny. >READ BOOK Another book is My Son Simon. >READ BOOK Another book is A Will Way Ill. >READ BOOK Another book is Vast Libes' Last Vibes. >READ BOOK Another book is Kenny Muller's Many Colors. >READ BOOK Another book is Dang! Big Bang, Dig!. >READ BOOK Another book is Tad, Who HAD To. >READ BOOK Another book is Fusty Trite Trustee Fight. >READ BOOK Another book is Socially Show Sully. >READ BOOK Another book is Mirth, Waking, Worth Making. >READ BOOK Another book is Feel Cold, Keel, Fold. >READ BOOK Another book is Toil, Anchor, Oil Tanker. >READ BOOK Another book is Chaz, Jess, Jazz, Chess. >READ BOOK The last book is LOL! Aye, All Lie. That's all the books. If you continue examining now, they'll cycle again, but in a different random order. There are, in fact, six total book sets. A new one activates for the next playthrough on reading everything in a shelf. You can also look them up in the source on GitHub, if you want. Searching for any book title should get you to the relevant code, though the README file, which is also on the front page, will point you to a comment marker in the code where the titles start. >* LOL THAT'S A LOT Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >READ BOOKS One book is My Son Simon. >READ IT Another book is Dang! Big Bang, Dig!. >X SHELF Another book is Tad, Who HAD To. >L MY HOUSE Glee simmers here as you think, yes, this really is my house! It has a bookshelf and poster and table and everything! And yet, owning a house is nice and all, but ... what about Thor's quest? You glance again at your inventory. Exits: South (ů), Exit (ų). >X POSTER It advertises itself as a Putz-Roaster-Ruts Poster, one of those posters that claim to be ironic with motivation or a downer statement. Maybe it actually has a double meaning, though you may just wish to wrap things up here. >I SAY Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >EYE SAY Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >I SAY Nothing comes from that. VERBS gives a list of basic standard verbs. >READ POSTER It advertises itself as a Putz-Roaster-Ruts Poster, one of those posters that claim to be ironic with motivation or a downer statement. Maybe it actually has a double meaning, though you may just wish to wrap things up here. >L MY HOUSE Glee simmers here as you think, yes, this really is my house! It has a bookshelf and poster and table and everything! And yet, owning a house is nice and all, but ... what about Thor's quest? You glance again at your inventory. Exits: South (ů), Exit (ų). >X TABLE As just a table, it seems out of place. But the charming childish doodling on it make it a tots-label-lots table. Oh, I suppose the doodling has a theme, too: dare-poodles-pair doodles. It's empty, though. Might be nice if something useful were on it, but as-is, the dare-poodles-pair doodles are easier to see. So that's something. >X DOODLES You enjoy losing yourself in the dare-poodles-pair doodles for a bit. You imagine sequels and prequels. You needed a break from all this seriousness! >SEE GLIMMERS You remember what you came for. The Rare-Thing-There Ring. Where could it be? Well, there are a lot of glimmering things, here. It would take you a while to search, especially since they are in odd corners. If only you had someone or something willing to help with the busy work! Your score just went up by a point! >HI MOUSE You call on the mouse, who seemed friendly and grateful you made it a home. It appears. You point to the glimmering. The mouse uncovers a very small chest, which you, with your experienced adventuring prowess, know must be a tiny shrunk shiny trunk. But it is locked! There's still glimmering around, though, and the mouse dumps all sorts of things at your feet. Finally ... a key! And not just any key. You can tell it must be a costly lost key. You can't help exclaiming "Cor! The THOR key!" You motion that the mouse can keep everything else. It scampers away gratefully. The moment of truth! CLICK. The key unlocks the trunk, leaving, of course ... the Rare-Thing-There Ring! Your score just went up by a point! Thor stops by to congratulate you. "I knew you could do it! And if you wonder why I didn't do it myself? Well, that sort of stuff, where we meddle in mortals' affairs directly instead of guiding you, makes Ragnarok come sooner." Thor also notes that footnotes, color-coded by area found, will be available on replay to mention rejected puzzles or stuff you can't quite ASK about. Roughly half accompany necessary commands, and most of the rest need you to EXAMINE carefully. You've actually tried some already, but I thought footnotes would be a distraction while initially solving things. There are also achievements, which can be tracked with ACHIEVEMENTS or ACH on replay. Some are difficult, so don't feel obliged to complete any of them. After all, there are other games to play. Also, feel free to just look at achievements.txt on Quirky Test's GitHub repository to spoil how to get them efficiently and visit the new room on the MAP. Press the ENTER/RETURN key to see the list of achievements. Well done! You managed to earn the Hi, All I Haul achievement for taking inventory with the maximum number of items possible. You haven't unlocked the More than Thor, Man achievement yet. You haven't unlocked the Too Yacky: You, Tacky achievement yet. (1/11) You haven't unlocked the Get a Major Meta-Gauger achievement yet. (4/8) You haven't unlocked the Totes Need Notes Teed achievement yet. (*) You haven't unlocked the Cueing Direct Doing: Correct achievement yet. You haven't unlocked the Reach Out Each Route achievement yet. (*) You haven't unlocked the Clever! Nap? Never! (Clap!) achievement yet. (*) Well done! You managed to earn the Quell-Worrying-Well Querying achievement for ASKing Thor about each rule in the Player's Bill of Rights. Well done! You managed to earn the Knowin' Stuff, Stowin' 'Nuff achievement for ASKing Thor three times about each rule in the Player's Bill of Rights. You haven't unlocked the So Slick! Slow? Sick! achievement yet. You haven't unlocked the Great Style, Straight Guile achievement yet. You haven't unlocked the Re-Sight-See? Riiight achievement yet. You haven't unlocked the Second Revvin' Reckoned? Seven achievement yet. Well done! You managed to earn the Balk "Why? Walk By!" achievement for using no jump commands. You haven't unlocked the Throw Me Mo': Three achievement yet. You haven't unlocked the Chump, Joke Jump? Choke achievement yet. You haven't unlocked the Did-Buzzin'-Bid? Dozen achievement yet. You haven't unlocked the Cousin, Draft Dozen-Craft achievement yet. You haven't unlocked the Hi! Beer By Here? achievement yet. Well done! You managed to earn the Neat-Book-Beat Nook achievement for reading all the way through the bookshelf. ONE-TIME NOTE: achievements with (X/Y) numbers or (*) after them can be done over multiple playthroughs. QUESTION -> On replaying {qt}, you have the option to skip rooms not required for bonus points, achievements, or footnotes, all the way up to Plain Base. While you can toggle it at any time with {opt_warp} with the parser, you can set it right now, before this next restart. Would you like to activate this feature after this next go round? On replaying Quirky Test, you have the option to skip rooms not required for bonus points, achievements, or footnotes, all the way up to Plain Base. While you can toggle it at any time with LEETCHEAP or CHEATLEEP with the parser, you can set it right now, before this next restart. Would you like to activate this feature after this next go round? >?1 ANSWER -> Yes, I'd like to skip on restart. Okay. You'll start at Nameless Lameness this time, because one footnote appears there after a necessary command, but next time you'll automatically start at Burst Face or beyond. Press the ENTER/RETURN key to continue. << START >> Click to continue QUIRKY TEST: a tutorial of sorts by Andrew Schultz! Submitted for the 2025 (Text Adventure Literacy Jam). Because you won at least once, footnotes are available, and you will skip over the initial menu choices for tutorials or colored text hints. They can still be set with TUTORIAL and CH or COLORHINT. NAMELESS LAMENESS You are surrounded by nameless lameness. It's all very, very grey. You can't really see much beyond yourself. But you need to start somewhere. >X ME You search yourself, wondering if you forgot something, and hoping something will turn up. You stumble around a bit as you do so, and you kick something. It's a rolled-up parchment. You unroll it. It has Ooh, Task to Ask in big letters. Well, that's a start! You're not sure how or why it got here, but all the same, you're glad you might have some direction, now. >I You're only carrying Ooh, Task to Ask at the moment. >READ PARCHMENT It's a request to find the Rare-Thing-There Ring. There's small print on the back you can't read in this dimness. You'll probably have to leave here to find the ring, but how? You are just stumbling around here. But wait ... the silence is shattered! Perhaps you can use one of your senses and pick up a clue. >LISTEN You hear a voice. It's a happy one. For whatever reason, you mark it up as a Veering Choice Cheering Voice. It greets you, sort of, with a "Whoa! Guest!" You'd like to see where it's from. But which direction is that? >GO WEST The voice says "Yes, yes. That is the right way." (FOOTNOTE 2) The fogginess clears a bit, but as you go west, you can't see anyone. "Just a little more vetting. A minor roadblock, then you'll meet someone who, uh, failed. Don't worry, though. They're obnoxious but harmless." Your score just went up by a point! BURST FACE Having come west from the nameless lameness, you find yourself stuck at this burst face. It's time to take another initial step. Or it would be, without that burst face in the way. ONE-TIME NOTE: you can view footnotes with FOOTNOTE # or, for brevity, F #. Each individual footnote's notification only appears once. You can type FOOTNOTE 0 to list which you've found or read. >FOOTNOTE 2 I wanted the initial bit to be an escape-the-room, but I didn't want the verb to be too hard. I was drawing a blank until I thought of Hulk Handsome's game, Go West, which ... well, the title is a bit of a spoiler. Nah, I thought, I couldn't just copy that, and the Village People, and the Pet Shop Boys. But I never thought of anything better, and besides, it made me laugh a bit. Also, Adventuron allowed for different sorts of syntax, so you can just type W. I do enjoy getting and giving keyboard shortcuts. Also, two links: I encourage you to try Hulk Handsome's game, In a Manor of Speaking on itch.io. >FOOTNOTE 1 You haven't revealed footnote 1 yet. >SCORE Your core score is 1 out of 23. Your bonus score is 9 out of 17. >* FUN BUT I THINK I'M GOOD! That's a valid command, but not right here and now. >TSTOP