I don't have any points yet! Help!
At the very least, you should be able to see that words of the same length are together.
Why does the onyx make me balk?
There's a third one, too, once
Should I map the game out?
"Nowhere, Abjurer" is a big one.
The river is rushing now! What does this mean?
You can worry about below ground later, but there may be one item most worth putting in the river.
Click to show next hintDROP COT IN RIVER. Find where it goes. OAF. If you read the marker, you may get a clue.
Okay, just explain what's going on.
It's possible to figure out the mechanic on the starting square, if you know about encodings and ciphers. You may recognize some words. But you shouldn't feel bad if you don't.
Click to show next hintYou may also note that there are posts DAN & HER and ROB & HER, with 4 and 10 respectively. Maybe this can help.
Click to show next hintYou can change rotational cyphers by X in a place marked with the number X, backwards or forwards.
Click to show next hintAny one clue isn't enough to spring this. You need multiple. If you know about ROT13, you may be able to jump all over the entry square.
Click to show next hintYou may also get clues from BABE & POPS. P maps to B, and O, the letter before it, maps to A.
Click to show next hintThere's a lot of evidence, and seeing the pattern can be tough.
Help! I restarted the game! Where's everything?
Everything moveable is sorted randomly at the game's start.
19 points! That's a lot! Do I have to get them all?
Actually, you only need 3. See next question for which.
Which items are ultimately productive?
The hats become a sled. (2E/2W)
Are there any things that give hints?
It lists what switches to what, where you currently are.
How do I solve things without the hint device?
You don't have to consider all 26 possibilities--it may help just to try the middle letter and if it is a vowel. Or you may be able to see what happens if a letter moves to the nearest vowel.
Click to show next hintThen switch the first letter to what it needs to be, then see if any words come to mind, and if so, if the end letter fits the shift.
Click to show next hintAnother thing I visualized is writing in a 5x5 box, as opposed to a 26x1 strip, and you can map things that way, e.g. everything 1 unit down and 2 right.
Click to show next hintSome of the items sort-of look like what they should be, but not many. Yes, this is a post-comp thing to fix.
I have the three items changed. What do I do now?
Now you can go down the hole. You don't need to do any more.
Individual items
What's the deal here?
If you look around, you'll see more clues. The markers are a help. The dual numbers mean something.
Click to show next hint...the way you can change things is from shifting letter numbers to reversing them. So, for instance, the WRATH PULSE has A+L=1+12=13, H+E=8+5=13, W+P=23+16=39, which, minus 26, is 13.
Help! A thug/punk is chasing me!
The game did clue you about dark corners! Though you may've had to go there to find an item. Still, they're not too hard to get rid of.
Click to show next hintThey are useful for a puzzle to get the "good" ending, but then, so is something else.
Is there a less/more way to dispose of the thug and punk?
The punk can become a tyro aboveground.
THE QUICK WAY THROUGH
Help! What's the mechanic, here? I've been all around.
Bob and Anna are clues. They look like they belong by the onyx, because reasons. But--they aren't there!
Click to show next hintIf we ignore evidence from the signposts, we can note Bob=Bob and Anna=Anna. But there's more.
Click to show next hintThe signposts have some things like ROW TWO. Perhaps letters map to each other? And if so, how?
Click to show next hintDo the arithmetic as before.
Is there a hint item?
Yes, the Rev Box. For reversing.
What's the quick way through?
One item in particular seems to leave an impression.
What's the one item you need?
The grid by the BANE HIVE leaves a wiry mark. This is a clue. Perhaps it could leave an impression elsewhere.
Click to show next hintDROP PEN.
I've got something to write with. What should I write?
Also, if you typed score, WHY is also listed as an annoying.
I EXPLORED SOME MORE. I WANT THE GOOD ENDING!
Should I kick over the hive?
You don't have to, but it helps with the extra-good ending. It produces a bee.
How do I get rid of the bee?
...or just ILL. This is a hidden solution, since adjectives aren't clued as something you can do.
Click to show next hintOr, above, you can say GEE. Again, like ILL, this is only in there for completion.
There's something new behind the hive! How do I repel the hulk?
Bringing an enemy by can take him out.
The thug and punk are gone! What can I do to start a fight?
If you have, you should probably make the tiger fight the hulk.
Is there anything useful in the prune trove?
WAVE
Is there a hinty thing here?
If you examined the goal (WSW) you may note that it is missing a net. Well, not quite a net.
Click to show next hintOne way to look at this is to note GOAL and the writing have three letters in common. So GOAL is --SH.
Click to show next hintIf you note letters switches can be reversed, elsewhere (e.g. ROW TWO) then GOAL is -ESH. That gets you down to 26 guesses.
Click to show next hintThe hidden hints do even better. WOOD WEEP and SLOG AHEM give you the first and second words, definitively.
Click to show next hintThe adjacent and reflexive letters should clue what is going on here, that this is a reverse cypher.
Help! I can't get in the mine!
Rescue the oaf diver.
What's in the snare?
It hides a DIVER.
How do I get the diver to follow me? And where?
That trophy will let you in the mine.
Who are the cool guys?
You can figure the other two guys' names from in-game information. Well, not with the original comp version.
Why the pseudonym?
Also the reference to Yorpwald, from my two Stale Tales Slate games, Shuffling Around and A Roiling Original (now with fewer senseless puzzles!)
Did you really forget to credit your testers in the IFComp release?
See, there's a way more general lesson in this game beyond how to fiddle with words or letters!