Hints for Child's Play

by Stephen Granade

These are hints for my game Child's Play. The hints are white-on-white text, so you'll need to highlight them with your mouse to read them. The hints are divided by game chapters.

Also, I do not promise that all of the questions pertain to the game.

Introduction

Help! I'm smothered in darkness!

Have you tried examining the darkness?
What about taking the darkness?
Nothing seems to be helping.
Fortunately the darkness will go away if you wait for four turns.
Alternatively, you can cry and make it go away faster.

The mom keeps wanting me to pull up. What should I do?

You should do as she says.
PULL UP ON FOOTSTOOL

How do I get my favorite toy?

Have you tried taking it while you're on the ground?
Have you tried taking it while you're pulled up on the footstool?
When you're on the ground, you're too low, and when you're pulled up, you're not stable enough to hold on and grab the toy at the same time.
Did you notice what happened with the footstool when you pulled up on it?
The footstool is unstable and rocks a lot.
Maybe you could use that to your advantage to knock the toy off.
PUSH FOOTSTOOL

How do I get out of this ring of pillows?

Have you tried climbing the pillows?
What about taking the pillows?
Have you looked closely at the pillows?
It looks like your toy Alfadog is in the middle of the pillows.
Maybe if you moved Alfadog there would be a hole you could go through.
Alfadog's too tightly wedged for you to move him yourself.
Have you looked closely at Alfadog?
He has a switch on him.
Try flipping that switch.
Tah dah!

How do I get to keep my toy?

Have you tried eating your toy instead of taking it?
Have you tried leaving without your toy?
There's no way you can keep your toy at this point.

Chapter 1

Mom took my toy! Where did she put it?

Did you see what the mom asked Marion at the beginning of the chapter?
"Can I put this toy in Zoe's backpack for now?"
So you need to find Zoe's backpack.
Even if you're not in the same room as the backpack, you can see where it is if you type X BACKPACK.

How do I get to the backpack?

As long as Parry's rocking, you can't reach the backpack.
Have you tried putting something under the rocker to stop it?
Since it's a glider rocker, I guess that doesn't work.
You know, Parry would probably be a lot more careful about rocking if he was dealing with a baby as well.
Maybe if you pulled up on the rocker, Parry would stop rocking.
Hey, it worked! Except for the part where Parry picked you up so you can't reach the backpack.
The next question and set of hints may help you out now.

How do I get Parry to pick someone up?

The same way you get him to pick you up: get the baby to pull up on the rocker.
It's a shame you don't have speech down yet and can order other babies around.
Have you seen any babies that are particularly susceptible to following people around?
Have you found Watson and Jemison yet?
Did you notice what happened when Jemison saw Watson take the rattly car?
I bet he'd be interested in anything you had as well.
Find something you can take and show it to Jemison.
Once Jemison is watching the thing you showed him, go back to the rocker and pull up.
You'll need to chew on whatever Jemison is interested in so you can pull up.
Jemison should pull up on the rocking chair so that, when Parry is done rocking you, Parry will then pick up Jemison.

Help! Jemison isn't interested in being held!

Did you notice how he wants to follow whatever toy you showed him or that he saw you pick up?
If you leave Parry's lap still holding that toy, he'll want to be back down on the ground next to you.
If, however, you were to leave the toy in Parry's lap...
While you're being held by Parry, drop the toy.

How do I get the onesie out of the backpack?

Have you tried pulling it?
Have you tried pulling it again?
It looks like it's going to take an adult to get the onesie free.

Marion has the backpack. What do I do about that?

Have you tried pulling up on Marion?
I guess that won't work.
You know, if Marion had to deal with something more urgent than the backpack, she might set the backpack down or hand it off to someone else.
Have you ever seen Marion have to get up to deal with anything?
Have you seen Cassie yet?
She starts out in the southeast corner of the room.
After you see her, she'll head for Zoe.
Did you notice what happens between her and Zoe?
Cassie tried to give her the squishy ball, and Zoe went nuts. Marion had to separate the two of them.
Try giving something to Zoe or taking something from her while Marion has the backpack.

Parry has my favorite toy!

Maybe you should go get it from him.
Pull up on Parry and then get the toy.

Chapter 2

Where's my toy now?

The game tells you where right at the beginning of Chapter 2.
It's a brief mention, so don't feel bad if you missed it.
Your toy is in a cabinet behind the loveseat.
Go to the north end of the loveseat, then go west and south.

How do I open the cabinet?

Have you tried opening it?
First of all, Zoe gets in your way and won't let you open it.
Second of all, the baby lock at the top keeps you from opening it.
You'll have to take care of both problems to open the cabinet.

How do I stop Zoe from getting in my way when I try to open the cabinet?

You'll need an accomplice to help you.
The idea is that you'll get another baby to distract Zoe while you open the cabinet.
Are there any of your playmates that you can manipulate?
Like, say, Jemison?
He's awfully interested in those velcro jangly balls.
Try taking them from him.
Success! Now he's following you.
But now he gets in your way when you try to open the cabinet.
You need to transfer his attention from you to Zoe.
Really it's the velcro jangly balls that he's interested in.
If Zoe had the balls instead, Jemison would get in her way.
Put the balls on Zoe.

How do I take care of the baby lock in the cabinet?

Have you figured out how to keep Zoe from getting in your way? If not, work on that problem first.
Have you figured out what the deal is with the paper that you can see in Couch at the West? If not, work on that problem next.
Do you know why the cabinet rocking is important? If not, look into that.
Have you taken care of Parry's tumbler? That's the next thing to do.
Once you've dealt with all of the above, go to the cabinet and OPEN CABINET.

What's the deal with the paper in Couch at the West?

Have you tried to get it?
You can't quite reach it -- the footstool is in the way.
You need to get past the footstool.
It's a shame your shoulders are too wide when you're crawling.
Babies have other ways of getting around.
Did you see the first thing Cassie did back in Chapter 1?
She was pulled up on the couch and then cruised along it.
If you did the same thing, I bet you'd be thin enough to fit behind the footstool.
Pull up on the couch, then go west.
Now you can take the paper.
Did you notice what happened when you took it?
Two things. One, Parry took his tumbler from off of the cabinet.
Two, the cabinet is now unsteady and tends to rock.

Does it matter that the cabinet rocks?

Yes.
Have you tried opening the cabinet again?
Have you tried opening the cabinet again when Zoe is distracted and can't oppose you?
Did you notice how the paper coaster fell off of the cabinet and bounced off of the baby lock?
If it had been heavier, you'd have opened the cabinet.
You need to get something heavy on the cabinet.
The best candidate is something that was up there already.
Something like Parry's heavy tumbler.

Parry won't let me mess with his tumbler!

That's not really a question.
You need to distract him.
Again, this is a job for Some Other Baby.
Have you noticed what Cassie is doing?
She keeps climbing up and down the short plastic block.
What do you think would happen if she had other blocks to climb on?
Push the medium and tall plastic blocks into the same room as Cassie.
When Cassie climbs on the tallest block, she'll jump from it and hurt herself, bringing Cassie and Parry running.
That leaves Parry's tumbler unguarded!

What do I do with Parry's tumbler?

Are you able to touch his tumbler yet? If not, see the previous hint.
You need to do something to his tumbler that will make him put it back up on the
You can't push it over.
You can drink from it, getting it all nasty.
Alternatively, you can put something in it.
Once you've done one of those two things, Parry will come back and put his tumbler on the cabinet.

Chapter 3

Where's my toy now?

The game tells you right after you get your picture taken.
The mom put it in the bookcase in the northeast corner of the room.

I can't pick up anything! Help me get this stupid squid costume off of me.

You aren't coordinated enough to take it off.
Neither are any of your playmates.
That leaves one of the parents to take it off for you.
You'll have to convince them that it needs to come off.
Do you know one reason why babies' clothes get changed?
Becca gave a hint while everyone was getting their picture taken.
Babies clothes get changed when they spit up on them.
It's not enough that you spit up, though. You'll need to show a parent that you've gotten your costume dirty.
SPIT UP. PULL UP ON a parent.

The toy's too high! How do I reach it?

If you'll watch her, Zoe's trying one approach.
She's pushing the three stepped blocks next to the bookcase.
Sadly, that still doesn't get you high enough.
There's another item that can get you very high.
It's the swing.
First, you'll need to figure out how to get the swing into the room with the bookcase.
Second, you'll need to figure out how to turn the swing up to hi speed.
Third, you'll need to figure out how to get in the swing.

Can I move the swing into another room?

Yes, but not by pushing it. It's too heavy.
Did you notice where the swing starts out?
It's right in front of the TV.
If someone wanted to watch TV, they'd have to move the swing to do so.
Have you seen anything that can be used to turn on a TV?
Like a remote control?
X REMOTE will show you where the remote is.
It's a shame you can't use it. Who can?
Parents can.
Get the remote and then give it to a parent.

How do I make the swing go higher?

At its default setting, the swing doesn't go very high.
Have you examined the swing?
It has a speed switch that controls how high it goes.
The description mentions that, when the switch is turned to hi, the swing goes very high indeed.
The switch itself is far off of the ground.
There are two ways to get to the switch.
One, you can climb up the tallest plastic block and reach the speed switch.
Two, you can get a poosh stick from Watson.
As far as the second approach goes, you'll need to find Watson and experiment with the brix blox bucket.
If you push the bucket over, brix will spill out, along with an instruction booklet.
Once the booklet is open, if you turn the pages a few times, you'll see a diagram for building a poosh stick -- a long stick suitable for pushing things around with.
Watson will then build it for you. You can take it and push the speed switch with it.

How do I get in the swing?

Do you remember why the swing got hauled out in the first place, back in Chapter 2?
Watson was crying and Parry put him in it to calm him down.
Have you tried crying?
Have you tried crying several times?
CRY. CRY. CRY. CRY.

The toy's too high! How do I reach it? (Part 2)

Before you read any more hints from this question, make sure you've done everything listed in the first question like this above.
Once you're in the swing and the swing is by the bookcase and the swing's speed switch is on hi, you still can't quite reach the toy.
Did you try getting it anyway?
Did you then wait to get back out of the swing?
A turn or two after you try to get it, Parry will come by and knock the toy lower for you.
Now you can get the toy.

How do I open the playpen?

Have you tried pushing the top oval of the playpen?
The top oval is way up there, so you'll need to get higher to do so.
Climb the plastic blocks and push up on the oval.
It's going to take both you and Zoe to open the playpen. Fortunately, she's ready to help you out.
Unfortunately, Zoe climbs up on the tall plastic blocks. You'll have to find some other way to reach the top oval.
You need a way of extending your reach.
Have you looked around Watson?
There's this bucket of Brix Blox, a generic clone of Lego blocks.
You know, you can build things with blox.
Things like very long sticks.
First you need to get the blox out of the bucket.
Notice how the bucket is wider at the top than at the bottom?
Try pushing the bucket.
More than just blox comes out of the bucket. You also get an instruction booklet.
Try opening the booklet and turning the pages.
It'll show you how to build a helicopter, a nuclear reactor...and a poosh stick.
A poosh stick is what the parents call a push stick. It's a long stick for pushing things, hint, hint.
Unfortunately, you aren't really into building things out of blox.
Fortunately, Watson is!
If you wait a couple of turns, Watson will build the poosh stick for you.
Once you have the poosh stick, go to the Middle of the Living Room, where the other half of your playpen is.
Push the top oval with the poosh stick.
If you haven't pushed the top oval before, you'll need to do it again once Zoe gets the idea and climbs the plastic blocks.

Zoe has my toy!

Calm down. There's no need to be a big baby about it.
Sorry, I've been waiting all hint file to say that.
Anyway. The problem is that, every time you try to take the toy from her, she scurries away.
You need a way to slow her down.
Did you notice what Parry started eating right after Zoe got your toy?
He's eating Cheerios.
Remember what happened when Parry spilled some Cheerios when everyone was eating at the table?
Every baby was instantly attracted to the Cheerios.
You need to spill those Cheerios.
They're up on the loveseat next to Parry, so you can't reach them.
But I bet your trusty poosh stick can.
HIT CUP WITH STICK.
Once all of the babies have come to the Cheerios, go find Zoe and try to take your toy.
She'll instinctively run towards the Cheerios.
Once you and she are in the same room as the Cheerios, you'll be able to take your favorite toy.
And that's it! Congratulations!