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Story File, Release 2
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Competition version (in zip file)
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Six Gray Rats Crawl Up The Pillow

by Caleb Wilson (as Boswell Cain) profile

2015

(based on 19 ratings)
3 reviews

About the Story

A distressing episode in the life of Rinaldo di Gorgonzola.


Game Details


Awards

Entrant overall; 3rd Place, Best Writing - ParserComp 2015

Editorial Reviews

These Heterogenous Tasks
Petty fop in a Varicella-ish modern-Renaissance-Italy
I got numerous moments of glee from this, and this is obviously the work of a capable writer. It’s a bit haphazard in some ways, though, and feels like more of a snapshot than a story.
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Member Reviews

5 star:
(2)
4 star:
(9)
3 star:
(7)
2 star:
(1)
1 star:
(0)
Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 3
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A brief, well-written light horror about staying the night in a haunted house, May 8, 2016
by MathBrush
Related reviews: 15-30 minutes

In this game, you play a medieval character who has been dared to spend the night in the house of a deceased nobleman.

This game is divided into a couple of parts, the first of which is figuring out just what is going on. The game has three inventories, including one for things worn and one for memories.

The memory mechanic works well for me, as does the big last puzzle at the end.

Overall, this is a light treat, lasting 15 minutes or less. The writing is very descriptive and gameplay is definitely polished.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Small game with amusing details and straightforward (if fiddly) puzzle, December 18, 2015
by verityvirtue (London)

On a hundred florin wager, you spend the night in Count Ruggino's house. No, you are definitely not afraid of ghosts. Definitely not.

There was deeper story than I'd expected, delivered in an unexpected way. I certainly liked how the memories telescoped out and were treated as an inventory object, a la Lime Ergot. The writing is half jocular, half dignified and retains the air of quiet amusement through the game.

The one puzzle in the game is made out of very many small moving parts; I found myself picking up and dropping a lot of things. In itself, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially since the puzzle itself was relatively straightforward. It was just that, without implicit actions, the game became repetitive.

Six Gray Rats has a simple enough story with an uncomplicated puzzle. Despite my little grouse, it was still entertaining, even if not absolutely memorable.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Simple, slightly perplexing, and ultimately fun, March 1, 2015
by Jacqueline A. Lott
Related reviews: ParserComp

This is both dark and fun, and it's difficult to write a non-spoilery review, but suffice it to say that the type of fun that is had is not expected. It's also a relatively quick game to play. Recommended.

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Six Gray Rats Crawl Up The Pillow on IFDB

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Six Gray Rats Crawl Up The Pillow appears in the following Recommended Lists:

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Rat games by Tabitha / alyshkalia
Collecting games that either: have "rat" in the title; have rats/a rat playing a significant role; or have a rat as the PC.

For Your Consideration - XYZZY-eligible writing of 2015 by Brendan Patrick Hennessy
This is for suggesting games released in 2015 which you think might be worth considering for Best Writing in the XYZZY awards. This is not a zeroth-round nomination. The category will still be text-entry, and games not mentioned here...




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