Emily Short turns IF on its head every time she makes a new game. She excels in 2 areas: a) she has an incredible command of prose - the stories are very compellingly told. I would pay to read her books; b) Imaginitive story-telling mechanics (think the servants and bells in Bronze) and ingenious game-play mechanics (don't waste too much time figuring this one out). I also had to look at the hints to get started - and the clues were right there from the start! An incredible play on words - and all done in 4 afternoons!