Jigsaw

After a years-long hiatus from IF, I went into this game, thinking that it would be namby-pamby, and when I started playing it, I still thought it would be thread-bare, with its initially spare descriptions. I was SO wrong. It turned out to be one of the most complicated games I have ever played(and I am an Infocom veteran, having played such hard nuts as Spellbreaker). I had to look at a walkthrough, by golly. This game has many areas, which correspond to certain events in world history. One plus that I appreciated was that I came out of this game feeling more educated, I had learned from it, or was inspired to do so. A minus was that it was not obvious to me what order in which I could solve each area. There is at least one instance where you definitely have to solve one area before approaching another, and you do not get another opportunity in that area unless you start over or go back to a previously saved position(and this is where I felt compelled to consult the walk-through--only to find out that I had no such position I could go back to, and had to start over). But most other areas can be solved in any order. I would recommend being especially watchful, by EXAMINE-ing and SEARCH-ing everything within reason. As with Curses!(Graham Nelson's other big game) and Jon Ingold's games, I would not recommend this game for a beginner, mainly because of the frequent shifts in setting and the sheer perspective of the plot. And there are certain actions that you will need to take that are not entirely obvious--or even obvious at all--that may stall out a beginner early in the game. For example, (Spoiler - click to show)it took me a long time to figure out what to do with the pyramid in the initial sequence(how was I to know that I could climb it!? I can see how some might have given up.).
This game is as full of nutcrackers as it is full of personality and color. Mr. Nelson made it just as intricate and at least as challenging as his other game Curses!(which I also recommend to experienced players). Be sure to exploit every object that you find, use it even if its purpose is not entirely clear, and look under and search every place and object possible. And please, (Spoiler - click to show)remember to sketch the animals! if you want a satisfying ending!