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A game that somewhat works despite the parser, September 19, 2010This charming game was written in 1985 and this is entirely reflected by the parser. The game would be highly frustrating were it not for the fact that the author includes a list of verbs in the accompanying 'read me' file. (Although it leaves out the verb "board") The clunky parser also makes little sense when commanding other characters. However, once you figure out how the commands work, navigating through the game isn't too tough.
I had extreme trouble with one of the puzzles (Spoiler - click to show)the evil trees. Clearly I needed to get some help from my friend the Tin Woodman, but I couldn't manage to get to my friends after killing the witch.. I was proud of a few of the other puzzles I managed to solve despite their obscurity. (Spoiler - click to show)At some point, in order to cross the river you have to tell the tinman to MAKE RAFT. "BOAT" is completely unrecognized. However, after spending 20 minutes on a puzzle I finally conceded to being irreconcilably stuck. The frustrating part about these old games is that you can never be certain that you didn't miss some very obvious solution. Oh well, I'm content to blame my failure on the game for now :)
I would warn children away from this game, both because of its difficulty and because the command "kill" is often utilized in the game, although I believe the puzzles might parallel events in the book. (Spoiler - click to show)At some point you command the scarecrow to 'kill crows' and he is described wringing their necks. It's funny to remember how un-PC children's books were like before they became an established genre.