Gleaming the Verb

This is a pretty minimalist game. A cube appears with writing on it. Deciphering the writing gives you a command to use. This gives you new writing.

There are about 6 commands to puzzle out. Then the game is over. Every puzzle is based off of (Spoiler - click to show)taking one letter from each word.

Not much of a game, but interesting to word puzzle fans.

Gleaming the Verb is not one of those deep, immersive IFs that will take your breath away. It is however, a very interesting way to spend ten minutes. The game is set in a bare room. You are naked and carrying absolutely nothing, your only companion in the room is a cube. And so, the puzzle begins. There is only one puzzle and it’s rather short. Once I understood the mechanics behind it, I was able to solve it relatively quickly.

I wouldn’t call Gleaming the Verb a full-fledged IF. It’s more like a brain teaser set in interactive fiction format. The idea behind the puzzle is quite clever and you will definitely feel a pang of satisfaction at completing it. I would love to see more games of this kind from the author in the future.

A simple word puzzle of a game, without any meaningful IF elements. It also feels under-implemented, with parser "I don't understand that verb" messages your only feedback. The puzzle (and it is the puzzle) is moderately interesting, but the game is ultimately unsatisfying, and the experience has more of the throw-away browser game to it than it does IF.