Mother Loose

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	loose.z5 For all systems. To play, you'll need a Z-Machine Interpreter - visit Brass Lantern for download links.
	loose.z5 original competition entry For all systems. To play, you'll need a Z-Machine Interpreter - visit Brass Lantern for download links.
	ClubFloyd transcript
	Walkthrough

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Mother Loose
by Irene Callaci

Literary/Children's
1998

(based on 10 ratings)
1 member review

About the Story

It's been one of those days. It started out bad and just got worse: You're seven years old and in trouble a lot. You try to be good and to do as you ought, but nothing, it seems, goes exactly as planned. For instance, today things got quite out of hand: you poured your own milk, but it spilled on the floor; the cat wanted out just as you slammed the door; you didn't remember to turn off the faucet; your brother, poor thing, is still locked in the closet. But that wasn't all. No, indeed. Did I mention that things got much worse? They did. Pay attention: you're lost and alone and nothing's familiar. You wander around for a while until you're ready to panic. Then, out of the blue, an egg on a fence asks for help--and from you!
[--blurb from The Z-Files Catalogue]

Game Details

Language: English (en)
Current Version: Release 2
License: Freeware
Development System: Inform 6
Forgiveness Rating: Tough
Baf's Guide ID: 470

IFIDs:	ZCODE-1-980928-29C5
	ZCODE-2-981128-A2BB

TUID: 4wd3lyaxi4thp8qi

Awards

Nominee, Best NPCs; Nominee, Best Individual NPC - 1998 XYZZY Awards

6th Place - 4th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition (1998)

Editorial Reviews

Baf's Guide

Gentle children's story with plenty of whimsy. You're in a land of nursery rhymes come to life--Humpty Dumpty is trying to get down from that wall, for instance--and you can't seem to find your mother, either. Generally appropriate for kids, though a few of the puzzles might be too difficult, and there are some red herrings that might be confusing. Lots of alternate solutions, lots of replayability; at the end, in fact, you're given suggestions for replaying, specifically how to get through the game without causing so much (or so little) trouble. Well-crafted and well-written, with a hint menu.

-- Duncan Stevens

SPAG
Mother Loose is notable, in short, because it represents a rarity in current IF: a well-developed story environment, thoroughly coded with humor to boot, whose elements do not necessarily exist for the sake of puzzles.
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SynTax
There are some original puzzles in Mother Loose. I really enjoyed the puzzle of how to get the kitten out of the well. It was well thought out and logical. Another interesting puzzle was the end puzzle where you rescue Mother Loose from the bell tower. Despite the topic, Mother Loose is more difficult than some other competition games I have played [...]
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Number of Reviews: 1
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

A short retelling of several nursery rhymes in a kid-friendly atmosphere, February 3, 2016

by MathBrush

Mother Loose is a shortish retelling of several nursery rhymes in a parser format. You encounter Mary and her Lamb, Humpty Dumpty, etc.

The game isn't that long. I played around for a while, getting some points, and having fun, and then peeked at the walkthrough. It turned out that I was only one puzzle away from the end, so the game is pretty short.

It also seems that there are multiple ways of solving many of the puzzles. Some of the puzzles relied on knowledge of nursery rhymes. One puzzle's solution in the walkthrough I thought was unfair, but then I looked at the hints and realized that there is a more logical alternate solution.

Recommended for those looking for PG games.

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Polls

The following polls include votes for Mother Loose:

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