The Apothecary's Assistant

The Apothecary’s Assistant is an unusual beast. It’s set in a mysterious shop where you can work between one and three shifts per day—in real time. A day’s gameplay consists of doing one small task—such as selecting a recipe to make for a customer or playing a game of Mad Libs with a child—and then, optionally, talking briefly to the shop’s owner, Aïssatou, and solving some cryptic crossword clues. Despite the title, there’s not a lot of herbalism going on, just an assortment of low-stakes odd jobs.

I’m charmed by the overall conceit; it’s a bold idea and I was eager to see how it played out. I also love cryptic crosswords, so I had fun with that aspect of the gameplay. I can’t say how it plays for people who don’t have prior experience with cryptics, but the clues seemed reasonably “entry-level” to me, not requiring deep knowledge of cryptic lingo, and the repetition in the first three clues seemed like a helpful way to get people on board.

That said, with each session being so short (five minutes at most) and the sessions being so spaced out, I never really got immersed in the game, and I had trouble retaining anything about the characters (other than Aïssatou, since she’s always around). Between sessions, I was left with a vague impression of a charming woodland setting and very little else (besides the cryptics). All things considered, I did enjoy the game quite a bit, I just wish each individual session had been a little meatier.

I did six shifts and solved all the cryptic clues, which gave me a satisfying resolution to Aïssatou’s personal story, but I know that there are many more anecdotes I haven’t seen and customers I haven’t met, and would be interested in going back and spending more time with it later.

This game is very unusual. It changes based on the calendar day.

The idea is that you are helping out at a shop in a fantasy setting and are paid in acorns. Each calendar day you can earn acorns by completing a task (usually selecting between two pictures based on a description), solve some cryptic crossword clues, and talk to the shop owner. Then there is nothing else you are allowed to do, so you can just wait until the next day.

I had struggled before with completing Ryan Veeder's Authentic Fly Fishing, a game with similar mechanics. Before, I couldn't put a finger on why.

Now I think I know. The issue is that every day I choose for myself the most important things I need to get done. During IFComp, playing a new game is one of those tasks. Finishing a game I'm in the middle of is important, too. But doing a small amount of work in an ongoing task somehow feels less important than starting or finishing, so I shelve it.

Then, days later, I come back to it, not remembering anything. When I play a game all at once or over several days, I immerse myself in it and focus on it, holding all the plot in my head as well as I can. Then I mentally summarize it to myself and let all the rest leak out of my brain, leaving only the summary, and whenever I think of the game, that's what I think of.

With this game and Fly Fishing, I never had a chance to digest the whole game. Because I played out of context each day, I didn't know what was important to remember. So I honestly have no clue how the game started or what the setting exactly is. I think we're in a magical fairy forest and the shopkeeper is a kind of animal, and there was a page given us at one point. But I couldn't say more than that.

Of course I could have looked it up for this review, but I wanted the author to get a glimpse into my deranged mind to see what one player's experience was like.

The cryptic crossword clues were fun, albeit hard (like most such to me). Upon my request, the author made a very helpful visual crossword that made it a bit easier. I also used some online crossword dictionaries, but didn't look at others' hints. The thing that got me most stuck early on was that I was convinced that the clue (Spoiler - click to show)small demon would certainly have (Spoiler - click to show)a different solution each time, and was shocked as I realized today (after two weeks of thinking about it) that that wasn't so.

Overall, the game is creative and polished, and provides interactivity that's engaging. Due to its format, I struggled to hold onto a summary of the plot in my mind.

The game also had a charity donation segment, but I'm not including that in my score, as I wouldn't want it to become a trend for games to get upvoted based on financial donations the author makes (or to get downvoted for not doing so). I don't think it's bad, I just think it should be separate from the scoring system.

Adapted from an IFCOMP24 Review

Day 1. Dear Diary, I got a new job today! I found myself in a light fantasy world, stumbled across an apothecary that had a job opening, and thought, why not? I can use some pocket money. Or pocket acorns? I’m not clear on that part. I am assured this is local currency somehow, but surely I can just go pick some? Or is there an Acorn Mafia already exerting control over the best trees? Y’know what, maybe I’ll just work here and see how it goes. Not quite clear what my duties will be, but there are these random slips of paper everywhere. Probably need to clean those up a bit. They’ve got weird puzzles on them. You know me diary, if I’m not careful these are the kinds of puzzles I might fall into and not come out. Will resist.

Day 2. Dear Diary, ok, not off to a great start. I did something wrong I think, and when I showed up to work, there was nothing to do. I did leave my browser open all night, that might be confusing my boss. Will try again tomorrow.

Day 3. Dear Diary, geez, I hope I don’t get fired. Still no new assignment, I suspected I was being asked to RESTART the game, but toying with time loops rarely goes well for me. I don’t have to tell you that, Diary. Later in the day I got really worried, so I tried anyway and there was a pretty dire warning! I almost chickened out. I gritted my teeth and clicked and that turned out to be ok. I should have trusted the employee manual. Fortunately, my boss didn’t seem to notice my absenteeism. I did get to cook some stuff, which I wasn’t expecting, but they all trusted me! Did my best to recall my food safety training from last job. That was really the only thing all day though? I found more puzzles and did them at my desk. Kept glancing, but boss never checked on me.

Day 4. Dear Diary, the patrons of this place are a fun lot! I made a new friend today! I am so smitten, I hope we become fast pals! <3 Cankleie the Many-Cankled Ocelot <3 They are just awesome. After meeting them, spent most of the day hiding from the boss, working puzzles again. They keep paying me those acorns! I’m starting to suspect they can’t have real value, at this exchange rate. Also, will need to figure out a storage mechanism.

Day 5. Dear Diary, made some tea for a customer today. Shift was over before I knew it. Boss talked about the neighborhood a little today, sounds nice? Other than the occasional fetch-mission I don’t get out to see much of it. Maybe later? Cankleie probably lives nearby. What do I get up to in my off hours, anyway? That’s weird…

I do get to poke around at the local insect and plant population. That’s interesting, they are all so cute. Feels like my boss has me on training wheels, but fair enough I guess. Magic is probably pretty sensitive to this stuff. Can’t wait to learn!

Day 6. Dear Diary, did some inventory today. Finally, a job I can sink my teeth into! These fantasy stores, though, with their gravity defying shelves, it looked pretty daunting. Thankfully, another employee(?) helped out. How much is he getting paid, I wonder? Didn’t look like he could carry many acorns. Was I supposed to tip him or something? A pretty exhausting job, still went by pretty quick.

Day 7. Dear Diary, caught a fish today. Does that even qualify as work? My boss said to do it, but I know my uncle did this on his days off. Gotta say, I like the variety of things I get to do, nothing is really turning into drudgy. I do feel like they’re not really using all my talents though. The amount of time I spend on these puzzles is really overtaking my job time. [Note, make sure diary well hidden from boss!] Do you think this is some kind of competency test? They’re fun, but I hope not!

I did find a use for acorns! I can buy beads with them! Ok, yeah, that could be a real ‘trinkets-for-Manhattan’ kind of exploitation thing, but I think the bead represents a good cause? I went animals, I think someone would appreciate that. Hard to feel too exploited with my light work schedule.

Cankleie has not come back. Was it something I said? Oh god, I came off as super needy didn’t I??

Day 8. Dear Diary, I helped a customer with a tablecloth today. Given how slow sales have been, I am starting to wonder if they can afford my salary, even in acorns! The employee manual suggested something big would happen my first week on the job, but so far, nothing. If it’s my probationary review, I don’t have a lot to show for it. Worse, my boss will no longer even talk to me, so I can’t ask her. She pretty much leaves me to my puzzles. I guess I’d hoped for more of a mentorship/apprenticeship situation? Some magic skills would really pump up my CV.

Oh Cankleie, why didn’t I get your digits when you were here? Why are you ghosting me?

Day 9. Dear Diary, I fetched a clam today. Still no probationary review. They’ll never know how much workday I squander on puzzles. I saw a notice where the shop is going to be closed for renovations, so I guess I’m out a job now? It wasn’t the worst job I ever had, but put really low demands on me. The long gaps and relatively trivial things to do were warm, but didn’t really Engage what I’m capable of. I like the daily regular schedule, that was kind of novel. Could you imagine? Going to a job EVERY DAY? It’s exciting, but I think I’d feel better about it if it were building to a career of some kind. The variety of tasks was interesting but again not really challenging me. My boss seemed really well intentioned, and I am so happy with my bead.

All that’s left, I guess, is to PAINT THE TOWN RED with my lumpy pocket full of ACORNS!! I hope I run into Cankleie. Y’know what though, diary? If not, THEIR LOSS.

Though what if they had some family drama that kept them from reaching out? I would feel terrible about that. I can ask them tonight. They’re local, I can find them. <3

Played: 10/3-12/24
Playtime: 45m over 9 days
Artistic/Technical ratings: Sparks of Joy/Mostly Seamless
Would Play Again?: No, experience feels complete

Artistic scale: Bouncy, Mechanical, Sparks of Joy, Engaging, Transcendent
Technical scale: Unplayable, Intrusive, Notable (Bugginess), Mostly Seamless, Seamless