Santa's Sleigh Ride

This is a very brief, cheerful introductory IF, and the object is simple enough: you’re Santa Claus, atop your last house. Deliver the goods and you’re done for the year. This little confection can be completed in less than a dozen turns if you’re in a hurry to get back to the North Pole, and there are barely any puzzles to speak of: just a couple of straightforward obstacles with clear solutions. This (and the game’s family-friendly tone) makes the game suitable for even very young players.

I do wish a few extra commands were supported, especially those that rewarded exploration. It’s not terribly important that PUT PRESENTS UNDER TREE isn’t understood (since the required method is easy to figure out), but it would have been cool to get festive (or even silly) responses to my attempts to chat with Rudolph, pet the family dog, or even (I'm such a Grinch) steal the tree.

IF vets won’t find any challenge here, but it’s a pleasant couple of minutes. There is no heavy narrative, no mystery to uncover, and no serious danger to face. There are a few cute moments, and then it’s all done.

I am absolutely horrible at playing IF, but I love to do it anyway. I am usually having to type HINT every other turn (if not every turn), but this game was at the perfect difficulty for my simple mind.

I really enjoyed the straight-forwardness of this game. Usually, when I play a game, there's some combination of actions I have to perform, and by the time I've looked at the hints, I usually feel like, "That doesn't make any sense!! How on earth would I have ever figured that out?!?" but this game actually makes sense as far as what the player needs to do.

That being said, I wouldn't have minded a bit more of a challenge to this game, either, or maybe just a bit longer of a game. However, I am 35 years old, and I gather that this game is targeted towards much younger players, so I understand its brevity.

All in all, I'd just like to thank the author for creating a game that I was actually capable of completing without any help. So, thanks!! :)