Six

The first time that I tried Six was many years ago, and, as I recall, at the time I kind of blinked at it a few times in bemusement, then put it aside. You're a little girl playing hide-and-go-seek? Seriously?

Even from my relatively brief encounter it was clear that the game was well-built and written in a manner that would be accessible to a young audience, so I would usually list Six when asked for recommendations for kids. As a result, Six is directly responsible for cementing a young lady of my acquaintance's interest in IF by virtue of being the first game that she finished without help (even though it took a while). (Spoiler - click to show)(She cited the puzzle where you have to use leaves to slow down the fastest kid as the one she was proudest of figuring out.) The game went up a bit in my estimation, but I still didn't know much about it myself.

I recently replayed it for the People's Champion Tournament, and this time I finished it, including the "new game plus" mode. With all the evidence in, my answer to my past self is: Yes! Seriously!

This is one of those pieces of IF that is just about fun. (Remember fun?) If you retain even the slightest remnant of your inner child, you will enjoy this game. The objective is straightforward enough, but there are enough obstacles to keep you engaged. The musical bits and the sound-based clues were also quite neat, and pretty rare for the era in which this game was developed. The colorful, cartoon-style pictures are only presented occasionally but do much to create the right mood.

The viewpoint presented is consistently that of the early grade-school player character(s): not very deep or reflective but instead gleeful and enthusiastic. My grown-up sensibilities were hoping for a slightly deeper implementation of the story in one place: (Spoiler - click to show)The protagonists meet a "mean girl" in the park who seems like the kind of person who -- in interactive fiction, if not so often in real life -- could become a friend with the right approach. It didn't seem to me like there is a way to make that happen, and, to be fair, as a kid I probably would have been fine with that. (And, as Sam Kabo Ashwell's review for the 2011 XYZZY Awards points out, this is thematically appropriate by way of reflecting the limited social framework of a kid as young as the PC.)

What moves this game out of just "good" and into "great" territory is the conscientious attention to making a smooth gameplay experience. This is appreciated by a grown-up player but essential to a newbie. I can't think of a bug or the slightest hint of guess-the-noun. I'm sure that I must have tried a few verbs that didn't work, but if so I don't recall them -- what I do remember is recapturing, if only briefly, the sense that a park is a place big enough to explore. (Spoiler - click to show)It wasn't until my second run-through that I even discovered the area where your birthday party is being set up. My hat is off to Wade Clarke for going the extra mile here: It really sells the existence of the protagonists' life beyond the events portrayed in the game. I think maybe you can get hints there, too, if needed. There's even a delightful crayon-drawn feelie map to ensure that you're never lost, and an instructional PDF for ultra-newbies who are afraid of the command prompt and/or unfamiliar with Australian vernacular. (One item not covered: "roundabout" means the same thing as "merry-go-round.")

I very much admire any game that's capable of attracting and holding the interest of new young players -- something that is strategically vital to creating a new generation of long-term players and authors -- and that's doubly the case for a work that's still enjoyable by adults. Definitely think of this one the next time you need a game for first graders, or as a light-hearted introduction to parser games for adults.