GC: A Thrashing Parity Bit of the Mind

Baf's Guide

Written for the 1994 MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Olympics, this game sends you to the Acme Institute, a combination of MIT and Unnkulia. Since it was created by and for MIT students, the in-jokes are completely unbridled. However, MIT in-jokes have a way of percolating through computer culture in general, and the more obscure ones are explained in the docs. Since it was originally written to be played by teams of highly-trained smart people, who were not expected to finish it completely, some of the puzzles are quite difficult. However, there's nothing completely beyond the reach of anyone with a degree in something technical. Contains lots of red herrings and optional puzzles, a big unmappable maze that can only be traversed with guidance, good puzzles, cheez jokes, and a guest apearance by Marvin Minsky.

-- Carl Muckenhoupt

SPAG
MIT inhabitants probably would split their sides laughing when playing it; non-insider surely would find their funny moments there (for me, one of those moments was the "suicidal robot"), but the overall effect naturally would be much weaker. Still, the setting is quite rich (especially for a puzzle-fest), though not the deepest one. By the way, the game comes with a number of "feelies" -- materials from the original competition distribution, and a text file explaining some of the MIT-specific things. It'd be advisable to read them, as well.
-- Valentine Kopteltsev
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