Once upon a winter night, the ragman came singing under your window

Some will find this game disturbing, but I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a surreal game that evokes images of an older, darker time, and deals in the sort of monsters seen in woodcut-illustrated books from the nineteenth century, when fairytales were far more sinister.

The game can be a bit frustrating due to under-implementation... but it was written for Rapidocomp, so that comes with the territory.

I may never have found the ending if I hadn't been playing as part of a group. There are clues to what you're meant to do, contained in text you are 100% likely to encounter in the game. Part of the reason you may struggle to find the solution is that it's ... counterintuitive. But the author definitely gives you the clue or two that you need. If you can hang in there until you figure out the solution on your own, you're more likely to get the full impact of the ending.

If you really can't figure it out, the command you're looking for is (Spoiler - click to show)FEED RAGMAN.

If, after you play the game, you'd like to see the moment when ClubFloyd figured it out, and our reaction, here's the ending, which I feel is worth reading all the way down to the jokes and puns at the end.

It's not the most polished game in the world, but I will always remember the writing and the experience, which is why it gets a 5 from me.

My reaction to this game was "Wow!" followed by frustrated noises followed by "Ewwww".

This is a speed-IF, so programming and grammar bugs are here, but I was so impressed with the vivid writing and setting as the game began. A mysterious ragman comes into your house and gives you 5 heartbeats (or game moves) to give him what he wants.

But it doesn't tell you what he wants. I spent a long time guessing many different things, and I was frustrated.

The solution was, frankly, gross. Not that I think (Spoiler - click to show)breastfeeding is gross, but the fact that (Spoiler - click to show)the monster would desire it. It's written fairly similar to rape, in the sense that a man is demanding use of a woman's organs.