I don't suppose you've ever felt trapped at a really tedious party, wishing you could throw off the shackles of social convention and impale your host on a cocktail weenie toothpick, make a rope out of your own hair to escape out the bathroom window, beat yourself unconscious with the cheese tray—anything to avoid listening to some guy tell you another story about his golfing ability? In real life it's the opposite of entertaining, but in Party Foul, which took fourth place in CGDC7, it makes for a hilarious puzzle to test all your escaping power.

Party Foul is interactive fiction, so you use a text parser to interact with the game. Party Foul includes a great tutorial, so if you're new to IF, definitely type "yes" when the game asks if you'd like to do the tutorial. Otherwise, the game uses typical IF text commands, such as l/look, x/examine, take, put, the cardinal directions (n, s, e, w, nw, etc), i/inv/inventory, and so on. If you ever feel stuck or confused, simply type help, hint or about to get more information.

Analysis: Party Foul contains three major puzzles, and they don't have to be done in any specific order. So, if you get frustrated at lack of progress on one, go hack on another problem for a while. While some parts do require timing, the game as a whole isn't like, say, Varicella where one mistake puts you into an unwinnable state. This would be a good introduction to interactive fiction for a beginner, and for a pro, it's still an amusing diversion. Especially if you've found yourself in a similar social situation. After all, how many times have you really needed to escape from an underground alien lair, or a post-apocalyptic zombie outbreak?

Sometimes the parser isn't quite up to snuff. There's one point where you have to specifically "order" something. I tried about ten different combinations of "ask for" before I gave up and looked at the walkthrough. For the most part, however, the parser feels natural, and the puzzles, while not easy, are logical. The hint system is great, too. It doesn't immediately tell you the answer, but gradually gives more and more information. Sometimes your brain just needs a little nudge in the right direction, and this provides it.

The best part of Party Foul is the humor. It's very dry, tongue-in-cheek stuff, most provided by your less-than-desirable company. It's worth trying all the actions you can think of everywhere, on everyone, just to see the sort of response you'll get from your fellow party goers. I'll leave you with its opening quote, from P. J. O'Rourke: After all, what is your host's purpose in having a party? Surely not for you to enjoy yourself; if that were their sole purpose, they'd have simply sent champagne and women over to your place by taxi.

Play Party Foul