At the Carnival
Encyclopedia
At The Carnival is a 1989 computer
puzzle game by Cliff Johnson
.
It was intended to be the first of a series of games called Puzzle Gallery; however, publisher Miles Computing went out of business before any further games could be made.
At The Carnival is a collection of games similar to some in The Fool's Errand
, but with enhanced user interfaces. (For example, the word search
puzzles have tools to highlight individual lines in all directions.) The endgame puzzle is simpler compared to Fool's Errand and 3 in Three
, and consists merely of a crossword puzzle filled by key words found in other solved puzzles.
with woeful disdain for its customers. Completing the puzzles in a particular section displays the fate of the unfortunate guests who rode a particular ride.
One puzzle in the game has Cliff Johnson describing the discovery of Elmer McCurdy
.
was made, but it is not as visually appealing due to the lower resolution available to IBM PC
-class machines at the time (320×200 VGA vs. 512×342 minimum on Macintoshes). Cliff Johnson strongly recommends playing the Macintosh version instead of the MS-DOS version, using an emulator such as Executor
or Basilisk II
if necessary.
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
puzzle game by Cliff Johnson
Cliff Johnson (game designer)
Cliff Johnson is an American game designer, best known for the early computer puzzle games The Fool's Errand and 3 in Three . Both games were notable for unique visual puzzles and a metapuzzle structure.- Biography :...
.
It was intended to be the first of a series of games called Puzzle Gallery; however, publisher Miles Computing went out of business before any further games could be made.
At The Carnival is a collection of games similar to some in The Fool's Errand
The Fool's Errand
The Fool's Errand is a 1987 computer game by Cliff Johnson. It is a meta-puzzle game with storytelling, visual puzzles and a cryptic treasure map...
, but with enhanced user interfaces. (For example, the word search
Word search
A word search, word find, word seek, word sleuth or mystery word puzzle is a word game that is letters of a word in a grid, that usually has a rectangular or square shape. The objective of this puzzle is to find and mark all the words hidden inside the box. The words may be horizontally,...
puzzles have tools to highlight individual lines in all directions.) The endgame puzzle is simpler compared to Fool's Errand and 3 in Three
3 in Three
3 in Three is a 1989 computer game by Cliff Johnson.While bearing some similarities to his previous game, The Fool's Errand, 3 in Three brought the meta-puzzle to a new environment: inside the computer. The tale this time is of a wayward number 3, lost in the innards of the computer by a power surge...
, and consists merely of a crossword puzzle filled by key words found in other solved puzzles.
Plot
The game has no overarching story as such; each puzzle shows a small section of Hazard Park, an amusement parkAmusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
with woeful disdain for its customers. Completing the puzzles in a particular section displays the fate of the unfortunate guests who rode a particular ride.
One puzzle in the game has Cliff Johnson describing the discovery of Elmer McCurdy
Elmer McCurdy
Elmer McCurdy was an Oklahoma outlaw whose mummified body was discovered in The Pike amusement zone in Long Beach, California in December 1976.-Background:...
.
Release Information
The original version of the game was for Apple Macintosh; a port to MS-DOSMS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
was made, but it is not as visually appealing due to the lower resolution available to IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
-class machines at the time (320×200 VGA vs. 512×342 minimum on Macintoshes). Cliff Johnson strongly recommends playing the Macintosh version instead of the MS-DOS version, using an emulator such as Executor
Executor
An executor, in the broadest sense, is one who carries something out .-Overview:...
or Basilisk II
Basilisk II
Basilisk II is an open source software emulator which emulates the 680x0-based Apple Macintosh computer on a variety of operating systems, including BeOS, Linux, AmigaOS, Windows NT, Mac OS X and even on the Sony PSP....
if necessary.
Puzzles
Some of the major puzzle types in the games include:- JumbleJumbleJumble is a word puzzle with a clue, a drawing illustrating the clue, and a set of words, each of which is “jumbled” by permuting its letters to make an anagram. A solver reconstructs the words, then arranges letters at marked positions in the words to spell the answer to the clue...
s - mixed-up words to be reordered. - Word searchWord searchA word search, word find, word seek, word sleuth or mystery word puzzle is a word game that is letters of a word in a grid, that usually has a rectangular or square shape. The objective of this puzzle is to find and mark all the words hidden inside the box. The words may be horizontally,...
es - find words hidden in a grid of letters - CryptogramCryptogramA cryptogram is a type of puzzle which consists of a short piece of encrypted text. Generally the cipher used to encrypt the text is simple enough that cryptogram can be solved by hand. Frequently used are substitution ciphers where each letter is replaced by a different letter or number. To solve...
s - decipher encrypted phrases - CrosswordCrosswordA crossword is a word puzzle that normally takes the form of a square or rectangular grid of white and shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answers. In languages that are written left-to-right, the answer...
s - fill answers into boxes based on specified clues. (Not full-sized crossword puzzles.) - Word grids - rearrange 9 letters into a grid to make words in all horizontalHorizontal planeIn geometry, physics, astronomy, geography, and related sciences, a plane is said to be horizontal at a given point if it is perpendicular to the gradient of the gravity field at that point— in other words, if apparent gravity makes a plumb bob hang perpendicular to the plane at that point.In...
, vertical, and diagonalDiagonalA diagonal is a line joining two nonconsecutive vertices of a polygon or polyhedron. Informally, any sloping line is called diagonal. The word "diagonal" derives from the Greek διαγώνιος , from dia- and gonia ; it was used by both Strabo and Euclid to refer to a line connecting two vertices of a...
directions. - PolygonPolygonIn geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
s - fit pentominoPentominoA pentomino is a polyomino composed of five congruent squares, connected along their edges ....
-like polygons into a grid; letters on the polygons spell out words. - Jigsaw puzzleJigsaw puzzleA jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of numerous small, often oddly shaped, interlocking and tessellating pieces.Each piece usually has a small part of a picture on it; when complete, a jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture...
s - rearrange cut-up pictures to remake the original - ConcatenationConcatenationIn computer programming, string concatenation is the operation of joining two character strings end-to-end. For example, the strings "snow" and "ball" may be concatenated to give "snowball"...
s - several buttons concatenate letters to the current phrase; find the correct order to build a complete phrase - MazeMazeA maze is a tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage through which the solver must find a route. In everyday speech, both maze and labyrinth denote a complex and confusing series of pathways, but technically the maze is distinguished from the labyrinth, as the labyrinth has a single...
s - various types of mazes that must be navigated - XOR displays - a set of buttons XORs various shapes together; the right combination of buttons will produce a word
External links
- Official Site, including downloadable versions for Macintosh and MS-DOS