3 in Three
| 3 in Three | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Cliff Johnson |
| Publisher(s) | Cinemaware Inline Design |
| Platform(s) | Mac OS |
| Release | 1989 |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
3 in Threeis a 1989metapuzzlevideo gamedesigned byCliff Johnsonand published byCinemawareand Inline Design.
While bearing some similarities to his previous game,The Fool's Errand,3 in Threetook place inside acomputer.The game is about anumber3,lost in the innards of the computer by apower surge.The 3 attempts to repair the damage caused by the power surge and make her way back to thespreadsheet,providing the background story for the game.
Gameplay
[edit]The game consists of many separate sections, each of which contains one puzzle. However, unlike Fool's Errand, each section may need to be visited multiple times, as it may carry along part of the story at times when it does not contain a puzzle. Each puzzle (upon completion) places oneletterin the LetterLegislature.When the entire legislature is in place, a logic puzzle (see below) is used to properly order them, at which point the endgame begins; the hints found in previous puzzles are used to complete themeta-puzzleand finish the game.
UnlikeThe Fool's Errand,the puzzles in 3 in Three are rarely traditional puzzles likecryptogramsorword searches;instead, the puzzles tend to take advantage of the possibilities of computer games.[1]Some of the prominent puzzle types include:
- Lift puzzles - the 3 must navigate across a field of lifts by putting her lift and the lift to her right at the same level.
- Mesh puzzles - the 3 must change a mesh (of sizes ranging from 3x3 to 9x9) to match a given pattern.
- Missing vowels - the 3 must add missingvowelsto commonproverbsorhomophones.
- Trapdoor puzzles - the 3 must open or close all of a set of doors; clicking on one door will toggle the open state of several others, with the exact set of doors, toggled depending on the state of the door clicked. (Thus clicking on door 3 may open or close doors 1, 3, and 9 if it is open, but 3, 4, and 5 if it is closed.)
- Reordered word puzzles - the 3 must rearrange a word to spell another word in 3 clicks. Each click switches two letters; the letters switched depend on which letter is clicked and its position in the word.
- Logic puzzles - A grid of items must be rearranged to meet specific rules. (For example, a set ofRoman numeralsmay include a rule like 'XVI is north of XIV'.)
Release
[edit]Unlike the developer's earlier games,3 in Threewas never ported but was released only for theMacintosh.It was initially released byCinemaware,which went out of business in 1991; the license was then picked up by Inline Design, which went out of business in 1995.[1]It is nowfreewareand can be found on the author's website.[2]It includes information which allows the game to be played on Windows PCs.
Reception
[edit]3 in Threewas reviewed positively inMacworld,which described it as "an ultramodernAlice's Adventures in Wonderland"with an" obsessively good set "of puzzles.Macworldnoted occasional issues with puzzles that were too easy or frustrating, but overall praised the game as mostly "creative, fun, entertaining, and best of all, challenging."[3]Macworldnamed3 in Threeas runner-up toTesseraein the Best Brain Game category of its 1991 Macintosh Game Hall of Fame.[4]
MacUserawarded3 in Threefive out of five mice, claiming that Cliff Johnson had "achieved a new level of weirdness" with the game's variety of puzzles.MacUsercalled the game's plot "a bitTron-esque ", with abundant humor and infuriating puzzles. The review praised the game's graphics, sound, animation, and stability.[5]MacUsernamed3 in Threebest game in its 1991 Editors' Choice Awards, ahead ofSpaceship WarlockandSpectre.[6]
TheChicago Tribunenamed3 in Threethe bestbrain teasergame of 1990 and said that it surpassed previous Cliff Johnson games "with superb animation and intricately connected puzzles."[7]
Gamesmagazine included3 in Threein its "The Games 100"feature as the best new puzzle game of 1991.Gamescalled the game "as witty and challenging as [Cliff Johnson's] earlier head-scratchers," with improved storyline and graphics.[8]
Bob LeVitusrecommended3 in Threeas a mind-boggling "tour de force of animation and sound" inThe Macintosh Reader.[9]Gaming historian Richard Moss likened the visual style of3 in Threeto "an interactiveSaul Bassadvertisement "and noted that the game's puzzles had evolved from the paper-and-pencil adaptions of Cliff Johnson's previous gamesThe Fool's ErrandandAt the Carnivalto "computer-native" designs.[1]
The Macintosh Bible Guide to Gamessaid that Cliff Johnson took his brilliant game design ofThe Fool's Errandto a new level with3 in Three,calling it "one of the better puzzle compilations available."[10]
Awards
[edit]- 1991MacUserGame of the Year[6]
- 1991MacworldGame Hall of Fame, Best Brain Game runner-up[4]
- 1991GamesBest Puzzle Game of the Year[8]
References
[edit]- ^abcMoss, Richard (2018). "A Story Told by Treasure Hunt".The Secret History of Mac Gaming.Unbound.p. 121.ISBN978-1-78352-487-7.
- ^"Downloads".thefoolserrand.Cliff Johnson.
- ^Sharp, Wendy (February 1992). "3 in Three".Macworld.9(2). Macworld Communications, Inc.: 282.
- ^abLevy, Steven(January 1992). "The 1991 Macintosh Game Hall of Fame".Macworld.9(1). Macworld Communications, Inc.: 148–149.
- ^Gruberman, Ken (October 1991). "3 in Three".MacUser.7(10).Ziff-Davis Publishing Co.:87.
- ^ab"The Seventh Annual Editors' Choice Awards".MacUser.8(3).Ziff-Davis Publishing Co.:104. March 1992.
- ^Lynch, Dennis (1991-01-25). "Computing 1990's best and worst". Section 7.Chicago Tribune.p. 60.
- ^abHochberg, Burt,ed. (December 1991). "The Games 100".Games.Vol. 15, no. 106. GAMES Publications. p. 53.ISSN0199-9788.
- ^Clapp, Doug (1992). "Part VIII Tips, Secrets & Good Advice".The Macintosh Reader.Random House.p. 342.ISBN0679742425.
- ^Farkas, Bart; Breen, Christopher (1996). "Chapter 6: Brain Games".The Macintosh Bible Guide to Games.Peachpit Press.pp. 177–178.ISBN0201883813.