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We're a group of gamers, and we're always looking for new gamers to join us. Every month or so, we pick a game to play. We chat about the game together, and we record podcasts, record videos, and write essays. You can reach The Commune in the following ways: As for me, I'm Greg Livingston, but I go by Golem. I organize things around here.

A World of Puzzles: Counterfeit Monkey

Written by Yourself
About the game Counterfeit Monkey
Posted on Mar 24, 2014
Puzzles like the car had an interesting place in the game. Each one was used to explain how something in this fantasy world works, forming a greater set of worldly logic.

Puzzles are almost always a detour, and in Counterfeit Monkey, I felt like the story was chugging because I had to do things which weren't related to my overall goal of subverting a fascist regime, like finding oil for a car. But at least they're given some kind of narrative anchor (especially with the memories), like--this is how people make cars in this world, or this is where Andra and Brock always stash their messages.

Stuff like the origin paste is a little contrived (oh we can transform stuff but monocles let you see what it used to be but paste lets you hide it from monocles but it still smells funny...), but it still feels like part of a greater set of logic of the world, versus the logic of individual puzzles. Even if you're not reusing the same methods much, it still paints a comprehensive narrative picture, like you're walking through a day in the life of an Atlantean smuggler.
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