Curses Graham Nelson 1993

The game "Curses" was, at the time, by far the longest amateur (i.e. non-Infocom) adventure game written for the Z-Machine. The author, Graham Nelson, wrote the Inform compiler which he used to create the game. A seemingly simple quest to find a street map of Paris leads you into odd corners of an old mansion, your imagination, and ultimately into the ancient past. It's perhaps the most "literate" work of IF to come along in years. You'll find numerous puzzles ranging from simple (not many of those) to difficult (lots) and hair-tearingly frustrating, spread across the years from ancient Egypt to the present. And you will find literary allusions, references to historical events and legends, and a family history that literally meanders all over the map, but remains centered about the ancestral Meldrew Hall in England. The game's on-line hint system has been personified in the form of supernatural agencies - alas, the hints present are rather cryptic, and if you can't figure out a puzzle from the hint, there won't be any more hints.
Screenshots
Browser-Playable Online Version (@ IF Correspondence Chess)
Full Demo (@ Jolt Country)
Included in Best IF Games folder of: Infocom Universe Bootleg Full Demo 389MB


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