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The city finally having secured an eviction notice, the demolition contractor
is contractually obligated to conduct an inventory of the Wizard of Wordplay’s
manor before knocking it down, clearing the spooky space for cheap condos or a
mini-mall. The only problem is that with his peculiar and punny powers
pervading the property, the poor prestidigitator’s possessions pooh-pooh
playing possum, putting punitive and perilous portents into play, preventing
the project from proceeding. ( Phew! )
Surely this is a job for a veteran text adventurer such as yourself! In your
previous adventures, you only engaged grues and dwarfs with language — here
(as in spiritual predecessors Nord and Bert Couldn’t Make Head or Tail of It
and T-Zero), you’re climbing into the ring with language itself, grappling
everything from an abundance of asinine alliteration to dinosaur etymology
within the first few rooms. Not since the raconting of Racter has a text
environment (Oulip)owed so much to the playful linguistic experimentation of
the avant-garde and simpleminded — a perplexing source of inspiration most
works of interactive fiction have been only too eager to a void. Here at last,
to triumph, you will have to truly demonstrate that the pen is mightier than
the sword!
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