~1 minute readAfter Hours: Games
Bureaucracy: More Grief for the Frustrated
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"Yap, yap, yap" is probably a good approximation of what bureaucratic talk sounds like. It's also what Bongo the bank dog says on the phone in the Murphy's-law world of Bureaucracy, an interactive fiction game from Infocom.
The chirpy British humor is supplied by Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Bureaucracy challenges you to overcome a group of puzzles culminating in the ultimate conundrum — how to make it to Paris for a session of training and relaxation at your new employer's expense.
To achieve this end you respond to the game's changing situations, trying to say the right things and outwit the game's logic. While offbeat places tempt you and shady characters hinder your progress, at the same time they provide clues. If you make it through this maze, you'll get your address change form and paycheck so that you'll have enough money to take the Get Lost cab to the airport. Meanwhile, a beeping monitor of your "blood pressure" mirrors your rising frustration.
A Save command allows you to stop playing at any time and continue your quest later: Infocom states that finishing can take months.
Everyone to whom I showed Bureaucracy laughed, because it does things unexpected from a computer; for one thing, it recognizes most profanity. It is, however, a true challenge.
Bureaucracy would be a good gift for anyone who wields large spools of red tape, or for anyone who enjoys solving problems. But those who have no need for self-imposed frustration would do well to leave this one alone.
List Price: Bureaucracy. $39.95.
Requires: 128K RAM; 5¼-inch floppy disk drive; DOS 2.0 to 3.0.
Not copy protected. Infocom. 125 Cambridge Park Dr., Cambridge,
MA 02140; (800) 262-6868; (617) 576-3190.
This article appeared in
PC Magazine
15 Sep 1987
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