Hey guys, how do you feel about looking up solutions for a puzzle? How long does it takes you before you give up and look things up?

I hate it. There is no single P&C I've finished without looking up at least one small hint. Sometimes it's driving me crazy when I've read such a simple solution I just easily overlooked. Sometimes it's driving me crazy to see how ridiculous the solution was. The last adventure I've finished was Runaway 1. I missed several pixels/items and even a whole location (the saloon in Douglasville) and some puzzle I'd probably would never have solved like heating up a scalpel in fire to make it "sharper" (thanks to translation Brian said "it's pretty sharp but the pod is harder" in my language wheras in english he says "it's pretty dull") or to drop a flower pot into a bucket to make a wrench JUMP out of it because he didn't want to get his hands dirty or didn't want to dip it out with a clay jar...)

Now I'm at Runaway 2, got to a point were I couldn't get further but than it snapped (also found a new location I missed before...) without looking things up. But now I'm stuck again and I'm so desperate that I'm trying any unlogical item combination that's possible. But it is sufficed if I miss just one combination and probably stuck forever...

But it really drives me insane because I think "it MUST be possible to solve this one on my own" and it feels like failure and after looking up I really feel bad and I'm kind of mad of myself that I didn't come up with that solution.

How do guys feel about this one?

I'm a walkthrough whore and I'm not proud of it. That's the only reason I like linear games; I can win them without using a walkthrough and in turn not wondering if I missed an entire level or something.

I don't tell anyone that I cheat....

If I'm really excited about a game I'll make extra effort to finish it without external help, but often if I've been stuck for a while and out of ideas despite doing all the normal things that you do - re-checking areas for missed items, trying unlikely items together, etc. - I'll just sigh and look it up.

My excuse is I've got too many games waiting in my backlog to waste time in fruitless frustration when I could be having fun playing them instead.

My first P&C was King's Quest III, back when it originally came out in the late 80s...well, ok, technically it wasn't a P&C because Sierra was still using text input only. But still...

I look up an answer when I get to the point of getting frustrated, I don't give myself a set time-limit or anything. When finding the solution gets in the way of my having fun, that's when I look it up.

Once more, let me point out the Universal Hint System. It gives you enough of a nudge to allow you to solve a puzzle without giving you the full solution in one go, though you can always get that as well. Take a look here for the pod/scalpel example.

gunsynd cheats. Don't ask me how I know.

AND THANK YOU JMich. That site is nice for when you need a nudge but you don't want the whole damn thing.

There's one useful tip, if you are stuck, stop, breathe and take a nice and comfortable sleep. You brain will be rested and not stressed and when you go play the game again, maybe the solution will come naturally.
If even then you get frustrated and stuck again, no shame in going look for a walkthrough. Sometimes things just doesn't work.


Speaking about it here is a nice Youtube channel for walkthroughs

Big mouth...Can't keep a secret..

I hate it, but considering I suck at them, I do need them pretty often.

^This :D

Thanks JMich. This will be very useful.

Yeah, sometimes it happens that puzzle becomes frustrating. Usually, if I am just stuck not knowing what to do next (meaning, I am not sure how to progress further in game), I would either walk blindly around, clicking this and that or turn off the game and get back with a fresh head the next day.

Sometimes I get stuck on puzzles. If possible, I take a pencil with a notebook and draw/write various possibilities. If that doesn't help, I search for this particular puzzle on the internet. Not for the solution, but for the hint.

I use the UHS myself.

As for when - the first time, it might be when I'm stuck for a half hour or more. Afterwards, I do it sooner and sooner, especially if I get stuck immediately again after the hint.

Good god, I'd completely forgotten about UHS! I used to download that via dial-up back in the day for the Sierra games!! I had no idea it was even still around, given all the walkthroughs available...