A Fool And His Money
On June 7, 2007, I pre-ordered A Fool And His Money, the sequel to Cliff Johnson's masterpiece The Fool's Errand.If you never heard of A Fool's Errand, then you're too damn young. Wikipedia yourself up to speed: The Fool's Errand is a 1987 computer game by Cliff Johnson. It is a meta-puzzle game with storytelling, visual puzzles and a cryptic treasure map. It is the tale of a wandering Fool who seeks his fortune in the Land of Tarot and braves the enchantments of the High Priestess.
In an era where games of this type weren't even popular, it was a beloved and revered game. So when I saw in 2007 that Johnson had almost finished a sequel, I jumped on the pre-order train.
It was released last Friday.
That's right--five and a half years. That's a long pre-order. But Cliff sent out notes every few months or so, moving the latest release data, recounting his progress, and explaining the latest setback. And damned if he didn't finally finish.
I just booted up the game for the first time tonight, and I need a few hours of play before I can share any detailed impressions. I will say, though, that even after half an hour, it's highly atmospheric and has already sunk its hooks into me.
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