Three-Card Trick is a Glulx work of interactive fiction written with Inform 7 and is © 2016 by Chandler Groover. It was a participant in the Main Festival of Spring Thing 2016. It was also a participant in the First Quadrennial Ryan Veeder Exposition for Good Interactive Fiction where it took 5th place. At the 2016 XYZZY Awards, it was a finalist in four categories (Best Story, Best Setting, Best Individual Puzzle, and Best Individual PC).
You play as Morgan the Magnificent (Morrighan is too hard to pronounce), the prestidigitator who amazed everyone last season with your two-card trick. But this season, a rival is claiming to do a three-card trick and stealing your audience! You will expose the fraud and do a three-card trick yourself or bust.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the work.
Note: Conversation in this game uses the TALK TO PERSON syntax.
Have you played interactive fiction before? > yes
At the Exposition (in your booth (on your chair))
> x me. i. x tuxedo. x medal. x hat.
> x notice. x compass.
> x table. look under table. x cards.
> stand. put sign on table. out.
At the Exposition
> x crowd. x booth. x banner. x tent. enter tent.
At the Exposition (in Ivan's tent)
> x Ivan. talk to Ivan.
> search Ivan. search table. search cards.
> talk to Ivan.
> pick first card —or— pick second card —or— pick third card.
> i. x Ivan's key.
> out. out.
At the Exposition (middle)
> x stalls. x dome. x stars. out.
At the Exposition (at the trapdoor)
> x barricade. x guardsmen. x arcade. x trapdoor.
> d.
Under the Exposition (at the trapdoor)
> in.
Under the Exposition (several locations)
> in. in. x skeletons. in. in. in.
Under the Exposition (center)
> x trunk. unlock trunk with Ivan's key.
> x slab. talk to grandmother.
> x junk. search junk. x chest.
> pull key from hat. x your key. unlock chest.
> x mother. talk to mother.
> take grandmother. put grandmother in chest.
> close chest. close trunk. put my key in hat.
> out. out. out. out. out. u.
> in. in. enter tent.
At the Exposition (in Ivan's tent)
> talk to Ivan. out. enter booth.
At the Exposition (in your booth)
Lady Gascogne is here!
> take sign. talk to lady. shuffle cards.
> deal card. deal card. deal card.
> talk to lady. listen.
You'll hear two voices. Your mother is mentioning two cards, and Ivan's grandmother mentions three. Assuming Lady Gascogne picked the middle card, you must say the middle card that the grandmother mentions.
> queen of spades. (Or whichever card is actually said.)
Lady Gascogne pins a new medal to your chest.
*** finis ***
If you try to say the wrong card, you'll briefly experience the disgrace that would follow. But you stopped yourself from saying the wrong card, and the game asks you to try again.
> diversions
Mentioned:
Three-Card Trick is copyright 2016 by Chandler Groover. It may be distributed for free, but not sold or included in any for-profit collection without written permission from the author. It was originally made for the First Quadrennial Ryan Veeder Exposition for Good Interactive Fiction, and debuted to the public at Spring Thing 2016.
Many thanks to Ade McT, Adri, Andrew Schultz, and Robin Johnson for beta-testing!
Some amusing suggestions by the game after you win:
Did you try...
I'd also suggest:
This walkthrough is provided free of charge since the work it's based on has less than fifteen locations. Please consider it a thank you for your support!
I create larger walkthroughs too! Please visit my Patreon account if you're interested in helping me create more interactive fiction walkthroughs. I appreciate all the help I can get! Thanks again.