I know that there are many purists that still play games without using any help. I like a good challenge myself, but I sometimes find that my logical solution is completely different that the developers, leading to hours of non progression in a game. Forums like this are a godsend if you just want some hints, but are mostly helpful if playing current games. Otherwise, you are relying on people's memories for older games.
So, how important is having an actual walkthrough available before you would consider playing a game?
For me, not at all. I will plug away since I usually play games with a lot of exploration and (hopefully) logical puzzles.

I will add that a scenario I have come across is downloading an iPad game like The Room, and playing it while camping.

I will resort to a walkthrough if I get very badly stuck but I do always try to play without one

Same here, but if there isn't one available, it wouldn't stop me from buying or playing the game.

If it is a game I really want to play, the lack of a walkthrough wouldn't bother me. Back in the 1980s, when I first started playing adventure games, sometimes the only recourse a player had if they were stuck was to call the developer on the phone and beg for a hint/puzzle solution.

LOL...I am the complete opposite, I love to play and complete a newly released game before any walkthroughs are available. Then I love to help out others playing with gentle nudges. If I had my way, walkthroughs would be illegal to release until the game is at least a month old if not longer.

I wouldn't avoid a game just because it had no walkthrough. But I've never had any issues with consulting walkthroughs when stuck or when faced with something I didn't want to waste time on -- like a maze or timed sequence or dexterity sequence. I'd use the walkthrough to get past the disagreeable parts as quickly as possible.

I also use walkthroughs to warn me in games that kill you off without warning or have timed sequences. For example in Aura 2, where after wandering around the early parts of the game without being attacked you are faced with a number of sudden, unpredictable deaths in the Shadow Legion's Lair.

Also there were some games that were buggy, like Hitchcock: The Final Cut, where unless you did things in a certain order, events wouldn't trigger and you wouldn't be able to progress in the game. For those games, you pretty much had to follow a walkthrough if you didn't want to be stuck forever.

Using someone else's saved game is another matter.

I really don't like having to resort to using someone else's saved game.
In fact I can only remember one game that I actually finished after using someone else's saved game (Wanted: The Westerner). Except for that one game, I've lost interest in every game where I had to resort to someone else's save to continue.

I can remember 2 instances where I needed a saved game. One was for Gabriel Knight 3 and the swinging pendulum, the other was for the Machinarium arcade game. Both were action sequences where no amount of WT could help your fingers move faster.

Not having a walkthrough would not deter me from buying. I enjoy playing without but appreciate the help if I am stuck many hours after wandering around not being able to find a way out.

I will also buy a game without a walkthrough but do appreciate knowing that one is available if wanted. Depending on the situation, I try to just get hints in the GB help forum, but sometimes a walkthrough is more helpful (for timed sequences, or a game that is making me sea-sick and wandering around or doing the same sequence over and over is not desirable).

I've used save games two times also. The first time with the conveyor belt (I think it was) in Grim Fandango because my mouse just would not go where it needed to go, and in a Nancy Drew game when I could not sew a dress. Thanks MaG!

There was a time when I didn't buy a game without a walkthrough. Or, to be exact, I bought the old Sierra games together with the so called hint books. Nowadays, I don't bother. If a walkthrough isn't available for a brand new game, one will probably turn up before I'll be able to finish the game. If it doesn't, one can always ask for help. I prefer the latter, since you almost always get unwanted extra information when searching for the solution in a walkthrough.

I've only used other player's saved games for one game, and that was twice in In Cold Blood, due to bugs.

I often glance at a walktrough AFTER having completed a game though. It's interesting to see how the walkthough writer describes the puzzles and the solutions.

Mikael - I do that too, look at the walkthrough after playing the game. Some games have parts that you don't have to play to complete the game and you miss them. And sometimes something I didn't quite understand is explained in the walkthrough.

Well Colpet I'm on your "trail", I would only resort to a peak at a WT/Hints page if I'm REALLY and on the edge of loosin my sanity

One big part of playing adv games is to have the pleasure of accomplishment when solving the different puzzles and making my way to the end of a game .

Cheers

I remember playing Maniac Mansion when it first came out, there were no walkthroughs or not much of an internet then. They had hint lines you could call and pay by the minute...Sometimes it was a frustrating experience when you were stuck hours on end. I have to say, I like it much better the way it is today....

I agree with Jenny100's statements and especially the point re: Also there were some games that were buggy...

I remember the good Old Leisure Suit Larry games, I don't remember which one of the games, but in one of them, if you missed the Boarding the Ship, you did not realize that the game was over, you wandered around and around trying to do things and the game would not advance, it was only thanks to a friend of mine who bought the Walkthrough, told me that I had to hurry to find the passport and to Get On the Ship before it took off.
And there was another LSL game were if you did not do a certain thing in the Locker Room area, Larry would around and around naked and there was no way around it and no way out of the locker room.
And if you were an Adventure gamer newbie were one did not Save, Save, Save, you had to Restore your game at an earlier point.

So would the lack of a Walkthrough Stop me from buying/playing the game, that would depend on the type of game...

There are games I wouldn't have finished if I hadn't been able to look at a walkthough but if there wasn't one it wouldn't deter me from playing.
It might though deter me from wanting to finish!!

I remember playing games before my internet connection. There was always that phone number in the manual, or shelling out for the game guide. It is so hard to imagine in today's time of instant gratification where you can get a solution in a heartbeat.
I do appreciate the information you get when you are stuck in a glitch. Unfortunately, most of the time I am sure it is the game's fault, it is usually my own.

Same here

I played Outcast (Win 95) years ago before I had an internet connection. It took me months to play (after work), but as there was so much going on and had an excellent story-line it was very enjoyable.
Just checked with GOG and it's available for Win 10........

Yes, I would play a game without a WT. I am however not a very patient person in general, so I'm very thankful for the way you can find information today. Yes, I would like to solve everything myself, and it feels really good when you succeed, but personally, if I wait to long to find the answer I will most likely just lose interest and never finish it.
So as many of you have said, thank for the internet!

i would after two other forum groups stop helping people.

When I first started playing computer games walkthroughs just didn't exist and there was no internet - so it often took me weeks to solve a puzzle !!



These days we have it easy in comparison because there are so many sources of help and it's just down to personal preference whether or not we take advantage of any of them.