I just wondered how everybody else feels about this. I'm playing Book of Unwritten Tales and had to ask for a save game to get past the rain dance. I remember getting blown up, electrocuted, getting caught sneaking and one memorable arrow shot that took days to pass. Maybe it's the advent of casual games where you can skip a puzzle that put this into my head. Would anyone like to be able to skip certain puzzles in adventure games?

A lot of times Fil. Maybe in the future there will be a skip in adventure games.
Richard

You can do it in Black Mirror II. Frogwares has the better solution, IMO. They no longer seem to make quick reflexes part of their puzzles and they lead you step by step to the solution of a puzzle if you need to go that route.

Gil.

I remember the arrow shoot! Yes to skipping or a workaround/alternate for anything requiring quick reflexes. I myself have nothing against the possibility to skip tough non-timed puzzles, but I know that will be more controversial.

Hi fildil, there's nothing more infuriating for me than trying over and over to get past a difficult randomized puzzle or one that requires some dexterity (e.g. sewing/drawing/dancing) - even worse when they're timed! For me it can spoil the game so it would be good to have the chance to skip preferably after so many attempts! (I don't want to get lazy!)

How about if you reached a certain number of times you tried a puzzle, say 10, then you would have the option to skip. I for one have very slow reflexes and the more I try to work them, the worse I get. I'm sure that there are people who would like to try to solve the puzzle and they would still be able to do so, but as for me, I would choose skip.

I'm in the middle of Return to Mysterious Island II: Mina's Fate. This game has you try a puzzle and then after a certain amount of times failing to pass, it allows you to try the puzzle in "Easy Mode". I haven't had to yet but that's a possible solution too.

A big yes for me on that subject. It is just to frustrating going over and over something that you just can't accomplish!

THe Last Half of Darkness games have a feature that you can skip a puzzle after numerous attempts or just let the puzzle sit for a time and it will solve itself. I like that feature.

I like the "X" number of tries approach to skipping a puzzle - at least you can have the option of trying to solve it first.

Yes!!!!

Option yes; solving it for me just because I let it sit for awhile, no. Or because the game thinks I tried enough times. I want to be in charge of exercising the option.

I like the options to skip a puzzle as well, especially when they're in form of mini games. So Blonde, the game, had this option, to skip the puzzles (minigames) from the start. I agree, however, that if you have tried maybe 3 times and failed at solving the puzzle, the game should skip forward.

A recent example of this the demo for JULIA, an sexcellent game it seems. However, I can't play the demo nor the full game, since as you know, I'm colorblind. I would have liked the option to skip the mineral harvesting as I really can't see different shades of green. This means I can't see the cursor changing to a different kind of green as well. Game looks interesting, though.

In the Testament of Sherlock Holmes, for all puzzles not connected to deduction and investigation, meaning real mind blowing puzzles, you can skip them after 5 minutes, you can still complete them after 5 minutes if you want to. Whether you skip the puzzles or not will be reflected in your game awards and achievements

As well there is the "sixth sense bar" that allow you to hightlight randomly one action zone that you could have miss in you current field of view.

Thus, you shall never be blocked in the game.

And yes we do that because some players are writing us for saves on the mummy (2002), JTCE (2003) and if it's a good thing we are still around after all this time, we cannot believe that it's nice and cool for players to look after saves for exceedingly difficult puzzles.

Hi thehood --

People are still writing for saved games on a game that was released a decade ago? I'd say that says something about the ability of the game to continue to entertain. As well as the importance of being able to skip.

It's good to read about the new features in Testament!

"I like the "X" number of tries approach to skipping a puzzle - at least you can have the option of trying to solve it first."

That goes for me too .... especially so with timed puzzles

I totally agree about the option of trying a puzzle for a few tries and then being given the option of skipping it.

I've had to quit a few games because I couldn't get past a puzzle: frustrating to me and a waste of my time.

I agree that a way to skip or solve an easier version of the puzzle would be great. I like the "easier" version of the puzzle best because actually "skipping" a puzzle leaves me feeling that I didn't actually "finish" the game.

Recently, I purchased a casual game that I cannot finish because it has one level that requires a massive amount of fast mouse clicking which I cannot do with these old fingers. Felt a bit cheated since I cannot finish the game.

I'm all for the skip option (or an "easier") option appearing after a few tries. Alternative solutions and skip options from the very start are also fine with me. What I don't like are puzzles that solve themselves after a few tries. I actually stopped playing Aztek when this happened, since I felt cheated of the possibility to solve the game myself, and in my own speed.

I agree with Mikael. I also don't like games that keep nagging me to autosolve puzzles when I take longer than they think I should -- or even worse when they autosolve without asking.

Also, if I know I hate a particular type of puzzle or "challenge," I don't want to have to replay it and fail 10 times before I can skip it. I don't want to have to mess with it at all. And how many people would even realize that the "puzzle/challenge" would solve itself after they failed it 10 times? They might give up on the game after failing twice. Even if I read the instructions (or play a tutorial), I certainly don't remember every detail of the instructions while playing a game.

Billy made it possible for some puzzles in his Last Half of Darkness games to solve themselves if you wait a good while, like 40 minutes or so, without moving the cursor.

Personally, and I may be way off base here, I think he may have made the wait necessary to discourage people from letting the puzzle solve itself, so they would try to do it. The puzzle in the witch's room where you're attempting to open the box to get an orb is a case in point. You could let it sit and get the orb without doing a thing. Or you could puzzle it out, so to speak, and it really wasn't that hard once you tumbled to how it should be done. But you had to do one or the other, not just skip right on. I don't have a problem with that.

Gil.

These are real games I'm talking about, though. In a casual game that's all hidden objects or "stop and do a puzzle", I am all for a HUGE skip button.

Good! I am always stuck in games(especilly the SH ones)so this is great news!