It's Christmas Eve, a time of wonder and anticipation for child and adult alike. For the children it's the anticipation of Santa coming down the chimney. For the adults, it's the anticipation of a long night of assembling things with directions written in French as translated from the Chinese. It's also the anticipation of being woken up extremely early, facing a long day of unwrapping presents, family fights, and the possibility of a fire sparked by defective lights and fed by a too-dry tree and tons of discarded wrapping paper. But have no fear, this special Link Dump Holiday is here to ease the tension and make the day all better. Well, at least better than it might have been. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this special edition Link Dump filled with something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue, even though that's weddings, not Christmas. And yes, these selections are heavy on the room escapes. That's my bag, baby!
- Grow Ornament - Let's start off with something old. Grow Ornament is a special holiday edition of the wonderful and charming Grow series. It's 5 years old now, so it's time to revisit and enjoy this amazingly sweet little holiday gem.
- Present of Santa 2 - And now for something new, Present of Santa 2 by Minoto. Yet another amusing, surreal point-and-click by the ever popular Minoto. Cats being held up? A strange yellow creature lurking in a refrigerator? Yep, sounds like a Minoto Christmas alright. And hey, no shaving Santa's beard this year!
- Tannenbaum Escape - Okay, so this one isn't borrowed, let's forget that stupid theme anyway. Tannenbaum Escape is a quick little room escape solved by decorating a Tannenbaum, which is German for firetrap. Or Christmas tree, one of those.
- Gift Wrapped - Another old chestnut, this one from the warped minds at Nitrome. Gift Wrapped is an amusing and occasionally frustrating little "find the present" puzzle done up in a festive bow for the holiday season.
- Christmas Escape 1 - From Neutral, one of the best room escape designers out there, came a tradition of creating a "mini-escape" every Christmas. This year, not so much, but travel back in time and enjoy the escaping. And while you're at it check out Christmas Escape 2 and Christmas Escape 3 if you have the time.
- First Love - Two great escape designers, Bianco-Bianco and Robamimi teamed up last year to create this delightful point-and-click game about trying to recreate a magical moment from your past. First love is a great way to feel some warm and fuzzy nostalgia about your youth, even if the actual past wasn't all that great to begin with.
- Frost Bite - Nitrome again, so sue me. Frost Bite is a fantastic platformer from three years ago. Not particularly Christmas Themed, but something that definitely fits into the winter season. And hey, bonus ice cream!
- Colour My Fate - Part of the "Colour My..." series of point-and-click platformers by Silver Stitch, Colour My Fate is a bittersweet and awesome exploration of a world without color and the true meaning of Christmas.
Hi - FYI, 'Tannenbaum Escape' title link goes to the Minoto game. Thanks!
[Thanks! Fixed. :) -Jay]
Oh, GrinnyP ... what a wonderful Christmas smorgasbord! Thankyouthankyouthankyou :)
Happy Holidays!
I know the logic train in Minoto games can be a bit...ahh, shall we say "tenuous?"...but...the ending was just....What!?
Yay, thank you for reminding me of Colour My Fate. I loved that one.
I don't log into the site nearly as often as I should, but I felt like coming in and saying how much I enjoy GrinnyP's reviews. I enjoy the other reviews as well, of course, but it's always refreshing to read her newest stuff, especially on the topics of Christmas and Minoto. Happy Holidays, and thanks. :)
Oh wow the music in Gift Wrapped!
I think the game is boring after a while, but this tune keeps me hooked =D
Minoto walkthrough (*sings*)
On the twelfth day of Christmas, Minoto gave to me...
a key to open a chest
,
a water pump to empty a tub
,
a megaphone that I regifted to a mouse
,
a diet pill for the refrigerator monster
,
a broom to clean up a mess (thanks, Minoto)
,
a car key
,
the screwdriver used in all escape games, so I can take screws out of a computer and a drain
,
a cord for the computer
,
oh, and I can reuse the broom to...sweep ice off asparagus?
,
a hat to wrap flowers in
,
a computer chip soaked in water so I can use the button on the computer
,
a chess piece to open a present
and a
...Bomb!! Aaugh!
Oh! Thank you for the reminder of all the christmas-y escapes. I really love Neutral's Christmas series.
Is there no review for Christmas Escape 1? Unlike the other games the text link goes straight to Mya's site instead of the JIG review.
Christmas Escape 1 Walkthrough
General Information
You can collect giftwrapped presents throughout the game. They will go in a special inventory seperate from the inventory of items you can use in-game. You don't have to collect all the presents to escape the room, but finding them all will change the end scene after you escape.
Navigate by clicking arrows at the edges of the screen. There is no changing cursor, but most items are easy to locate. There are no color puzzles.
Door Scene
There's a present on the tree. Yay presents.
You can change the time on the clock by clicking the clock hands, but we don't know what time to set it to yet.
Turn left to the couch scene
Couch Scene
Click on both coats. Was that a present that just fell down? If you want you can click under the couch to retrieve the present. First, though, take the mittens off the coat hook.
Click the right coat again to return it to its original position. Take the second coat knob from the right.
Click the top of the trashcan to look inside. Take the paper and zoom out.
Click the bottom of the trashcan to lift it up. Take the star.
There are three presents on this screen.
The one that fell from behind the coat is under the couch
The one on the table is obvious
There is one under a couch cushion
Bed Scene
Open the curtains. Looks like there's a snowman on the sill, but the windows are frozen shut. The thermostat looks awfully low. Brrr.
The bottom drawer is missing a knob
Luckily, we have something that looks kind of like a drawer knob. Use the knob from the coat rack on the bottom drawer and take the book of matches
Click on the let bed leg and see "12." written there. Strange
There are four presents currently accessible on this screen
Click on the right bed leg to reveal a hidden compartment. Click on the rectangular outline on the bedframe to open it and take the present.
Click on the covers at the foot of the bed to reveal another present
Under Santa's hat
In the top drawer of the dresser
Fireplace Scene
Look, a fireplace! Wouldn't it be nice to be warm?
Take the wood from the woodbin. Put the wood in the fireplace, then the paper, then use the matches on the fireplace
How sad, one reindeer doesn't have a star
Use the star from the couch scene on the collar of the reindeer missing a star. A present will appear on the mantel
There are two more presents in this scene
In the woodbin
In the boot
Getting the Key
Hmm, the room should be warm now that the fire's going, yes?
Turn to the bed scene, and click on the thermometer for a closeup. You'll see the mercury rise. Now you can open the window
Click on the snowman. Note the number on the window frame: ".35" Take the fork from the snowman
You know, that cake looks yummy. . .
Turn to the couch scene. Use the fork on the cake.
Take the plate. Note the code under the plate, which changes each time you play
Turn to the fireplace scene and enter the code in the safe. Take the hammer.
Hammer time?
Open both windows and click on the large icicle on the left. It looks like there is a key frozen in there. Use the hammer on the icicle. Too bad it's too cold to pick up the icicle.
What's that you say? Mittens? Use the mittens on the icicle to take it.
Once you have the icicle you need to melt it.
Put the plate in front of the fire. Put the icicle on the plate. Take the key and plate full of water
Now you have the key, but some presents are still missing
Rounding up the last presents
That plant looks awfully sad, doesn't it?
Use the plate of water on the plant. Turn to a different screen, then turn back. Take the present off the plant, and the spoon from behind the pot.
What was up with those numbers on the bed and window?
The 12 had a dot after it, and close to the bottom of the line. The 35 had a dot before it, and close to the top of the line.
If you put them together, you get a time, 12:35. Click on the cuckoo clock and click the clock hands to set the clock to 12:35. Click on the cuckoo compartment to get the present.
Awfully rude to keep the snowman's arm, don't you think?
Click on the snowman. Use the fork on him to return his arm. Use the spoon on the snowman to give him another arm. Click on his hat to take the last present
Locations of all fourteen Christmas presents
This list is given in order of the inventory position, from left to right.
On the table by the cake
Under the bed covers - click on foot of bed
Under couch cushion
Inside Santa's boot
In the top drawer of the night table
In the can with the firewood
Under the hat on the night table
Hidden compartment in bedframe -- Click on right leg of bed, then on square outline
Above fireplace - place star on reindeer painting to reveal
Under the Christmas tree
Behind coats -- click on left coat, then click under couch to retrieve
Set clock to 12:35 then click on clock compartment
On the plant after it's been watered
Under snowman's hat after spoon & fork have been put on snowman
Okay, someone needs to provide a walkthrough for Tannenbaum escape. This game has more pixel hunting than I've been subjected to for some time now.
Tannenbaum Escape Walkthrough
General Information
Be prepared for lots of pixel hunting. And red herrings.
There are color puzzles. Complete directions for the color blind will be given. There will be a special section with just color descriptions if color blind players would rather not see the solution spelled out in detail.
Click and drag items from the inventory to use them. Double click on items in the inventory to examine them, if they are examinable -- not all are.
A pointing hand will appear on the sides or bottoms of screens for navigation.
Color Descriptions
There are four ornaments to collect, in four colors. When they are in the inventory, from left to right they appear in this order: blue, green, red, yellow.
There will be a clue telling you what to do with the ornaments. When you find the clue, the colors appear, from top to bottom, as red, yellow, blue, green.
There will be another screen with colored puzzles. From left to right, the colors are red, green, blue, yellow.
Collecting Items
Pick up the blue ornament from the rug in front of the tree.
Click the lower right of the tree to look behind it. Take the red ornament.
Turn right. Click under the dresser to take the lightbulb.
Turn right again. Click the pillow and take the yellow ornament.
Click the night table. There is a series of colored circles here. Clicking on the circles moves the line drawn from the center of the circle, almost like moving a minute hand on a clock face. We don't know the code though, so zoom out and turn right.
Click to the left of the chest of drawers and take the green ornament
Solving Puzzles
If you clicked on the lamps earlier, you would have noticed that there are already bulbs in the lamps by the bed.
Use the lightbulb on the lamp in the corner of the tree scene. Click the lamp to turn it on.
The lamp will illuminate four colored plus signs on the wall. The arrangment of the plusses corresponds to the arrangement of light green ornament hooks on the tree. Place the ornaments on the tree to correspond with the colored plus signs. Note the numbers that appear on each ornament. From top to bottom, and alternating right to left, the ornaments go red (third in inventory), yellow (fourth in inventory), blue (first in inventory) and green (second in inventory).
These ornaments here are the same color as those weird circles on the night stand
The number on each ornament is a time on a clock face. Match up the colors, and click each circle until the hand points to the correct time. From left to right, 5 7 2 11.
After the correct code is entered on the clockfaces, open the drawer and read the letter.
Take the first letter of each line to spell out a number code: 945
Use the above number code on the drawer in the mirror scene. Take the key and exit.
Tannenbaum Walkthrough
Pick up the blue bauble
Click bottom right of tree and pick up the red bauble
Turn right and get bulb from under cabinet.
Turn right and click on the pillow to find the yellow bauble
Turn right and click bottom left of the cabinet to get the green bauble.
Turn right and drag and drop the bulb onto the lampshade by the tree
Place the baubles on the tree(it's drag and drop and you're looking for the light green lines on the tree)
Note the numbers on the baubles.
Go back to the bed and click on the right bedside cabinet.
Imagine the circles as clocks and input the numbers from the baubles.
Open the drawer and get the letter.
Read dow the left most letters to get three numbers.
Turn left and click on the number coded door.
Put in the numbers, open it and take the key.
Use it on the door and you're out.
To the people who provided walkthroughs to Tannenbaum, thanks. That game's so precise about the exact spots you have to click on to find the hidden items that I'd never finish without you.
Present of Santa 2 was just... weird, even for Minoto.
On a related note, I was exploring Minoto's site and found another Christmas-ish game, Little Match Girl. (Yes, it's based on the story with the little dead girl.) So, if anyone's interested in giving a happier ending to a depressing children's story, I'd recommend you check out Little Match Girl as well. I thought it was hilarious.
<3 Minoto so much :)
I'm just wondering why you
make that bouquet of flowers
in the Minoto game ... because you never use it anywhere! Did anyone find a use for it?
Wow.Super late in commenting.
I just want to say that I loved the Doctor Who reference in the intro.:)
And thanks for reminding me of the Colour My Fate game;it's a really wonderful game.
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