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Claude Barkley's avatar

I have never seen one of the decoders, very impressive

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J.Q. Graziano's avatar

I was surprised to find it as well, Claude! It actually works better than the other strip of red cellophane from the other module. I guess it really is "magic" ✨

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Steven Owsiany's avatar

How did you get your hands on this with the decoder? That’s impressive and what a great time it must have been to play this

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J.Q. Graziano's avatar

Lucked out finding it on eBay! Sometimes I'll see original-shrink-wrapped items when on a hunt, but I never buy them since I'm going to rip them open and would feel bad after they've been preserved for so long!

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Retroist's avatar

Misplacing that piece of red cellophane was a real pain. I remember having to look through every book and piece of paper I owned until I finally found that it had slipped behind my desk.

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J.Q. Graziano's avatar

LOL! And those were the days before you could improvise with red Saran wrap! Although, interesting enough, I was experimenting last year by coloring a clear piece of plastic with a red marker to somewhat acceptable results. Anyway, I feel your retro-red-pain, Retroist!

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Croaker's avatar

This is a fantastic rundown of the two solo modules from TSR, Midnight on Dagger Alley and Mystery of the Snow Pearls. I wonder if TSR should have spent less time on gimmicks and more time on crafting interesting solo adventures?

Also interesting to note that in the 1980s (and the 1970s to an extent) solo gaming was just following along and doing what Gamebooks were already doing effectively. To me it seems that Fighting Fantasy books were far superior to these TSR products.

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J.Q. Graziano's avatar

I can't disagree, Croaker. Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, Tunnels & Trolls, and other gamebooks were probably the greatest for the soloist RPG player. Although, the "Super Endless Quest" gamebooks I read by TSR were really good in their own right. Thanks for commenting!

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Henry Martinez's avatar

I never knew about these, thanks!

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J.Q. Graziano's avatar

Thanks Henry! They were definitely fun to explore.

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