3 in Three
Encyclopedia
3 in Three is a 1989 computer game by Cliff Johnson
.
While bearing some similarities to his previous game, The Fool's Errand
, 3 in Three brought the meta-puzzle
to a new environment: inside the computer
. The tale this time is of a wayward number
3, lost in the innards of the computer by a power surge
. The 3 attempts to repair the damage caused by the power surge and make her way back to the spreadsheet
, providing the background story for the game.
A sequel, 3's a Crowd, has been mentioned as Cliff Johnson's next planned work after The Fool and His Money
.
, which went out of business in 1991; the license was then picked up by Inline Design, which went out of business in 1995. It is now freeware
and can be found on the author's website.n It includes information which allows the game to be played on Windows PCs.
in the Letter Legislature
. When the entire legislature is in place, a logic puzzle (see below) is used to properly order them, at which point the endgame begins; the hints found in previous puzzles are used to complete the meta-puzzle
and finish the game.
s or word search
es; instead, the puzzles tend to take full advantage of the possibilities of computer administration. Some of the prominent puzzle types include:
Cliff Johnson (game designer)
Cliff Johnson is an American game designer, best known for the early computer puzzle games The Fool's Errand and 3 in Three . Both games were notable for unique visual puzzles and a metapuzzle structure.- Biography :...
.
While bearing some similarities to his previous game, The Fool's Errand
The Fool's Errand
The Fool's Errand is a 1987 computer game by Cliff Johnson. It is a meta-puzzle game with storytelling, visual puzzles and a cryptic treasure map...
, 3 in Three brought the meta-puzzle
Meta-puzzle
A metapuzzle is a puzzle that unites several puzzles that feed into it. For example, five puzzles that had the answers BLACK, HAMMER, FROST, KNIFE, and UNION would lead to the metapuzzle answer JACK, which combines with all of those words to make new words and phrases.A "meta-meta" unites several...
to a new environment: inside the computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
. The tale this time is of a wayward number
Number
A number is a mathematical object used to count and measure. In mathematics, the definition of number has been extended over the years to include such numbers as zero, negative numbers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, and complex numbers....
3, lost in the innards of the computer by a power surge
Voltage spike
In electrical engineering, spikes are fast, short duration electrical transients in voltage , current , or transferred energy in an electrical circuit....
. The 3 attempts to repair the damage caused by the power surge and make her way back to the spreadsheet
Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
, providing the background story for the game.
A sequel, 3's a Crowd, has been mentioned as Cliff Johnson's next planned work after The Fool and His Money
The Fool and His Money
The Fool and His Money is a forthcoming puzzle game by Cliff Johnson. It is a self-published sequel to the 1987 game The Fool's Errand...
.
Release Information
Unlike his earlier games, 3 in Three was never ported, but was only released for the Apple Macintosh. It was initially released by CinemawareCinemaware
Cinemaware was a computer game developer and publisher that released several popular titles in the 1980s based on various movie themes. The company was resurrected in 2000, before being acquired by eGames in 2005.-Cinemaware Corp...
, which went out of business in 1991; the license was then picked up by Inline Design, which went out of business in 1995. It is now freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
and can be found on the author's website.n It includes information which allows the game to be played on Windows PCs.
Awards
3 in Three won the following awards:- 1991 MacUserMacUserMacUser is a biweekly computer magazine published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. and licensed by Felden in the UK.In 1985 Felix Dennis’ Dennis Publishing, the creators of MacUser in the UK, licensed the name and “mouse-rating” symbol for MacUser to Ziff-Davis Publishing for use in the rest of the world....
Game of the Year - 1990 MacWorldMacworldMacworld is a web site and monthly computer magazine dedicated to Apple Macintosh products. It is published by Mac Publishing, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California...
Game Hall of Fame - 1991 GAMES MagazineGAMES MagazineGames magazine is a United States magazine devoted to games and puzzles, and is published by Games Publications, a division of Kappa Publishing Group.-History:...
Best Puzzle Game of the Year
Structure
The game consists of many separate sections, each of which contains one puzzle. However, unlike Fool's Errand, each section may need to be visited multiple times, as it may carry along part of the story at times when it does not contain a puzzle. Each puzzle (upon completion) places one letterLetter (alphabet)
A letter is a grapheme in an alphabetic system of writing, such as the Greek alphabet and its descendants. Letters compose phonemes and each phoneme represents a phone in the spoken form of the language....
in the Letter Legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
. When the entire legislature is in place, a logic puzzle (see below) is used to properly order them, at which point the endgame begins; the hints found in previous puzzles are used to complete the meta-puzzle
Meta-puzzle
A metapuzzle is a puzzle that unites several puzzles that feed into it. For example, five puzzles that had the answers BLACK, HAMMER, FROST, KNIFE, and UNION would lead to the metapuzzle answer JACK, which combines with all of those words to make new words and phrases.A "meta-meta" unites several...
and finish the game.
Puzzles
Unlike The Fool's Errand, the puzzles in 3 in Three are rarely old pencil-and-paper standbys like cryptogramCryptogram
A cryptogram is a type of puzzle which consists of a short piece of encrypted text. Generally the cipher used to encrypt the text is simple enough that cryptogram can be solved by hand. Frequently used are substitution ciphers where each letter is replaced by a different letter or number. To solve...
s or word search
Word search
A word search, word find, word seek, word sleuth or mystery word puzzle is a word game that is letters of a word in a grid, that usually has a rectangular or square shape. The objective of this puzzle is to find and mark all the words hidden inside the box. The words may be horizontally,...
es; instead, the puzzles tend to take full advantage of the possibilities of computer administration. Some of the prominent puzzle types include:
- Lift puzzles - the 3 must navigate across a field of lifts by putting her lift and the lift to her right at the same level.
- Mesh puzzles - the 3 must change a mesh (of sizes ranging from 3x3 to 9x9) to match a given pattern.
- Missing vowels - the 3 must add missing vowelVowelIn phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s to common proverbProverbA proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...
s or homophoneHomophoneA homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose and rose , or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot, or to, two, and too. Homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms...
s. - Trapdoor puzzles - the 3 must open or close all of a set of doors; clicking on one door will toggle the open state of several others, with the exact set of doors toggled depending on the state of the door clicked. (Thus clicking on door 3 may open or close doors 1, 3, and 9 if it is open, but 3, 4, and 5 if it is closed.)
- Reordered word puzzles - the 3 must rearrange a word to spell another word in 3 clicks. Each click switches two letters; the letters switched depend on which letter is clicked and its position in the word.
- Logic puzzles - A grid of items must be rearranged to meet specific rules. (For example, a set of Roman numeralsRoman numeralsThe numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
may include a rule like 'XVI is north of XIV'.)