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We each have three lives: the untouchable past, where our mistakes are stored; the immeasurable present, where we make them; and the impenetrable future, where they group and marshal. The present is the bottleneck: and the only reason most human pasts are not more untidy than they are is that we can only manage one mistake at a time. That bottleneck is the pinch in the hourglass, the restrictor which means events must pass us by one single grain at a time.

Planetarium is a hypertext story-puzzle. You jump to the website to find chapter one of the twelve part story there waiting for you. A sprinkle of descriptive text graces the top of a hand-drawn picture. As you click on links in the text, or elements of the picture, the text changes, describing the entire scene piece by piece. Tucked away amongst the chapter are three puzzles, one with a yes/no answer, one numerical, the other a single word. Each instalment follows this same formula.

To see the rest of the story you need to register, which is free and hassle-less. Chapters are doled out one a week, with a requirement that you check back once every ten days. I'll get back to that.

The puzzles require a mix of logic, web-crawling, lateral thinking, and mathematical ability, with bonus points for knowledge of the classic puzzle forms, several of which are pirated here. Fortunately you don't have to solve the puzzles to progress, otherwise I'd still be back at chapter three. I'm a fan of the wordplay and warped logic variety of puzzles, which are definitely in evidence here, but numberplay bores me to tears. Good thing there's more meat in the dish yet: the story.

Planetarium recounts the pastoral wanderings of a girl who can see the future (but immediately forgets the past), and a mathemagician who divines the future with complicated mathematics. Time is an important motif. Their journey over an unnamed fantasy land is described with wit and many tongue-in-cheek digressions and rambling footnotes about the fantastic creatures, strange people, wondrous places, and other things the protagonists encounter.

The whole thing is like a bizarre blend of Kit Williams, The Butterfly Ball, Bill Bryson, and Lewis Carrol. It makes me want to use words like delightful and charming, but there's more to it than that. Underneath the clever imaginary travelogue are seams of zen-like philosophy and a growing feeling of unease and impending tragedy which builds week by week as chapter twelve looms closer. The problem with puzzle-stories is often that the puzzles come first and the story is just an excuse to string them together, but not so with Planetarium. This story is easily atmospheric and well-crafted enough to stand alone.

As well as the 36 puzzles embedded in the tale, there's a major puzzle which can only be solved by using the minor puzzle solutions as clues. It may be a brilliantly worked-out puzzle, but I couldn't possibly have solved each of the clues. There are also a couple of unstated puzzles hidden in the story, including the contents of a mysterious letter which I was able to figure out, so hooray for me! What I'm trying to say here is Your Mileage May Vary. If you could out-riddle four hobbits and a sphinx (and I don't mean that piss-easy Goblet of Fire sphinx), then you'll doubtless love this element of Planetarium, but for those whose limit is the crossword it may be tedious waiting for the thirteenth week when the answers are revealed. Also waiting for you at the thirteenth week is a forum filled with messages left by former readers, which is a nice touch.

My only real gripe with Planetarium is the requirement that you drop by every ten days or your account will be cancelled. What with computer meltdowns, personal crises, and sheer laziness, it took me three tries to get all the way through.

But don't let that hold you back. Freeware rarely comes this good, and its usefulness for fantasy games should be obvious.

http://www.beholder.co.uk/planetarium

Planetarium
Planetarium Playtest Review by Jody Macgregor on 21/01/02 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) Story. Puzzles. Meditations about the nature of time. Monkeys. Product: Planetarium Author: Dave Whiteland Category: Web-based Story/Game/Thing Company/Publisher: www.beholder.co.uk Line: Cost: Free Page count: Year published: ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Playtest Review by Jody Macgregor on 21/01/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Comedy	We each have three lives: the untouchable past, where our mistakes are stored; the immeasurable present, where we make them; and the impenetrable future, where they group and marshal. The present is the bottleneck: and the only reason most human pasts are not more untidy than they are is that we can only manage one mistake at a time. That bottleneck is the pinch in the hourglass, the restrictor which means events must pass us by one single grain at a time. Planetarium is a hypertext story-puzzle. You jump to the website to find chapter one of the twelve part story there waiting for you. A sprinkle of descriptive text graces the top of a hand-drawn picture. As you click on links in the text, or elements of the picture, the text changes, describing the entire scene piece by piece. Tucked away amongst the chapter are three puzzles, one with a yes/no answer, one numerical, the other a single word. Each instalment follows this same formula. To see the rest of the story you need to register, which is free and hassle-less. Chapters are doled out one a week, with a requirement that you check back once every ten days. I'll get back to that. The puzzles require a mix of logic, web-crawling, lateral thinking, and mathematical ability, with bonus points for knowledge of the classic puzzle forms, several of which are pirated here. Fortunately you don't have to solve the puzzles to progress, otherwise I'd still be back at chapter three. I'm a fan of the wordplay and warped logic variety of puzzles, which are definitely in evidence here, but numberplay bores me to tears. Good thing there's more meat in the dish yet: the story. Planetarium recounts the pastoral wanderings of a girl who can see the future (but immediately forgets the past), and a mathemagician who divines the future with complicated mathematics. Time is an important motif. Their journey over an unnamed fantasy land is described with wit and many tongue-in-cheek digressions and rambling footnotes about the fantastic creatures, strange people, wondrous places, and other things the protagonists encounter. The whole thing is like a bizarre blend of Kit Williams, The Butterfly Ball, Bill Bryson, and Lewis Carrol. It makes me want to use words like delightful and charming, but there's more to it than that. Underneath the clever imaginary travelogue are seams of zen-like philosophy and a growing feeling of unease and impending tragedy which builds week by week as chapter twelve looms closer. The problem with puzzle-stories is often that the puzzles come first and the story is just an excuse to string them together, but not so with Planetarium. This story is easily atmospheric and well-crafted enough to stand alone. As well as the 36 puzzles embedded in the tale, there's a major puzzle which can only be solved by using the minor puzzle solutions as clues. It may be a brilliantly worked-out puzzle, but I couldn't possibly have solved each of the clues. There are also a couple of unstated puzzles hidden in the story, including the contents of a mysterious letter which I was able to figure out, so hooray for me! What I'm trying to say here is Your Mileage May Vary. If you could out-riddle four hobbits and a sphinx (and I don't mean that piss-easy Goblet of Fire sphinx), then you'll doubtless love this element of Planetarium, but for those whose limit is the crossword it may be tedious waiting for the thirteenth week when the answers are revealed. Also waiting for you at the thirteenth week is a forum filled with messages left by former readers, which is a nice touch. My only real gripe with Planetarium is the requirement that you drop by every ten days or your account will be cancelled. What with computer meltdowns, personal crises, and sheer laziness, it took me three tries to get all the way through. But don't let that hold you back. Freeware rarely comes this good, and its usefulness for fantasy games should be obvious. http://www.beholder.co.uk/planetarium