<!--
	Title: Ballyhoo - Under the Big Top
	Source: QuestBusters, v3(4)
	Date: April 1986
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd -- yes,
the circus is in town, and now you don't even have to leave
home to visit the big top. For "The Traveling Circus That
Time Forgot" is the setting of the latest Infocom mystery, one
that follows the style of *Suspect* by casting you as an
ordinary citizen rather than a detective or policeman. It's a
good idea: the "hard-boiled detective" theme has become as
stereotyped and cliched as "find and slay the evil wizard."

<h2 class="center">DESPERATELY SEEKING CHELSEA</h2>

As the circus shuts down for the night, the adventure begins.
The place is deserted, and nothing happens until you hide
inside the prop tent and eavesdrop on a conversation
between the circus owner, Mr. Munrab, and a private detective.
Munrab's daughter, Chelsea, has been kidnapped, and he has hired
the p.i. to find her because he's afraid she'll be harmed if he
calls the cops. The ransom note he hands over the the
detective, and they both exit stage right. Without any solid
clues to go on -- perhaps there's a way to get the note from the
detective? -- your best bet is to explore the grounds and see
what happens. (At least the manual hints that the
kidnapping is an inside job and suggests this as the most
effective line of investigation.)

Beneath the big top, you can walk the high wire or try your
hand at lion-taming in a cage with a pair of hungry cats.
More wild animals await on the midway: Mahler the gorilla and
Hannibal the elephant. There you'll also find the expected
freaks and other sideshows. Tina the 827-pound fat lady
(one location is called "West Side of the Fat Lady") Andrew
Jenny, a half-man/half-woman, and Rimshaw the Incomparable,
a bizarre but helpful hypnotist. His brand of hypnosis might be
called addictive in a way, for you could easily wind up with a
monkey on your back. A practicing soothsayer, Rimshaw
will also read your palm, or feel the bumps on your head and tell
your future.

Reaching the midway requires solving the problem of getting
through the turnstile. The solution is simple, but can't be
used to get beyond the other turnstile, through which
Chuckles the Clown and the midget Comrade Thumb
disappear early in the game. There are a few other characters,
some of whom are helpful, but most of the puzzle-solving
hinges on objects rather than character interaction. Instead of
conducting an investigation by questioning suspects as in
*Deadline* or *Suspect*, you'll want to concentrate on
searching the grounds for a likely hiding place. Rimshaw
transports you to one set of locations in a most unusual
manner.

Despite solutions that are sometimes obvious, the
problems still cannot be classified as easy. (Infocom
calls it a Standard Level game, like *Cutthroats* and *Planetfall*.)
One enigmatic clue turns up in the form of a cassette player
that holds a Jimi Hendrix tape. At least one more is found in
the packaging, which includes a balloon, a ticket to the circus,
and a card touting the virtues of Dr. Nostrum's Extract. This
potion is guaranteed to cure everything from toothaches to
pin worms (and as Dave Letterman says, we all know
how painful that can be).

Written by Jeff O'Neil, who has been at the company since
1984, this is among the funniest of the Infocom games.
O'Neil sets you up with a serious and literate tone,
tricking you into anticipating one thing, then catches you off
guard with something else from his madcap imagination. When
you hear a growl nearby, right after seeing the crowd in a state
of pandemonium, naturally you expect to turn and see an
escaped lion; instead you discover the sound originates
from a different and totally unexpected source -- your
stomach! The crowd scene, in which you flashback to earlier
in the evening, is a riot; it is one of those rare moments in
interactive fiction that really makes you feel like you are in
the scene. In addition to the humor, I enjoyed the assortment
of fun things you get to do during in *Ballyhoo*. It reminded
me of *Sorcerer* in this sense, with the amusement park and
its log ride, scary house and arcade. The author has also
devised some fresh, unexpected responses to player commands
that don't elicit the desired result.

My sole complaint, and this is a minor one indeed, is that
you're not promoted to a higher rank -- Planetary Commodore,
Novice Adventurer -- at various plateaus as you collect more of
the games' total 200 points. This was also true of
*Wishbringer*, whose author later said he had to omit the ratings
because the memory was being used for other things. Perhaps
that's the case here.

Danger stalks your every move, though rarely will you
realize it until it's too late and you wind up -- no, not dead.
Ingeniously, O'Neil rigged a way of treating fatal mistakes
with a touch of black comedy that stops short of death. That's
like a breath of fresh air in a cave full of bat guano, for
everyone must be getting weary of being killed so frequently in
adventures. So if you've always dreamed of running away with
the circus, here's your chance. And if that sounds like a lot of
ballyhoo, well, that's the name of the game.

<hr style="border-top: 4px double;">

Computer: All, including Amiga and ST<br>
Skill Level: Intermediate<br>
Price: $34.95<br>
Manufacturer: Infocom
