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Puzzle Game Competition / [LOCKED] Alchemists Apprentice

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Richard Davey
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Posted: 23rd Jul 2005 06:34 Edited at: 29th Jul 2005 17:46
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By Craig McFarlane (Scraggle)
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It took a short while to figure this game out, but we had we were hooked. Match up both colours and/or shapes on the alchemists grid in order to turn it from stone into gold. Ensure you read the instructions file before jumping into this game.

Download: http://72.36.165.83/Alchemists-Apprentice.zip

A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.
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Cassi
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Posted: 23rd Jul 2005 09:20
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I like this game a lot.
It has got me hooked. Definately my favourite so far.
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Richard Davey
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Posted: 23rd Jul 2005 09:25
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Yeah it's a great game for sure - my only complaint was that towards the end of a tricky level you can get 3 non-placeable tiles in a row and the game ends Really it should have at least given you one of those that you could place! With some further development I could easily see this game for sale on places like PopCap.com

A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.
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Scraggle
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Posted: 23rd Jul 2005 17:43
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Thanks for the feedback

Quote: "my only complaint was that towards the end of a tricky level you can get 3 non-placeable tiles in a row and the game ends"


Good to see you only have one complaint All the tile selections are random and if you get 3 in a row that won't fit then it is because you have boxed yourself into a corner and maybe need to rethink your strategy.

Quote: "Really it should have at least given you one of those that you could place!"


If I did that then the game would never end and I would have removed the main challenge and destroyed the gameplay


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Scraggle
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Posted: 23rd Jul 2005 22:24 Edited at: 23rd Jul 2005 22:25
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I suppose I really ought to vote for my own game. Of course even if it wasn't my own game I would vote this my Number 1 because it is such an addictive game.

I have been running it to test and then finding myself still playing it an hour later!
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Cavex
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Posted: 24th Jul 2005 04:23
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It a good game and like it. All action does happen quite slowly.
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Firewood
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Posted: 24th Jul 2005 08:46
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The link did'nt load. But i wanted to try the game. So i copied the link and try it by entering it in the adres line of IE. And its works. Now i'am playing it. The idea is not original. But the game play is mutch better then the game i have for the AMIGA. Graphics are great. Sound a little annoiing but when i turn it of it was ok. Loading time was long and nothing was happend during loading.
B.T.W. I have to recompile the program and after that it was ok.
For the rest the game play was good. And becaus i know already the rules it was easy for me to play the game. Games was good applyed.

Never say a question is stupid. Questions not ask are stupid.
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Mnemonix
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Posted: 24th Jul 2005 20:35
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I thought this game was most magnificently put together. It was based on an older game. The graphics and the gameplay are up to very high standards with perhaps the only drawback is the music (which I helped Scraggle to fix, but too late for the competition).

Anyway it gets my vote.

WE SHALL BECOME ALL POWERFUL! CRUSH THE LESSER RACES! CONQUER THE GALAXY! UNIMAGINABLE POWER! UNLIMITED RICE PUDDING ! ! ! ETC. ! ! ! ETC.! ! !
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fog
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Posted: 25th Jul 2005 06:39
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I really enjoyed this.

Graphics and sound are good but it was the gameplay that really got me.

My only complaint is similar to what Rich said....it doesn't matter how good you are at it and how well you plan, the last few moves too often rely on the luck of getting the right tiles.

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spooky
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Posted: 25th Jul 2005 07:06
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I love the gameplay but not had time to master it yet but at least it has qualities that make me want to play again.

I marked this as 8th position - just outside voting range.


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Scraggle
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Posted: 26th Jul 2005 06:31
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8th? .... Oh well 8 of 54 isn't bad ... thanks
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tiresius
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Posted: 26th Jul 2005 14:02
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I enjoyed this game. I think it's very well polished and has enough puzzle elements in it to make it quite fun. The graphics and sounds are REALLY GOOD.

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see it mentioned anywhere in the game or PDF that if you fill a row or column with shapes they all disappear. Vital to playing the game, and you'd think someone might notice that in the first game when it happens accidentally, but I lost a couple times first which is frustrating. :-(

Needs a title screen, and more tile types (wildcard?), maybe a short tutorial or tips on tactics. This is in my possible vote pile, I'll post again when I decide after seeing the others. Great job!

I'm not a real programmer but I play one with DBPro!
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Deadwords
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Posted: 27th Jul 2005 04:24
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Awsome game! this idea is great. it looks professional and deserves my 2nd place

good job!

=-{SKaleX}-= Current Projects: -The Killer 3D-=-Chaos Zone-
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Scraggle
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Posted: 28th Jul 2005 17:02
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Quote: "more tile types (wildcard?), maybe a short tutorial or tips on tactics"


There is a 'wildcard' tile and there is a tutorial on tips and tactics in the PDF read me file that is in the download .. which is where you will learn about the wildcard tile also.

I have put in a title screen but obviously it is too late for the compo so I am holding off releasing the latest version until after the voting is complete.

Thanks for the positive feedback
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Mr Bigger
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Posted: 29th Jul 2005 15:58
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I like this game.Looks good,easy to play,very addictive.
Good job.
Third place.

AMD 2.2ghz/512mb DDR ram/GeForce Fx5200 128mb/W2K pro/DBPro
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JoelJ
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Posted: 29th Jul 2005 19:09
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Addicting, but it's really slow moving, as in, it takes forever to get a high score. Are there special moves you can do other than clearing lines to give you more points? otherwise, the highscores are way too high for a default, i dont want random scores on my table, i want mine, and see if anyone in my family or my friends can beat my score. Other than that, this game is awesome, quite addicting! Sounds are good, and when you clear a line, the random animations, those are cool to

Jimmy wannabe
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tiresius
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Posted: 30th Jul 2005 06:51
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I'm giving this game second place. Good job!

I'm not a real programmer but I play one with DBPro!
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Grog Grueslayer
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Posted: 30th Jul 2005 10:44 Edited at: 30th Jul 2005 10:45
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This is cool. I like how the main screen looks. It gets my 3rd place vote.
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Binary Agents
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Posted: 31st Jul 2005 01:04
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Yeah, I liked this game too.
Very polished and professional looking indeed (especially the animation, special fx etc).
A tricky game but easy to play.
Nice of you to include the source code.

The only bad points I can think of are that I did have to recompile it due to the DirectX DLL problem (which isn't really your fault), and it runs a little sluggish at times even on my P4 1.6Ghz with an FX5200 card.
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Cavex
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Posted: 31st Jul 2005 16:23
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After play this few more times go to give this 4points.
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JTT765
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Posted: 1st Aug 2005 00:53
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Well done, nice looking game. It deserves a vote for sure.
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David T
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Posted: 1st Aug 2005 18:40
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Love the look of it - reminds of Bewjeweled.

"A book. If u know something why cant u make a kool game or prog.
come on now. A book. I hate books. book is stupid. I know that I need codes but I dont know the codes"
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Cassi
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Posted: 2nd Aug 2005 17:07 Edited at: 2nd Aug 2005 17:08
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I have to give this my FIRST place vote. I can't stop playing it!
It's a great puzzle game and those animations you get when you clear a level are great! They give it that 'just one more go' appeal because you want to see more of them. I love the Pacman one BTW.

Well done
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Ominous
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Posted: 4th Aug 2005 05:43
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It's a good game, but it seems too similar to Alchemist by Pop Cap games. http://games.yahoo.com/games/downloads/al.html

Now is the winter of your discontent.
-Stewie from Family Guy
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Scraggle
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Posted: 4th Aug 2005 20:33
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Yes it is. I said in the Program Announcments forum that I had based it on that very version of the game.

I think you will find that most (if not all) games here are based on another game and I dont think it is a bad thing.

Personally I am flattered that you think it is too similar to a commercial game. When I write my next FPS, my only wish is that you have the same crtisism ... it is too similar to Half Life 2

Thanks for the feedback

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Avan Madisen
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Posted: 6th Aug 2005 02:29
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Took me a short while to figure it out, and it's a damn nice concept. Very well done and I can't find any major faults with it. My only gripe is the it gets a repetetive way too quickly, I hadn't even finish one board and I was already getting a little bored.

I'd suggest adding an option to change the size of the board, so you can have larger and smaller games, although the existing board is certain big enough.

Well done, nicely presented with good clean graphics and plays well, for a short time. I'd put this in my top 10 (around about 6 or 7) but not in my top 4. Sorry Craig.

I don't suffer from insanity - I enjoy every minute of it!

Current Projects: Lemmings Remake & (undecided)
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The Darthster
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Posted: 7th Aug 2005 19:59
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This is very reminiscent of those flash games you get, in the good way. It's pretty addictive, and games last ages. I even like the music although if you mute and unmute the sound, the music doesn't come back. The graphics are good and in the style of these kind of games, although it seems to run a little slowly when you get lots of sprites on the screen. This is definitely one of my favourites, it missed out ever so slightly on being in my top 4

Once I was but the learner, now, I am the Master.
See my site for amazing games and demos!
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Jiffy
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Posted: 9th Aug 2005 12:20
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Great Game, I'm hooked! 3rd Place

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LordoFire
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Posted: 10th Aug 2005 07:44
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This is a very addictive game. I like the graphical style and everything is very well put together and presented. I give it numba 1!

When it comes to programing, I'm on fire!
Formerly known as flame master...Changed name because I do not flame
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It Wasnt Me
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Posted: 10th Aug 2005 17:42
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Easily 2nd place.

Pros:
Nice, smooth graphics
Well polished
Good menus
One of those games where you start and it's hard to stop!

Cons:
A little hard to pick up

Nice job!

2 of 53

If it was me, I wouldn't know it.
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Jess T
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Posted: 13th Aug 2005 09:36
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Pro's:
Very, very nice graphics!
The game play goes smooth, and increases in difficulty each level. The help-file is very good ( I recomend everyone read it ).
It's definatly a very well-rounded game, and the effort put into it shows.

Con's:
That "BUZZ" noise gets very irritating after a while, so I had to turn sound effects right down.
The puzzle element tends to... Go away in a sense, toward the end of the levels. I found myself just clicking on any blank spaces to see where it would let me put the peice.


Comment:
It's a nice game, but it slowly fell into the "I'll just click till it works" routine. Maybe more bombs toward the end of a level, or 'mega bombs' that take out an entire row or column ( or both, like in BomerMan ).
This is a game that is for those who want to have a break from menial tasks and try their brain at something a little more trying.

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Teh Go0rfmeister
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Posted: 13th Aug 2005 18:06
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i downloaded the zip of all these games, and went through them one by one. i wrangled it to the top 22, and now its top 10, and while i'm still in the process of working out who the top 4 are, the certain thing is, that this game will be one of them.

recomendation is that there should be a proper time penalty to eliminate, well, i think jessticular saysit perfectly:

Quote: "The puzzle element tends to... Go away in a sense, toward the end of the levels. I found myself just clicking on any blank spaces to see where it would let me put the peice."


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Pete Wylie should be famous
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Posted: 13th Aug 2005 22:17
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This is by far the most professional looking game here and is my first place by a country mile. Menu/Options screens are 1st class and the effects when a line is cleared is genius. Richard Davey is right in what he said...
Quote: "I could easily see this game for sale on places like PopCap.com"
...in my opinion this is the only commercial-quality game i've played in this competition.

Eeyor, the old grey donkey, looked at his reflection in the river. Pathetic, he said, that's what it is.
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Teh Go0rfmeister
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Posted: 14th Aug 2005 01:57
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help help! its not letting me vote!

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Teh Go0rfmeister
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Posted: 14th Aug 2005 02:03
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nope still not working. i wanted to give this entry 2nd place

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MiR
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Posted: 15th Aug 2005 21:56
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Quote: " nope still not working. "

Maybe you should talk to Rich. He`s on msn now I think.
Third place from me as it was well made AND interesting. Something you don`t see every day.


Gimme teh votez!!!!
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Peter H
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Posted: 16th Aug 2005 16:21
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Well, even though i don't have time to play this i'll give it 3rd place because it seems pretty darn cool...

"We make the worst games in the universe."

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Scraggle
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Posted: 19th Aug 2005 14:22
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Thanks for all the votes

Especially Peter_ who voted without even playing the game ... odd, but thanks

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Peter H
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Posted: 19th Aug 2005 16:11
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heh, i've seen enough of the wip...

and i'm lazy

"We make the worst games in the universe."

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Scraggle
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Posted: 20th Aug 2005 00:12
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Quote: "heh, i\\\'ve seen enough of the wip..."


Thanks ... it must have been a better wip than I thought

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TDP Enterprises
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Posted: 21st Aug 2005 19:34
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looks ok, but not my type of game.

“A lot of people approach risk as if it’s the enemy when it’s really fortune’s accomplice” - Sting“
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Scraggle
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Posted: 27th Aug 2005 15:32 Edited at: 27th Aug 2005 15:32
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3rd Place

Thanks to all that voted ... it has been a lot of fun

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Mnemonix
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Posted: 27th Aug 2005 15:56
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Yey!

I knew you would play. Only a few small votes away from second place.

Congratulations you clever cat you!.

WE SHALL BECOME ALL POWERFUL! CRUSH THE LESSER RACES! CONQUER THE GALAXY! UNIMAGINABLE POWER! UNLIMITED RICE PUDDING ! ! ! ETC. ! ! ! ETC.! ! !
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Peter H
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Posted: 27th Aug 2005 20:32
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Good Job!

i suppose i should download it and play it now that it's got third place and i voted for it

"We make the worst games in the universe."

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PiratSS
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Posted: 30th Aug 2005 09:52
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Grats on the 3rd place


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