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Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It is an interactive fiction computer game written by Jeff O'Neill and published by Infocom in 1987. It was released simultaneously for several popular computer platforms of the time, such as the PC and Commodore 64. Nord and Bert was unique among Infocom games in that it was highly surrealistic, centering around wordplay and puns.
Plot
Nord and Bert defies easy description, and in fact almost seems to have been created in an effort to be as strange as possible. For example, the title and front box illustration (two farmers staring at an animal that consists of two cows' rear halves fused together) have nothing to do with the game. Rather, Nord and Bert revolves around several different kinds of wordplay, with a "chapter" of the game dedicated to each style. The first seven chapters can be played in any order, since each exists as an independent "short story" unrelated to the other chapters; to begin the eighth, however, the player must provide seven "passwords" provided by completing each of the other sections.
The only effort made to interlink the separate parts of the game is as follows: reality has somehow been altered around the town of Punster. Idioms and clichés are suddenly manifesting themselves quite literally, and it falls to the player, as it always does, to sort things out.
More on [ Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It ]
Lost Treasures of Infocom 2, The :: Text Adventures
Masterpieces of Infocom, The :: Text Adventures
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Infocom Documentation Project - PDF file of scanned original game manual.
Infocom Homepage: Nord and Bert - Description, box art, release information, game statistics, and packaging details.
MobyGames: Nord and Bert - User reviews, credits, box image, screenshot, trivia, and other information.
Meta Description: [ Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It for Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh by Infocom. (From the Infocom Home Page)
See if you can cut the mustard with your use of idioms, those commonly-use... ]
Review by Matthew Murray - Capsule review. For being a puzzle game, Nord and Bert succeeds beautifully, as quite a few of the word games you must play are difficult and not at all obvious.
Status Line: Nord and Bert: Pick a Peck of Pickled Puzzles - Text of game announcement from Infocom's newsletter.
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The Infocom Gallery: Nord and Bert - High-quality scans of box and cartoon booklet.
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