Gamebooks (Choose Your Own Adventure Style)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Jugamos a una Aventura:  Desaparición en el Campamento Alternate Endings Part 5


Going back to camp in CHOICE #8 gives us a short scene of the tunnel collapsing and Fernando and Adrián lamenting being so close to the treasure, then generating the same Good Ending as taking the wide tunnel in CHOICE #9.  Choosing the lake option in CHOICE #4 or #5 is another path to the original Neutral Ending.  Going to the abandoned farm in CHOICE #4 or #5 has the same result.


Looks like RefSteel will have the same opinion about this book as they did about La Extraña Niebla Roja.  Gamebooks where there's only one "correct path" with minor deviations and the occasional failure aren't a good idea.


My only option left is to leave the camp immediately instead of searching Fernando's tent in the beginning.  We don't even recognize Fernando's shoes, so Adrián and I feel stupid for even looking for his footprints.  The road's also filled with other footsteps and tire tracks. 


Our CHOICE #12 is to visit the old farm or the cave.


When we go to the robber's hideout farm unwittingly, we stumble on a 70-year-old woman who asks what we're doing here.  The fat man appears, and we explain we're from Coexist With Nature.  We leave for a bit, and then get CHOICE #13.  Either we can go back to the camp and warn them about the robbers, or investigate ourselves stealthily.  (Is that a good option, considering they're already alert to us?)


Alerting the camp counselors is another generic Neutral Ending route, since they don't find anyone when they investigate the abandoned farm.  So let's sneak around the hideout ourselves.  I find a CHOICE #14 afterwards, giving me the option to either sneak through a broken window or check the barn.


The furniture past the window is broken and dirty, a bit like Montgomery's in No Me Llames Tami.  The old woman alerts "Manolo" to the fact that we're here.  The well-dressed man pulls out his pistol and we hold our hands up.  We then go to Scene 17 and a new ending.


"They tie your hands and feet and lock you in a room.  'Meddling kids, you're lucky we don't do anything to you', says the mean lady.  'Is everything packed?'


'A little while ago', says the fat brother.  'Finish it and let's go.  We're taking a chance on leaving now'.  'But maybe the police are still patrolling', says the tall thin man.  'We can't wait.  SWhen someone comes looking for the kids, we'll have problems', answers the mother.


They close the door and you listen to the sound of the truck leaving for a while.  You try to untie yourselves, but you don't manage to do it.  Your arms are asleep because of the ropes, but you can't do anything.  You scream for help until you lose your voices, knowing nobody can hear you.


The hours are passing, but you can't do anything.  You spend the night there, without being able to eat or drink.  The next day, in the middle of the morning, you hear noises outside.  'We're here!', you shout.  Two police officers appear.  'But, what happened here?'


They let you go and give you a drink.  'We've found them', says one of the police officers on the radio.  In a while, an ambulance arrives and helps you.  They bring you to the hospital, and an hour later your parents enter the room and hug you tightly. 


'We were so scared!', shouts your father.  'Now everything's over.', says your mother.  'Let's go home and forget about all this'.  You leave the hospital and get in the car.  While you go home, you can't avoid thinking about your companions, the counselors, and above all, Ernesto and Verónica, now that you couldn't say goodbye, and now you won't see them again.


But the questions that remain will be 'Who were those people and what were they hiding?  Where's Fernando?  END".



In most other CYOAs, the counselors would have found our skeletons tied to the chairs.  But this is a Jugamos a una Aventura, so we can't have any real danger.  Just think of this as a crappier Neutral Ending.  (Bad Non-Death Endings tend to have more dire consequences than a brief hospital stay.)


Results So Far


4 Good Endings

0 Deaths

0 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Jugamos a una Aventura:  Desaparición en el Campamento Alternate Endings Part 6


I'll check out the barn/stable in this episode instead of going through the broken window in CHOICE #14.


Adrián and I hear a short conversation among the robbers and determine this has nothing to do with Fernando.  (True, because my metagame knowledge tells me he's in the caves below the abandoned house.)


CHOICE #15 is to either leave at once like Adrián advises, or wait.  I should know better than to trust Adrián, but I'll do so anyway for completion's sake.  We determine these people are the robbers when we find a landscape picture in the TV box.  Our CHOICE #16 is to either ask Adrián to take the picture, or steal the car keys and cell phone instead.


Taking the picture is not the way to go.


"Take the picture!', you shout.  Your friend finally reacts and does what you tell him to.  You two start to run, although little by little you're going faster than Adrián, who is struggling under the weight of the large box.  You reach the fence and cross it without problems, and later continue running.  'We've almost done it!', you shout, turning your head to your friend.


Then you realize he's very far behind and that the well-dressed brother is running behind him, although he can't reach him yet.  At that moment, Adrián trips on a rock that he doesn't see because of the box, and falls.  The box with the picture flies from his hands.  You stop running and turn around.  Your friend is being lifted while your pursuer falls on him and immobilizes him.


'Damn kids!', he shouts.  Without knowing what to do, you decide to leave your friend behind and look for help as soon as possible.  While you go away, you can't avoid crying because you feel you've been a coward, although you know that you couldn't have done anything to save him.  You reach the camp panting due to stress, and you knock on the front door so they can open it.


A few seconds later, they do it and you run to Ernesto, who's carrying bags to the kitchen.  'Where did you come from?', asks an angry counselor.  However, you don't have time to answer him.  'Don Ernesto!  Don Ernesto!'  The old man turns around and looks at you with worry upon seeing your desperate face and your cheeks that are wet with tears.  You explain to him what happened and he takes out his cell phone and dials the police's number with shaky hands.


You fall to the ground, at the edge of exhaustion, and without being able to think about your friend and what they must be doing to him.  Doña Verónica puts a hand on your shoulder and helps you get up.  'Don't worry.  Nothing will happen.', she says with a calm smile.  At once she makes you sit on a chair on the porch of her small house and offers you juice.


'Are you fine?', asks your worried friend Marina.  'Has something happened to Adrián?'  But you aren't capable of responding.  A dozen companions surround you, intrigued by what's happening.  But you don't talk.  The only thing you want is for your friend to be fine.  'Out of here!', shouts the old woman.  'Don't bother him now.  He has to rest.'


An hour later, the enclosure opens and a police car enters.  You stand up with a jump and run to meet it.  From inside the car, 2 officers, a man and a woman get out, but you don't see Adrián anywhere.  'Don't worry', says the woman.  'Your friend is fine.  They brought him to the hospital and later took a statement from him'.


'Hospital?  What had they done to him?', you shout in anguish.  'They only tied him up.  But he's a bit rattled, nothing more.  Nothing to worry about'.  For the next hour, you talk to them about what happened, and respond to all their questions, until they finally leave.


Next morning, they tell you that Adrián's parents went to the hospital and brought him home.  So you spend the last week of your vacation without your best friend.  Nothing is known about Fernando, or the thieves and pictures. 


In the afternoon, all the parents arrive and pick up their kids.  A few hours ago, it started to rain heavily, and leaving the camp is a messy business.  While you leave with your parents in the car, you look at the beautiful place for the last time.


Ernesto and Verónica dismiss you with their hand while they look at you with sadness.  You also feel sad, knowing that those old people are going to lose what they spent their lives on, and were always passionate about.  And Fernando. . .what has become of Fernando?  END".


These characters trip a lot, don't they?  At least Adrián has the excuse of being unable to see his surroundings because he's lugging around a TV box with a stolen picture inside.


"Despedir de [object pronoun] con la mano" must be the way of saying "wave goodbye" or something similar.


"Damn kids!" is "¡Malditos niños!"  "Malditos" is likely milder than what my translation indicates, because it's in children's media, but the connotation is similar.


I'm having more fun including these odd translation notes than reading the book.


Results So Far


4 Good Endings

0 Deaths

0 Bad Non-Death Endings

3 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Jugamos a una Aventura:  Desaparición en el Campamento Alternate Endings Part 7


We don't get a much better ending when we take the cell phone and keys in CHOICE #16, because this is 22 Minutos:  Tibicenas lite and we can't have more than one path end well!


"The cell phone and the keys!', you shout.  Your friend pays attention to you and you run far from the farm.  'Eh, you!', you hear behind you  a few seconds later, although you don't stop running.  A while later, you stop, tired but happy.  'We'll see how the leave now', says Adrián, shaking (agitar) the keys and laughing.


You take the cell phone and call the emergency number and from there you go to the police, after insisting it's not a prank.  One the call is finished, you go back to the camp.  When you arrive, the main door is open and Ernesto is unloading backs from his truck a few meters ahead.  'What's up, kids?', he asks you upon seeing you.  You tell him all that happened, and he's astonished.  It seems he isn't going to believe you.  However, he immediately takes out his cell phone and calls the police.


'You shouldn't have risked it.  That was insanity.', he tells you after hanging up worriedly.  'Give me the cell phone and the keys and continue with your activities.  Although you obey, you can't avoid thinking about what happened for a while.  Just before dinner, Don Ernesto approaches you.  The old man is sitting on a chair on the porch of his small house.


'Have they caught those guys?', asks Adrián.  At that moment you see that tnext to him are 2 police officers, also sitting down.  'Did you catch them?', you ask excitedly.  'There was no one there when we arrived', one of the police tells you in a friendly matter.  'Not even the truck?  But we have the key!', you shout with astonishment.  'But we haven't made it up!', adds Adrián almost at the same time.


'We know.  We've found recent tire tracks, besides several water and beer bottles, and bags with empty cans of food.  Surely they had a backup (de recambio) key.'  'And a TV in the barn?', asks Adrián.  'No'.  'Then they've left', you say ashamed.  'But we have the cell phone.  Tell me everything that you can about where they were and the car they had'.


For the next hour, you tell them every detail.  As soon as they leave, many kids approach you.  'Why had the police come?  What did they ask you?'  You tell them what happened, and the story doesn't take long to reach everyone in the camp.  The majority believe you, but there are some who think you made it up.  No one stops talking about it for the next day, and in the middle of hte morning, it begins to rain heavily, so you can't do anything else.


When you stay a while until everyone's parents arrive and you leave, Ernesto approaches you protected by an umbrella.  'Kids, come over hear', he tells Adrián and you.  You go to the porch of his house quickly to avoid the rain.  Next to a small table, there's a radio that's playing the news.


'They just said it!', he shouts.  'About the robbery!'  'Did they catch them?', ask Adrián and you at once.  'Yes, thanks to the cell phone you stole from them'.  'That's fantastic!', shouts your friend.


'But they haven't recovered the pictures.  It seems they burned them when they were trapped.  It was already imagined that they would be caught, due to you having their phone'.  'Wow, what bad luck!', you say.


A little bit later, your families arrive, and you dismiss everyone.  Nothing is known about Fernando, and you'll never return to that summer camp.  END".


At least the robbers are caught, although the valuable pictures are probably ashes.


Results So Far


4 Good Endings

0 Deaths

0 Bad Non-Death Endings

4 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings



 

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Jugamos a una Aventura:  Desaparición en el Campamento Finale:  Pointless Side Routes


Opting to wait in CHOICE #15 takes us to the same Neutral Ending as CHOICE #14, though the well-dressed man at least gets to taunt us with "Didn't you know there's a expression that says that curiosity killed the cat?"


(Yes, that exact idiom exists in Spanish as "la curiosidad mató al gato".)


So let's go to the cave in CHOICE #12 instead.  Adrián is nervous about this.  We meet some new cardboard characters named Manuel, Fran, and Ignacio, who greet us with "¡Hola pequeñajos!"  They were sitting on the ground while laughing, and look like they're about to fall while they're getting up.  Remember my inner ear joke from before?  Maybe it's a common problem in Jaime Blanch Queral land.


It looks like they're drunk on the next page.  'Look, it's our mom coming to scold us".  Adrián and I jump a fence without much trouble, but the others tear up their clothes on the barbed wire.  They're excited about potential treasure, though.


We hear a noise that must come from an animal.  CHOICE #17 is to either go into the cave with the drunks or wait outside.


Staying behind is a good decision, although the older kids call us "losers" for doing so.  An "enormous shadow" chases behind them, which turns out to be a bear.  The illustration must be copied from a different source from the rest of the pictures.


"Ignacio, a very short and chubby boy, loses his balance once over the gate, and falls, kitting his forehead against a stone on the ground".


Manuel says he's going to vomit because he can't stand seeing blood.  Adrián responds "If you vomit, it's because you're drunk like a barrel (cuba)".


Don Ernesto appears with his old truck.  He's angrier than usual this time when we tell him about jumping the fence and seeing the bear.  "It could have killed you!  You're insensible!"  We then get the CHOICE #2 Neutral Ending.  The same thing happens if I go in the bear cave too, but there's an extra scene where Ignacio pushes me and makes me crash into a tree on the way out.


And that's the end of Desaparición en el Campamento!  If you don't go on the exact routes the author wants, tough begonias.  I'm too annoyed with Jaime Blanch Queral to move on to El Elfo de las Nieves, because it'll probably be the same thing.  Maybe Movie Mystery Madness?


If nothing else, these terrible obscure CYOAs are excellent Spanish practice.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

El Misterio de la Casa Abandonada Part 1


Our next book won't be Movie Mystery Madness, but another Spanish installment that translates as "The Mystery of the Abandoned House".  Andrés Reina wrote it instead of Jaime Blanch Queral, so hopefully it'll be better.  Or at least have more than one plot branch.


The first page has an illustration of a map of a "Mansión Fantasma" (Ghost Mansion) drawn on paper.  It has various words and arrows pointing to different rooms and furniture.  One says "Biblioteca", so we can expect another Creepy House style library.  Will the books there be in English, which our main character can't read?  There's a secret passage under what looks like a rug in the "Salón".


I'm at home at 2:00 PM.  None of this 22 Minutos:  Tibicenas 24-hour guff.  The phone rings, and my uncle Gerardo wants to talk to me.  (The plot device relative in No Me Llames Tami was an uncle too.  "El tío" is always up to something in fiction.)


Gerardo calls me Tommy, not Tami, and I seem to appreciate the nickname more than the unlucky lady in that Argentine book.  Gerardo says "I called to ask you if you want to come with me to an investigation we're starting today in an abandoned house in Providencia.  I'll go with my assistants Juan and Miguel.  What do you think?  Are you coming with us?".


I immediately answer with a "Yes" because otherwise there's no story.  My character is nervous about this, however.  Gerardo is a detective whom the police call when they "don't have time to focus on some cases".

 
As soon as we get to the house, I get out of the car and start to walk.  Gerardo, Juan, and Miguel are too busy looking at the car to notice.  Soon, I hear something and stop.  I "don't know what to do".  This is the prompt for CHOICE #1.  Should I return to Gerardo, or go solo?


This isn't an RPG challenge playthrough, so I'll stick with Gerardo this time.  Doing so gives me an illustration of some Tintin lookalike looking at a cartoon house.  (I don't read Tintin, but I know he resembles this guy at least.)


I tell Gerardo I saw a "shadow slipping away over here".  He says "I know there are people who pass themselves off as ghosts and. . .later we'll go to investigate, but first we have to stay in a semi-abandoned house that's on the corner".


What does "semi-abandoned" mean anyway?  Either there's at least one person there, or not.  We arrive at a large house, courtesy of the "ustedes" plural "you", and not the Spain-only "vosotros".  I determine the house is abandoned because of the tall grass and weeds growing in the yard.  I expect the place to be dirty, but it's surprisingly clean once inside.


Gerardo tells me to go around the house to get to know it better while the others unpack.  First, I go to the "salón" where I see a large chimney and many firewood logs.  Later, I see a room with 2 beds and a big wardrobe, and there's also a large window where I can see the "whole exterior".  The books in the library have titles like "Legends of America" and "Ghosts on Board"  (Fantasmas a Bordo).


I should point out here that "América" often refers to the continent in Spanish instead of the United States.  And Latin Americans often treat America as one continent.  (See Mafalda comics where the kids have to draw a map of "América".) 


Anyway, CHOICE #2 is to either pursue the shadow in the library, or call Gerardo for help again.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

El Misterio de la Casa Abandonada Part 2


When I call Gerardo again, I see the shadow running toward the library, but nobody finds anything there.  Suddenly, the back door is slammed.  We go there and see a man running to the woods with a bag in his hands.  Though the "bolsa" looks more like a sack in the picture.  We pursue him to an "enromous cave", but he's waiting for us and points a gun at us.  We hide behind a rock, but the man is getting closer.  Miguel pounces on him and knocks his gun away. 


Gerardo interrogates him.  "What's your name?"  "José."  "How did you come to stop here?"  "I was going on the route to Los Angeles when I saw this ghost town and decided to take a look.  Since that day, I've lived here and I eat the leftovers (sobras) that some of the neighboring houses throw away."


After we're done talking, we investigate the cave.  Once inside, we hear knocks underground.  There's a door on the floor to what seems to be a basement.  But I can't open the door because it's too heavy.  Gerardo does it instead, and Juan and Miguel are tying up José. 


Under the door is an old man, though this book is more polite than Desaparición en el Campo and calls him a "hombre mayor" instead of an "anciano".  When we free him, he says "My name is Joaquín.  I'm a professor at the University, and this wicked man kidnapped me days ago to take control of my invention."  Joaquín's invention is "an apparatus to turn everything into pure gold".


But there's one problem:  Juan and Miguel are lousy at subduing criminals.  José just freed himself, and says this:  "No!  Don't do it!  I have a gun and I'm ready to use it.  Don't get any closer."  He's now called a "ruffian" in the narration.  Miguel's knocked out, and the verb used to describe that is the English loanword "noquear".


"If you get closer, I'll shoot.  Don't call the police, or I'll kill you.  Go to the basement.  I'll get out of here and leave you in peace".  Joaquín tells me "I have a car out back".


CHOICE #3 is to either risk it and tell Gerardo to call the cops, or let José go.


No need to risk it this time.  I'll let the robber go and see what happens.  We suddenly get a CANONICAL ENDING.


"You decide to let the evildoer go.  When you release him and he escapes, you hear the police siren.  It doesn't take long for them to apprehend the thief.  You ask your uncle how he did it, and he answers:


'I did it with this small device', he begins to say when he takes a GPS out of the inside pocket of his jacket.  'I called the police and gave them the necessary coordinates (coordenadas) to locate us.'


After the danger passes completely, your uncle gives you a surprise.  All of you will live in the Ghost Mansion until the investigation finishes.  Of course he'll have to make preparations.  END".


So a realistic approach of "not playing the hero" works out well!  The thief is caught, and we'll stay at the allegedly-haunted house.  Though with José gone, it's probably not so "haunted" anymore.  He deserved to be caught for not checking to see if we had cell phones.


Results So Far


1 Good Endings

0 Deaths

0 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

El Misterio de la Casa Abandonada Alternate Endings Part 1


Asking Gerardo to call the police doesn't kill us off like you'd expect.  Instead, it gives us an alternate Good Ending.  José should give up his life of crime if he can't defeat us in a CHOICE where he has a chance!


"Secretly you tell your uncle that there's a car outside the cave and he should call the police.  Rapidly, your uncle flees before the kidnapper José can see him.  He's very busy trying to do many things at once, like controlling you and untying his bonds.  You look at the floor and see a piece of an old rag.  Before the ruffian realizes what you're doing, you kick the gun out of his hand and blindfold him with the professor's help.  Later, you hide behind large wooden drawers with the professor.


'José can't take off the blindfold because he has only one hand untied', you tell the professor.  A few moments later, the sound of engines can be heard.  It's your uncle and the police who are coming to help you.  The police deal with the kidnapper and you go to see Juan.


'Don't worry', you tell the professor.  'The bullet that hit José is nothing more than a tranquilizer dart.' 


'Thank God.  Let's get out of here then.', says your uncle.  In this manner, you exit the cave and everyone goes home.  END".


Did the narration mix up Juan and José?  Maybe CYOA writers shouldn't have 2 names that start with the same letter and have the same number of letters.  Miguel was the assistant whom José knocked out, not Juan.


Results So Far


2 Good Endings

0 Deaths

0 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

El Misterio de la Casa Abandonada Alternate Endings Part 2


This route will involve me pursuing the shadow solo in CHOICE #2.


José doesn't notice me following him towards the cave.  This time, the place has a "very large stone room with a table, a chair, drawers, and various jewels scattered on the floor.  You see the man sit down and begin to look in that medium-sized sack he brought."  I look long enough to suspect it's gold, and then leave when "you think you've looked too long and decide to return to the 'mansion'".  (There are finger quotes around "mansion" in that sentence for some reason. . .)


Gerardo was worried while I was gone, and I tell him "I went to take a little walk", but not any details.  I decide to look for a look in the library, but it seems there's gold in one of the books.  I then have a CHOICE #4.  The 1st option is to wake everyone up and tell them about the gold, then catch José when he comes back to the mansion.  The 2nd one is to go to the cave, similar to what we did in the previous endings.


Picking the former takes me to CHOICE #5 almost immediately.  There are about 2 paragraphs of exposition saying how I shake Gerardo to wake him up, and then put the plan into motion.  My options are to either hide behind "the door", or "behind the desk with your uncle".


Selecting the door gives us an ending.


"You decide it would be better to hide behind the door.  You look at your watch and it says 8:00 sharp, the time when the thief ought to arrive.  Suddenly, you feel the door behind opening, and a few footsteps going where you are.  The man enters and when he opens the door, he doesn't notice your presence.  The wicked one turns to the left, toward the first bookshelf.  You follow him silently.


You think it would be better to seize him by the legs and later your uncle and his assistance will trap him.  You prepare to jump, and leap to take his feet.  The man doesn't know what's happening and falls to the floor in confusion.  You rapidly react and call Juan.  The three come and subdue the thief.  Miguel places the man's hands on his waist and Juan begins to tie them so he can't escape.  Your uncle congratulates you and Juan brings the man to lock him in the second bathroom.


Now, with your companions, you go to investigate the cave, in case you find some clue.  In the cave, you find a pile of jewels and gold spilled throughout the floor.  Miguel soon finds a paper that has the following writing:


I, MONSIEUR TELLIER, BEQUEATH ALL MY GOODS TO MY NIECE JESSICA, AND ESPECIALLY MY GOLD THAT I HID IN THE LIBRARY.  I CHARGE THE BUTLER ROBERTO WITH DELIVERING THIS SEALED NOTE.


Everyone is astonished, including you.  You immediately call the police and tell them about what happened.  After a few days, they've located Jessica Tellier and gave them her rightful inheritance.  Regarding the thief, they told you that he went to jail.  But the best thing is that for you four there is a 10,000 dollar reward!  END".


So what's up with Joaquín the successful alchemist who turns stuff into gold?  Does he not exist in this timeline?  Is this going to be one of those CYOAs where my decisions alter history itself, like La Isla de los Dodos or No Me Llames Tami?  Will the characters realize the implications of creating new gold, from financial speculation to possibly disposing of toxic waste?  Or have I already thought more about this than Andrés Reina?


Anyway, I translated "heredar" as "bequeath" because it seemed to fit.  It usually means "to inherit", but can mean "to bequeath" in Latin American dialects.


Results So Far


3 Good Endings

0 Deaths

0 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

El Misterio de la Casa Abandonada Alternate Endings Part 3


Hiding with Gerardo behind the desk sounds sensible, but leads to our first Death by means of the otherwise incompetent José.


"You prefer to hide with your uncle and catch him together.  The wicked man already arrived and begins to search for gold among many books.  You leave with your uncle to trap him, but the man sees you and takes a gun out of the inside pocket of his jacket.  You quickly run to catch him, but he says:


'Take this, little meddler!', and shoots you.  Those were the last words you heard in your life.  Regarding your uncle and his assistants, you'll never know the fate that awaits them.  END".


There's nothing in the text prior to CHOICE #5 that indicates hiding with Gerardo is a bad idea.  I suppose you could argue that attacking from different angles is better, but it still seems a bit of a stretch in context.


"Little meddler" is "pequeño entrometido" in the original text.


Results So Far


3 Good Endings

1 Deaths

0 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

El Misterio de la Casa Abandonada Alternate Endings Part 4


Going with the cave plan in CHOICE #4 leads to a short conversation and CHOICE #6.


"Gerardo, Miguel has disappeared!  And I found this note on his bed".  This says "Abandon the case or you're lost.  Don't bother calling the police".


"The problem is that there's no signature', adds your uncle.  'Maybe it's the person I saw in the cave.  He will have seen me and that's why he's threatening us', you say".


(Don't ask me why the future perfect "habrá visto" is used in that sentence. . .)


Regardless of odd verb tense usage, CHOICE #6 is to either investigate the cave, investigate the mansion, or "run the risk of calling the police".  "Run the risk" is a literal translation of "correr el riesgo".


Calling the police gives me an odd illustration of 3 human silhouettes covered by a cone of light or something.


"It seems best to call the police', you say.  'I don't think he's watching us".


But then we hear "Damn, you've disobeyed my order.  You'll pay dearly!"  The "damn" is "malditos", actually a plural noun that doesn't have an equivalent in English.


A "very brilliant light" absorbs us, and it seems everyone else has disappeared.  "Now you find yourself alone, and in front of you there are 2 doors:  Number 1 and Number 2.  The same voice that you heard previously says this next:  'I'm a wizard, boy.  Now. . .choose!"


Andrés Reina must have written this book to troll me.  CHOICE #7 combines two pet peeves of mine in CYOAs:  Let's Make a Deal and wizards.  This wizard is a "mago".  We don't get any clue as to which door is the correct one.


Door #1 is not the way to go.


"You finally decide to open Door #1.  You open it and you're blinded by a very brilliant flash.  At first, you don't see anything, but later you see your friends locked in glass capsules.  You hear the wizard's voice again:


'Your friends will do for finishing my sinister experiments!  Ha ha ha!'


You're even more afraid, and you try with all your strength to leave.  But when you attempt it, you're trapped in another glass capsule.  END".


Yes, our unnamed evil wizard actually says "sinister experiments", or "siniestros experimentos".


After the Jaime Blanch Queral books that were overly nice to the reader, it's oddly refreshing to see non sequitur Deaths and worse fates!


Results So Far


3 Good Endings

1 Deaths

1 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings