I am rather late playing through this (was waiting til I had become a Courier’s Footprint), and find myself stuck. I’ve played all the cricket I can but need the Third Stroke in order to make an accusation. Does anyone recall where the b____y thing might be found?
Ah! I had to go back and futz with the bats in the the Department of Chiropterochronometry again! Of course the solution comes no sooner than the question is asked.
Now, onwards!
I had taken a bit of a break from Fallen London for a few months, as far as stories go. Having had more time yesterday, I played through “Cricket, Anyone?”. I must say, I think it is the perfect Exceptional Story. Fascinating writing, excellent use of mechanics (especially in terms of rewarding more esoteric achievements), consequences that matter, and agonizing decisions.
Best of all, those decisions are always fair. Each branch is careful to clear up any mechanic-induced ambiguity (you never lock yourself out of something by accident), and everything has been carefully designed to avoid traps.
The final decision’s threat to Renown qualities (and Connected: The Masters, which holds even more value) is brutal, but completely justified. It is one of the most damning (albeit negatable) penalties that Fallen London can deal, one capable of making almost any player stop in their tracks and hesitate. Sure, Mr. Eaten inflicts far worse, but those penalties are so extreme that they deter anyone who cares about them.
Me, though? I’m a Paramount Presence, a Courier’s Footprint, a Poet-Laureate, a Master-Thief, a Correspondent. I am a force to be reckoned with, and I can suffer the slings and arrows of scorned factions for the right cause.
Wait until you play through this month’s story. My Kingdom for a Pig, by the same author, is even better. It’s by far the best Exceptional Story released so far.
Yeah I’m just about to dive into the thread for that myself after finishing it, and ho boy yeah I’m glad I’m not the only one with that opinion!
Well, I’m slowly plodding through my huge backlog of Exceptional Stories (along with trying to finish off my ambition), and this is where I have currently got to. So sorry for the tardiness of my replay, but I had been looking forward to this one, and didn’t want to pass it by without any comment whatsover.
Unlike some of the other commenters, I am a huge cricket fan, and so was really looking forward to this tale. It was a marvelous story, but my main complaint, stemming from what I just said, was that there wasn’t enough cricket. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but a bit more in the way of actual cricketing action would have been nice, and I would also have liked to be able to keep my cricket prowess, even if it never had a use again.
It seems churlish to point out, but there were a couple of errors in the cricket descriptions, too. I suppose a technical advisor being called in might be a little outside Failbetter’s budget, though. ;) Firstly, the talk of "third and fourth" innings. Each team has two innings, they would be referred to as Benthic’s first and second innings, and Summerset’s first and second innings, nobody would be saying "third" or "fourth" innings.
Also, constant references to bowlers "throwing" the ball. The ball is not thrown when bowling, it is bowled (the clue is in the name). In fact, throwing (in the technical sense - it has a specific meaning in cricket) is a contravention of the rules, and very serious business, both in Victorian times and now. Several bowlers’ careers were cut short during this period after being accused of throwing the ball. It was considered cheating, and very much frowned upon.
But honestly, I am being Captain Picky of the Picky Patrol here, none of this negatively affected my enjoyment of the story, I am simply nitpicking for the sheer joy and devilment of it. I loved, loved, loved this story, and would request we have more cricket in the game in future. An annual cricket tournament every year, akin to the festivals, maybe? A Neath Cricket "World" Cup, perhaps, with teams from all the strange places around the Unterzee paticipating?
Thank you. Now I’m off to get the related companion from the Bazaar as a keepsake.
It turns out that Cricket, anyone?, is pretty good actually. Who knew. It lived up to the hype. It was sarcastic and absurd, had a cool mystery and interesting character. It’s not my favorite Exceptional story, but it 's definitely one of the best I really liked the theme of determinism and of cosmic laws. Choosing whether to hit the ball or not made me hesitate, which to me means that’s it’s a good climactic choice. I actually like the loss of renown at the end, because it force you to think about keeping the item (though if it had been an option, I would have given the confession to the Revolutionaries, but they were not in the story so I understand why they didn’t give this choice.) The thing I dislike the most in Fallen London is when the game say: "You, player, are the best in the world and are so amazing and special that nobody could hope to surpass." I hate this because I like playing characters with strength in some place, and flaws in others. Also, what happens if we choose to not hit the ball? Do we get the confession?
Started playing this out of sheer curiosity and with a tiny bit of a chip on my shoulder, thinking, “Can this possibly live up to the hype?” It could and did. I’m still thinking about it days later. Loved the overall metaphor of dancing and now every time I see Mr Wines I get this little glow of affection (he still hasn’t paid me for that damn party tho).
(I did get stuck like a bunch of other people did but I think it happens when you get a stroke out of order? Anyway it fixed itself)
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