When playing a game, how often do you go to the walk through for help?

Just curious to see if I'm abusing the privilege or not. I still enjoy the game even when using one because I'm still experiencing the play. I just wish I could play a whole game without one.

'fess up!!

You know I really try not to use walkthrus...however, if I am losing interest in a game finding it to be dull or something I might use one to get through the game. If I have spent more time than I want on a puzzle..like ones that are math based then I will use a walkthru. They are also a great tool to be sure you have seen and experienced everything in a game I think. I have finished a game, read the walkthru and gone..."oh No...I missed that" So I say...use the walkthrus guilt free NYLady ...at this point in life I say whatever floats your boat

Happy Gamer

It's been years since I used a walkthrough, and I almost never resort to it more than once per game.

I'm a freak, I know.

I use them only when I have to. However, games with lots of mechanical puzzles, the likes of Schism, Aura, etc., I generally play the whole game with the WT. And believe it or not it does not ruin the game for me it makes it more enjoyable. There were puzzles in Schism I could not even figure out with the WT. I dont know whether I should or

I admit it - I peek when totally stuck. I don't read the whole thing, just my stuck bit.

Only in emergencies. I like to figure out puzzles by myself. But if I'm losing interest or so frustrated that I'm about to throw the disc into the fire, then I peek because I figure I play for enjoyment and if I'm not enjoying it why bother? And being stuck for days doesn;t add to my enjoyment, for sure!

WW

I agree with Happy Gamer- I only use one when I don't like the game and just want to finish. I do take a peek now and then if I am stuck but I never print them out. I like to try and figure things out myself and having a printed walkthrough is too tempting!

My wife and I only play for a hour or two per night. When we get stuck we sleep on it, try again the next night. Then use the walkthrough as a last resort. Now playing Tunguska.

I try not to...I first ask MaG for a Little Push in the right Direction..
But if it gets to hard then I will use it.

I use them whenever I feel like it.

i use them. they are a big help . i have even printed out my walkthrus that way i have them since some of the games won't minimize

I'll play a game as far as I can without one, and then if I get impossibly stuck, or if the puzzle is simply a rotten one and I don't have the patience for it, then I'll save the walkthrough to my hard drive and take a peek when I need to. Usually, not more than a couple of times per game.

In all the years I've been playing games I've tried to avoid walkthrou. What I much prefer is the UHS hint files. It often gives just the little idea I need at times when I can't solve the puzzle or the whole answer when when I've just given up.

I use walkthroughs regularly, in small bits... for pretty much the same reasons as everyone else: difficult puzzles (after many, many tries; time-fillers that neither require logic nor help the game progress; & games I don't enjoy overall. For these, I have the WT opened under the game, & use ALT-TAB if the game allows.

I'd be lost without a walkthrough. I've only been gaming not quite 2 years, and right from the start I get stuck and don't know what to do.

It allows me to enjoy the game instead of going around in circles. As for the puzzles, I will just look at a walkthrough to see what needs to be done, and then I will figure it out myself. However, if I don't know what has to be done, I'm lost.

Maybe one day, when I have lots of game under my belt I might try it without a walkthrough, but right now it is a much needed prop.

I love walkthroughs, especiall MacG's, most of mine are hers and they are all printed off for easy access.

Flo

I alway's say I'm not going to use a walkthrough,I start out with out one.But alway's get stuck and have to look,and after I look at the solution I say it was right there in front of me.I alway's look for MaG's walkthrough also

Ahhh Flo, me too! Actually I am not new to gaming as I was into gaming years ago with King's Quest and Simon the Sorceror. Then, I stopped doing them and now years later, I'm baaaack.

I don't feel so badly now for using the Walkthroughs and now MaG can see how much we depend on her wisdom in making them.

I admit I do use them. I have also found the games are not as much fun when you do. I wish someone would start a page of just hints to get you through the tough parts. I know GameBoomers has a hint section but many times they send you to the walk-through. If you could print out or download a page with just hints then you wouldn't be tempted to read on. Sometimes when you read the walk-through they take you places you haven't uncovered. It sometimes give away the story. I think a lot of us feel stupid to ask for hints. Crazy huh. It isn't always the puzzles that give me problems - It's what now or where. You find yourself roaming around for hours until you find the right spot that takes you further into the game. So many of the games I have played became boring for that reason. I hate revisiting areas I have already explored. Put everything I need there at the beginning of the game. The older games (window 98) were like that. You knew what you needed and what you were looking for. With the newer XP games I get tired of visiting every room every place two or three times to check if there is something there that wasn't there the first time I visited it. They don't give you a clue to what you're looking for or need. That's just one persons view.
Sandi "I believe in everything" Shirley Maclaine

Gees,

If you use the quote function - place the quote in between the 2 quote word brackets.

Also, if you want just a hint at Hints forum - please specify hints only and not spoiler.
Most of the time, Hints posters want a straight out spoiler because they have tried already.

I do use them when the need arises!!! I think the only game I played where I didn't use one at least once is "Last Half of Darkness" but I did get one hint from the hints forum so I could finish the game!! I do love MaGs walkthroughs.....there're the best!!!


Nan

I use them when I have tried everything I can think of multiple times, slept on the problem, and still can't get it.

I generally just search for one word, and try not to read anything extra. Sometimes I think "no duh, you should have gotten that," but others times the answer is so out of my way of thinking that I'd never have finished without a push.

I'm always glad they are there, and yet try not to use them--I'm not conflicted, am I?

Me, too Looneyrlabs... Good ol' "Ctrl-F", read just the part I need (trying, like you, to avoid reading more), then back to the game.

While I understand that the use of a walkthrough is a personal decision, here's the problem I have with them:

-Adventure games are supposed to be a challenge. The developers went to a lot of work to make them so. Consulting a walkthru at the drop of a hat seems to me counter to the whole idea of the games.

-IMO, it's very hard to use a walkthru just a little bit. Once you start using them, I think it gets too easy to avoid solving a difficult puzzle or challenge.

-For me, the use of a walkthru destroys one of the great benefits of adventure gaming: the feeling you get when you solve a really difficult puzzle or situation that may have taken hours to figure out. When that happens, I get a 'puzzle-solving high' that lasts for days!

-My biggest gripe about the use of walkthrus is to hear people complaining about how few new adventure games there are and then hear people say that they just played a complete adventure game in the last day or two. Since I often know how difficult the given game is, I also know that they likely played the game from beginning to end with a walkthru and something about that just bugs me!

So, I have never used a walkthru, but I have used the very occasional hint from UHS.

Sure, I use walkthroughs, hints, whatever I need to finish a game, except saves, I don't use those. Best of all though I like it when I can give someone else a hint to get on with their game, now that's a real high.
In olden times when home computers weren't taken seriously by IBM with their main frame and the idea for adventure games was just getting started using text only, help would come from others who were also playing the same game. It was a special time back then, on the cutting edge of everything new and changes seemed to come daily. Can't go back to that time, so walkthroughs are the next best thing, I think.

Mag I'm working on it. I can't see the lines when I put in the quote. Still learning how to use the quote function. Let's see if I get it right this time. Thanks Mag- I think I got it. Thanks again

Well heres my opinion.
There are some puzzles that i could never figure out
in a million years.You all know the ones.The puzzles that make no sense at all.The ones that after you do look at a cheat you are relieved that you did because you would have never got it on your own.
I went camping and took my laptop along as i always do to play my games at night,or setting at the fire to relax.I just installed Mysterious island before i left but forgot to download a walkthrough on my desk top.
Well somewhere at the early part of the game i got stuck.I thought now is my time to do this on my own with out help.
Three days later i still had not figured out what to do ,i lost any interest in the game and missed out on a lot of enjoyable play on my vacation.At home i looked at a walkthrough and was quickly on my way again.
In short i buy these games for fun not to set myself nuts .Camping,gaming and walkthroughs go together........

I agree, totally, Ron.etti. Which ever way you do it... whatever gives you pleasure... that's the way to do it.

I think I rely mostly on the help thread here at Gameboomer. I think I drive them crazy up there.
They just get me going on one problem and I'm back with another. They usually just give me a push... not a shove. I love everyone there.

I play my games as a form of entertainment and stress release. I can usually play 70% of inventory/puzzle games without peeking at a walkthrough, the rest I may take a peek for a hint to something I may not want to figure out because I'm either not in the mood or seriously stuck. The Myst games I have played using a walkthrough the entire way through. I still enjoy them and find no reason not to play a game even if I can't figure it all out myself.

I do not like to be stuck for more than a few days because my playing time is limited. If I really can't figure it out I do not feel guilty or feel like I'm cheating if I use the walkthrough. I believe it enhances the game to be able to move on because I would quit the game rather than spend a month wracking my brain to figure something out.

I am always thankful for MaG and her wonderful walkthroughs. It is a great comfort to know they are there when you need them.

Ana

I use the walkthrough when I get to the point up giving up after I have tried everything I can think of and nothing works. If there is a maze or slider in a game I confess that I usually break out the old walkthrough to get me through that difficult spot so I can finish the game.