Notes

• Hints that don't spoil

  A three-step hint ladder that keeps the solving with the players.

• Branching dialogue without the explosion

  Keeping choices meaningful in interactive stories while the script stays manageable.

• Pacing a one-hour game

  Where the difficulty should sit across sixty minutes, and why the opening matters most.

• Red herrings: use sparingly

  Distractions add texture, but too many turn a puzzle into an audit of every object.

• Building clue chains

  How to link puzzles so that each answer opens the next question without dead ends.

• What makes a puzzle fair

  A fair puzzle can be solved from what the player has already seen. Four tests we use.