The Thing on the Fourble Board

The Thing on the Fourble Board is a text adventure based on the Quiet, Please episode of the same name from 1948 (original episode by Wyllis Cooper).  It is available to play in-browser on itch.io. 

The original radio episode "The Thing on the Fourble Board" tells the story of Porky, an oil field worker. In a sample of earth that has been a mile underground for the past million years, he and his geologist friend find an undeniably modern gold ring and a human finger made out of stone that turns invisible when they clean it off. And his friend is convinced that there is some … thing up on the fourble board above them.

I decided to tell the story from the perspective of the titular thing, a woman from the center of the earth who has also found herself in a terrifying position. She cannot see anything, has been dragged far from her home, and is missing her finger and her ring.

In creating the text  adventure, I decided to structure the story itself as a text-based labyrinth, recreating the structure of the fourble board. Players explore the fourble board, trying to search for clues as to where they are and how they got there. All the while, the story of Porky and his friend is playing out just barely out of earshot. As they player goes through the story, they learn more about the Thing, her past, her dreams, and how she feels about her current situation.