It's Easter, Peeps! by Sara Brookside




First time players, please type "about" before beginning game play.


It's the week before Easter, and you've popped out of your office one day on your lunch break. Your mission? To assemble an Easter basket that will both delight and mystify your 4-year-old son Max.

You enter a nearby candy store, and the shopkeeper hands you a festive Easter basket. "No charge," he says, smiling, and leaves you to your shopping.

Candy store
Cheerful images of colorful eggs, chicks, rabbits, carrots, and ribbon-festooned Easter baskets adorn the candy store. To the north, the shopkeeper stands patiently behind a counter. South of you, the storefront window beckons to passers-by, tempting them with its proffered seasonal wares. The wall to the west is lined with conveniences, such as a pay phone, newspaper rack, umbrella stand, gumball machine, and a chair. A lighted display case runs along the wall to the east, filled with candy.

> x counter
Just a simple slab of wood separating the shopkeeper's area from the rest of the store. It looks like it may be made of the same dark hardwood as the floor. A serving tray is on the counter.

> get tray
You take the serving tray from the counter.

> x phone
It's just a normal pay phone, like any other you'd see in a public place. The bulky receiver obscures the touch-tone dialing pad behind it, and a shiny metallic door that bears the word "CHANGE" swings over a small metal chute. You check simply out of habit, but... A crumpled note and a candy coin are inside the pay phone.

> get candy coin
Taken.

You hear a clucking noise emanating from the window display.

> x stand
The umbrella stand is rather uninteresting. It is black in color and looks like it may be made of iron. It is cylindrical in shape, with a solid circular base and two circular bands of metal providing structural reinforcement above the base. An umbrella is inside the umbrella stand.

> get umbrella
Taken.

> x ceiling
You see a large pinata hanging from the high ceiling of the candy store.

> hit pinata with umbrella
(with umbrella) The pinata sways, suspended by a piece of twine.

"Ah... I think you're on the right track, there" the shopkeeper encourages.

> hit pinata with umbrella
(with umbrella) A strip of candy dots flutters to the floor.

> hit pinata with umbrella
(with umbrella) JACKPOT! A deluge of candy comes raining down from the burst pinata. The stash that has fallen from the pinata includes a creme egg, tiny chocolate eggs wrapped in pastel-colored foil, yellow marshmallow chicks, and a sack of jelly beans.

"Well done!" says the shopkeeper. "Good on you! That's for Max...all of it!"

He tugs a nearby stool over and climbs upon it, detaching the empty burst pinata shell from the ceiling, and then disposing of it somewhere behind the counter.

> get dots
You take the strip of candy dots.

> get egg
You take the creme egg.

> get eggs
You take the tiny chocolate eggs.

> get chicks
You take the yellow marshmallow chicks.

"You must be shopping for somebody pretty special, I'd say!" The shopkeeper glances at you knowingly.

> get beans
You take the sack of jelly beans.

> x list
Your heart melts as you recognize your son's crude printing in orange crayon on a yellow piece of construction paper.

a candy coin
a creme egg
a gumball
jellybeans
a lollipop
a macaroon
tiny chocolate eggs
yellow marshmallow chicks

> x rack
The newspaper rack is clearly more functional than aesthetic, constructed of metal and glass. A newspaper and a lollipop are on the newspaper rack.

> get lollipop
You take the lollipop from the newspaper rack.

> put coin in basket
You put the candy coin inside the Easter basket. The shopkeeper retrieves a wind-up chick from beneath the counter, winds it up, and sets it down. The toy gyrates jubilantly across the wooden surface, while the whirring sound of the wind-up mechanism drones from inside it.

> put egg in basket
You put the creme egg inside the Easter basket.

> put lollipop in basket
You put the lollipop inside the Easter basket.

> put eggs in basket
You put the tiny chocolate eggs inside the Easter basket.

> put chicks in basket
You put the yellow marshmallow chicks inside the Easter basket.

> x display
The display case runs along the east side of the candy store. It illuminates row upon row of tantalizing confections. The case is lined with a metal runner and a tube of black rubber piping where the smooth, curved glass meets the base of the display.

> give dots to goose
The goose stands and pecks at the candy dots contentedly, revealing a token beneath her. You take the bronze token.

> x machine
A metal pole supports the classic-looking machine, a clear glass globe atop a shiny red support. The globe reveals heaps of huge, soft gumballs. Each gumball is stamped with the words "Happy Easter" in white script. A slot and knob assembly is engraved with the words, "Insert Token Here" and a swinging door covering a small chute reads, "Thank You!"

> put token in machine
You put the token in the slot and turn the knob. You hear a slight clunking noise in the metal chute below, so you put your hand beneath it to catch a purple gumball as it rolls out.

> put gumball in basket
You put the gumball inside the Easter basket.

> get macaroon
The macaroons are currently in a glass display case, inaccessible to you.

> ask shopkeeper about macaroon
"Certainly! Here you are," he says, opening the display case with ease. He plucks a macaroon out of the case with a pair of tongs and deftly writes "Max" on it with a thin line of icing. He then wraps it in tissue paper and presents it to you with a flourish.

> put macaroon in basket
You put the macaroon inside the Easter basket.

> put jelly beans in basket
You put the sack of jelly beans inside the Easter basket.

> show basket to shopkeeper

Congratulations! You have put together a marvelous Easter basket that will undoubtedly please Max greatly. The shopkeeper wraps it beautifully in cellophane and attaches a festive bow. You carry the basket back to your office, anticipating the holiday weekend ahead. You can almost picture Max's smile already...

***You have won***