Escape the Great Pump House is a puzzle adventure gamebook, so do not read it in order. You solve a puzzle, and the answer in the door brick is the page you turn to next.
The story
Thirstley is a town on a dry hill. A hundred and fifty years ago the engineer Hester Penstock built the Great Pump House into the hillside: nine halls of steam pumps that lift the river's water up to the Fountain Pyramid on the hilltop. The pumps work by night.
Tonight they are silent, Grandpa Ned Fettle, the night engineer, is nowhere to be seen, and at eight the great doors shut behind you. The Night Lock opens again only when the water reaches the top, and tomorrow is the Fountain Fair, the hottest day of the year. With Gasket the otter you work through nine halls of locked doors to get the water flowing.
How it plays
Every chamber is one page: a short story beat, a puzzle, and a Next Door box. Solve the puzzle, find the number in the door brick, and turn to that page. A wrong answer sends you to a dead end that tells you which brick to recheck, so a slip costs you a minute and not the whole game.
A look inside
At a glance
- 45 locked doors in nine halls of pumps
- Pyramid puzzles shaped like pipes, gauges and machines
- Hints and full answers in the back
- Ages 10 to adult; paperback, 148 pages
Books mentioned
Escape the Great Pump House
A puzzle adventure gamebook, paperback, 148 pages. 45 locked doors in nine halls of pumps.
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