“The room doesn’t seem to have an exit, or even a window.”

September 24, 2021 5:19 PM

Party Is Such Sweet Sorrow is a free, online, point-and-click ‘90s homage mystery game published by Vice.
It was designed by Anthony Smith, who you might recall from his earlier Google Docs Escape Room
posted by Going To Maine (90 comments total)

I just finished playing this and was wondering if I should post it here! A few sticky moments, but that punchline... *mwah*
posted by babelfish at 5:28 PM on September 24, 2021

This is a TON of fun and nostalgia I love playing games like this but now I’m stuck as the maid.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 6:24 PM on September 24, 2021 [2 favorites]

now I’m stuck as the maid.

Yeah, I cleaned two messes and can't find any more.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:09 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]

I refreshed and was able to get unstuck from the maid bit, though I don't think I moved anything forward.
posted by HeroZero at 7:56 PM on September 24, 2021

You do need to be the maid, and it isn't a dead end. (I also restarted the game because I thought I'd fucked up.)
posted by babelfish at 8:01 PM on September 24, 2021

I can't get anything to happen on the first screen. What am I missing?
posted by Comet Bug at 8:04 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]

Comet Bug try a different browser, I think I had something necessary disabled in Firefox but it worked in Safari.

I am terrible at these...I thought I was doing really well, but I have collected all the orders and I'm at the end of the line. Everything clickable has been clicked, there is only one item I could set and if it's looking for an exact input I'm not seeing the clue.
posted by lemonade at 8:10 PM on September 24, 2021

It did not work on Firefox for me. Safari did work, though.
posted by HeroZero at 8:10 PM on September 24, 2021

Ah, figured out the maid. There's three things to do, the third is easy to miss or misclick.

On preview: Works on mobile safari as well.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:13 PM on September 24, 2021 [1 favorite]

Oh, it's working on Chrome.
posted by Comet Bug at 8:15 PM on September 24, 2021

There are a couple of spoilers on the twitter thread linked above, which I used when I got stuck on the damn bartender. Loved this.
posted by HeroZero at 9:11 PM on September 24, 2021

Now I'm stuck on the athlete. Apparently I need an object?
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:13 PM on September 24, 2021

I'm stuck on the athlete as well--I have all the drink orders, but can't get the object from her. Super cool though! I love that the mayor had a cryptogram clue.
posted by Calzephyr at 9:41 PM on September 24, 2021

Ah, found the athlete key. Amazed I didn't when I was cleaning.

Do the shadow guests need unlocking before the drinks can be dealt with?
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:46 PM on September 24, 2021

You don't get the object from the athlete. Keep looking around.
posted by Comet Bug at 9:46 PM on September 24, 2021

No, churchhatestucker, though mashing them over and over will give you a clue
posted by fFish at 10:03 PM on September 24, 2021 [1 favorite]

mashing them over and over will give you a clue

Oh, neat. The clue is kind of obvious, though, given the setting. Implementing it properly is apparently tricky.

Guess I'll sleep on this one.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:42 PM on September 24, 2021

Served the drinks, then....nothing? Maybe I got the order wrong.
posted by MillMan at 1:34 AM on September 25, 2021

Have the drinks, can't seem to serve them, keep typing in varations of a date in September 1960, or 68, or 61? Oh God help
posted by trotzdem_kunst at 2:28 AM on September 25, 2021

It stuck on Safari. Works on Edge (which I forgot I had).
posted by doctornemo at 5:36 AM on September 25, 2021

Fun two-level nostalgia: point and click games, older music.
posted by doctornemo at 5:48 AM on September 25, 2021

Try examining the drinks
posted by cman at 6:01 AM on September 25, 2021

Note that you don’t actually have the drinks in your inventory; you have pictures of the drinks. Forget about serving and look into anything notable about the pictures. (I think this was a bit of a flaw in the writing, since you’re really led to believe that serving them matters.)
posted by babelfish at 8:15 AM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

I think you just made my wife’s day with this post. I sent her the links to the two games, and proceeded to hear happy noises from her from across the room. :-)
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 8:59 AM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]

People trying to clean up the last mess: you may have to refresh the page to be able to click the thing that you need to click.
posted by rjs at 9:19 AM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

Stuck on the mayor. Guessed it’s some Kind of “decode the gibberish” but?
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:24 AM on September 25, 2021

His name gives you a clue about how to decode.
posted by rjs at 9:29 AM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]

I'm stuck on the maid. How do you get her to tell you what drink she wants?
posted by rjs at 9:31 AM on September 25, 2021

Really appreciate the Dad joke :-p
posted by mincus at 9:38 AM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

rjs - Help her out with some cleaning!

I'm also stuck with the drinks / drink photos. Putting them in (what I think is) the correct order gives me:

click for spoilers

September Ten, Eight Thousand, Nine Hundred Sixty One, plus the extra letters A, F, R, N, T, I, I.

That...doesn't seem like anything, so I guess I've either got the order wrong or I'm missing something!
posted by fresh bouquets every day at 9:41 AM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

Stuck on getting the drinks. I'm guessing it's a matter of time.

Stuck on the mayor. Guessed it’s some Kind of “decode the gibberish” but?

It is, but only one of them is important. (They're all variations on the same idea.)

I'm stuck on the maid. How do you get her to tell you what drink she wants?

Empathy.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:42 AM on September 25, 2021

I did help her out with the cleaning, which got me an object but no drink order.
posted by rjs at 9:52 AM on September 25, 2021

I did help her out with the clearing, which got me an object but no drink order.

I'm guessing you didn't finish.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:54 AM on September 25, 2021

OK, got it. Thanks!
posted by rjs at 10:07 AM on September 25, 2021

That...doesn't seem like anything, so I guess I've either got the order wrong or I'm missing something!

Try punctuating it differently.
posted by babelfish at 10:25 AM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

omg, thanks, babelfish, I was stuck at the same spot fresh bouquets was....got it now!
posted by newpotato at 10:31 AM on September 25, 2021

I LOLed at that final riddle.

This was fun. I really liked the meteorologist's forecasts.
posted by mixedmetaphors at 10:47 AM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

...drink photos are where now?
posted by XtinaS at 10:51 AM on September 25, 2021

They should be in your inventory.
posted by rjs at 10:59 AM on September 25, 2021

How does one do the spoilers tag here?
posted by XtinaS at 11:09 AM on September 25, 2021

Spoiler

Spoiled!

<details><summary>Spoiler</summary>Spoiled!</details>
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:18 AM on September 25, 2021

I am stuck on the clock! I have all of the drink orders and the object needed to play with the athlete, and I have the clue from the ghost guests…. what am I not getting?? (feel free to DM me).
posted by Silvery Fish at 11:33 AM on September 25, 2021

Success! It was a joint effort, thanks to babelfish for carrying the team!
posted by lemonade at 11:37 AM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

Silvery Fish

Spoiler

you use the details from the ghost guests clue on the clock

posted by newpotato at 11:45 AM on September 25, 2021

@newpotato, thanks. I sent you a DM. Have been doing permutations around that clue for hours. I am absolutely stumped on that clue.
posted by Silvery Fish at 12:01 PM on September 25, 2021

I have all of the drink orders

Me too. The clues seem to point to the clock, but I'm not getting anywhere:

Probably not spoilers

According to the shadow guests, the time should be at night, after sunset (16:43 in Boston on that date) and moonrise (19:44). If it's more specific than that I'm missing something.

I tried setting the date to December 5, 1933 which is the end of Prohibition. That didn't work, so I tried later days in the same year with equal luck.

posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 12:02 PM on September 25, 2021

The clues seem to point to the clock, but I'm not getting anywhere

You’re overthinking it! You have the number you need; if it’s not working, maybe you’re not putting it in the right place.
posted by babelfish at 12:08 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

@ChurchHatesTucker - yep. I am wrestling with the same clues.
posted by Silvery Fish at 12:08 PM on September 25, 2021

@babelfish — bless you, by whatever deities are meaningful to you!!
posted by Silvery Fish at 12:11 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

Just dmed you you, silvery fish-twice- but it looks like you got it!
posted by newpotato at 12:13 PM on September 25, 2021

solved the clock based on someone else's compaint in the thread, but I only sort of understand why.
posted by Going To Maine at 12:16 PM on September 25, 2021

Ha! also, I solved a different puzzle than the one referenced here.
posted by Going To Maine at 12:25 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

@goingtomaine - tell us more!
posted by Silvery Fish at 12:29 PM on September 25, 2021

As I'm loading chrome, lemme just take a second to say it pisses me off when sites can't be bothered to test in other browsers.
posted by Ickster at 12:33 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

You’re overthinking it! You have the number you need;

Oh, fer christsakes.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 12:34 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

Well, there are (at least) two clock puzzles. Someone up thread was concerned about the second, and I was still on the first. I started punching in numbers based on the second, and solved the first. Can't be too specific, you know.
posted by Going To Maine at 12:35 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

As I'm loading chrome, lemme just take a second to say it pisses me off when sites can't be bothered to test in other browsers.

Yes. It's funny, it works in safari on mobile, so obvs. that was tested...
posted by Going To Maine at 12:36 PM on September 25, 2021

Stupid final puzzle
posted by Going To Maine at 1:23 PM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]

“A big ol’ butt” is not the answer.
posted by Going To Maine at 2:03 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

Neither is a Dark and Stormy, but I feel like it's pretty good answer.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:40 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

More things that don't work for the exit puzzle

Salty Dog
Russian Mule
Missouri Mule
Duck Fart
Sea Breeze
Fuzzy Navel
Zombie
Bloody Mary
Horse's Neck
Monkey Gland
Manhattan (going with the Boston theme)
Long Island Ice Tea
Black and Tan
Irish Car Bomb
Agent Orange
Nixon
Death in the Afternoon
Red Death
Hurricane
Molotov*
Beetle*
(*not drinks)

Is it a straight answer, or are we trying to reconstruct a Dad Joke?
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:14 PM on September 25, 2021

Churchhatestucker

Spoiler

it is a dad joke that you can figure out based on some clues that you got with the drinks

posted by geegollygosh at 6:29 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

Silvery Fish

Spoiler


Oh, I've got this... let me remember... you put the towel in front of the vending machine and then it goes in your ear!
posted by wotsac at 7:40 PM on September 25, 2021 [4 favorites]

Aha! I mistranscribed something.

Not bad, but there's a major error:

Spoiler

The time to enter to activate the robot is said to be after moonrise, but it's actually not for that date and (heavily implied) location.

posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:51 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

I have to admit I dug through the code in the Chrome dev tools and found the names of all the drinks and the location of the secret maid thing. Even tried using accessibility tools.

Once I found the names of the drinks I was able to look them up in the almanac which then told me which guest it belonged to.

I've got the order of fame almost completely correct but I'm stuck on activating the bartender. I haven't read any of the spoilers in this thread but I may start.
posted by bendy at 8:33 PM on September 25, 2021

I have all the drink orders. The bartender is on. I see a list of drink ingredients but no matter what I click I just get insulted. Please hope me!!
posted by donnagirl at 8:58 PM on September 25, 2021

You don't actually serve drinks, despite what you've been told. Examine your inventory items.

Unless it's the bartender insulting you? Then something is wrong.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:05 PM on September 25, 2021

The bartender asks me what I want to drink. I see a list of drink ingredients. No matter what I click, I get called a waste of flesh. In my inventory I have the notecard that gets you the service order, a list of drinks/ingredients, and the glowy thing, plus seven empty spots presumably for drinks. I am so out of ideas
posted by donnagirl at 9:25 PM on September 25, 2021

i don't know if this is a good clue, donnagirl, but

clue

you have a bunch of recipes for different drinks. recipes have sequential steps. you can't start with a garnish!

thanks to everyone who provided clues for me standing around here with my 7 drink cards, unfortunately I'm too thick to follow them and

I'm still stuck

tapping different varations of 8pm on 10 September 1960, or 10am on 1 September 1968, or 8 September 1960 at 10am, into the time punchy thingy...

... giving up! but I had fun, thank you for sharing!
posted by trotzdem_kunst at 9:47 PM on September 25, 2021

Thanks for the link! This is rather fun but I'm

also having troubles, not sure if I'm missing something or it's the aforementioned code issues-

I got to the point where I have 7 drink orders, with ingredients etc., in the list of drink orders in my inventory. I do not see any pictures/photos of drinks in my inventory, tried Opera and Safari on a mac. Is this maybe a bug like the maid switcheroo, or do I have to get a specific date into the clock before seeing them?

posted by mcrandello at 9:58 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

I have all the drink orders. The bartender is on. I see a list of drink ingredients but no matter what I click I just get insulted. Please hope me!!

You need to find the recipes, I think.

I don’t think this was intended to be a puzzle but…

There is a book on the center of the bar. Click on it to look up drink recipes. (I think this is just hard to make out because of the 90s textures and color scheme.)

posted by Going To Maine at 10:09 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

thanks to everyone who provided clues for me standing around here with my 7 drink cards, unfortunately I'm too thick to follow them and I'm still stuck

Hint

It sounds like you haven't got the order quite right. Additionally, try using Arabic numbers when writing out the clues and you may see what's going on.

posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:15 PM on September 25, 2021

mcrandello

Safari works fine. Your last thought is correct and repeatedly tapping on the shadow guests gives you the info to enter.

posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:28 PM on September 25, 2021

The radio gives you a hint how to deal with times in this game, but it's not very clear. I had to check the Twitter thread linked earlier to figure it out.

Mild spoiler:

Times are always in hours and minutes.

To elaborate:

You can figure out the date from the clues, but not the time. What you'll need to do is use part of the date to get the time. For example: I'm posting this on September 26 2021. The time might be 20:21, or 9:26, or 2:06, or 14:06.

posted by rjs at 10:55 PM on September 25, 2021

You need to find the recipes, I think.

I have the recipes. The bartender asks me what I want. I click the first ingredient from one of the drinks. My clickable choices become "make drink" or "go back to party". If I click make drink, bartender calls me a waste of flesh. How do I input multiple ingredients??
posted by donnagirl at 11:00 PM on September 25, 2021

You should be able to click the ingredients in the order that is given in the recipe.
posted by rjs at 11:03 PM on September 25, 2021

Must be a bug. I can only click one ingredient, then the list disappears. Tried safari and chrome on iOS. Sadness.
posted by donnagirl at 11:07 PM on September 25, 2021

I click the first ingredient from one of the drinks. My clickable choices become "make drink" or "go back to party"

Enter more than one ingredient, and in the correct order, at a time.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:08 PM on September 25, 2021

I can only click one ingredient, then the list disappears. Tried safari and chrome on iOS.

Odd, Mobile Safari works for me, and I've got an old iPad.

You might try force quitting Safari and/or restarting your iPad. Something isn't right.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:10 PM on September 25, 2021

bendy:

To activate the bartender:

You need to have an object, and you have to set the clock to a specific date and time. In order to find the object, you have to interact with one of the characters. Several characters will give you hints about the date that you need to set the clock to. The time can be derived from the date.

posted by rjs at 11:10 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

trotzdem_kunst:

The date:

The key is in the TEN EIGHT. The clock doesn't go up to the year 8961, so the 8 has to be part of the date. And so is the ten.

The time:

The key, again, is in the TEN EIGHT.

posted by rjs at 11:23 PM on September 25, 2021

rjs: thanks for giving me a clue rather than a how to.
posted by bendy at 1:24 AM on September 26, 2021

ChurchHatesTucker, thanks! your advice and rjs's got me past that! Also, 5 stars on that dad joke at the end.
posted by mcrandello at 1:24 PM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Caesar cypher duh. All this time I’m thinking either his drink is a Caesar or some weird thing called a Universal Kiss wtf
posted by St. Peepsburg at 5:06 PM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Omg that dad joke you guys
posted by St. Peepsburg at 5:57 PM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

I am stuck on the joke …
posted by arha at 7:55 PM on September 26, 2021

Never mind, figured it out. That really is a dad joke.
posted by arha at 8:40 PM on September 26, 2021

I need help on the dad joke! Please hope me!!!
posted by tickingclock at 12:26 AM on September 28, 2021

The answer is in a clue that you already have.
posted by rjs at 7:22 AM on September 28, 2021

Love the vibe, but some of the later puzzles are bogus. How are you supposed to know

spoiler

the year is actually a time?

?

And why can't the second clock answer be

spoiler

September Ten, One Thousand Ninehundred Sixty Eight?

?

That works better than the "real" answer.
posted by Rhaomi at 7:32 PM on October 7, 2021