Quirky Test walkthrough
The game and walkthrough are both copyright 2025 by Andrew Schultz. The walkthrough is published on
itch.io and will be on CASA post-comp.
The tutorial is mainly there for people to be acquainted with meta-commands they may not be aware
of. There's a puzzle in the spirit of the game, too, but it's solvable by trial and
error.
Some of these commands (e.g. the meta-commands) are superfluous in non-tutorial mode.
This walkthrough also deliberately ignores all bonus points. I'd like to keep that challenge.
Or, you know, you can just visit https://github.com/andrewschultz/quirky-test and read the source
code. It should be low-level detective work even if you didn't find a bonus point.
===============================================
At first, you are given a way to learn about the game's basics. The game tracks tutorial points
in the upper right. There are ten points, and you can gain one per command.
> ABOUT (1T)
This opens up the THANKS and VERBS commands. They can be done in any order, but the tutorial says to
try VERBS first.
> VERBS (1T)
This opens up more meta-verbs.
Here any one of META, THANKS and OPTIONS will get you to the next step of the tutorial.
> THANKS (1T)
After this bit, the tutorial says X ME is one of the first commands to use. So why not do so?
> X ME (1T)
Hmm! You find something on you. While you know what it is, the tutorial wants you to be comfortable
with INVENTORY.
> I (1T)
We should now examine what we've gotten.
> X TASK (1T)
This provides a clue. The veering choice cheering voice is out there. But what is it saying? The
tutorial says, use your senses.
> LISTEN (1T)
"Whoa! Guest!"
You may be able to brute-force which way to go, since there are only eight directions.
There is the Rare-Thing-There Ring.
The initial location is Nameless Lameness.
The paper's name is Ooh, Task to Ask.
But first, if you are using the tutorial, it will force you to TALK VOICE. The object is to get the
player used to talking with other players. This can be abbreviated.
> T VOICE (1T)
Nothing back, but good to know.
How would Whoa Guest fit in this?
With ...
> GO WEST (1) (1T)
Note you only have to type W or WEST. I originally meant to be nitpicky, but having
Adventuron's parser be nitpicky was too much trouble, and I figured I should give people a
chance to guess and then see, oh, that's how things are done.
This brings you to the burst face. It's a starting point, but ... well, still a bit more to do.
There's almost a crack in it. It almost leads somewhere.
> FIRST BASE (1) (1T)
Oh no! A Pro Boor!
> BRO POOR (1)
The Pro Boor leaves you with something called Prayer Lights. It has a double meaning, maybe more.
> PLAYER RIGHTS (1)
You've found your way, and it's time to move on. You find the source of the original
voice, Beery Thor.
Now the game opens up a bit. You can dispel Seth Denton's, but that is a bonus point. There are
others I won't hint at too heavily in this walkthrough.
But as for further progress? It doesn't matter which way you go first, though starting one way
is considerably faster than the other. You will eventually get there either way. The object is to
find fifteen spoonerisms that work as follows:
* 8 level 1 spoonerisms
* 4 level 2 spoonerisms, each of which needs 2 level 1 spoonerisms solved first
* 2 level 3 spoonerisms, each of which needs 2 level 2 spoonerisms solved first
* a final level 4 spoonerism, which unlocks the endgame
There are three non-dead-end locations beyond. East Branch is first if you want to go faster, though
it has trickier spoonerisms. West Tiles has easier spoonerisms, but most of them rely on others.
Only one puzzle in East Branch does.
You can TALK to Thor then ASK him about pedagogical stuff, but none of this is needed if you want to
get through quickly.
First, let's poke around.
> NW
> NE
> CHALICE MAP
Oh no! You need to be prepared for this guy. You can THINK to see point-scoring commands you
figured, but you didn't have the in-game prep for them. Yet.
> SW
> U
The hill slopes down east and west.
> E
Let's verify the map is a loop.
> SW
> NE
What follows should be very efficient. You can save two moves, and four keystrokes, with warps.
Actually, you can save six more keystrokes by typing O to exit the dead ends in the hub.
> NE
> N
Sky floor.
> FLY SCORE (1)
> S
Note that once you solve an area you've changed, you can't go back. This is hopefully to
make progress clearer and help you focus on what you still need to do.
> NE
Trending booth.
> BENDING TRUTH (1)
> SW
> E
Warring bay.
> BORING WAY (1)
> W
> SE
Hurt dome.
> DIRT HOME (1)
> NW
> S
Roaring pain.
> POURING RAIN (1)
> N
> W
Money fountain.
> FUNNY MOUNTAIN (1)
> E
To deal with the trim goon, you need the fly score and roaring pain. If you don't have them,
you find the trim goon unmoved by your efforts.
> NW
> GRIM TUNE (1)
> SE
> U
You're done here, so now we'll skip over the hills, which we can't do anything with,
yet.
> W
You should now get notification you can jump around with two-word commands. You don't really
need to, though.
> E
> FELL SHORT (1)
> W
> S
> TAKE CRACKERS (1)
> N
> SW
Doing the right thing with the gift shoals requires the right mind state, acuired by changing the
money fountain and warring bay.
> SHIFT GOALS (1)
> NE
> W
Making a meal in Grunters' Hill requires the crackers and, from the fort, the pacing rations.
> HUNTERS GRILL (1)
> E
> NW
Offering something in the Yellow Field requires changing the hurt dome and trending booth.
> FELLOW YIELD (1)
> SE
> N
Having the physical strength and purpose to deal with the Plaster Man requires solving the
grunters' hill and the gift shoals.
> MASTER PLAN (1)
> S
> NE
Having the confidence to deal with the Malice Chap requires subduing the yellow field and trim
goon.
> CHALICE MAP (1)
> SW
Okay, now we have what we need to find what's in the hill!
> U
> HEALING STILL (1)
You won't be allowed back, but you don't need to come back. You're ready for the
endgame.
> W
> SE
East and southwest works equally well. You can use the warp command PB too.
You're back at the Plain Base, but there's one more exit! Well, if you prepare it. What to
do with the travel grail?
> GRAVEL TRAIL (1)
> N
Oh no! A hissing mouse!
> MISSING HOUSE (1)
> N
Glee simmers.
> SEE GLIMMERS (1)
Now how do you reach those glimmers in My House? Perhaps a recently gained friend...
> HI MOUSE (1)
(High mouse works too, since the trunk is high up.)
Congratulations, you win!
There's a logic map for the puzzle dependencies in PDF format, but I thought I would write the
brackets out in text format.
hurt dome -+
+---yellow--+
trending -+ field |
booth |
+-malice chap-+
| |
sky floor -+ | |
|-trim goon-+ |
roaring -+ |
pain |
+-travel grail
cake -+ |
trackers | |
+-grunters'-+ |
| hill | |
shell fort -+ | |
+-plaster man-+
money -+ |
fountain | |
+----gift---+
| shoals
warring -+
bay
So that's how to get through! Notice you didn't have any accomplishments, except for
completing things without scoring a bonus point. I did this deliberately, as (spoiler) getting
through quickly is an accomplishment, as is going through without scoring bonus points any one time.
Below the spacing, I discuss how to get all the bonus points and footnotes. Achievements are in
another document, since they require a few times through, and you probably need to have the general
path nailed down.
If you don't want things spoiled, but you want a clue, use BO to see bonus points remaining and
F 0 to see footnotes remaining.
Getting all the footnotes and getting all the bonus points are separate achievements. Let's
have an abridged run-through that builds on the main walkthrough and knocks out both. Footnotes and
bonus points are roughly arranged by room in distance from the start: lameness (red,) burst face
(red,) first base (red,) plain base (orange,) the two hubs (yellow,) East Branch spokes (green,)
West Tiles spokes (blue,) Stealing Hill (grey,) and the endgame. The first bonus point is colored
white, as it can be achieved at any time. (Yes, the first footnote can, too, but it's also just
repeating something you have to do right away.) Note the bonus points are not quite achieved in
order, as we get 8-14 before 7.
If you don't get everything the first time through, you can also use CHEATLEEP YES or LEETCHEAP
YES to allow a leap past areas where you discovered extra content.
> TURKEY QUEST (B1)
> X ME
Let's pick up that first footnote.
> X ME (F1)
> X TASK
> LISTEN
> W (F2)
Footnote 3 is only available in First Base. It requires some lateral thinking: if you just went
west, maybe you can go back east?
> E (F3)
> FIRST BASE
Most footnotes are less tricky than #3. You just examine things or people. Like here.
> X BOOR (F4)
You can tweak the pro boor, but only if you listen or talk first.
> LISTEN
> SHUSH LOUT (B2)
> BRO POOR (1)
Player Rights has a flip-side.
> RARE PLIGHTS (B3)
Unavoidable footnote ahead!
> PLAYER RIGHTS (1) (F5)
Three bonus points to pick off here.
> BANE PLACE (B4)
> THEORY BORE (B5)
> DEATH SENTENCE (B6)
> NE
Two bonus points. Number seven is in the west.
> BEAST RANCH (B8)
> RIG BOONS (B9)
From here until the endgame, bonus points riff on what's in your inventory. Also, we will get
some footnotes out of numerical order.
> N (F10)
> FLY SCORE (1)
If you take inventory now, there's a low song.
> SO LONG (B10)
> S
> NE
You can get this footnote before and after the core point here.
> X BOOTH (F11)
> BENDING TRUTH (1)
Now about that fast vision.
> VAST FISSION (B11)
Vast Fishin or Fishing also works.
> SW
> E (F12)
> BORING WAY (1)
The peace, surging, may inspire you to a heartfelt plea.
> CEASE PURGING (B12)
> W
> SE
> DIRT HOME (1)
The trial pics originally gave a bonus point.
> NW
> S
> POURING RAIN (1)
The rain soul leaves you seeking ...
> SANE ROLE (B13)
Note you can also examine the plaster man, master plan or roaring pain to get the footnote below.
> X RAIN (F13)
> N
> W
> FUNNY MOUNTAIN (1)
You have no greed, but you want something ...
> NO GREED (B14)
> E
> NW
> GRIM TUNE (1)
> SE
We'll get a few footnotes along the way. The numbers pedant in me says perhaps six and seven
should be switched. Note you don't need to X RUNES, but it helps.
> X RUNES
> U (F8)
> W (F6)
> X RUNES
Combine the west runes (top) and the east runes (bottom) to get ...
> XYZZY (F7)
This can be done at any time, but it's not clued until you examine both runes. Now you will get
footnote 9 next time you visit Thor, but there's no rush. In the meantime, West Tiles indicates
...
> TEST WILES (B7)
> E
> FELL SHORT (1)
Oh my! Pacing rations! So boring, and yet ...
> RACING PASSIONS (B15)
> W
> S
> TAKE CRACKERS (1)
Brief footnote detour. With item-specific graphics!
> X CRACKERS (F15)
From here on, all points scored depend on having solved two other puzzles.
> N
> SW
> SHIFT GOALS (1)
> NE
> W
> HUNTERS GRILL (1)
> E
> NW
> FELLOW YIELD (1)
> SE
> N
> MASTER PLAN (1)
> S
> NE
And now for another footnote! While this references the goon and the field, you need to examine the
Malice Chap, specifically.
> X MALICE CHAP (F14)
> CHALICE MAP (1)
> SW
> U
> HEALING STILL (1)
> W (F9)
> SE
Now, according to the list, you just have two more things to examine to find all the footnotes.
One's in clear view, but one isn't.
> GRAVEL TRAIL (1)
> N
Before getting rid of the mouse, completionists will want to ...
> X MOUSE (F16)
> MISSING HOUSE (1)
Wait, what's that noise?
> LISTEN
> CHEERY TIMES (B16)
> N
The poster on the wall is ... interesting.
> I STAY (B17)
"Eye stay" works, too.
> SEE GLIMMERS (1)
One last footnote before winning, to complete the set.
> X BOOK (F17)
There are seventeen total. Keep examining to see all the titles, or just ...
> HI MOUSE (1)