Walkthrough for Shuffling Around, an IFComp 2012 game by Andrew Schultz (blurglecruncheon@gmail.com)
as Ned Yompus
Last updated 2/9/2023 for a pending release 7. (No critical commands were changed from release 6.)
The game branches a bit near the end, and I try to cover all these things.
I put in a lot of spaces so as not to spoil things. There are three sections you can complete in any
order, in the middle of the game, before Store R. For IFComp, you only had to complete two. For
this, you can complete all three, or you can activate the RECUSE button on your tagged gadget to get
all two.
Double prompts mean that a command is optional.
You may wish to search for the following: Intro, Store F, Store I, Store M, Store R.
*********** intro
>IN
Now for your first puzzle. The odor can be shifted around a bit.
>DOOR
This is the main mechanic of the game: it's guess-the-noun more than guess-the-verb, though the
noun is just an anagram of what's there.
.>X DOOR
You'll notice there are two odd parts to the door. Either can be dealt with.
Examining items is never needed to complete Shuffling Around, but I try to give clues for people who
examine stuff. As the walkthrough goes on, I'll skip these intermediary steps and just give the
commands to use.
.>X BOLT
>.X BULGE
In either of these door components, you just need to shift two letters to make something new.
Let's fix (or destroy) the bolt.
>BLOT
You can also change the bulge. I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader. If you change
both the bugle and bolt, that's one of the three bonus points in the intro.
>IN
>GOAT
Now you can just walk right in! But you have a bonus point that I hope is not very hard.
The sent nets are making a bit of a mess here. They are too stuck in the ground to take, but you can
change them if you want to be a good citizen!
>X NETS
TENS of them. Hmm.
>NEST
There's a bonus point.
>IN
>GATEMAN
>X CABINET (THIS & NEXT BIT BEFORE ENTERING GATE OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED)
>ASK ABOUT CABINET
.get gadget
.>TAKE ALL (OOPS! CAN'T TAKE DOLLHOUSE)
.>SCAN DOLLHOUSE
(You have all you need now, but you may want to get this information.)
.>READ BOARD
.>READ INFO-LIT
.>ASK ABOUT MUMBLETY-PEG
.>ASK ABOUT QUEST
.>ASK ABOUT GENERAL ADVICE
.>ASK ABOUT GOAT
>.ASK ABOUT REDNESS
>.ASK ABOUT SALTINE
>.ASK ABOUT GADGET
>.ASK ABOUT RED BULL BURDELL
>.ASK ABOUT REDNESS
>.GET PHIAL
Now, while you can enter the gateway right now you have one more bonus point available. You may wish
to use the gadget on a certain item that will help you practice and see what calculations you need
to make.
>STATIC
.>CERTIFY STATIC
This tells you which letters are in the right position! In this case, the T in slot 2 is the only
green light. Note you may get no positives. It will happen 40% of the time (well, assuming anagram
shuffling is fully random and if a word has no repeated letters--if not, it happens less.) Note
there are synonyms that are easier to type.
>.CERT STATIC
>.CER STATIC
>.C STATIC
But wait! There's another mode! RECTIFY tells you the first and last letters. This is
potentially very handy, and yes, you can combine the two if you want. Down the road, you will have a
choice to make: be able to use both options, or be able to skip an area? But for introductory
puzzles, you can use both without any penalty.
>.RECTIFY STATIC
>.RECT STATIC
>.REC STATIC
>.R STATIC
The green is in slot 3, with the red in slot 2. That means you have A----S.
Coupled with the above, that's AT---S. If we remember the "certify" logic, position 4
can't be T, and position 5 can't be I. This leaves 3 possibilities for words, depending on
what position 3 is.
ATCITS
ATICTS
ATTICS
You can guess which is right!
Oh. One other thing.
>RC STATIC
Will show you everything at once.
.>ATTICS
Now you can RECTIFY or CERTIFY again just to get a taste for how things work.
>ENTER GATE
At any time you can become un-acne-bit with a last lousy point which is a bit of a brand name, but
it's a relatively common one.
store f
..scan store f
..x store f
>FOREST
>IN
Note: the puzzles are random here. You have two of the four cardinal directions to go, and
there's no penalty for a wrong way. So you could just plain guess. You will sense something,
and it is a clue for the right way to go. Also, you won't get the same way twice.
A shout means south.
Stew means west.
Teas means east.
Thorn means north.
Note that stew and teas are both a scent, so if you see one in the room description, >X SMELL
will tell you, but really, you can just use trial and error.
>(DIRECTION)
>(DIRECTION)
Now you're out of the forest. You need to sort of look like the spirits passing through in the
line of no life. They all have something in common. You'll need some sort of disguise.
>E
You can examine the bucket, etc., or just...
>NOSE
>SHADES
>SHOTGUN
>PUT SHADES ON NOSE
Okay, that's all you can do in Gnarliest Triangles. But your disguise isn't complete, yet.
What about to the west?
>W
>W
>MAPS
>BEARD
>PUT NOSE ON BEARD
>WEAR BEARD
Okay, you've got your disguise! You'll have to come back to Flesh Shelf later, because the
grinder will help you.
>E
>N
>CHISEL
>GET CHISEL
The banshee can be disposed of and made a thing of the past for a last lousy point.
>HASBEEN
>S
>W
The two types of liver are functionally identical. You can also say "river" or
"ville" for the RiverVille liver to save keystrokes.
>PEEL VILER
>PUT VILER IN CANISTER
You should be able to cut down keystrokes with "river," but I don't want to be too
cryptic in this walkthrough.
>PEEL RIVER VILLE
>PUT RIVER VILLE IN CANISTER
Now that you've made livers, you have what you need to go past the Emptiness Sepiments.
>E
>N
>SLIVER
>DRAPES
>CUT DRAPES
>SILVER
>PUT SILVER IN GUN
>N
Oh no! That didn't quite seem to work! We got lost! Wait, we have something that helps us not
get lost.
>READ MAPS
>WOLVES
You can actually waste time and get killed here, but I think you know what to do.
>SHOOT WOLVES
STORE I
.>SCAN STORE I
.>READ STORE I
>SORTIE
>IN
(You can also ENTER DESPOT DEPOTS, but that's a bit longer to type.)
Now you have a puzzle. What number do you need to change the dial to? It can be a binary search, or
... it can be a number. A number containing E, I, S, T and X. And any of NSEW.
>SIXTEEN
>N
You're abducted here to THE NICK. You're hungry for a way out.
>KITCHEN
The Dinner Rendin' Red Inn has stuff you need to change. You can deal with the warts now, but
waiting saves a few turns.
>TORTILLA
>LETTUCE
>STEAK
>PARMESAN
>HOTSAUCE
Now non-anagram stuff. Use the up-arrows and control-left-arrow to make things go faster.
>PUT HOTSAUCE IN TORTILLA
>PUT STEAK ON TORTILLA
>PUT LETTUCE ON TORTILLA
>PUT PARMESAN ON TORTILLA
What can we do with a taco?
>COAT
This will keep us warm once we leave this small area. But we haven't visited everywhere yet.
In fact, we've missed a couple bonus points.
>X FRIDGE
If you look in the Grief'd Fridge, you can whip up some food. First, the grist can become
something more edible. And the cake pan can be, uh, flipped.
The kitchen is now no longer useful to you.
>E
>S
What good are hoses? Not much, in their current form.
>SHOES
Now we have a container we'll switch back and forth.
>SACK
>STRAW
>PUT STRAW IN SACK
Okay, we're prepared for the next bit.
>MOOR
>ATTACK POET
Okay, not really. He's just kind of annoying. If you wait around, you'll get another clue,
but...
>PEASANT
>GIVE STRAW
Now you can just get back the opposite of how you came.
>ROOM
>N
We haven't done anything in Stiller Trellis yet.
>PUT HAY IN WALL
>HALLWAY
>E
>CASK
>FILL CASK
You can teleport back to the moor from anywhere. The game gives you that shortcut.
>MOOR
Oils aren't useful here, but maybe something else is.
>SOIL
Maybe there's something else the cask can do!
>ROOM
>N
>E
>FILL CASK
>W
The way east collapses, but don't worry. You have all you need.
>MOOR
>SILO
Oh wow! But now what to do with the smilies in the poem?
>MISSILE
The roadblock can help you push through a roadblock in the game.
>BLACK DOOR
>FOLD PAPER
.>THROW PLANE
A clue, sort of. What can it become?
>PANEL
The silo seems bare. You need to jazz it up a bit with what you've found.
>PUT PANEL ON SILO
>PUT BLACK DOOR ON SILO
>PUT MISSILE IN SILO
Now the panel has two buttons: HOOTS and TREES. That's all very nature-worthy, but you need
something a bit more aggressive. There's no punishment for figuring or pushing them in the
wrong order.
>SHOOT
>STEER
>PUSH STEER
>PUSH SHOOT
Hooray! You've solved the sortie.
Store M (note you have more than one way through. I've used a slash to determine when alternate
commands work, once things split off.)
>METROS
>ENTER METROS
We can clean up the drainage a bit at first!
>GARDENIA
The Ol' Hotel has a night thing in it. The ketchup bottle it has destroyed is a clue.
>N
>W
Here in the Bile Libe, A MOTTO seems a bit forced. But we can get something from it.
>TOMATO
>E
>S
>W
>THROW TOMATO AT NIGHT THING
Wow, that grossed the night thing out! Let's see what it was guarding.
>SEARCH MATTRESS
A termite emitter! Is there anywhere that could use a drop in property values? Yes, yes there is.
>E
>N
>N
>SWITCH EMITTER
That gets rid of the poses posse!
>KEYCARD
The keycard will come in handy later, but it's still not functional, yet.
Now for a bonus point. Those antlers are actually ridiculously expensive and ostentatious looking.
>RENTALS
>S
>E
>GIVE GARDENIA TO FAERIES
>GET BROCADE
And now the walkthrough splits in two. You may wish to save here if you want to try both paths.
Alternate commands are given with the slash.
>GET HEATHS/GET BEGONIAS
>W
>W
>SHEATH/NOISE BAG
>SWORD/OPEN BAG
The brocade isn't useful as-is, but it's a bit odd. Black and white?
>BARCODE
>PUT BARCODE ON KEYCARD
>E
The lost corn seems odd.
>CONTROLS
The clover may bring you good luck--but you have to make your own luck.
>VELCRO
>WEAR VELCRO
The below is optional but provides a quick alternate solution:
>SHOW EMITTER TO DEADBEAT
>S
The keycard now works automatically!
>E
Take your pick of how to solve things. If you got the heaths, the third option is not possible.
>ASK NERDS ABOUT DARKNESS/SWITCH EMITTER/OPEN NOISE BAG
>W
>S
There's something wrong with the neon pig at the Tramline Terminal. Let's get rid of it.
>CLIMB WALL
>OPENING
What could go in the opening?
>PUT CONTROLS IN OPENING
>D
You have what you need to face the beats. If you don't, here's a checklist.
1. you need the tulip from the nerds in Esoteric Coteries behind the friend finder. (3 ways to)
2. you need to have neutralized the words in Bile Libe, or what they become. They need a container
you probably got from the faeries. (2 ways to)
3. you need to have repaired the neon pig and put the controls in the gap, so the power source
won't zap you.
There are 5 alternate paths in total for getting this done (begonias allow for an extra nerds
solution,) but in each case, the idea is the same. You need the words, or what they become.
>E
>RESIN
The beats are too incorporeal. You need something physical to attack, even if it's a bit
scary.
>BEAST
>SWORD/GET SWORD
>ATTACK BEAST
Metros down. Yay! If you've gone in order, the final area is now available.
Store R (again, there are multiple ways through. This covers them all.)
>RESORT
>ENTER RESORT
The Astral Altars seem to be a "yay, good end" place. But you have not beaten Red Bull
Burdell yet. So something is wrong here. You need a way out. What is the stile doing there? What are
the tiles for?
>ISLET
Not quite an islet, but a Leis Isle. Again, something is wrong here, as if you'd already
finished things! But you haven't. You can react observantly to the Leis Isle for a bonus point.
This is left as an exercise for the reader.
Whether you do that or not, you need a way out. There are two. Getting both gets an extra point.
They are functionally equivalent, though one saves keystrokes.
The rock can't help you across water as-is.
>CORK
Neither can the swing.
>WINGS
>E
Now the poles blocking your way can become more climbable and less vertical.
>SLOPE
>E
Not quite, yet. There's material around to collect. You need to make two five-letter matches or
one eight-letter match to go further east. The five-letter ones may be easier in-game, but the
eight-letter one requires fewer keystrokes.
The spore and the grips can become something new.
>ROPES
>GRIPS
Now you can just go east, but the toolshed can be changed to something more practical. Well,
practical for you, right now. This is a two-point anagram!
>E
Oh no! Too many people protesting you! How can you diminish the riot?
>TRIO
The protest needs something better to do than protest. Maybe an artistic interest.
>POTTERS
The chain links have two pieces. You only need to change one. If you change the "right"
one first, you don't get a bonus point. So, to get a Last Lousy Point,
>CHINA
To make the potters happy:
>KILNS
Oh no, again! Red Bull Burdell, finally! He pushes you down, then yells GET OUT a lot! It means
something. Examine him, and he has a weakness. Holey footwear.
>TUG TOE
>E
Now there are three ways through at the end. The EXITS, or ... well, it's a Means Manse.
It's pretty empty, but it has possibilities.
>EXIST
You can do something to make your new home feel homier. Start labeling everything and giving them
roles.
>NAMES
Or you can also close the book (books?) in another way.
>AMENS
There's very little difference between the three endings, but you can UNDO to retry them all.
I hope you enjoyed this game! The sequel, A Roiling Original, really beats the concept to death.
Note: if you want to replay but skip a section, some cheats are below the final long break.
LOGOI skips the forest. (An IGLOO is in Frost Forst.)
SOOTH skips the sortie. (A riff on the HOOTS button.)
SAY BS skips the metros. (A riff on BASSY ABYSS.)
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