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You are most welcome for my patience. I’ve got it in spades (usually). And, while not to encourage this, I would have happily supported a Fool and his Money practical joke with my $40 and considered it payment for the ample enjoyment I’d gotten from Fool’s Errand back in the late 80’s (and again more recently thanks to your free downloads).

Additional thanks are required for the free downloads because my third disc (the one with the epilogue) was corrupted by the time I finished Fool’s Errand and I never got to see the ending until very recently.

I’ve enjoyed every game with your name on it. Keep up the good work.

Take your time. To quote Henry David Thoreau: “Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.” So break the rules of your deadline, and be less of a fool than if you’d followed it.

I first played The Fool’s Errand on my step-brother’s roommate’s computer when I visited him at college. I think it was my freshman year of high school, so that would make it 1987 or 1988. While my brother and his friends partied all night, I stayed up, alone in his room, playing The Fool’s Errand.

Now it’s coming up on twenty years later, and I’m writing software for a living. I come home at night and, after kissing my wife and putting my kids to bed, I write software for a hobby. (And, of course, I play the odd computer game here and there.) It seems sometimes that I spend my entire life in front of my computer.

My right hand to God, I can trace this all back to playing your game in my brother’s dorm room. I honestly sat there, all night, thinking “Holy crap, I could spend my entire life in front of a computer.”

In some strange way, I have you to thank for, well, almost everything I have. After all, without my livelihood, what would I have?

I don’t mind the wait. Provided, of course, that I can spend my waiting time in front of my computer.

Take your time in finishing the game, I’m not in any rush…you’re my favorite game designer (and I worked at Origin with Richard Garriott, Chris Roberts, Warren Spector and others, so I know game designers), so it’ll be a blast to play your game whenever you’re ready with it…I understand missing deadlines – all too well.

Just keep trying to get it right the first time because though the early bird may get the worm it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

As for delivery time... take the time to do it right. I’ll wait. (But the flip side of that is that I’ll have very high expectations. I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of your earlier productions; I expect to be blown away by this one. Not to put you under any pressure, of course...)

Don’t worry about the delay. Nobody wants an unfinished product even if they grumble about it.

P.S. the tougher the game the better

Many thank yous for the daily ciphers, April Fool’s Treasure Hunts, and copious cornucopia of conundrums. I hope that all goes well, and I look forward to tackling the The Fool and his Money this winter.

However, I must confess that I suggested to a fellow longtime Cliff Johnson fan, that perhaps WE were the fools... and now YOU have our money... I may have just solved the whole thing!!! No, no, it couldn’t be THAT easy... :-)

Anyhow, I will continue to wait patiently, anticipating a product as good (if not better) than the original.

Good luck on getting a great game out, but not before it’s done.

OK. Again, I can wait and will wait patiently. You just keep cutting down trees, eating your lunch and going to the lavatory in between puzzling. And I, for one, don’t care what you or your mountie friends wear.

Any game you put together is going to be worth the wait.

An occasional update, like this one, is enough to keep this True Believer faithful. :-)

Take, yet again, as much time as is necessary to complete this new errand. My belief shall remain true, even as my anticipation erupts out of the vein on my forehead. Best of luck!

Enjoy your summer. Fool’s Errand is my most-favorite Mac game ever, and I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel!

This is all still correct. I await shipment with bated breath, but being a software developer, I completely understand how deadlines are much, much harder to predict than expected.

If you are trying to build anticipation and hype, you are succeeding! With every update, my excitement grows. I do appreciate your newsletters, thank you, and keep up the good work!

Thanks for the update. Hang in there. I’m confident it will be worth the wait. (How’s that for pressure? No - really none intended. I’m just looking forward to it.)

About the game: I would rather it be good game that takes a while to make rather than a bad game that gets produced quickly. So take your time and dont worry, cause I would have to be worse than a fool to try to rush you.

No problem; the good things in life are worth waiting for!

I will wait for as long as it takes.The original game was one of the best computer games I have ever played and had the privilage to finish.

The appelation of “True Believer” may be a misnomer in my case. I still think it is sublimely ironic that the title of the next installment is “The Fool And His Money.”

I jest, of course. Just played through The Fool’s Errand again and was just as enthralled as the first time. Introduced it to my girlfriend, who has since been cursing both my name and yours for time lost spent unravelling your riddle.

If (ahem) when the next episode comes, I will be very appreciative -- know that I am already appreciative of your gift of The Fool’s Errand.

HHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-- O.K. This time I’m not holding my breath!!!! But I willl hold on to hope! The info is correct. I will try to get my Holiday shopping done early, so you won’t be blamed for wrecking Christmas by shipping that caliber of game right at the beginning of prime shopping days. “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch!”

Well, how can you be a genuine True Believer without an occasional test of faith? Did you know how appropriate the True Believer epithet would be when you started all this?

I remember doing The Fool’s Errand for the first time, many years ago, on a Mac 512 KE. My wife and I had a great time exploring the Fool’s world together. “Cliff Johnson is a genius,” I said to myself. “A demented, twisted, crafty genius, and I wish I had some more games from his demented, twisted, crafty mind.” It was several years before we got another dose of your work, when we bought 3 in Three. Then many years more before I discovered your web site, where I couldn’t believe my good fortune - a sequel - and some games that we hadn’t played yet! And now our children were old enough to join in the fun! Over the years, you’ve given us many evenings of enjoyment, and more than a few hours of frustration. So waiting a few more months for TFAHM doesn’t bother me, as long as my wish finally comes true. Thank you for all the hard work.

Take all the time you need. With the E3 expo running rampant and all this new technology flying at us with life-like graphics it’s refreshing to look forward to a good game with a good story to keep me up at night trying to figure out one more puzzle. I’ll still be here when it’s done.

It’ll get here when it gets here. I’m just happy that it’s being worked on, honed and polished. If it’s half as good as FE, it’ll be just what I need to while away my old age. Which, incidentally, is creeping up on me, so make haste deliberately . .

Not to worry, Cliff. Take all the time you need.

Hello. I am very excited about The Fool and His Money! I feel that if you were to hurry and put it out, it would not be as good as it will be since you are taking your time to make sure it is the best it can be...and I appreciate that.

Deadlines. What are deadlines but things we impose on ourselves? Please, feel free to impose a new deadline and just make sure the game gets done right.

I don’t mind waiting because I know the game will be great, but god help you if this turns out to be vaporware ;-)

Yes, I am saddened by the delay, but having moved 36 times in my life, I can relate.

Worry not. My mentality at this point has been, is, and will simply be this: The Fool and his Money will be done at some point in the future. I’m not sure (and don’t care) when, only that some day completely out of the blue, a package (or cd sleeve or whatever) will show up in the mail and I’ll be completely happy to have it, although I anticipate staying up *way* too late the first night playing it.

I am happy to be among the earliest of the true believers, and will continue to be so regardless of the date it’s done. It took Brian Wilson something like 40 years to get Smile to turn out the way he wanted it, but in the end, it was made, and it was good. (Incidentally, it’s a great album if you don’t have it yet and you dig The Beach Boys.) That said, I’m not too concerned that Santa promises it by Christmas. I’ll be delighted whenever it’s finished, even if it’s brought by the New Year’s baby, or the Easter Bunny, or the Labor Day Gnomes.

I look forward to playing the fool when(ever) he arrives. Hmm. Actually, considering the title of this game, maybe I’m just slow to catch on and perhaps all the delays are the game...?? :)

I played “The Fool’s Errand” way back when it was first released, and am sure I can wait another few months until “The Fool and his Money” is finally released. I’m sure marriage puts a bit of a crimp into your programming time... :) Thanks for creating such wonderful games. I’m looking forward to the next installment, whenever it may arise.

Of course a True Beliver - almost by definition, nicht wahr? - must have patience. I trust you’ll get there eventually. Just keep going, man.

Hey, in a world where games in development regularly get -cancelled-, not just delayed... and where too many games that do get released get rushed out the door in an unfinished state in order to keep shareholders happy and/or meet over-aggressive promises made at tradeshows... I’m just happy to hear that the new Fool game is still happening, and to know that it’ll be up to your usual standards when it finally arrives.

I got hooked on 3 in Three, cemented my addiction with Fool’s Errand (backwards, I know, but that’s what happened -- another True Believer, let me play on his Mac Plus in college :) -- and have been in withdrawal ever since. I’m very much looking forward to November 28th.

(Any chance of a “4 in Four” someday? ;)

I was hoping that you would have it done by this summer so I could play it when I am not in school. “I make a point never to turn my head unless I expect to see something,” and you have my head spinning. Once again, take your time, do it right.

Do what you gotta do; I look forward to seeing the finished game!

I look forward to whenever the game is released. It actually won’t bother me too much if it gets released a little later for a couple of reasons. One - I know that the game will just be incredible and two, we need a new pc, and hopefully by the time it’s released, we’ll have something other than our current dinosaur.

Sorry to hear things are delayed further, but I have no doubt it’ll be worth the wait.

No worries...will look forward to the release whenever it happens.....

Hang in there and get it done to your satisfaction. If you are satisfied with it, then I’m sure we will all be.

Don’t worry and take your time making The Fool and his Money. I’m sure it will be a fantastic game when it is truly done.

Hey, Cliff. Yeah, the game has been delayed a bit more than expected. It doesn’t seem like it’s been two years. But, that’s ok - I barely have time to sleep as it is, and I’m sure if the game was completed I would become a true to life zombie. I have faith in you though. I should add a time-honored quip here... but I can’t think of anything.

I can’t wait, but will do so patiently. :)

Keep plugging away, you’ll get there!

I am a patient fool. As long as I am still alive when it is completed, then what more can I say? It will be done when it is done. Walk slowly if you need to in order to work your magic!

Waiting patiently, staring at the calendar until my contacts dry and permanently adhere to my corneas.

I see that the release date for The Fool and His Money has been pushed back again, which I’m fine with – no, that’s not accurate, I’m disappointed by it, but I have faith that if you don’t think it’s done, it isn’t done.

I think you need a new category for us TRUE True Believers who have been with you for the last couple years, as opposed to any of these Johnny-Come-Lately people who haven’t stuck by your slow butt all this time. :)

Some would say I was the fool with his money paying for the game before it was released - back in early 2003 I believe this was - but I support the delay in release if it is going to be even better (though having you move out of the country in the interim hardly inspires faith!)

Seriously, the Fool’s Errand was a game that DEFINED 1988-89 for me and my friends in college. I wish you the best of luck in completing The Fool and His Money and look forward to playing it.

Very sad to hear of another delay- what shall I do at Christmas now!! BUT take your time, get the game right in your mind before you ship it.

OK, I’ll wait. I may pout a bit, but I’ve waited 20 years; what’s another few months?

Well, you’re the Daddy! I’m sittin’ and hopin’ and hopin’ and waitin’ and .... well ..... July’s not so long, is it? So .... a new game just in time for the Summer holidays. Good one!! (After all the wait, better be the dee’z beez though!)

Any true fan of your work would wait as long as it takes...I can wait. I’m a composer and I DO know what it feels like to maybe have to compromise on a project when the deadline is way too near (hate that feeling!). I say “Do what it takes to make yourself proud of it.”

I get it! The delays are part of the game. Ah-Ha! It’s all a big masterful bait and bait and bait and switch.

I dunno - I’m not so worried about the actual game. I feel like I paid to keep your site and the puzzling community alive - small price.

Just so long as you don’t put off the next April Fool’s hunt! Now, if you could instill some sense of frantic competition in ‘the game’... THAT would be something I was counting the days to. I’m not saying ‘reward’. Just competition.

Well, being human and not without a sense of humor, I have to at least acknowledge the potential gotcha of my pre-ordering a game called ‘ The Fool and His Money’ with a slipping deadline. That said, it would not be the end of the world. There’s nothing worse than buying yourself time by pushing a deadline forward and finding it wasn’t enough. I would be happy with a release date July 1, 2007 if it meant that your vision of the Fool was realized. Remember, as of a couple of years ago, common consensus said that there wasn’t going to be any more Fool ever again. The fact that a sequel is in progress and it will be done eventually is enough to keep me happy.

In short, as long as it’s going to be released someday, do what you gotta do. I’m more than willing to help out in any way I can.

In this society of instant gratification and quick fixes it is nice to see someone like you who is more interested in taking the time to do something superior. By all means take the time you need to make your next “life-waster” something to be savored for many hours. I, for one, am willing to wait since I am only middle-aged, exercise regularly, and am unlikely to die before “The Fool and His Money” finally ships and frustrates my brain. :-)

Yours won’t be the first and won’t be the last to miss a deadline, so I wouldn’t sweat it, Cliff.

Reminds me of a story from my childhood. Back when I was a boy growing up in Northern Ireland, there used to be a lot of fêtes and fairs on Lady Clandeboye’s estate. Oh, well, the Irish love fêtes and fairs, anyway, so people didn’t need much of an excuse to have one, but this was an annual thing and there was lots of room.

So, one year there was something special there: a medieval tournament. Now, I’ve somehow managed to never once get to the not-really-so-far-away summer renaissance fair in Washington here, but I’ve never seen anything like it again.

They had horses and a jousting area all set up. A lot of the competition was non-combative, like the knights riding around with pointed sticks trying to pick up as many Saracen heads as they could (foam mannequin heads), or trying to get bull’s-eye’s on a target with spears thrown by the knights while they rode at a gallop. And at the beginning, the knights rode around asking for tokens (handkerchiefs) from lady sponsors in the crowd. Finally, the knights would tilt each other with lances -- the lances being far more likely to break than a real lance, so there was little chance of a knight being tossed off his horse -- the winner being determined by who’d got a square enough hit on the other’s shield to break their own lance.

This whole thing was going on for about 2 hours or so, but during most of it, one knight was out of the running because in a previous tournament the day before, his horse had been hurt. (Not serious, but enough to not want to risk anything.) This was Sir John. (The knight, not the horse.) Oh, did he ever sulk. But, he was also persistent. Now and then, he would try wheedling his way into one of the other knights’ good graces by doing the job of their squire, but to no avail. They weren’t going to give up *their* horses. Well, with about half an hour left to go, he saw that one of the knights had foolishly left his horse unguarded by his squire while he was doing some sort of competition on foot. That was his cue. He dissolved into the background, then reappeared as he climbed on the horse and took the reins.

Finally, FINALLY, Sir John had a horse! And he rode up and down the field yelling “Sir John has a horse! Sir John has a horse!” He didn’t win the tournament, because he’d had so little time left to accumulate enough points, but his triumph was in finally surmounting a long and drawn out struggle, and the crowd loved him.

Eight years ago, I can’t remember what it was, I’d had some project I’d been banging my head against for quite some time (probably some programming thing), and all of a sudden I had this breakthrough idea. It all fell into place after I figured out this one thing I’d been wrestling with, and while I knew I had some work to go, I could see it working now. The only thing I could think to say at the time, really, was “Sir John has a horse! Sir John has a horse!”

Now you, dear Fool, will not win any prize either for estimating completion dates, but your crowd still loves you. What is more, we’ll all win when you do get done. Up until the point where we get stuck figuring it out, and then we’ll hate you, but... :-)

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