For those wishing play the gamein French :

Dans la version d'aujourd'hui le fichier de traduction existe déjà et pour l'utiliser il suffit de modifier le fichier suivant :
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Playrix Entertainment\Relics of Fate A Penny Macey Mystery\data\tweaks.txt"

1-Remplacer "LANGUAGE english"
par
"LANGUAGE french"

2-Lancer le jeu. Il devrait être en français.


In today's version, the translation file already exists and to use it just change the following file:
"C: \ Program Files (x86) \ Playrix Entertainment \ Relics of Fate A Penny Macey Mystery \ data \ tweaks.txt"

1-Replace "LANGUAGE English"
by
"LANGUAGE french"

2-Start the game. It should be in French.

Best regards

Found this one kind of boring to be honest. Finished it in one sitting. Only had to use Hammish a couple of times and simply because of the word for an item either being something completely unexpected (as someone mentioned above with "fan" for example), or it being a word I've never even heard of before. That said, even the things that slowed the game down didn't make it more difficult or engaging. 2.5 out of 5 stars. We've had MUCH better games here before.

Disappointed. Nice little game. I had to add my own preferred name and then delete the last name the game inserted for the player. Nice game play as you don't have to hunt all over and then go back 5 scenes to finish an object. Some of the HO were challenging to find which is always nice. I cannot finish the game because the final tile problem does not have the right tiles. I found the walkthrough on Big Fish and the tiles that should be there to make the final pattern are different. No matter which pattern I try to make, they are not correct. It seems there was a random generation instead of the ones that should have been included. There are no tiles to insert that you find, only to rearrange the ones that are there so it is not that I missed anything. I will have to delete the game as I cannot finish the pattern with the tiles supplied. :(

@Cad Delworth, I understand that it is deliberate. My point is, it is impossible to translate, because e.g. in Dutch instead of stamps, you would need "postzegels" and "stempels". A translater can't replace one description with two, and get them to count correctly. I've come across this "nice sneaky touch" before and know it makes the translated version very frustrating, if not downright impossible, to play.

HI,

It took a little while to download on 8.1, about 15 minutes. Set up was smooth and graphics are good. Pointer moved easy. Started in the
easy mode and play moves smoothly. You move from one thing to another. Not too challenging and simple to play. Thanks for another good
game and have a great week!

Really looking forward to this new game! Graphics for the actual scenes look great (from Whiterabbit aka Stephen) though not too happy on the characters in the game play's Menu and Hint. Not sure why so many of these games seem to have different artists. Thanks for the game to all involved!!

still unaceptable all other game like this ( which i like playing ) allows for a start / stop at any point stll deleted as this problem needs to be fixed

I didn't have time to play the whole game, but I'm enjoying it. I love mysteries and puzzles. I thought the word find was too easy. Some words could be arranged vertically and diagonally rather than only horizontally. I also prefer games that save right where you end rather than only at the beginning of a new scene. Thanks.

Thanks for the genre at the top. :) I'm liking your new "I don't have time" format for your reviews, and I think it's time to stop apologizing. :) I'd be happy with this format from here on out so you can devote the few additional hours this format gives you to something more valuable (for lack of a better word.)

Not sure if the team is still monitoring this or not, but for the last 2 games I've d/l, the after activation browser page is broken. Instead of getting the "What's next" page, I've gotten "no posts match." I am using whatever the latest Firefox is. And I also had the slow download issue today, over 3 hours for the zip, but I assumed that related to the hour at which I downloaded the file. Server seemed extremely overloaded.

.....................................Moderator Comment.............................

You comment reminds me of when i was at university. I have always been an apologiser and was told off a few times for apologising all the time. Especially from girlfriends I had while at uni. Sort of whimpish I suppose. Then again, that was the way I was raised (by my grandparents{mainly}). :)

Downloaded and installed fine, Win 7/64. Just ... not impressed. Even on the more difficult mode, there are very few challenges and everything is "hinted down". Example: "Father's clue had a time on it... I wonder if it has something to do with that broken clock?" C'mon, can't we have a chance to figure that out for ourselves? I've found three of the relics so far and none were any work to find. A few of the puzzles themselves were a little more thought-involving, but were also among the dime-a-dozen. A Search-a-word puzzle is kinda... well, lame in a Mystery HOG. This is either a very old game or meant for a very young audience. The art is basic, the music nothing impressive, hint sparkles gives way too often and easily, even at the difficult mode. Kinda disappointing for Playrix, but again, maybe it's for a younger audience.

On Win XP SP3, it installed AOK but running the game first time, it gave me a black screen, no sound, just a big arrow mouse pointer.

I Task Manager'd my way out (eventually!) and set the Compatibility options for Windows 2000 (!). A re-run with this setting got the same result, but quickly followed by the FuzzyBug logo. The game did seem to take an AGE to load, but once I was in, I (as usual) switched Full Screen OFF and once it went in to a window, I quit, took off the Win2K Compatibility setting, and ran it a third time. Result: somewhat quicker load into a window and all is well.

(By the way, WHY is Full Screen almost always the default in HOGs? My vote is for WINDOW to be the default: anyone else here agree? Then at least if it's acting weirdly in any way, you can easily get to the rest of Windows to see what's up.)

As others have commented, be careful where you try to QUIT in Relics of Fate. If it's not during a cut-scene, odds are you'll lose some progress and have to re-do some HOG games; the game will warn you if this is about to happen, so you can back out and carry on for a little to try to complete the scene first. This does kind of date this game as that is a very "old school" way of doing things. More modern HOGs (thankfully!) allow you to quit pretty much any time without any loss of progress even if you're in the middle of a HOG game; right down to remembering which objects you've already found in that game.

I haven't yet got far enough to see if the story is as inane as others claim; reviews elsewhere do rate the mini-games highly, though.

So I am now down the THREE HOGs left to complete from recent GGOTD giveaways! (Dorian Grey Syndrome, Insane Cold, and Relics of Fate.)

Not quite true: you only have to start from the beginning of each SCENE if you haven't completed it, not the start of the whole game; and the game does warn you about that if you QUIT anywhere other than during a cut-scene.

Yes, Dorian Grey isn't so much difficult as frustrating inasmuch as you can't click a location on the Map to "go there" and the HINT doesn't "lead the way" to whatever needs doing, it just says "There is nothing to do here." and forces you to consult the Map. Again.

So: it all takes much longer than it needs to.

Nope, I think Hamish "sleeping" is like the recharge time for hints which in other HOGs would be shown as a progress bar or clock face until HINT is available again.

Hamish kind of snuffles himself awake, shakes his head, opens his eyes, and makes a little "wuff" when the HINT is recharged. Personally I find that horribly twee, but it's a nice touch. I'd prefer a proper bloodhound instead of a yappy little barely-enough-for-a-sandwich "Scotty dog," myself ... (!)

I am sitting here in London (near London Bridge station) and use the wlan of my airbnb host ;-)

Downloaded in around 5 minutes, installed without a problem on Win 8.1 after having shut off Avira.

I then found out I already played this one and uninstalled it. But I recommend it to HOG lovers like me.

Unfortunately I have to leave London on Tuesday night again *sighs* - I so love it here.

The story is not very engaging, it's a series of quests, each happening in a single location with no movement. It's always abundantly easy what you are supposed to do, even if it doesn't make sense - that's not good. The story doesn't even attempt to be good - I stopped playing around the point where I called a stranger saying "Your house was robbed" and the answer was "Hopefully they didn't take the relic I keep under the floor. Could you check if it's still there?" I mean, who does that? The main problem though was that the story is not fun. It's "go to these locations and find eight relics".

In the hidden object scenes, you are supposed to find the same object several times, for example, "10 coins" or "6 stamps". That's not a problem in itself but I would appreciate a little more diversity.

It's not voiced.

do not bother with this game as you have to start from the begining if you quit. this is definently going to be deleted

Installed on Win 7, 64-bit & played just fine for about an hour. Thanks for another keeper! --Dax

Inge, I suspect that's deliberate. In HOGs, a "fan" could be a fan you hold, an electric desk fan, a fan held in a statue's hand ... etc. All they've done here is be intentionally vague and put several Types of Stamps in the same object×7 list. A nice sneaky touch I haven't seen in a HOG before (I don't get out much!).

"Oh! M'sieu Stepehn! Wiz zeese HOGs, you are spoil-eeng uhhhs!"

Seriously though: eyes down, look in: immediate download ahead! My favourite type of game (guess I'm not alone, given how many of these seem to be created?!!). Playrix are always top-notch fun, though the review Stephen links to makes a real USA-style meal of the fact that our heroine is neither a cop nor a PI yet people in the game give her free rein; despite the game in other respects trying to be a tad more "serious" Real Detective Process yarn than usual.

Well, if that sort of "moral issue" (?) bothers you, then maybe HOGs are not for you, given the almost operatically absurd and fantastical storylines present in many of these games! Not to decry the authors, you understand; just saying that if you take a step back and think "would anyone actually DO this in real life?" then the answer is usually an emphatic "not without getting arrested, they wouldn't!" Which is part of the escapist charm of a HOG: hang up your credibility on the hook on the wall just before you click PLAY and re-install it when you click QUIT; is my advice (!) ...

So yeah, looking forward to this one! Thank you Playrix and GGOTD!

Ok Windows 8.1 x64 Pro. Sliders. Full screen. Two modes Causal & Exp. Nice story flow. Hardly need Hint puppy. Only used once early on so far & only because didn't find object
after having clicked around a lot inside a cabinet & missing it. Once Hint points to it
being in there then can bang on it. Fair sized program so graphics clear and nice eye candy of scenes & HOGS. Goody game. Thanks GOTD.

Downloaded and installed on Win 8.1 desktop (AMD E1 processor), runs fine. However, it sets up and installs my full name as the player name, which it evidently found on my system somewhere, I never entered it. It will not allow changing the name, and if I try to add other players, it defaults to the same name, leaving multiple players of the same name. I prefer to use one common name for all players names, a "thing" I've got, and prefer not to have my privacy invaded. Although it is a Playrix game, it doesn't show their name in start-up, different from their norm. It seems like a nice HOG, it makes me a bit uneasy, I wonder about other info it may be taking from my system, and if any of it is going back to the internet somewhere. I'll delete this one and hope I am being paranoid (if it has mined my data, it'll be too late to stop or undo it now!).

Installed on both my Win 8.1 laptop and my Win 7 desktop. In both cases, the actual install was quite long compared to similar sized games. It must have a LOT of files involved. In both cases, the "activation" page just gives the message "Sorry, no posts matched your criteria." that's a bit weird!

Using DTA, the downloads were quick.

Both versions work great. I haven't had time to do more than just test on both machines but it was enough to know it's a typical Playrix game -- great!

Thanks!

I enjoyed the game & finished it in casual mode in just under 3hrs but I had to skip a couple of the puzzles because I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I am quite an experienced adventure/HOG player but found myself clicking randomly quite a lot. The puzzles could do with a question mark or help button to explain what is required for completion of each one. As always thanx to playrix/fuzzy games for the giveaway and to White Rabbit for his reviews & moderation.

3.8 stars (out of 5) at BFG. Not top of the line, but not bad. Anyone that wants or needs a walkthough can find one here = www.bigfishgames.com/blog/walkthrough/relics-of-fate-a-penny-macey-mystery-walkthrough/

I get this after I have installed the game and click on the link to activate the software and then I get this on the webpage? Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.

Good game, but can not have multiple players or a different name for yourself. The game is stuck on the installer's name. Can not change it and "new" brings up the same name that can not be edited. I like to have a couple players set up for different difficulty settings, so I will just have to remember which is which. (impossible when I leave the game for a few weeks or months at a time but oh well, it is free.)

Getting this message when i try to install "Giveaway period for this software is over"

Maybe I am obtuse but I couldn't find the Bundle Stars package you mention in the first paragraph after the bunch of screen caps from Relics of Fate up above.

Could you please give us a direct link to the package you mention?

Thank you.

Hmmmm Firefox does Not Like today's game -- restarted the snail slow download when I realized it had not completed, & it showed 20 min remaining. Tried Chrome & it only took a few minutes.

"game installs to C:/Programs/ — I always change to my Games folder"

When a Playrix game comes with an installer it can add one or more extra icons, plus install the game under Program Files [Program Files (x86)]\ Playrix\

Nothing wrong with any of that, but if you prefer the simplicity of having your games all in the C:\Games\ folder that's the usual default for games on GOTD, find the game's folder in the Playrix folder, & drag it to your C:\Games folder. You will have to delete the old shortcuts & make new as usual.

Going to try this one. The graphics look clean. I like difficult games, but sometimes designers go overboard with the dark and creepy and you can't see a thing. I did get Dorian Gray last week and the icon is on my desktop, staring at me, lol.

Going out this morning and my electricity will off all day - from 9 til 4 - so no time to really play games today. I'll be crochet designing, ha ha. Need to do lots more of that. ^_^

Wishing your son all the best with his exams. Sounds both you and he are working hard at it. Gambatte! <3

Am I unusually slow at finding hidden objects, or does Hamish the Dog fall asleep while other players are searching? I thought it was a nice touch to require me to shake the little doggie before I could ask for clues. Hidden object games don't come any better than this one. Relics of Fate is easily installed and set up, and it's lots of fun to play. Hidden objects are well hidden but they are visible, and I'm sure that many players will be able to find the objects without waking the doggie. I think it'll take me a good many hours to finish this game.

Looks like a nice game. I'm going to download and install, but won't have time to try it today. My oldest also needs help studying for next weeks tests, and the youngest has a book review coming up so I need to help with the Powerpoint.
First thing that struck me in the first screenshot: "stamps x7". These are both postage stamps and rubber stamps: poor translators! In other languages these are two different things, there's just no way they can get this right.
Good luck Stephen to your sun and daughter, and don't worry about the moderating, we're lucky you do so much for us, and most people understand there's more to life than gaming.

Thank You, the other playrix HOG i've played have been great, looking forward to this one, and reccomend to others whilst it's available

Well, you have blown the bleep out of my productivity this weekend. Between yesterday's game, the Bundle Stars games you recommended and today's game, I am doomed to enjoy myself on the computer. This weekend has been full of great games. Thank you GAOTD and White Rabbit.

Doomed I say, Dooooooooomed

~Gina

Loaded fine. I like hidden object games! Thanks GGOTD!

Small correction, Whiterabbit: game installs to C:/Programs/ -- I always change to my Games folder--, and desktop icon is installed.

Good luck again on your exam prep!

.............................Moderator Comment..............................

Thanks for pointing that out. Was dog tired when I got up to post. Forgot to change the install path. I also forgot to add that there was a shortcut installed and an uninstaller. :)

Seeing that this is a pretty reputable software house Playrix Entertainment, I don't ever hesitate to try out their software. They write good gaming products and everything I've ever played from them has been a good experience all around. Thanks GGOTD.

Same as last week, too much to do with exam practice with my son to post a full review. He's got two further maths papers this coming week and needs a lot of support especially with Tangents, cosines etc. I'll still be moderating, but not as often as I usually do. Only tone more week till normal service is resumed. :)


Relics of Fate A Penny Macey Mystery



In Brief

Todays game is a Hidden Object Game with the usual in game puzzles. You can find a full review of the game HERE



Videos
You can see a you tube video of today's giveaway HERE



Installation:

The zip file once downloaded should be 383 MB size and when installed to the default path mentioned below is 487 MB in size. Installation is a breeze; the unzipped setup file installs the game to the following path:

C:\program files (x86)\Playrix entertainment\Relics of Fate A Penny Macey Mystery

Once installed you can delete the wrapped setup file (for those that are new to the giveaway project that's the orange colored file with a key symbol on the icon; you can also delete the Setup.gcd security file and the read me document.

There is a desktop icon created during installation and you'll find an uninstaller in the start menu.

Some community members may have problems installing the game due to the Themida based security included with the download. Norton is one AV suite that seems to tag the file as suspicious and tends to delete the file, which will then throw up one of several error messages. If this problem does arise, there are two ways around it (or three if you decide not to install the game):

1) … Configure your security to accept files from the giveawayoftheday in particular the setup.gcd file.

2) … Temporarily turn off your security until the game has been installed, then turn it back on immediately.

I’d try for the first option first. If you aren’t sure how to configure the antimalware suite, either read the programs help files or Google how to do it, then and only then as a last resort go for turning your security off temporarily; however, if you do choose that option, you do so at your own risk. (Just to allay any fears that you may get infected installing a game giveaway with no security turned on). The giveaway team have given away well over a thousand games since the inception of the game giveaway project back in Decenber 2006 and no game has ever been infected with malware. The giveaway team check all downloads throughly using several malware suites to ensure the files are clean.


Introduction:

An ancient underground catacomb is discovered in Newtown and is linked to a set of long forgotten relics. Meanwhile, Newtown's local PI Jack Macey is kidnapped while investigating a series of robberies in the area. Can you help Penny Macey save her father and discover the secret behind the mysterious Relics of Fate? Explore the town, talk to its inhabitants and solve intriguing puzzles in this exciting hidden-object puzzle adventure.

Reference accessed HERE 14th June 2015

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


If you missed Brink of consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome the other week, Bundle Stars have a brilliant deal on at the moment which ends 8am 18th june (GMT). for the fantastic sum of £1.59 (approx $2.40) you can get the Collectors edition of Brink of Consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome i.e

Brink of Consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome CE

plus the following 9 + 4 games = total of 14 games (that's basically 11pence per game - or approx 17 cents each)

Alex Hunter - Lord of the Mind Platinum Edition
Elementary My Dear Majesty!
Heroes of Hellas 3: Athens
Hidden Object Bundle 5 in 1
Lost Chronicles of Zerzura
Lucid
Puzzle Station 15th Anniversary
Royal Defense
Governor of Poker 2 Premium Edition

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Problems:


If you have any problems installing or getting today's game to work please go HERE for help. I've posted most of the common problems and solutions in a FAQ thread, which you can find in the sticky section of the forums by following the above link.


If you are posting late in the day I would also suggest posting in the main giveaway forums, in the game discussion section because I cannot moderate 24hrs a day over the weekend. I've created a thread HERE for that purpose. If you've installed the game but it won’t work for some reason, it should still be registered, so someone may be able to help at another time. Unfortunately if your problem is actually installing it then once the giveaway period is over there’s nothing that can be done until the game is given away again (though that isn't guaranteed). Sometimes you can still register the game after the giveaway has ended so long as you managed to start the download before the giveaway ends. I've tested this and the grace period lasts for up to 1 hour.


It’s always worth checking out the free games sites because sometimes the games we get here are also available for free from them. MyPlayCity (MPC) has the most with over 1000 games to choose from. Other sites include Gametop and FreeGamePick. Todays game isn't available from any of the free sites


If you do download any games from MyPlayCity, Gametop or the other free game sites 'do' watch out for toolbars etc. Make sure you un-check the check-boxes during installation, and, in the case of MyPlayCity, every time you boot the game up, (this may have changed now as these free game sites tend to change the format frequently. .. I've posted links to all of the common free game sites below in the games, games games section. :)http://steamcommunity.com/app/263200
For now I won't be recommending you download games from Jenkat Games. They have changed the way you get games from their site. Diane has posted information about this over in the game discussion forums. If I have time or remember, I'll link to it. Cab Lady/Lady Lei doesn't recommend TooMyk Games due to malware warnings.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Games, Games, and yet more Games plus Download, Installation & Game play Problems:




There are 258 games on sale over on Steam this week, ranging from 10% to 90% off. You can find a full list of all sale items HERE.

You'll also find some excellent deals over on the following Game sites.

GreenManGaming
Gamersgate Summer Sale
GOG (DRM free games)
Desura
Gamestop
GameFly (soon to be sold off)




Free Game Sites:


MyPlayCity (over a 1000 games to choose from)
Gametop
FreeGamePick



To be honest there are too many game deals around too list them all. Just visit the sites I recommend above and I'm sure you'll find something that suits you for a very decent price. If like me you prefer Steamworks games, many of the above sites also sell steamwork games.

If that's not enough, check out the Game Discussion forums HERE for details of other games either free or on deals such as the Indie Game bundles (there's over 20 of them - If you purchased all of them you'd be paying around $80 for around a thousand dollars worth of games); or check out the four day sales at IndieGameStand. you'll find the indie bundles thread HERE. The thread is outdated, but all of the links will still take you to the latest bundles.








The latest IndieGameStand game is called Saturday Morning RPG:
Saturday Morning RPG is an episodic JRPG set in world heavily inspired by 1980s Saturday morning cartoons and pop culture. Players take the role of Martin "Marty" Michael Hall, an average high-school student who has just been granted an incredible power - a power that ultimately leads him to attract the ire of the world's most notorious villain, Commander Hood! Saturday Morning RPG features a full soundtrack by legendary 80s composer Vince DiCola (Transformers: The Animated Movie, Rocky IV) and his composing partner, Kenny Meriedeth.


PLUS, if you pay over the average, which at the time of writing was $1.67 you will also get the OST. The deal ends Monday 15th June 2015 5am (GMT) There has been some rumblings over at Desura and IGS have posted a message saying they can't guarantee keeping records of desura keys, so you should redeem them as soon as you get the game.


The latest DIG game is Gare Sapphire Mechs a polished top down action shooter set in a digital like world with upgradable mechs.

Vitris-47 has been the central stage of many conflicts over the ages. The Idalin empire rules over the planet with an ironhand and war is always present. On the other side, there's the resistance, trying to retake the planet to its former glory and you are part of it.

Driving your mech around the gorgeous digital cityscapes of the planet, the time has come for a new power to arise and put an end to this war.


You can get two keys if you pay more than the average of $1.00 (at the time of writing - this price is sure to go higher). One key to share with a friend or family member perhaps? You'll find that deal HERE. They also have six bundles of several games that'll cost you less than $1.50 each HERE (DIG Bundles 29, 30 31 & 32 plus one Desura bundle and DIG ReBundle7). You get Steam keys for all of these games apart from the Desura bundle. Five of the six games included are on Steams Greenlight project, so, if they are Greenlit, you will get a Steam key. The single game deal ends just after Midnight Thursday (18th June) and will be replaced with Battleplan: American Civil War

Most of the other bundles retail for around $5 give or take a few dollars (apart from the Daily Indie bundles that only cost $1.49 for six games), but you can pay as little as a dollar for some. There are some excellent bundles out at the moment. Check out the following:
Groupees (5 bundles)
Indie Gala (6 bundles)
Humble bundle (2 Bundles)
Indie Royale (2 bundles available)
Bundle Bandits (0 bundles)
Blink Bundle (0 bundles)
Play Injector (0 bundle)
Get Loaded (0 bundles)
Games Rage (0 bundles)
Flying bundle (0 bundles)

The free game from Origin has changed to Ultima 8 Gold Edition. It's been optimised for todays computers. Well worth getting, especially if you are into classic games. Check it out HERE.
You do need a free Origin account and install the Origin client to get these free games. Once you've installed the Origin client and signed into your account select 'On the house' from the 'Free Games' drop down menu. Then select download now. The game will then be registered to your Origin account.

========================================================

A Request for helpl>:

Developers rely on good feedback to improve their games. If you download this game please take some time once you’ve played it a while to leave some constructive feedback either positive or negative. The more constructive feedback we get, the more likely developers are going to give more games away. The giveaway site already has a very good standing with the search engines. Developers want their products out there on the WWW, this site has the potential to do that. The game giveaway project gives away on average between 9 to 17 thousand downloads for each game depending upon what genre and how obscure the game is. That’s a lot of homes these games are being downloaded into and a lot of 'potential' cash that’s being lost by the developers. If we get better games because of better feedback, the community are likely to continue to benefit from the generosity of the developers. Satisfied community members are then more likely to visit the home sites of those developers and purchase games that they may not have bothered with before they discovered the developer via the game giveaway site, thus giving the developers more incentives to give away even more decent games.

Please leave some feedback once you’ve checked the game out. It can be positive or negative, but please explain what your reasons were for the feedback you post. You could also leave suggestions for improving the game, for example, this game could do with more block types for the levels editor, add more power-ups, describing the ones you think would be suitable, add some mini games (which seem all the rage in some arcade games now) or enable the user to be able to change the in game music easily.

Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to post a constructive comment, and a big thank you to immanitas games for sharing and to the game giveaway team for getting these games.

Regards

Whiterabbit aka Stephen