Guttersnipe: Carnival of Regrets by bitterkarella

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The year is 1929. A mysterious carnival has come to town.

Guttersnipe: Carnival of Regrets is a humorously grotesque (or grotesquely humorous) game about a street urchin and her pet sewer rat trying to survive a trip through a dark carnival full of sin, secrets, and murderous clowns.

Special thanks to play testers Tosh Bibb, Norman Rafferty, Steph Cherrywell, Sarah Adams, Siadmander, and Scroll Lock! And to Davy B for coding and problem solving!

Guttersnipe: Carnival of Regrets won the alumni choice ribbon in the 2017 Spring Thing Festival of Interactive Fiction (springthing.net)

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Comment DavyB

29 Apr 2020

Gmarcroft: "use cane on milksop" should work

Comment Gmarcroft

29 Apr 2020

Please help. I have mixed the milksop with the flask of coffin varnish but no amount of variations on using the cane to take the milksop works. :(

Comment writeastory1

05 Jun 2018

Loved it, very good.

Comment DavyB

15 May 2018

Sorry @Rider108, you need to download the updated version of the game and start playing it from the beginning again. All worn items were affected by the most recent Quest revision but these should be fine now in this revised game.

Comment rider108

15 May 2018

@bitterkarella Thanks. I assume I am supposed to put on the gloves to push the cannister but I can't put them on. How do I fix the issue? With Quest or the downloaded game? Or maybe I'm heading the wrong direction. Thanks

Comment bitterkarella

14 May 2018

@rider108: Ok, the game is updated to fix that issue, it should be possible to "wear the dummy" now! Big thanks to Davy B! :)

Comment bitterkarella

14 May 2018

@rider108: Unfortunately, it looks like the latest Quest update did something weird with the "wear" command. I'll need to fix that, but in the meantime you can still "get in dummy" to wear the dummy as a disguise and get backstage.

Comment rider108

14 May 2018

I have the contents of the trunk but I still can't get backstage. Any help? Thanks

Comment Iolanthe

11 May 2018

Is there anything that needs to be done before you can wear the eyepatch? Whenever I try, I get this error:

Error running script: Error compiling expression 'TypeOf(object, this.property)': FunctionCallElement: Could find not function 'TypeOf(Element; Object)';

If I use a different wording, such as "put on eyepatch", it simply tells me I can't wear it.

Comment bitterkarella

18 Apr 2018

@Cyeborg: You can also call Abracadabragail "girl" or "medium" and it should work. Not sure what's up with the glitch, that sounds like it might be UKTextadventures timing out. If you download the game and play it from your home computer, it should hopefully avoid that issue!

Comment Cyeborg

17 Apr 2018

By the way, I have found a glitch! When I tried to unlock the steamer trunk after Abracadabragail told me the combination, the map updated whenever I moved but the text screen just stayed at the message with the combination! Plus, whenever I updated the items/places list without changing the room, by dropping something for example, nothing happened to it or my inventory, Help!

Comment Cyeborg

17 Apr 2018

My worst nightmare in this game is that I will misspell Abracadabragail's name in a command and have to type it ALL OVER AGAIN. Argh.

Review DavyB

17 Apr 2018

I was about to play the latest Guttersnipe game when I thought it better to start with the first one published a year ago. As the previous reviewers have indicated it is excellent! For me, I most enjoyed (i) the writing; (ii) the humour; (iii) the scale, duration and challenge of the game; (iv) the automatic map; (v) the absence of dead-ends and player deaths of any sort; and (vi) the cover art.

I noticed what appear to be a few inconsistencies in the way that 'give' and 'use' are implemented but to avoid spoilers I send details in a separate message. Generally, this is a well crafted game, and so an easy 5 stars.

Comment bitterkarella

15 Apr 2018

@Cretor: Whoops, sorry, try "dig in garbage with jaw" or "use jaw to dig".

Comment cretor

15 Apr 2018

@bitterkarella: For some reason, even though I have it, "dig" won't work!

Comment bitterkarella

15 Apr 2018

@cretor: Thanks, Cretor! There should be a few ways to do it, but, if you have the mastodon skull, just typing "dig" should work just fine.

Comment cretor

15 Apr 2018

Hi bitterkarella, thanks for the fun game! But how do I dig in the garbage strata? I can't find the right words to use the mastodon head/shovel.

Comment bitterkarella

14 Apr 2018

@cyeborg: If you give Abracadabragail a new familiar and ask her about the trunk, she'll tell you the combination.

Comment Cyeborg

13 Apr 2018

Where can I get a hint to the trunk's combination? I feel like I've checked everywhere for forever and a day. Or at least three times each.

Comment Cyeborg

13 Apr 2018

oh ok thx

Comment bitterkarella

11 Apr 2018

@cyeborg: Go two screens south of the strong man tent and you'll see the main stage area. South of that you'll find the backstage area with the steamer trunk.

Comment Cyeborg

11 Apr 2018

Wait... I'm confused. What area is the main stage? Is it by the big top or somewhere else? I need to find the steamer trunk there but I can't find it.

Comment bitterkarella

09 Apr 2018

@cyeborg: Good thinking, but you won't be able to get any batter until after you get backstage into the 'Clowns Only' area. You'll need a disguise for that, but if you open the steamer trunk you might find something there that fits the bill.

Comment Cyeborg

08 Apr 2018

I need help. I need to get backstage but the obese clown won't let me pass. I know that I need a corndog, but the corndog man is all out of dough and I don't know how to get some. I think the funnel cake person may have some, but I can't get anything from the funnel cake stand but an already-fried cake. I'm sure that the stand has some batter, but I can't get any. HELP!

Comment bitterkarella

06 Apr 2018

@Zedetta: Use the hammock from the caravan office as a net to catch a flamingo and bring it to Abracadabragail. Thanks for playing! :)

Comment Zedetta

06 Apr 2018

well, the flamingos are no longer pink, but i have no idea how to get abracadabragail to acknowledge this

Comment tallgoat13

06 Dec 2017

i tried to eat percy

Comment bitterkarella

16 Aug 2017

@Tildy: Yes, it's related to my old webcomic at www.guttersnipecomic.com

Comment Tildy

16 Aug 2017

Isn't this a webcomic as well? It seems very familiar.

Review GameofChocolate

16 Jul 2017

Very creepy, surreal, and awesome. Well done.

Comment bitterkarella

11 Jul 2017

@Wolver: You're pretty close! But to get past the mirror, you'll need to feed the syrup to something besides Red or Mugsy. Try giving it to the snake. Thanks for playing!

Comment wolver

10 Jul 2017

Need a hint, i think i'm near the end, went in the pit underground, found mugsy and red, but cant get the syrup in them. I have percy, blob, jaw, syrup, disguise, lamp, doll and cake.
met the worm, a hint in the right direction would be appreciated. I think i need the dumbells for the mirrors, but haven't been able to get past that.

Review phantom

14 May 2017

A delightful and very amusing game. I liked how there were some puzzles which were not necessary to solve but helped contribute to the worldbuilding.

Comment phantom

07 May 2017

@bitterkarella Clever :) thank you!

Comment bitterkarella

07 May 2017

@Phantom: You're on the right track! You'll need something to help dye them black, so you might want to talk to the candy clerk running the candy wagon. He should have something that'll do the job!

Comment phantom

07 May 2017

@bitterkarella I still need to find a familiar for Abracadabragail. Something tells me a flamingo might do in a pinch (or I could be totally out on a limb there). However, it looks like the flamingos "won't do me any good in their current condition".

Comment bitterkarella

07 May 2017

@Phantom: You're going to have to get backstage into clown alley to find the mailroom. And if you want to get back there, you'll need to find some way to disguise yourself as a clown. (Might be something to help you in the steam trunk backstage at the main stage, though...)

Comment phantom

07 May 2017

Loving the game so far! Funny writing and I especially love the character of Percy. I'm afraid I'm a bit stuck at the moment. For starters, where can I find the Carnival of Regrets mailroom?

Comment bitterkarella

07 May 2017

@Esther: Thanks for playing and I'm glad you're enjoying it! Try "pour coffin varnish in milksop" and that should work.

Comment Esther

07 May 2017

Hello! This is a really awesome story, but there's one bit I'm stuck on... I know I need to mix the varnish and milksop together, but I just can't work out how. I've tried everything, like 'pour varnish into milksop', 'pour milksop into varnish' and 'mix varnish and milksop' but it never seems to work :(

Review Peter2

04 May 2017

This game is great.

Players, if you're stuck, come back later and try again. The puzzles are challenging, but they are solvable.

Review Jamex

03 May 2017

Great game! The challenges are tough but solvable. Great storyline too. Beware the clowns!

Comment Peter2

03 May 2017

@bitterkarella This is an excellent game. Very challenging.

Please consider writing a walkthrough. Thanks.

Comment bitterkarella

01 May 2017

@Peter2: Grab it with the old man's cane :)

Comment Peter2

01 May 2017

@bitterkarella How do I get the milksop after I've poured the varnish into it?

Comment bitterkarella

01 May 2017

@Peter2: Just pour it into the milksop!:)

Comment Peter2

30 Apr 2017

@bitterkarella I'm enjoying this game.

I'm a bit stuck, though. I can't figure out how to disguise the taste of the varnish so the clown will drink it. Hint, please!

Comment bitterkarella

24 Apr 2017

@In3DS: Sorry for the confusion! There are a few ways to phrase it that should work, including "dig in garbage with jaw", "dig with shovel jawed mastodon skull", "dig with jaw", or "use jaw to dig garbage." Hopefully that helps! Thanks for playing!

Comment In3DS

24 Apr 2017

I'm having a small problem with one object in the game.

I'm sure having a shovel-like jaw should help me dig through the garbage strata, but I cannot seem to dig it up in any way. "Dig garbage strata" merely nets me "Dig with what?" "Dig garbage strata with shovel-jawed mastodon jaw" doesn't work either.

Otherwise a compelling tale; eagerly anticipating the ending!

Comment bitterkarella

23 Apr 2017

@jmnevil54: Thanks for the heads up, I updated the game to include those responses!

Comment jmnevil54

22 Apr 2017

Please put in these responses:
Give greasy old man golden ticket
Give greasy old man in a tank top golden ticket
It confused me. I had to talk to Percy 100 times.
Thank you.

Review Regisblackgaard

13 Apr 2017

"Giant Homicidal Communist Vampire Spotted Devilbeast from Hell (Glutteus Infernalis)." LOL! This is a very witty, descriptive, and interesting game. Fully recommend! It may take me a while to finish all the puzzles, but it's a great start!