Matches in Interactive Fiction![[top]](../img/top20x20.png "top"){kind=small}
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Let's examine some matches! Also matchbooks, matchboxes, and tinderboxes!
"matches" icon pack by Olena Panasovska from Noun Project (CCBY3.0)
Anchorhead (1998)
> x book of matches (@ Kitchen)
A label on the side reads, "Water-resistant matches. Strike on cover." There are [six or less] matches left.
Art D's Third Batch Adventure (1997)
> examine match (@ Quaint shop)
It's the same size and shape as a plain wooden match, but it's made of ivory and has an obsidian head. Various tiny jewels have been set into the match. It must be worth a fortune.
Birmingham IV (2018)
> x match (@ In the Shop)
A long slow match, of the kind used for firing wheel-lock muskets, for example. By the smell, it has been properly soaked in saltpeter, but it is also rather damp.
Captain Cutter's Treasure (2021)
> x tinderbox (@ Broom Closet)
It's a small metal box engraved 'From Mum'. It contains flint, steel and tinder. You use it for lighting the fire and the lamps in The Red Anchor when the sun goes down.
Captivity (2020)
> x match (@ Kitchen)
A slim wooden stick with a little knob of sulfur or gunpowder or something (you’re not too clear on the technology) at one end.
Carpathian Vampire (2022)
> x matchbox (@ Kitchen)
It's a small wooden box for holding matches.
> x matches (@ Kitchen)
They're safety matches with phosphorous heads. There [are number] left.
> x match (@ Library)
The Damp Camp (1999)
> x indelible match (@ In the Tree)
This is your friend Jarvist's indelible match, i.e it won't go out easily. The end of the match while not being used is soaking up petrol, and when you strike the match the match keeps burning until it has run out of fuel. A very handy yet dangerous camping device. Still, you can't help wondering who put it in a tree.
Die a Hero or Become the Villian (2012)
> x matches (@ Your Evil Lair)
Can be used to burn stuff. Hehe.
Dr Ego and the egg of Man-Toomba (2020)
> x matchbook (@ The Maro River)
It is a booklet of matches with red phosphorous heads, "Red Herring Lucifers" is printed on the back.
Dream Pieces (2013)
> x matches (@ Bedroom)
It's a strange mix of things, made of pieces from your dream!
Enlightenment (1998)
> x tinderbox (@ At The Wrong Side Of The Bridge)
It's a very small thin adventurer's tinderbox, containing all the materials needed for starting a fire, and tightly sealed to ensure that it's waterproof.
> x fire starting materials (@ At The Wrong Side Of The Bridge)
They're the essentials needed for starting a fire: flint, iron and wood shavings.
Firebird (1998)
> x matchbook (@ Outside of an Inn)
An ordinary imprinted book of matches. The matchbook contains [7 or less] matches.
The First Snows of Winter (2013)
> x phosphor stick (@ Cabin)
It is a thin wooden stick tipped with phosphor, magically enhanced to be re-usable.
Frankenstein Adventure (2004)
> x matches (@ Empty kitchen)
The box is full of matches.
Future Threads (2017)
> x matches (@ Hut)
A bundle of rather-uneven matches.
Goldilocks is a FOX! (2002)
> x matchbox (@ In the pantry)
Gone Out for Gruyère (2019)
> x red matchbook (@ Foggy Street Corner)
It has a red cover, and only one paper match remains. On the front is printed "SAF-T MATCH".
Guttersnipe: The Baleful Backwash (2018)
> x matchbook (@ A wine cellar)
A small wooden box, small enough to fit into the palm of your hand, full of matches.
Hercules! (2021)
> x matches (@ Lerna)
It's just a small red matchbook with some matches inside. Small writing on the box says "made with love and care by the Cyclopes of Hephaestus, Inc."
Hollywood Hijinx (1986)
> x red match (@ Kitchen)
It's the wooden, self-lighting variety of match. The red match is [not] lit.
> x matchbox (@ Kitchen)
You see a picture of Santa Claus in his sleigh. The sleigh is filled with computer games from Infocom, and the reindeer pulling it look strained.
The Island (by Wiliams) (2013)
> x matchbox (@ Dining Room)
Diamond strike anywhere matches. Keep away from children.
The King of Shreds and Patches (2007)
> x tinderbox (@ van der Wyck's Display Room)
This small box contains flint, pyrite, and some kindling. Like just about everyone over the age of five and below the rank of nobility, you are well-schooled in its use.
Maiden of the Moonlight (1996)
> x tinderbox (@ Porch)
The tinderbox contains all you need to light fires: flint, steel, and tinder.
Motel California (2011)
> x matchbook (@ Room 104)
The matchbook is out of matches. The artist says he doesn't care about the lack of matches anyway. He kept the matchbook as a souvenir from the art classes he took. Printed inside the cover of the matchbook is a cartoon pirate with information on how to contact the art academy. At the bottom, it reads, "JDYAALEXMON".
Offensive Probing (1999)
> x book of matches (@ The Bridge)
You picked it up on shore leave a few weeks ago, and it bears the name of a bar in which you met a woman with whom you totally failed to get off with, or even talk to. You keep the matchbook as sentiment, and there can't be many matches left.
Old Jim's Convenience Store (2019)
> x matches (@ Inside The Store)
(To light something using the matches, you don't have to refer to the individual matches; it is enough you are holding the matchbox.)
The Problems Compound (2015)
> x match sticks (@ Smart Street)
Match sticks are arranged as equations or makeshift animals, apparently just a few flips away from becoming something new.
Shades of Gray: An Adventure in Black and White (1992)
> x matches (@ Plain White Room)
The matches appear quite fresh.
Stupid Kittens (2000)
> x matchstick (@ Closet, West End)
A small stick of wood. What the hell do you think it looks like. Jesus.
Tryst of Fate (1995)
> x match (@ General Store)
It's your everyday [unlit or burning] kitchen match.
Where There's A Will (2005)
> x matches (@ Library)
A small pack of matches.
Will The Real Marjorie Hopkirk Please Stand Up? (1998)
> x match (@ Backstage)
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