SNOOPER TROOPS 2: THE CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING DOLPHIN

Hey, my Rowdy Friends. So, as you may know from my social media posts, the past few weeks have been hectic and BAD for me. The weather has been terrible which has affected my actual money-making job, and I’ve also had some health issues that have made me even less sunnier than usual. As a result, for at least the next month I really need to work extra longer at my other job to get money for taxes and other things. This is likely going to hamper my video work for at least the short term future, and while I do plan to give you the TV Trash 16th anniversary episode by the end of February, I may need to do some extra special things to ensure I give you some form of weekly update each Monday. Hence what I am giving you now.

You may recall a few years back I posted an article fully explaining how I believed the convoluted practice of time travel actually worked in Avengers Endgame and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When I published that, the likelihood that I would write more articles was always there, but never a certainty, especially since such pieces were surely going to be about... well, anything I didn’t feel was worth making a video about. Which is what leads us to what finally drove me to make such another article.

As many of you know, I am OLD compared to so many of you on the Internet out there. So old that I can remember actually playing some of the oldest computer games out there. Ever see StrongBad’s video on the FriendlyWare games? PusinhUpRoses and Paw Dugan’s videos on the Kings Quest series? Something called Zork? Yep – was there for all of them.

And then there was the Spinnaker line of games. Originally created in 1982, these were among the first so-called “edutainment” games, albeit more than a decade after the legendary Oregon Trail came aroud. My early childhood was obsessed with the likes of Delta Drawing, Call To Arms and In Search Of The Most Amazing Thing. And then... there was Snooper Troops, the mystery solving series created by Tom Snyder that only got two installments, though that’s at least more than pretty much anything else the company made.

The games were pretty simple: You must solve the crime case created by the game by finding clues that will eliminate seven of the eight provided suspects in order to win. You do this by questioning the suspects, calling up people who are doing more spying on said suspects and this have more info on them, breaking into their homes to take photos of their stuff (are we really the good guys here?) and getting other clues from people calling you. It turns out there were a few more questions you have to solve once you discover the guilty party but that’s about it. And they were possibly the first ever games that I... never finished. Part of it may have been my own short attention span not being willing to play out as long as it took to obtain all the clues needed, but then it turns out when my mother and sister finally played long enough, it didn’t matter because when they got it down to two suspects... the game crashed and stopped working. Was this the case for everyone’s copy? Apparently not as I’m about to get to, but there you go.

I might have gone on forever never knowing what the solution to the game was, until I dug up the blog article written by one Data Driven Gamer, who did a full play of the first installment, The Granite Point Ghost, and... didn’t have very nice things to say about it at the end. You’re free to read his full take on the game here, especially since its format will help make what’s coming perhaps make more sense. But it at least inspired me to go back and do a similar deep dive into the second game of the series, The Disappearing Dolphin.

And so, given how it looks very unlikely that DDG will do his own take on this game (especially since it was a LOT harder to find an actual working emulation of this one over the first installment), I present to you my own playthrough and review of Snooper Troops 2: The Case Of The Disappearing Dolphin!

(NOTE: Some of the game’s pertinent information as to how it’s played may be glossed over here, so I do recommend also reading DDG’s blog on the first game to further understand what Snooper Troops is all about. Consider this piece an unofficial sequel to DDG’s original work.)

In the small, West Coast beach town of Costa Villa, the Tabasco family – Sandra, Pete and their son Mike – own a pet dolphin named Lily that they showcase to the public in their on-site aquarium. On May 10, while Sandra was out, people broke into the Tabasco home, tied up Pete and Mike, and stole Lily. Lily was definitely treated like a member of the family by the Tabascos, as they have repeatedly refused to part with her at any price. And there are quite a few people who have shown interest in Lily:

Percy Vonshemp – Spoiled rich kid. Wants Lily for his own. Used to getting what he wants

Dr Boris Oshkov – Owns a rival aquarium with 10 dolphins, but says they “don’t like him very much.” Seems to have connected with Lily better, but angered Sandra Tabasco when he searched through her research files

Fisheye McBean – Fisherman who originally caught Lily by accident and gave her to the Tabascos. Has often joked that he may one day return to claim Lily as his own; the Tabascos do not find this funny

Cleo Rentwick – Hollywood filmmaker who wants to rent Lily to star in a movie about a dolphin that becomes a hero. Tabascos naturally refused

Greta Greelee – Disgraced environmental activist. Declares no wildlife should be made to live in captivity. Whole Free Willy motive going on here

Flash Collier – Professional photographer who has been taking photos of Lily with the Tabascos permission, but they refuse to let him take Lily to the ocean where he feels she would be photographed better

Kate Flagg – Border patrol agent who thinks Lily could actually help in her agency’s work. No idea how that makes any sense

Verna Lozier – Owns an amusement park that has struggled since the Tabascos opened their aquarium. Thinks her own dolphin could re-ignite business, but can’t afford one, especially since her husband gave her a diamond ring for their anniversary (NOTE: The manual speaks of a diamond missing a few towns away; Verna received her ring on May 2, eight days before Lily’s disappearance)

Okay: This was definitely not a one-person operation like Case 1 was. The police report says multiple persons – at least two – broke into the house. It’s likely these people were hired muscle to do the dirty work for whoever actually wants the dolphin. It also would have required special equipment – primarily a truck or other vehicle with its own pool to transport Lily in. All involved knew what they were doing. They knew to strike at the time when Sandra would be out of the house teaching at the university. They made the bound Pete and Mike sit by the noisy pump for Lily’s pool, banged a metal bar against the pool knowing that’s how to summon Lily, began operating Lily’s hoist, and then turned the pump on to clearly cover up any more sounds. Only other clues were: The smell of jungle flower after the pump shut off, and a wooden cart found outside after Sandra returned home and released the guys.

There aren’t many other details given here. The first game went deep into the lore of not just the supposed haunted mansion but of the town itself and its history – which did end up playing a part in the guilty party’s motive. No such additional details are given here – we are only told about the family and the dolphin, mainly that Sandra is a marine biologist and that Lily has aided her in studying dolphin intelligence.

The other main difference is this one is more difficult to pick a suspect. Without giving everything away, the first game went the classic mystery route and revealed the culprit was the one who seemed to have no motive on the surface. But here, everyone does have a clear motive. The police suspect Fisheye. For now, I’m going to guess Verna Lozier because she so far never declared to want Lily specifically, just her own dolphin. And pointing out that she got a diamond ring when there was a missing diamond reported nearby just seems like too much of a coincidence.

So the first thing I do after logging into the game is go to People Facts in order to get all the info on each suspect – address, informant phone number, etc. Here’s where I’m reminded of one significant change in the two games. When getting People Facts in the second game, you are not given any keywords for each suspect like you were in the first. You get the keywords from talking to the suspects yourself. This is probably better for the game play as in the previous game you didn’t really have to question the suspects.

It took two days in game time to take down every suspect’s info, and as I was doing so, I received two Special Messages. The first I already knew about – that the Tabasco’s aquarium pump is very noisy. The second one said a patrol cop saw Collier go into McBean’s house at 8:05 on May 10, right around the time Pete and Mike were being tied up. This probably exonerates Collier, though it really shouldn’t - as I’ve said, I doubt any of the people who actually went to the Tabasco’s was the culprit themselves, just people hired by the culprit to do the work. I then got a message that Flagg wouldn’t be answering her door for a while because of “the jogger.” Yeah, I remember that pest, and I’m surprised DDG didn’t mention it. There’s this jogger character in both games that, if he runs past you while you’re approaching a suspect’s house, will cause the suspect to not answer the door.

Once I took down all the suspects’ info and drove around enough to make a complete map of the area, it was time to start asking questions. I started with Vonshemp because not only was his house closest to Headquarters, it was also right next door to a phone, so all I had to do was ask one question, call the informant for the keyword I just got, and repeat the process for all three keywords. Upon asking the first question, Percy says he was at Sandra’s lecture. However, the informant then tells me no kids were present at the lecture. Aha! Have I already caught the suspect? No, that doesn’t seem right. In fact, when I get to the third and final question, Percy admits he was actually out roller skating. Upon calling once more, the informant says that Percy’s driver does take him to the roller rink every Monday at 8, which is the time the thieves broke into the Tabasco’s. I’m guessing this clears Vonshemp, and it immediately shows why you need to ask all three questions in this game.

Next up would be Greenly and Collier, who live close enough to one another that I would just go back and forth between their homes until I’ve asked them all questions. I would repeat this process for Oshkov and Mcbean, and then finally between Rentwick, Lozier and Flagg. Ironic that I would be doing Flagg last because... well, I’ll get there.

Turns out this method was essential because it was here I found out the game’s MO. You basically can only get one question out of a particular suspect in one day and must wait for the next day to ask another (two days if the suspect is out the immediate following day)

Anyway, here's what I got from questioning the suspects:

Vonshemp – Originally claimed to be at Sandra’s lecture, but later admitted he was roller skating instead. Informant seems to back this up.

Oshkov – Says he was caring for a sick dolphin. Claims he knows as much about them as Sandra but has had bad luck with his own research.

McBean – says he was replacing the muffler on his truck. Says dolphins don't make good eating. Also says he knows everyone who has lived in town for the past 40 years.

Rentwick – says she was filming the moonrise on the beach. Accuses the Tabascos of lying about the theft to get insurance money.

Greenly – Won't say where she was at the time. Does claim to be raising money to start a new ecology group (She was kicked out of her last group)

Collier – Claims to have helped McBean with his truck. Like with Grummbal/Washburn in the first game, will likely need separate clues for each suspect, and I think I already got Flash’s from a Special Message. Does say Lily’s disappearance messes up his plans, whatever they were.

Flagg – claims to have been delivering a coded message to her agency. Dared call out the Tabasco’s patriotism for not selling Lily to her. Real bitch, but... we’ll get there.

Lozier – says she was delivering a shark to the San Diego Zoo. Says she also offered a business partnership with the Tabascos but Sandra said No.

I gotta tell you – Lozier is looking more and more suspicious! She claims to have been delivering a shark to the zoo? Where the frak did she get a SHARK if she and her husband can’t afford a dolphin? And it seems to me that claiming to deliver a shark would also give an excuse to why you had equipment for transporting a large aquatic animal.. Which is just what the culprit would need to steal Lily!

The game, meanwhile, really wants you to believe Greenly is the culprit, what with her refusal to give an alibi combined with her history as a disgraced ecologist. I’m not buying it. I’m willing to bet right now she’ll be the last one exonerated with a Mr X clue several weeks down the line.

With every suspect questioned and every keyword acquired, it was time to go back to the phones. This looked like it would be tricky, however, coming up with synonyms here, particularly since a number of words were used more than once among the suspects. In fact, no less than three suspects had DOLPHIN among their keywords! Sure enough “porpoise” worked for all three, just like “cash” worked for the two suspects with MONEY in the keywords. It took me a while, and for a couple I had to break out the old thesaurus, but I eventually got all the informant clues:

- No kids were present at Sandra Tabasco’s lecture on May 10.

- Percy Vonshemp’s great grandfather founded the local library

- Percy’s chauffer takes him to the roller rink every Monday at 8 pm.

- A vet was with Boris Oshkov at 8 pm on May 10

- Oshkov gave a talk about Dolphins in San Diego on May 2

- Oshkov is determined to win the dolphin research award

- Fisheye Mcbean owns two trucks that are watertight

- McBean used to catch tuna for the P and P Cannery

- Mcbean’s high school sweetheart left town years ago

- Cleo Rentwick travels to and from film locations by helicopter

- A library card was issued 30 years ago to Rhoda Pinchbeck

- Rentwick has a room at an expensive hotel but is never there

- Greta Greenly was at a meeting in San Diego on May 2

- Greenly was born and raised in Hawaii

- Greenly bribed the switchboard operator (Huh? When? And why? This have to do with why she was kicked out of the ecology group?)

- Flash Collier and Fisheye both love fixing cars

- Collier is good friends with Mike Tabasco

- Collier put a lot of money into his poster business

- Kate Flagg always calls her agency at 8 pm on Mondays

- Flagg had her own pet dolphin for years

- Flagg’s agency would have paid a lot of money for Lily

- Verna Lozier sometimes rents Mcbean’s larger truck to transport sharks

- Lozier’s amusement park, Lozierland, can hold much larger crowds than the Tabasco aquarium

- Sandra Tabasco does not think Lozierland is run very well

Here’s where it’s time for my confession: I knew Flagg was innocent from the beginning, because back when I played this as a kid, she was the only suspect I ever cleared. I think I targeted her first and foremost because I had a fascination with flags back then, and once I found out she wasn’t guilty... my interest in the game just waned. Still, I knew going into the game now that the clue about her never missing a call to the agency would clear her.

Beyond that, what I mainly got from the clues was a lot was going down on May 2, eight days before the kidnapping. Both Oshkov and Greenly were in San Diego on that day; was it Oshkov’s speech that Greenly was attending? That was also the day that Lozier was given her diamond ring by her husband. The clues also just put more suspicion on Lozier to me. So she often borrows Fisheye’s truck? So we now have someone with access to a vehicle that could also transport, say, a DOLPHIN, and Lozier would have surely had access to it that day! Especially since it seems obvious Fisheye was busy with other work with Collier that night – though again, I have yet to get the official clue that will clear Fisheye. The Special Message clue I got earlier cleared Collier when I went to Accusation at HQ, and sure enough the clue about Vonshemp always going to the rink on Mondays cleared him, while the clue about the vet being at Oshkov’s cleared him.

That leaves us with:

Fisheye Mcbean – claims to have been fixing his truck; this is likely true, have yet to get the clue to verify it

Cleo Rentwick – says she was filming the moonrise on the beach

Greta Greenly – won't say where she was, we do know where she was on May 2

Verna Lozier – says she was delivering a shark to the San Diego Zoo

I’m still convinced it was Lozier. Sure, stealing Lily to put her in her own park would be stupid as everyone would recognize Lily. But what if she stole Lily for money, possibly to sell her to another party (Flagg’s agency, maybe?) in order to keep the park going and perhaps get her own dolphin? And what if she and her husband were in San Diego on May 2 as well? Seems like a great place to spend an anniversary where a guy would give his wife a diamond ring. Won’t be surprised if I get a Mr X or Special Message clue revealing this down the line.

In the meantime, the only way to get clues now are: Searching houses while waiting for Mr X calls or Special Messages. If Greenly didn’t do it, I’m pretty sure Mr X or a Special message will clear her, but I’ll probably search her place anyway. Rentwick and Mcbean are the two places I expect to find clues exonerating them. Doubt I’ll get anything clearing Lozier, but I guess I’ll search there too.

Looking at the schedule of when everyone is out, it looks like the best order to go is: Greenly (Wed), Lozier (Thu), McBean (Fri) and Rentwick (Sun), but this doesn’t work out as well when you check the map. Mcbean and Lozier are on opposite ends of town, and I find it unlikely I’d get to McBean’s before Friday begins after searching Lozier’s on Thursday.

Speaking of Lozier... guess what I found at her house. A receipt for shark delivery to the San Diego Zoo on March 1. DAMMIT! This certainly clears Lozier. So, with Fisheye certain to be cleared, this really leaves just Greenly and Rentwick. Maybe Greenly did do it? I didn’t find anything in Greenly’s house to clear her, but did find a lot of suspicious stuff like a floor plan of the Tabascos’ and plane tickets to Canada. Nothing else in anybody’s house seemed worthy of clearing anyone, so it looks like I would be relying on Special Messages or Mr X to clear the final two people.

Eventually, Mr X gave me the clue to clear McBean – he indeed had a new muffler on his truck the day after the kidnapping. After that... well, I did start getting a lot of clues that led me to suspect someone else. I soon got a Special Message saying all the library books on dolphins had been checked out to an “R Pinchbeck,” - and Cleo supposedly has a library card issued to a Rhoda Pinchbeck! More clues start coming in, including:

- No one named Pinchbeck has lived in Costa Villa for 20 years

- The Pinchbecks, sure enough, were in the canned fish business

- The P and P Cannery closed down 20 years ago when the owners died

- The only tire marks to/from the Tabascoes’ were from their jeep

- Fisheye carries an old keyring with the initials “R.P.” on it (and among what I found in Fisheye’s place was a photo of woman with “love, Rhoda” on it!)

- Fisheye’s eyesight has been getting very bad lately (so if someone like, say, an old love was back in town, he couldn’t recognize her??)

- Dolphins must eat tremendous amounts of fish every day

- A large amount of fish was stolen from Fisheye’s boat

- Cleo hasn’t had a succesful film in a long time

Yeah, it's starting to look like who the real culprit has been. The only question is how to exonerate the last innocent suspect...

And here's where the game finally frustrated me. It turns out the clue that clears Greenly is one where her name isn’t mentioned at all! It was a Mr X clue (that came BEFORE the one clearing Fisheye) saying Lily won’t come near anybody she doesn’t know! Dammit, how was I supposed to put that together? Apparently we’re supposed to piece that with knowing that Greenly was the only suspect that never actually got close to Lily before! For the record, there is another clue that, while not being able to exonerate anyone, does squash the guilty culprit’s alibi, just like there was in the first game. Rentwick says she was filming the moonrise on the night of the kidnapping... but a Special Message reveals it was drizzling that night, so there would have been no visible moonrise! Whatever, I went back to HQ and put in the final clues until only Rentwick was left.

Once you prove the culprit, you are then asked how it was done. The correct answer – HELICOPTER, given that Rentwick has her own personal helicopter... and then you are asked where Lily was hidden – in the CANNERY.

So yep – Rentwick was the culprit. Turns out Cleo Rentwick was born Rhoda Pinchbeck, heir to the P and P cannery business and sweetheart of one of its old employees, Fisheye McBean. But she ran away to Hollywood 30 years ago to become a big time movie maker, hence why no one was there to take over the family business when her parents died. After a number of flops, she was on her last chance with the studio, so she just HAD to have that dolphin for her latest film. So she and a couple of hired goons abducted Lily and transported her by helicopter to the old closed down cannery that she still had the keys to, where she kept her, feeding her fish she had stolen from Fisheye’s boat. Irony, given that her last words in her confession are “Don’t tell Fisheye, he always thought I was a good kid...”

FINAL THOUGHTS

I have to say, this game came out a lot better than the first one, as if they smoothed out a lot of the rough patches. Having to get the keywords from the suspects themselves is a lot more sensical, and it was very nice to this time get more information on the town, its history and the suspects’ connections to it all. There were also some good red herrings to make you THINK certain other people would be the culprit while not making the final solution feel like it just came out of the blue (Looking at YOU, Veronica Mars...). My only issues are how obscure the final needed clue was and how the whole secondary case about the stolen diamond doesn’t go anywhere. (I think it’s supposed to imply that Greenly stole the diamond, but why, and what good would that do toward her desire to found a new ecology group and restore wildlife to the wild?). Still, for the age group the game was meant for, it’ snot badly done. I don’t know if Data Driven Gamer would agree with me on this, but I’m used to people not agreeing with me by now.

Who knows if and when I’ll give you another article like this, but until I can get you another video... Stay Rowdy, My Friends!