Inventory management puzzle

A puzzle whose difficulty focuses on the fact that the player-character is not able to carry as many objects as would be convenient in the PC's inventory. Often this will not be a puzzle proper, but rather an inconvenient design error caused by arbitrary inventory limits.

Solutions may involve the use of 'player's holdall' items, carrying items and dropping them in strategic locations, or moving items from one place to another by means other than carrying them (e.g., with a dumbwaiter).

Variations may involve the undesirable interaction of inventory objects, such as that described by the traditional "chicken, fox, and corn" ferryboat puzzle; bottlenecks that cannot be traversed with certain kinds of object (a narrow passage, a metal-detector); or a need to prevent NPCs from noticing certain items, such as a weapon.

Links

• Inventory Limits in the IF Gems review quotes collection (also available from the IF Archive).
• Inventory Management Puzzle at TV Tropes Wiki.
• The fox, goose, and bag of beans puzzle page at Wikipedia.