Riddle School 4
- Genre Puzzle games
- Players 1
- Session 2 min
- Price Free
- Updated
Riddle School 4 is not a normal episode, and it is better to know that going in. Jonochrome had told fans there would never be a fourth game, then posted this one on 1 April 2010. It opens like a grand sequel: a green wireframe sketch of a classroom, a big title, then a detailed maths room with an alien pupil, a whiteboard that says "Don't bend the rules" with "rulers" scrawled over it, sums on the wall and a large teacher at the front. Then you click. In our tests it made no difference where; the teacher pressed a button and the floor gave way under Phil. What follows is a solemn epilogue, a full credits roll and a screen announcing that you beat the game in eight seconds. That is the joke. The menu admits it too: before the ending, Fun Facts brags about 10 months of work and 48 rooms; afterwards, the real figures read about two days, 160-odd items and a single room you can reach.
| Left click | The only input; your first click in the classroom sets off the ending |
|---|---|
| Skip Intro | Bottom-right text during the opening if you want to reach the classroom faster |
| Main menu | After the ending, open Real Fun Facts and Special Features from here |
| Delete Save Data | Bottom-left link that resets the unlocks |
How to play Riddle School 4
- Choose Start Game and watch the wireframe intro build the classroom, or skip it.
- Look around before clicking. The room is the most detailed one in the series up to this point, and it is all you will see of the school.
- Click anything. The teacher reacts at once and Phil drops through a trapdoor.
- Let the closing text, credits and computer messages run to the end. They hint that the episode was a dream run through a machine.
- Go back to the main menu, where Real Fun Facts and a Special Features page have unlocked.
Tips
- Take your time before the first click if you want a proper look at the room; the game ends the moment you interact.
- The Special Features page is the real content: projected futures for every character, a making-of for the trap with blueprints, and two audio commentaries, from 2010 and 2020.
- Click the button at the top of Real Fun Facts to switch back to the fake list and compare the two.
- If you want an actual puzzle adventure, Riddle School 5 came out the very next day and is a full game.
Questions about Riddle School 4
Is Riddle School 4 broken?
No. It is designed to end on your first click. It was an April Fools' release, and the joke is that the long-awaited sequel is over almost instantly.
Is there any way to keep playing after the trapdoor?
Not in the game itself. The payoff is the unlocked menu content, which includes character epilogues and the author's commentary tracks.
Is it suitable for kids?
The art is cartoony, but the ending has dark comedy: the epilogue talks about a lava pit and characters dying, and one extra calls the trap a murder plan. Parents may want to look first.
Does it run on phones?
Yes as far as one tap is concerned, since that is all it takes. Reading the special features is easier on a bigger screen.
