Cat hair mustache puzzle

The cat hair mustache puzzle has received negative reception from critics, coming to be known as shorthand for "obscure and illogical actions" players may need to take in adventure games.^[2] PC World writer Hayden Dingman called it an "infamous" puzzle and emblematic of how difficult Sierra games can be.^[3] Kotaku writer Kirk Hamilton identified it as an icon of terrible puzzles in adventure games, and felt that no one would be able to solve it without a strategy guide.^[1] In his review of Gabriel Knight 3, Computer Gaming World writer Tom Chick identified it as the most notable aspect of the game, despite finding later puzzles more difficult. He explains that the earlier appearance of the puzzle caused a greater impact as a result.^[4] Gamasutra writer Christian Nutt felt that the puzzle was obtuse, stating that it was not something a player would ever think to do.^[5] Hardcore Gaming 101 writer Kurt Kalata called it the game's most "infamous" puzzle; he felt that such an "odd" puzzle would be appropriate for a more cartoony game like Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle, but that the Gabriel Knight series is more firmly grounded in realism, making the puzzle seem "absurd".^[6] A puzzle in the video game Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse requires players to make a goatee and mustache using adhesive strips and stuffed dog fur, spurring IGN writer Chuck Osborn to speculate whether it was a reference to the cat hair mustache puzzle.^[7]

Jane Jensen took some blame for the decline in the popularity of adventure games due to Gabriel Knight 3, with game designer Erik Wolpaw placing blame on her for the puzzle's poor design.^[2] Wolpaw was critical of the puzzle for requiring people to make a fake mustache in order to impersonate someone without a mustache, and described the actual process of constructing the mustache as "deranged".^[8] GamesRadar+ writer Charlie Barratt included it in their list of the "stupidest puzzles" in video games, suggesting that the puzzle was "illogical and irrational" and that the puzzle contributed to adventure games dying out.^[9] Despite the blame laid on the puzzle for killing adventure games, author Grant Bollmer disputed this notion, instead placing blame on corporate restructuring, "meddling in the creative process", and an "increasing scale" in video games' popularity.^[10]

The puzzle has also been criticized by other game designers. Campo Santo designer and programmer Nels Anderson felt that adventure games from the 1990s were good in spite of their gameplay, claiming that no one plays them for their "obtuse puzzles", citing the cat mustache puzzle specifically.^[11] Anderson was critical of the puzzle particularly due to the game expecting players to don a fake mustache to impersonate someone who does not have one.^[12] Frictional Games co-founder Thomas Grip identified the puzzle as a "shining example" of what gameplay designers should not do.^[13]

• The Goat Puzzle – another infamous puzzle from a 1990s adventure game
• Le Serpent Rouge puzzle – another puzzle from the same game with a much more positive reputation