Game

Kangaroo Court

1991 · Mac · Visual Novel

About this game

Kangaroo Court is a 1991 HyperCard game by Dave and P.F. Dumanis. Having been charged with an unknown, often absurd crime, you are forced to bargain for their innocence from a sadistic kangaroo judge who takes every opportunity to belittle and harass them. Players can take any number of strategies against the Kangaroo, including bribery, sucking up, and confrontation. They all invariably result in failure or death. The goal of Kangaroo Court isn't victory so much as seeing how long you can go against increasingly unfair and randomized odds.

You can't win in this court. The kangaroo is the judge and you have to bribe it. Supposedly an experiment in "artificial intelligence". The AI opponent in this HyperCard game is a corrupt judge. The player is the defendant. The goal is for the player to successfully participate in corruption for their own benefit (such as offering a bribe). Get it right and go free, maybe even for free. Get it wrong, go to jail, or get a death sentence.