Gamebooks (Choose Your Own Adventure Style)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Mystery of the Maya Alternate Endings Part 25


The other CHOICE #30 decision of returning to modern times is about as much of a Neutral Ending as it gets.  No picture for either conclusion of this path.


"You are very frightened.  You must get out of this place fast!  You feel your entire body focused on this one desire, and then. . . . . .suddenly you are back in Merida watching television in your hotel room.  Your decision for the night is where to go out and have dinner.  Still no Tom, but at least you're safe.  THE END".


Results So Far


6 Good Endings

2 Deaths

3 Bad Non-Death Endings

8 Neutral Endings

5 Inconclusive Endings

1 Second Chance Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Mystery of the Maya Alternate Endings Part 26


One last ending on the "priest" branch, and it's what we've all been waiting for.  It's disappointing.  No illustration, no ghastly details.


"No!' you shout.  'I will never sacrifice a living being to any god for any reason.  You are all crazy.'  It was a mistake to say that.  The priests become very quiet and solemn.  The sun is bright in the sky.  Manuel is nowhere to be seen.  The sound of a bird breaks the quiet as two of the priests move toward you.  They are not smiling.  One says, 'Since you will not perform the sacrifice, we will.  You will be the victim.'  THE END".


Results So Far


6 Good Endings

3 Deaths

3 Bad Non-Death Endings

8 Neutral Endings

5 Inconclusive Endings

1 Second Chance Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Mystery of the Maya Alternate Endings Part 27


Going with the warriors directly in CHOICE #3, or "stalling for time"  to escape from the priests in CHOICE #27, ends up on Page 43 and CHOICE #31.  The warriors explain that one branch of the military is meant to "get slaves or take revenge", and are fast and quiet raiders who would die rather than surrender.  Any slaves taken are to be sacrificed.  The other military branch protects against invaders and is "careful and watchful".  The slaver side is Page 48, and defending the city is Page 49.  How morally compromised can our "hero" become?


(The two paths to CHOICE #31 are a clue to the map on the back of the book.  My copy prints the map vertically, but I think the Chooseco website displays the maps horizontally.  Using the vertical orientation, go Right,  Right, Left to join the warriors first via CHOICE #3, or Right-Right-Right-Left-Right-Left to take the CHOICE #31 route.)


Three weeks of training later, and the slavers are ready to attack Ixtal.  CHOICE #32 is to fight on Page 67, or hide and watch on Page 68.  The narration insists the player character would never kill anyone and questions the decision to join the raiders.


"You travel by foot through the jungle to Ixtal.  Your attack is a complete success.  The element of surprise works very well, and your band had the upper hand from the first.  Even the chickens and dogs belonging to the villagers ran for cover.  Dust rose as you raced around.  A large group of people led by a woman escaped into the surrounding jungle, but you and your band let them go.


You return triumphant, happy that no one is killed or hurt.  Back in Chichen Itza, Manuel welcomes you and says, 'So, you like leading the life of a Maya.  Well, I'm not surprised.  Your friend Tom did not like it.  He paid the supreme price.  THE END".


Failing the Morality Test makes Tom die rather than the player character.  I'll count this as a Bad Non-Death Ending since rescuing Tom was the whole point of the story.



Results So Far


6 Good Endings

3 Deaths

4 Bad Non-Death Endings

8 Neutral Endings

5 Inconclusive Endings

1 Second Chance Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Mystery of the Maya Alternate Endings Part 28


Ixtal's defenders in CHOICE #32 are more successful if the player declines to fight.  They use a "bent tree" as a kind of catapult, and the rocks defeat two raiders.  Spears and arrows defeat the rest of the raiders, and now I'm separated from them.  CHOICE #33 is whether to take a path from a clearing on Page 56, or stay in place on Page 57.  The last Second Chance Ending ensues when I stand still.


"So, you thought you could escape, did you?  You are perfect for our next sacrifice to the rain god.'  It is the enemy chief talking.  You have been captured.  An old priestess with deep wrinkles on her face rushes up to you and says, 'No, we don't need a sacrifice.  We need a slave to work for us in the temple.  This prisoner will do.'  Her name is Muscla and she has a great deal of power, for the chief listens to her and agrees.


'Take this pest, do what you wish!  We'll catch others.'  Later that day you are put into a dark room in the back of a small temple.  It smells of wood smoke.  As you enter you notice the imprint of a hand-a red hand-on the wall.  You have read about this symbol, but what does it mean?  Then a strange thing begins to happen.  Your vision blurs and musical notes fill the air.  When you reach out to touch the wall, you feel dizzy and begin to stumble.  That's it!  The potion is wearing off.  You are on your way back to the present.  THE END".


"If you would like to try investigating in Chichen Itza, turn to Page 38".


Does the Red Hand gang have time travel potions too?  CHOICE #33 must be in this direction following the vertical Chooseco map, from the start:  Right-Right-Left-Right-Left.  One more Left reveals this ending.  No illustration.



Results So Far


6 Good Endings

3 Deaths

4 Bad Non-Death Endings

8 Neutral Endings

5 Inconclusive Endings

2 Second Chance Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Mystery of the Maya Alternate Endings Part 29


What follows after walking on the clearing path in CHOICE #33 usually only happens to female characters in bad movies:  "A root catches your foot, and you fall forward.  The last thing you remember is the earth rushing toward you.  You black out".  There's a "bump" on my head, my tongue is swollen, and I have a dry mouth, but the text assumes I'm okay.


CHOICE #34 is to either call for help on Page 89, or rest on Page 90.


"Your cries for help have been heard by two of your fellow warriors.  They are at your side now and help you to your feet.  You are groggy, but with their help you stumble on through the jungle for more than three hours.  The cries of your pursuers grow fainter.  Finally you are able to stop and rest, hidden by a small rock outcropping.  One of the warriors cleans out the cut on your forehead and squeezes the juices from a plant into your wound.


The three of you rest for the night, taking turns keeping a watchful eye on the surrounding jungle.  When the orange sun finally appears in the sky, you all give thanks and continue back to Chichen Itza.  'My friends, without you, I would be lost.  I owe my life to you.'  THE END".


Guess this counts as a Good Ending because you enjoy your life as a cowardly raider.  No picture here.  The ending fades to black before you have to capture and sacrifice someone, I guess.



Results So Far


7 Good Endings

3 Deaths

4 Bad Non-Death Endings

8 Neutral Endings

5 Inconclusive Endings

2 Second Chance Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Mystery of the Maya Alternate Endings Part 30


The protagonist passes out after resting in CHOICE #34.  They're drawn from the back with black hair in the Page 91 illustration, which has to be accurate considering I'm playing as someone who can pass for Maya.  After waking up, I'm cold and famished.  Two people seem like they're about to attack me with spears, but. . .


"As they get closer, you realize that the only things they are carrying in their hands are-cameras!  They have been creeping around to take pictures of the rare birds in the area.  Your time potion has worn off.  You must have been out cold for a whole day.  Soon you are being rushed to the hospital.  As you lean back in the ambulance, you smile weakly at those two kind people who have rescued you.  You don't bother starting in on the story of your time travel.  You know they'll never believe you.  THE END".


It's a Neutral Ending because you're kicked back to the present without anything to show for it.  The other CHOICE #34 path wasn't Neutral since it implied a permanent change in the hero's lifestyle.  No picture here.  It's also the end of the short "raider" branch.  The "defender" branch will take up more time, but I'm saving that for the weekend.  One detail that will interest CYOA cartographers is that one CHOICE there has 3 endings instead of the usual 2, so you can spot your location on the map on the back.


Results So Far


7 Good Endings

3 Deaths

4 Bad Non-Death Endings

9 Neutral Endings

5 Inconclusive Endings

2 Second Chance Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Mystery of the Maya Alternate Endings Part 31


Defending Chichen Itza with the second military branch is uneventful at first, and my character even likes it.  Perhaps the quest will end due to the realization of one of the Four Noble Truths:  "Your desire to find Tom fades, but you vow to keep a sharp look-out".  The next crisis begins when one soldier invites me to join the Mexican ball game, the kind where the losers are sacrificed!  According to the narration, it's symbolic of the war between the "Lords of Life and the Lords of Death".  CHOICE #35 is whether to not play ball on Page 70, or play ball on Page 72.


No ethical dilemmas here, just a deus ex machina Good Ending.  You don't even have to find Tom:  he rescues you.


"Before you know it, you are on the field in the ball court.  Shouting fills the air as the two teams practice.  A large crowd gathers to watch.  Six priests, three elders, and a group dressed in clothes of golden cloth march in, take their honored places, and signal for the game to begin.  What if you lose?  Your eyes quickly travel to the steps of the pyramid called El Castillo.  You have heard of victims having their hearts ripped out and then being thrown down the steps into the courtyard.


The game is long and hard.  The score is close.  Your heart pounds.  With loud screams and yells, a raiding party bursts into the ball court.  They are Toltecs, a tribe of fierce warriors from the north and west.  You run off the ball court and hide in the bushes next to the big cenote.  Others are not so lucky and die in agony.  The Toltecs fan out and hunt for survivors.  As you try to escape, you are spotted and chased.  Your heart is pounding, you feel as though life is already over.  Tom appears out of nowhere.


'Come with me. . .now!' he shouts.  You join him and run through a stone arch.  Suddenly you are back in the present.  'Tell me, Tom, was this true what we did?' you gasp.  'As true as true gets', he replies.  THE END".


I thought the Toltecs were anachronistic, but apparently they had some relationship to the architecture in Chichen Itza.  The illustration is a two page spread of the ball court and stone hoop.



Results So Far


8 Good Endings

3 Deaths

4 Bad Non-Death Endings

9 Neutral Endings

5 Inconclusive Endings

2 Second Chance Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Mystery of the Maya Alternate Endings Part 32


"I'm not playing that game', you say.  'Find another sucker.  Those are the craziest rules I've ever heard.  No way.  Lose and you die?"  The warriors don't call me a coward:  in fact, a few agree with my point of view.  Most other soldiers prefer the idea of being a hero by winning, or being honored as a sacrifice by losing.  A soldier named Xha wants to join me on a jaguar hunt near the cornfields.  The danger so far is not predators, but thirst and nightfall.  CHOICE #36 is to pursue the jaguar on Page 58, or look for water on Page 60.


Failing to find water killed me before, so let's see if it happens again.  The jaguar is so clever my character realizes why the Maya worship it.  Maybe this is no ordinary jaguar:  it seems to warp to the side or behind, and now I have no idea of "time and place".  Xha is gone, and Toltecs find me instead.  They point their spears at me, and accuse me of lying when I say I'm lost.  There are so many pages in this path it can only be the long yellow line on the back of the book:  Right-Right-Left-Left-Right-Left from the start following the vertical orientation.


I say I'm from Chichen Itza, and the Toltecs reply "You Maya are fools.  We will conquer you.  Now lead us to your city. . .Lead us to Chichen Itza and maybe we'll send you back north to Teotihuacan with the other prisoners".  Xha is tied up.  CHOICE #37 is to agree to the Toltec demand on Page 111, or reject it on Page 110.


Betraying the Maya under duress has a more positive outcome than I expected.  A snake near a tree trunk bites my leg, and then becomes the Plumed Serpent.  He tells me I'm the new Maya leader.  CHOICE #38 is whether to flee the Toltecs on Page 13, or accept the Plumed Serpent's destiny on Page 21.  The boring decision has a better ending than you think.  No picture.


"The snakebite hurts.  The Plumed Serpent becomes a simple dangerous snake again.  It slides over the tree trunk, tucks its head in a hole and vanishes.  It's all over.  The Toltecs leave you on the spot to die.  You are useless to them now.  But you don't die!  The Plumed Serpent was protecting you all along.  The spirit of the Plumed Serpent makes you well again.  And you live on as one of the attendants of the most powerful of the Maya gods.  Perhaps you will find Tom, perhaps not.  THE END".


Results So Far


9 Good Endings

3 Deaths

4 Bad Non-Death Endings

9 Neutral Endings

5 Inconclusive Endings

2 Second Chance Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Mystery of the Maya Alternate Endings Part 33


No picture, and an Inconclusive Ending occurs when I obey the Plumed Serpent's request in CHOICE #38.  The Sword of Damocles hangs above my character.


"You are the mighty ruler, inheritor of the Plumed Serpent.  Beware any and all who defy you.  You enter Chichen Itza triumphantly.  Wherever you go, people worship and love you.  Great feasts are held in the courtyard and thousands of people join in.  When the ball game is played, however, you refuse to let the losers be sacrificed.  You stop all sacrifices of people and animals, replacing them with offerings of maize and squash and chili peppers.  The people love you and respect you, but the priests grow sullen and angry.  They dislike you because you have taken away their power.  Beware.  The revenge of Mayan priests and shamans could be swift and terrible.  THE END".


Is this a reference to the Toltec king Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, who abolished human sacrifice?


Results So Far


9 Good Endings

3 Deaths

4 Bad Non-Death Endings

9 Neutral Endings

6 Inconclusive Endings

2 Second Chance Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Mystery of the Maya Alternate Endings Part 34


Back in CHOICE #37, I surrender to the Toltecs and they drag Xha and me to Teotihuacan, home of the Temple of the Sun and Moon.  Its pyramids and the Highway of the Dead "remind you of modern apartment towers".  Do I live in an alternate world where pyramids came back into fashion?  My Toltec captors give me a CHOICE #39 of sortilege:  yellow straw on Page 39, blue straw on Page 122, or red straw on Page 131.  CHOICE #39 is the only part of the book that has three endings, so you can tell exactly where you are if you find it.  No picture for this ending.


"You drew yellow.  It is the straw of the ruler.  You are immediately made the new ruler of the Toltecs.  You rule until you die of old age at 93.  Several times Manuel and Dr. Lopez try to get you to go back to the present, but you refuse.  You enjoy being the ruler.  THE END".


I've no idea whether Mystery of the Maya's color symbolism is accurate to actual Mexican cultures, but this counts as a Good Ending.  I don't count natural deaths at old age as Death, since that category is meant to represent a life cut short.  Unnatural rapid aging would count for that, but not living to 93!


Results So Far


10 Good Endings

3 Deaths

4 Bad Non-Death Endings

9 Neutral Endings

6 Inconclusive Endings

2 Second Chance Endings