> > When trying something, how many times is "several"? In other words, when should I definately quit trying the same thing? I get impatient after 4 times.
> > Thanks~
>
> Assuming you mean trying something where the response is the same every time, 4 is almost always enough, for any of the games. (Unless there's a clue elsewhere which might make a special exception.) If you try that many times and you see something *different*, though, you probably want to dig deep and try it for quite a while just to make sure of whether something's going on.
>
> General advice on the subject: if you're stuck and are convinced that the only thing you can do must require a lot of repetition of an option somewhere, be sure to narrow down your search at first to those options for which it makes sense to try over and over. [Also be aware that a subtler method, such as selecting two or more options in the right order, might be necessary. These solutions are usually clued in somewhere in the game.]
>
> E.g.: if you try to climb a two-hundred foot wall and the game says "No way, Jose!" then you can be fairly certain that repeated attempts aren't going to solve it.
>
> Options which might reasonably work on repeated attempts would include (1) conversing with other characters (since if you badger someone enough, it's reasonable that they might change their tune after a while), (2) searching an area (because hey, you might miss something the first time or two), or (3) options which describe *partial* success (for example, if you try to chop a tree down, and each time it says that the tree leans a little further over, it makes sense that eventually it'll lean far enough to topple). Of these, it would even be quite rare for repeated action to be required in case (1) (so focus on other areas first).
>
> Requiring repetition of options is a common form of puzzle in these games, but it's not meant to be unnecessarily unfair and torturous (honest!)

Thanks so much! That's exactly what I needed to know. I'm using a WebTV, so each try at fishing, etc. requires several seconds to connect, then try again, wait, try again. 4 I can do...20, no way Jose!