As soon as we get the map and show it to the sheriff, we go straight into part three. We accomplished roughly a third of the stuff that we could in part two - and this update, we’ll be going back and finishing the rest of that up.
: “The only thing you’re getting close to cracking is my patience with you.”
: “Let’s work together and I can get on with my..”
: “I mean, we can get out of this town as quickly as possible.”
So, we could leave the town right now and go visit a couple of other places - but most of those are gated off because we haven’t done a few events yet. Instead, there’s one place on the town’s main street we never visited: the diner. This contains one of the three major events we need before we can truly leave town.
The diner is probably the single biggest Maniac Mansion reference in the game. The woman behind the counter is Sandy, who was kidnapped at the start of Maniac Mansion. She has presumably gotten married to the man on the grill, Dave, who was the protagonist of that game.
: “Just so you know… that article in the Thimbleweed Nickel about botulism was a smear job.” : “So.. what can I do for ya, honey?” : “Not too much, just scuttlebutt from the morning breakfast crowd. And I don’t want to get into trouble, especially not with a crazy person like him.” : “Shut up, Dave!”
: “We’re the feds, you can trust us. What else do you know?”
Unlike Ray and Reyes, Ransome doesn’t have a notebook. Instead, he has a to-do list.
There’s kind of an ongoing joke that is really poorly explained where Ransome is the only person at the circus who can swear. A lot of his dialogue is beeped out, but when other characters “swear” they actually say the word “beep”.
Ransome’s clown nose is on this doll for some reason. This was honestly a spot where I got kind of stuck the first time I played this because I didn’t expect that to be a thing.
We can also take a look at this bulging poster, which can be removed..
To reveal a safe! Unfortunately, it’s locked and Ransome doesn’t know the combination.. and he doesn’t have a thermal drill like those other clowns. That bulletin board looks pretty interesting. Maybe Ransome wrote his safe combination down there.
The first note, the small pink one under the hint flyer, tells us where Ransome’s joke book is. We’ll run into Carney Joe in a few minutes. There’s also that other note..
: “The number of flags over the Big Top main opening.” : “The number of letters in the bottom-left word of the Big Top sign.” : “The number of kids that Carney Joe has.” : “Must’ve written this when I was on a bender..”
And this is how we get the safe combination. This puzzle is randomized every time you play the game, except for the last clue, which is actualy kind of ingenious as it directs you to Carney Joe in case you didn’t pick up that other note.
Oh, one other neat thing about Ransome’s trailer - the screen actually tilts depending on where Ransome is in the trailer.
: “I’m glad I caught you before you went on stage.” : “Autographs are $100.” : “Ransome, I’m your business manager and lawyer. I don’t want your autograph.” : “Ok, $50 then.” : “I just wanted to let you know that your mistress is waiting at your house in Aspen, and your private jet is being fueled and is ready to whisk you there when the show is over.” : “Also we have a deal worth millions to license a line of toddler Ransome the Clown insult dolls.” : “Did you get the liability clause waived?” : “Correct. They will assume all liability when the kids grow up to be beepholes.” : “Okay, $25.” : “Beep You!”
Welcome to the main thoroughfare of the circus. There’s a mime here on stilts for some reason.
Oh no.. Ransome, come on.. this isn’t Space Station 13! Clowns and mimes aren’t natural enemies on Earth!
Man, what an asshole. We’ve got more important things to do than push mimes, though.
Here’s the Big Top entrance. We now have two of the numbers to Ransome’s safe combination: the number of flags (4) and the number of letters in the bottom-left word of the sign (8). Now all we need to do is find Carney Joe… who is one screen to the left.
Carney Joe demands a total of $1,138 (one thousand in principal and $138 in interest) to get Ransome’s joke book back. He also reveals to us that he has 4 kids.
: “Next time I’m setting it to 1-2-3.”
I can’t really convey it in screenshots, but the actual opening of the safe had way more effort put into it than it ever actually needed - the animation will be longer for larger numbers. This should definitely be enough to pay off Carney Joe, and..
We’re still $138 short. Crap. We do still have one area we haven’t explored though, and that’s Ransome’s dressing room.
NOW we’re in business.
Joke book re-acquired. Now we’re all ready to go.
Now we’re in the show proper. This is more or less just a giant tangled thing of Ransome making fun of the audience - I actually had put all of the like.. twenty screenshots of this I had up and then lost everything and kind of lost all motivation to finish this update so screw it, we’re moving on.
No matter which options you pick, you’ll eventually wind up with this one.
: “Or is it your parasitic twin?” : “Whatever it is, I hope you bought it a separate ticket!” : “Cuz if it’s big enough to ride the beeping rollercoaster by itself, it’s not freeloading in my audience!”
So, this part kind of doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Who shows up to an insult comic show and doesn’t expect to be insulted?
: “One of my best shows ever. I hope that ugly old lady with the curse breaks a hip on the way home tonight.” : “Now to get this makeup off, hop on my private jet, and go see my mistress Cindy in Aspen.” : “This beeping makeup isn’t coming off! Beep you, old lady!” : “Ransome, I’ve got some bad news.” : “What do you want, you bald, greedy little beep, can’t you see I’m having a problem!” : “Grab a tissue and some rubbing alcohol and help me you beeping beep!” : “Your private jet crashed while trying to land. Your wife found out about your mistress and she’s taking everything you own except the house in Aspen.” : “There was a fire in Aspen and your house burned to the ground.” : “The toy and doll licensing deal is dead and they’re suing you for breach.” : “And one more thing.. I quit.”
On the way out..
Anyway, next time, we’ll go attempt to arrest a clown for murder.