Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse/Episode 303: They Stole Max's Brain!

Sam must find the culprits who took Max's brain while he was in the bathroom during the last reel of the previous episode. The episode features a new gameplay style with Sam searching solo in noir fashion using only dialogue options. His investigation leads him to a museum where he meets the two villains from the first two episodes of the season, General Skun-ka'pe and Monsieur Papierwaite. They have Max's brain and Sam will need to enlist the help of new allies to get it back. But who is behind the evildoers' alliance? And who is Dr. Norrington?

Sam's rampage
After returning to the projector at the end of Episode 302 and finding Max's brain has been stolen, Sam's rage expresses itself in a noirish journey across town, as he berates and threatens whoever gets in his way for any information relating to his little buddy's organ theft. This segment plays out differently than anything from the episodes before, as you don't use inventory items and your only options are driving to locations and dialogue choices. When speaking with someone, you must pick the correct type of response depending on what they're saying. Real progress is made when accusing someone of lying, but only if you have knowledge that would prove it. By talking to multiple witnesses to get the whole story, you can start poking holes in their individual accounts.


 * Flint Paper's interrogation techniques
 * 1) Try interrupting the suspects' story with a question, or a threat!
 * 2) When you interrupt different parts of a suspect's story, you get different responses. The right interruption at the right time can break the suspect!
 * 3) Sometimes, info from one suspect will help you break another. Remember to interrupt at the right time to get the info you need. Good luck!


 * Dialogue options
 * Noir: Make an esoteric statement using metaphor, usually about futility and depression.
 * You're Lying!: Accuse the suspect of lying. If you have proof, they will admit it.
 * Threaten: Take out your big gun and menace the suspect.
 * Hurry up!: Neutral statement to skip to the next part of the story.
 * Tell me more!: Neutral statement to elaborate on the current part of the story.
 * Leave: When you have multiple suspects in different locations, you can exit the interrogation and go somewhere else.
 * Conversation-specific: Sometimes a new option will appear that has to do with what the suspect is saying.

The Mole People
You can start trying out your new angry interrogation style on the Mole Men cultists that let Max's brain walk out the door. They claim to have not seen a thing, so you'll need to shake them up a bit to get them talking. Following the tips you remember from Flint Paper, you can use a dialogue option in the first part of the story or just let them keep talking, but you'll need to accuse them of lying in the second part when they say the lights going out is the last thing they remember. The Mole Men break easily, and one of them will tell you that it was a space gorilla who took Max's brain and the Devil's Toy Box. It was Skun-ka'pe, your nemesis from Episode 301, who must have been released from the Penal Zone when the toy box was removed. You'll need to head out into the city to find out where he is.

Out in the city you'll find a few different suspects and you'll need to use the information you gather from them to poke holes in their stories. This will require pressing them for information and then returning when you find a contradiction in their stories. You'll need to collect two clues for the Crime-Tron to unlock another address where Max's brain might be.

Sign spinner
The first suspect you'll see is one of Skun-ka'pe's space ape goons. He's a sign spinner now, and claims to have changed his ways with his boss' imprisonment, but he's your best bet when comes to who knows where Skun-ka'pe is now.

Frankie the Rat
Frankie is a local low life, but if something is going on in the city, it's a good bet he knows about it.

Dark alley
The unlucky tourist, who is looking for the museum, was given bad directions by Frankie to the bad part of town where he would get rolled.

Museum of Mostly Natural History
When you've obtained the Rhinoplasty psychic toy and Doctor Norrington's card, the Crime-Tron will reveal the location of the museum. You'll find it's dark and seemingly empty, and Sam doesn't have the patience to look around or explore. You just need to go upstairs and through the door to the planetarium. Inside you see there's a pitched battle between General Skun-ka'pe and Monsieur Papierwaite! They're fighting over the Devil's Toy Box, and Max's brain is there too. The brain is in a jar of demon broth and has been hooked up to a speaker so Max can talk. Unfortunately, he gets a little too excited to see Sam and alerts the bad guys. With their mutual hatred of Sam, they forge a tenuous alliance and send their goons after you. You'll need to break up the partnership somehow if you want to steal back Max's brain.

Now that Sam knows where Max's brain is and that he's still somewhat alive, he calms down a bit and you're able to go back to normal, exploratory game play. After Sam is chased out of the planetarium, you'll have control of Max's brain via his psychic power, where you can speak with Skun-ka'pe and Papierwaite, look around or return to Sam. As Sam, you can go back to Max by trying to go through the planetarium doors again. When you have control of Sam again and return to Max's body, the security guard will tell you he's going to dispose of the corpse if you don't do something. Luckily, there's a brain urn in the Egypt exhibit, and you can use the Pharaoh's brain with Max's body temporarily to appease the janitor.

Get the minions to fight
Out in the museum you'll find Sal the security guard, who is on Papierwaite's payroll, and a space ape from Skun-ka'pe's camp guarding the main door. In order to break the alliance, you'll need to get the two underlings to fight. If you use the Pharaoh's psychic powers, you may already be aware that Sal will whack the guard in the eye with one of his mandibles. The trick is going to be making it happen. First off, now is a good time to explore the museum to see everything there is to see, pick up any useful items if there are any, and look at one of the courtesy phones to get a list of numbers for the Pharaoh's Teleportation power.



Luckily, Papierwaite chooses the very moment you get the two to fight to come out and have a look. He's not happy that Skun-ka'pe's minion was beating up his security staff, and the first wedge has been driven between them. Now you just need to perform one more act of sabotage to fully break their alliance.

Ruin the tapestry
Next to the information desk, you'll find a tapestry of Papierwaite's favorite evil idol, Yog-Soggoth. The tapestry is his pride and joy, and nothing would make him angrier than to have it harmed. It's out of reach, so you'll need to get creative when trying to destroy it.



Once again, Papierwaite comes outside to witness your handiwork. This time it's a deal breaker for him, and he goes back into the planetarium to give Skun-ka'pe a piece of his mind. The treaty is off, and the two bad guys start fighting again, giving you cover to go in and grab Max's brain.

The Pharaoh's reality
Unfortunately, once the Pharaoh saw the Devil's Toy Box in the planetarium, he leaped at the chance to regain his powers. Seizing the toy box and its mystical items for himself, he was able to warp the fabric of reality and remake it according to his whim. In the new reality, the Pharaoh rules absolutely and Max is the only one who remembers that things used to be different. You'll find yourself back on your street, and mixed in with the normal sites the Pharaoh has included some Egyptian decoration. Sam wears Max in a jar like a backpack, and everyone prays to Pharaoh Sammun-Mak. In the new reality, everyone loves Sammun-Mak and you can get into trouble for not being devoted enough.

When you get near your car, Max will receive a message from a disembodied voice only he can hear, telling him he needs to break the Pharaoh's grip on reality. You'll be informed that there are some rebels who you can identify by their backwards salute. The only backwards-saluting people in the game are in the sewers under your street. When you talk to the Mole Men underground, do the salute to reveal the rebel, and Max will have someone to talk to. The rebels will tell you they need you to get the brain screw close to Sammun-Mak, and they will take care of the rest. Unfortunately, he is well guarded and only his inner circle can get close him. To become one of the chosen few, you will need to obtain three of the Pharaoh's Accessories of Privilege. To aid you in your quest, the rebels will give you your psychic toys back.

Ornament of Fealty
The Ornament of Fealty is given to those that are able to ferret out Sammun-Mak non-believers. There are almost no dissenters left, however, as Sal will tell you if you ask about his Accessory of Privilege at the gift vault. You'll need to catch someone in the act of disrespecting Sammun-Mak or failing to be properly obedient to his will.



You may feel a little guilty about tricking someone like that, but it wouldn't be the first time you made their life miserable. And now you have one of the Accessories of Privilege.

Pendant of Inquisition
If you've done some exploring by now, you may have seen this Accessory of Privilege at Frankie the Rat's card game. He's got the pendant, but he won't give it to you or bet it while he has money to spend. If you could find a way to deplete him of money, he might be forced to gamble his pendant away. The rats are betting on which move Skun-ka'pe will use as a finisher in his fights, and they're more than happy to take a bet from you as well. There are a bunch of possibilities, and your Future Vision isn't much help, as it doesn't go far enough in the future when used on the radio, and goes past the finishing move when used on the rats. You'll have to figure out how to get Frankie to bet his Pendant of Inquisition and win the bet.



With no more money and a sure-fire way to win the bet, the pendant is yours. Time to pick up the last Accessory of Privilege so you can get in close with Sammun-Mak.

Medallion of Tithing
The Medallion of Tithing is given to those who present Sammun-Mak with his favorite thing in the whole world. Since this changes all the time, you have a good chance of getting one for yourself. All donations go to the gift vault, which is guarded by Sal the security guard. He won't take just any item, it has to be something Sammun-Mak is dying to get. You'll need to figure out what would please the Pharaoh and then find it and give it to Sal at the gift vault.



Now that you have all the Accessories of Privilege, head to the museum and talk to Papierwaite to get access to Sammun-Mak. Once you're close enough, try giving him the brain screw.

Taking down the Pharaoh
Unfortunately, Sam wasn't in on the master plan and stops the Mole Woman from finishing of Sammun-Mak with the brain screw. When you refuse to kill the Mole Woman, you're thrown into the Pit of Contrition to fight General Skun-ka'pe, and Max is left behind. While fighting Skun-ka'pe, your options will be Attack, Max and Taunt. Attacking and Taunting do just what you think, while Max turns control over to Max so you can use his psychic powers. You'll need to use a combination of both friends' abilities to take down the powerful space ape.



Once you've overcome the general, finish him by raining down blows on his unprotected head. Since his prize fighter wasn't able to take you down, Sammun-Mak himself descends from the throne to finish you off. Unfortunately, Sam is still under the Pharaoh's thrall and won't attack of his own volition. Additionally, Sammun-Mak takes all of Max's toys, leaving him powerless. Somehow you need to get Sam to defeat the all-powerful boy-king.



With Sammun-Mak's brain pulled from Max's body, reality returns to normal and you find yourself back in the planetarium at the Museum of Mostly Natural History. After moving Max's brain from the jar back to his body, he's back to normal and you can start worrying about getting the Devil's Toy Box somewhere safe. Just as you're about to leave, Papierwaite comes running in warning you that Sam is coming. Before you know it, you're surrounded by dozens of naked Sams. What could this all mean? Find out next episode in Beyond the Alley of the Dolls.