# Let's talk about the dreaded "Monkey Wrench" puzzle **URL:** \ **Category:** Adventure/Lucasfilm Games\ **Created:** [April 6, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192 "2020-04-06T14:46:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Someone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@Someone](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Someone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 10:03am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/21 "2020-04-09T10:03:00Z")
Ah, here are more detailed information about the monkey wrench puzzle: > **[Interview mit Boris Schneider-Johne (Happy Computer) » Videospielgeschichten](https://www.videospielgeschichten.de/die-zeit-verging-spielend-interview-mit-boris-schneider-johne/)** > > Wer kann die Geschichte der Videospiele heute besser erzählen als diejenigen, die sie geschrieben haben? Boris Schneider-Johne, vielen noch bekannt unter dem Pseudonym „Doc Bobo“, hat uns jahrelang als Spiele-Redakteur Boris would have changed the puzzle for the German version and asked Ron to change the graphics to turn the monkey into something that would fit the German word “Engländer” (= Englishmen). ---
**Author:** ![Ema](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/ema/32/14101_2.png) [@Ema](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Ema)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/22 "2020-04-11T21:41:29Z")
> [@Guga](#): > > I was a kid, I had no idea what a monkey wrench was (in fact, it’s a PARROT wrench in Italian - which is very very appropriate for a game about pirates), and I found the solution by trying everything with everything. > > I don’t remember _why_ I thought it was important to turn off the valve. > > But I remember thinking “oh, maybe it’s because the monkey is a pianist so it has strong hands”. Deja vu. I’m sure you’ve written this before. And I’d bet I replied that, when in my teens, as soon as I realized what a Monkey Wrench was, I thought it would have been cool to add a puzzle in the italian version in which guybrush traded the monkey with the parrot in the shop on booty, in order to use it on the pump. ---
**Author:** ![Gffp](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/gffp/32/12183_2.png) [@Gffp](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Gffp)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/23 "2020-04-11T22:32:06Z")
> [@Ema](#): > > Deja vu. I’m sure you’ve written this before. And I’d bet I replied that, when in my teens, as soon as I realized what a Monkey Wrench was, I thought it would have been cool to add a puzzle in the italian version in which guybrush traded the monkey with the parrot in the shop on booty Sure. I remember this dialogue between you and @guga, too. It was in the comment section of a post in the TWP dev blog. 🙂 @Someone interestingly enough, Englander (Englishman) would have fitted also for the italian version “Chiave inglese” (english key literally). Also, from a developer point of view (less effort much gain) a strong hint in the manual for this puzzle which sounds absurd in other languages would have fitted too. ---
**Author:** ![Guga](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/guga/32/14476_2.png) [@Guga](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Guga)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 6:56am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/24 "2020-04-12T06:56:51Z")
> [@Ema](#): > > Deja vu. I’m sure you’ve written this before Yes, it’s happened before. It’s almost like the monkey wrench puzzle is a recurring topic among MI2 fans 😛 ---
**Author:** ![tlammert](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/tlammert/32/22_2.png) [@tlammert](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/tlammert)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 7:10am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/25 "2020-04-12T07:10:58Z")
As far as I remember I had to use everything with everything too back than. I’m not sure. But I think the monkey did not look like something I could use on the pump to me when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Someone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@Someone](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Someone)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 8:04am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/26 "2020-04-12T08:04:22Z")
> [@Gffp](#): > > Also, from a developer point of view (less effort much gain) a strong hint in the manual for this puzzle which sounds absurd in other languages would have fitted too. In the German version there was a hint in the library catalog, AFAIR. At least Boris complaint there on a card about the difficult translation. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ignacio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ignacio](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Ignacio)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 12:21pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/27 "2020-04-12T12:21:00Z")
I’m almost sure there was the same in the Spanish version. I remember there was a card saying something like “how to use a monkey as a monkey wrench” (in Spanish). ---
**Author:** ![Gffp](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/gffp/32/12183_2.png) [@Gffp](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Gffp)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/28 "2020-04-13T16:35:59Z")
> [@Someone](#): > > In the German version there was a hint in the library catalog, AFAIR. At least Boris complaint there on a card about the difficult translation. > [@Ignacio](#): > > I’m almost sure there was the same in the Spanish version. I remember there was a card saying something like “how to use a monkey as a monkey wrench” (in Spanish). I can’t remember if there was something similar in the italian version. That’s not exactly what I had in mind when thinking about a “ **strong** ” hint but… better than nothing for sure! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ThunderPeel2001](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/thunderpeel2001/32/290_2.png) [@ThunderPeel2001](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/ThunderPeel2001)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 2:04am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/29 "2020-04-14T02:04:25Z")
I love how people can’t accept that it’s a leap of logic. The steps are: 1. “There’s a pump. I have no idea what to do with it. I MIGHT need to use something with it, but it’s unclear why I would need to do this, or what will happen if I do.” 2. “There’s a monkey playing a piano with a metronome on it.” 3. “I KNOW! I’ll place a banana on the metronome. That will hypnotise the monkey. Then I can carry the monkey with me. Once I have the hypnotised monkey with me I can take it to the pump. Even though there’s no indication of a bolt on the pump, I will be able to fashion the monkey’s tail into a shape that will allow me to turn the bolt on the pump (if there is a bolt on the pump). Obvious!” It’s the logic equivalent of this: ![](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/572/078/d6d.jpg) It literally breaks at least three of Ron Gilbert’s own rules of bad adventure game design 🙂 > **[Why Adventure Games Suck](https://grumpygamer.com/why_adventure_games_suck)** > > Ron Gilbert's often incoherent and bitter ramblings about the Game Industry ---
**Author:** ![Frenzie](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/frenzie/32/4416_2.png) [@Frenzie](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Frenzie)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 7:56am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/30 "2020-04-14T07:56:21Z")
I’m perfectly accepting of the fact that it seemed like a leap of logic for you, but for me that’s a grossly incorrect analysis of the logic chain. Maybe I read Tintin: [![](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tintin_falls_6859.jpg) ](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tintin_falls_6859.jpg) Maybe my wife played Zelda: [![](https://www.zeldadungeon.net/Zelda01/Walkthrough/05/019.png) ](https://www.zeldadungeon.net/Zelda01/Walkthrough/05/019.png) Perhaps I wasn’t explicit enough about it, but my argument was that _even if_ you didn’t connect the waterfall and the pump, it’s just asking to be turned on or off just to see what will happen. My argument was not that this is literally the chain of logic. ---
**Author:** ![Guga](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/guga/32/14476_2.png) [@Guga](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Guga)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 8:17am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/31 "2020-04-14T08:17:25Z")
While the “use monkey on pump” may be a leap, using the banana on the metronome is not. It’s the most logical thing to do. You have a banana, you have a monkey, you’re a pirate that loves messing with people\*. It may be a leap in the puzzle sense (you don’t have an actual reason to do so), but it’s not in the roleplaying sense. And Monkey Island 2, as all the best adventure games, is not just about puzzles. \*EDIT: it’s also the reason why it makes total sense to put Kate’s flyer in the Wanted poster. ---
**Author:** ![Someone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@Someone](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Someone)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 8:24am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/32 "2020-04-14T08:24:02Z")
> [@Guga](#): > > using the banana on the metronome is not. 🤨 Why do you think so? With the banana you could attract a monkey or you could give the banana to a monkey. But it’s not logical to stick _a banana_ on a _metronome_. Even letting the monkey playing the piano wasn’t obvious or at least logical AFAIR (for us at that time). Why should a monkey play a piano? I have to add that I don’t remember the hints that were given. So it might be logical within the game. But the whole puzzle chain per se isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![seguso](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/seguso/32/1232_2.png) [@seguso](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/seguso)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 8:48am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/33 "2020-04-14T08:48:56Z")
> [@Frenzie](#): > > Maybe I read Tintin: What story is that? Great art, I want to start reading those… ---
**Author:** ![Frenzie](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/frenzie/32/4416_2.png) [@Frenzie](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Frenzie)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 8:53am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/34 "2020-04-14T08:53:43Z")
> [@Someone](#): > > I have to add that I don’t remember the hints that were given. So it might be logical within the game. Like I said, it was all perfectly logical to me except for the “why did the monkey turn into a wrench” part. Whereas for my wife the whole thing was a perfectly logical puzzle chain. But like @Guga says, I’m playing Guybrush the asshat prankster. I’m not playing _me_. > [@seguso](#): > > What story is that? Great art, I want to start reading those… Probably Prisoners of the Sun, maybe Seven Crystal Balls (it’s a two-parter). ---
**Author:** ![Someone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@Someone](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Someone)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 9:06am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/35 "2020-04-14T09:06:49Z")
> [@Frenzie](#): > > I’m playing Guybrush the asshat prankster. I’m not playing _me_ . But you don’t think like him. You’re trying this during the play (“What would Guybrush do?”). But most of the time you think what you/one would do in that situation. While playing, you are trying to transfer known solutions into the game. And if you don’t know for example what a “monkey wrench” is, the puzzle won’t be logical to you. ---
**Author:** ![Guga](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/guga/32/14476_2.png) [@Guga](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Guga)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 9:08am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/36 "2020-04-14T09:08:04Z")
> [@Someone](#): > > But it’s not logical to stick _a banana_ on a _metronome_ . I don’t remember what happens when you try to give the banana to the monkey. But I remember thinking that the monkey was too concentrated on playing that the metronome was the right thing to sabotage. ---
**Author:** ![Frenzie](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/frenzie/32/4416_2.png) [@Frenzie](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Frenzie)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 9:10am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/37 "2020-04-14T09:10:25Z")
> [@Someone](#): > > And if you don’t know for example what a “monkey wrench” is, the puzzle won’t be logical to you. Right, but I’m just messing with the monkey to see what kind of funny thing will happen. I’m not doing it for any particular reason. I’m a rowdy youth walking around kicking trashcans and pocketing unguarded property. Having messed with the monkey, which curiously turned into a wrench, I had one when I needed it. Monkey + banana is as simple as it can get. Monkey is too focused on metronome to notice banana presents a logical path to take. Imo the Monkey Island solution to the try everything problem is to make everything funny so you want to try all kinds of stuff to see what will happen, much more so than making everything “logical” or having a “reason” to do something. It’s par for the course. Maybe MI2 is just a flawed game. I certainly experienced several “monkey wrench” moments in it myself. But the monkey wrench wasn’t one of them. Most notably or at least most memorably the Dinky island jungle puzzle with the audio. (By contrast, in Tales that puzzle was easy because it was just a repeat.) ---
**Author:** ![LogicDeLuxe](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/logicdeluxe/32/15335_2.png) [@LogicDeLuxe](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/LogicDeLuxe)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 10:40am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/38 "2020-04-14T10:40:28Z")
> [@Someone](#): > > Even letting the monkey playing the piano wasn’t obvious or at least logical AFAIR (for us at that time). Why should a monkey play a piano? He’s just there playing as soon as you reached part 2. It’s a given fact. Realizing that you need to stop him playing is part of the puzzle. ---
**Author:** ![Guga](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/guga/32/14476_2.png) [@Guga](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Guga)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 11:20am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/39 "2020-04-14T11:20:26Z")
> [@Frenzie](#): > > the Dinky island jungle puzzle with the audio Whoa, I have no idea what you’re referring to. It’s time for me to play MI2 again. I forgot a lot of it. ---
**Author:** ![Sushi](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/sushi/32/163_2.png) [@Sushi](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Sushi)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 12:18pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192/40 "2020-04-14T12:18:25Z")
> [@seguso](#): > > What story is that? > [@Frenzie](#): > > Probably Prisoners of the Sun, maybe Seven Crystal Balls (it’s a two-parter). Definitely Tintin and the temple of Doom! I mean “Il tempio del sole” [Previous page](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192.md?page=1) [Next page](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dreaded-monkey-wrench-puzzle/4192.md?page=3)