There is a certain axiom that holds as true today as when first spoken by
James Howell in 1659: that `All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy`. Best
known as the collected oeuvre of fictional writer Jack Torrance (as played by
Jack Nicholson) in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of Stephen King’s novel
The Shining , insanely repeated iterations of the phrase also serve large in
this game: in fact, typing it in over and over again is the primary task set
before the player.

Though the screen is set up to look like a certain industry-standard word
processor, things will not be as easy as they initially appear. SM is not
merely an inverted abbreviation for a certain applications software developer,
but also stands for sadism and masochism — elements arguably often in play
when attempting to productively use programs published by the aforementioned
developer, especially recent versions whose misguidedly helpful offers of
unwanted assistance often interfere with simple access to the program’s basic
functions. Such is the case here.

While diligently cranking out your key phrase, boxes will pop up to notify you
of errors, updates and other simulated system activities getting in the way of
your monomania; inspired equally from the Nintendo DS and the Typing of the
Dead , these irritating pop-ups are dismissed by frustratedly mashing keys on
the keyboard and bellyaching (ideally with great profanity) at high volume
into a nearby computer-attached microphone. Eventually the overwhelming sum of
the notifications “crashes” the game and play ends.

SM Word