I've just finished wading my way through this hold - I've cleared all rooms except one (which is being discussed above) so I think I've played enough to review this.
This hold consists of 25 entries for a competition to create a hold that can be completed during a 1 hour lunchbreak. Some of the entries go down like chablis and oysters, whereas others are like trying to eat a tough old boot. If you'll excuse the slightly bizarre (and not really relevant) metaphors I'll begin; I played the levels in order of difficulty (easiest to hardest) so I'll just list a few comments about each one
Start Menu: Would have been nice to have a bit more variety with the hub level (I'm thinking of Advanced Concepts hub as a comparison), however this is a JtRH hold and there may not have been time to put any more effort in.
A Visit to Mellenfral by Tahnan: Certainly a nice story wrapped up in a simple little level but it didn't impress me as much as its ranking would have suggested.
Shortness by Someone Else: Different staircases going to different locations - do not like.
Holds Al dente Lst6 by Lst6: Unpredictable scripting, quiz room is annoying, nothing really original.
Al Dente North Carolina by jjohn7418: Nothing too difficult, but a lot of the rooms were unnecessarily long.
Valley Of Nowhere by bomber50: Not bad - nice use of levels, a decent attempt at a story, some repetition of ideas (eg. stand in middle and release the monsters), harder rooms were similar but with more monsters and less room.
The Crossing (Holds Al Dente) by tokyokid: Nice symmetry, nothing particular interesting puzzle wise.
Beethro Budkin Stars in... by captainzakku: Some good representation of famous scenes (certainly enjoyed the Monty Python one) & scripted puzzles - not too bad.
The Pyramid of Doom by Ezlo: Good concept and a very nice setting, some spelling mistakes but not the only example in this compilation.
Hold Al dente by Timo006: Okay - decent attempt at mathematical representations, some unpredictable scripting though.
Chambers 1-5 (Holds Al Dente) by tokyokid: Nice asthetics, nothing too taxing or onerous - good effort.
60 Minutes by Krissan: Okay - nothing special, nothing too difficult.
Oct2006 Contest - Spider Invasion by techant: Not bad - few too many spiders for my liking though.
Holds Al Dente Jeff_Ray by Jeff_ray...: Decent effort, some tricky rooms but nothing too difficult.
A decision of no Choice by NiroZ: Very good - some tricky rooms and lots of secrets which I always consider a good thing.
A story about a man by The spitemaster: Short and enjoyable - not sure why this ranked so low in the competition.
Holds Al Dente Jason by Jason: Nice concept, good lynchpin puzzles - again not sure why this ranked so low.
Beethro's Shortcut by Kevin_P86: Good - puzzles not too tricky, the seep room was my least favourite.
Nightmare Roses by trick: Very clever but also not too difficult or frustrating.
Mobius Hold by schep: Again a very clever level - small but perfectly formed.
Professor Goole's Goolean Dungeon by Sergenth: Brilliant - a worthy winner. If you don't play any of the other levels you must play this one. Intuitive scripting that you can figure out using various clues scattered around the level. Puzzles not too taxing but for a hold of this nature that's fine. It's a real shame we haven't had more holds from Sergenth.
Beethro : The Gatherer by coppro: Some nice room graphics, but some of the rooms were a real chore - most notably the goblin and seep rooms.
Bugged by Jacob: Nice collection of ortho-square puzzles - not too tricky and just the right size.
Hold of the Hour by Chaco: Nice variation of puzzles, not overly complicated.
Under The Trapdoor by Doom: Not as hard as I expected a Doom hold to be, which was nice. There were a few red herrings but most of the rooms were easy enough to work out.
20,061,022 by BoyBlue: Fairly difficult puzzles, nothing really stands out with the level and design though.
So, I'd definately recommend playing at least the winning entry as it is a fantastic little level but there are some other worthwhile efforts in here. In some respects it's quite tricky to rate a compilation - particularly one with as many entries as this but on the whole I found this a positive experience, and if you only wish to complete the hold you only need to clear the top ten entries anyway.
My verdict:
Difficulty: 6
Fun: 6
____________________________
Without struggle, there is no progress, so get up, get out, and go make the rest of your life the best of your life; you deserve to live the life that YOU want to live...
Progress - Gavin G
In my taste there is at least four times the amount of tar which would be ideal.
/dy