Reviews by MathBrush

This is a Seltani game. Seltani is a hyperlink-based multiplayer format. While I was not able to try the multiplayer options (due to lack of multiple players), the single player mode was enjoyable to explore.

There are three sources of information: a dynamic room description with hyperlinks, in-game pop-up windows with information and choices, and a sort of running commentary on the bottom.

The game allows the choice of three different steampunk characters with customizable motivations. Each character sees and understands the world differently. As far as I played, the world was a 3x3x3 grid navigated by an airship. Every item was well-implemented.

Characters are in the service of an unusual queen, and are tasked with "taking care of" ancient ruins. I enjoyed the ability to interact with a large number of animals.

Worth checking out, especially if you are interested in multiplayer IF.

This choicescript game was recommended to me, and I really enjoyed it. It is free, unlike many "Choice of" games, and well-developed. You are a dragon, and like other Choice of games, you have a variety of stats (honor/cunning, finesse/brutality, etc.)

The story was written well, with a good swords and sorcery vibe that I've really missed among IF games. Dragons, wizards, paladins, demons, goblins, all behaving like a D&D game instead of the usual introspective deconstructions popular in IF.

I really enjoyed crafting a cunning finesse dragon, although I died once and got my butt kicked another time. The delayed effect of the choices makes the puzzles significant. I had heard it was hard to get a mate, and indeed I was not able to.

I enjoyed the goblin NPC. If Choice of Games had been more well-known in the IF community in 2010, I feel this would have been nominated for some awards.

In this short one-room game, you reverse the roles of Pavlov and his dogs by being the subject of experiments by dogs.

Your goal is to correctly find all of the food in the room. This requires varying amounts of ingenuity. Some of the puzzles are 'leap of intuition' puzzles.

As others have noted, the writing is the strongest point of the game. The strange mix of obedience and resentment makes for a funny game with a sad undertone.

The game has enough easy puzzles mixed in with the hard to let beginners get pretty far without consulting a guide.

In the TADS game To Hell in a Hamper, you play a man in a hot-air balloon headed for immediate danger. Your only hope is to lighten your load, but you are hindered by your companion, Mr. Booby, who is a skillful hoarder.

The puzzles in this game are creative and enjoyable. I laughed out loud several times and showed it to my family. The humor works because it plays off the urgency and the tension between you and Booby.

I do believe it's impossible to get to an unwinning state without dying, but it can make the puzzles much much harder. It can be worth it to restart if you realize you need something, as the game is relatively short.

Kerkerkruip is a randomized dungeon RPG game. You fight through a crowd of enemies using different tactics and absorbing the powers of the defeated. You pick up treasure and magic spells along the way.

The randomization allows for immense replay value. Also, the game has an adaptive difficulty setting, so the better you do, the harder each replay is.

You have many options, like attacking, 'focusing', dodging, etc. This is the only IF game with such a well-developed system as of now (2015), as far as I can tell.

The game is relatively squick-less (no gross blood or other similar things). You face a variety of human and monster enemies. Each session can be completed relatively quickly (less than an hour).

This game was very enjoyable, chiefly because it took a very different direction than I thought it would. It is a short sci-fi puzzle with some moderately difficult puzzles. It took less than 45 minutes to complete.

As others describe in their reviews, I had some guess-the-verb trouble and got stuck on one puzzle because I was too impatient.

This game has an NPC that I found much more emotionally interesting than just about any other NPC in a game. I found that the Club Floyd transcript had a few helpful comments from the game's author that clarified the ending. Wonderful game.

I was skeptical of this game at first, as I am not into games that push a particular viewpoint. But the conversation style, graphics, and options really spoke to me. To try and get the best ending, I put myself in Hana's shoes, thinking, "What would I need to hear right now"? I especially enjoyed trying to think like Ernie.

I got what I assume is the best ending, but I have no desire to try and find the worst ending, because the author really helped me empathize with the character.

For those who know what the topic of the game is: (Spoiler - click to show) I am usually wary of people writing about cutting, as so many people glorify it, saying for instance that all cutters are heros and their scars are from struggling with demons. I was taken aback by this games approach, which emphasizedthat cutters are just ordinary people with an unhealthy habit, just like drinking or gambling. I've overcome some unhealthy habits in my life, and this game was very close to my real-life experience. It really touched me.

This is essentially a good, though short, "creepy" game with purposefully silly descriptions. The puzzles are hard enough to be fun and easy enough to not ruin the goofy atmosphere. Puzzles are essentially "collect everything and try it all one by one in each room".

I supposed the reason I most enjoyed the game was the pacing. There is always something to do to move the game forward. I used hints on the very last puzzle, but I didn't really need to.

Game can be finished in under a hour. One or two simple mazes with no tricks (people who hate mazes might even like these mazes).