very hard games - an IFDB Poll

I am look for the hardest IF games ever.

	Praser 5, by Andrew Plotkin 6 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Azazel... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --shornet... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Zape... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Jubal... Vote for this game

	Varicella, by Adam Cadre 6 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Azazel... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Victor Gijsbers... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --E.K.... (No comment) [+](No comment) --jack23... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game

	Make It Good, by Jon Ingold 4 votes "Hours and hours (and hours and hours) of replaying" [+]"Hours and hours (and hours and hours) of replaying: Like Varicella, Make It Good requires not only that you solve puzzles but that you coordinate a complex series of events so that everything goes right -- and you're surrounded by vigilant NPCs who will see through you if you're not careful." ( - Full review) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) --E.K.... (No comment) [+](No comment) --bluevelvetwings... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Sobol... Vote for this game

	Cottage, by Viggo Eriksson, Kimmo Eriksson, Olle E Johansson 2 votes "Extremely unfair" [+]"Extremely unfair: The map is a nightmare, and a large part of it changes randomly. Some of the puzzles are extremely far-fetched, and for one particularly nasty puzzle, even if you guess the right thing to do, the game draws a random number to decide if you succeed or get no indication at all that you're on the right track. After solving the game by reading the source code, I feel pretty sure that no one has ever completed the game without clues." --Fredrik Ramsberg... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Blake... Vote for this game

	Jigsaw, by Graham Nelson 2 votes "Not just hard, but also worth playing for its nicely realised romance." [+]"Not just hard, but also worth playing for its nicely realised romance." --C.E.J. Pacian... "Several fiendishly hard set-piece puzzles" [+]"Several fiendishly hard set-piece puzzles" () --Emily Short... Vote for this game

	Acheton, by Jon Thackray, David Seal, and Jonathan Partington 2 votes "Seems to be difficult...I can't get anywhere on it!" [+]"Seems to be difficult...I can't get anywhere on it!" () --Xervosh... "Of the fifteen..." [+]"Of the fifteen extremely tough mainframe games written at Cambridge University between 1978 and 1989 this is one of the three toughest. " ( - Full review) --Canalboy... Vote for this game

	Parc, by John Rennie 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) () --shornet... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Canalboy... Vote for this game

	Broken Legs, by Sarah Morayati 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) --gamerbeauty86... Vote for this game

	The Mulldoon Legacy, by Jon Ingold 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --David Welbourn... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Pinstripe... Vote for this game

	Deadline, by Marc Blank 2 votes "Requires many playthroughs so you can learn to be in the right places at the right times" [+]"Requires many playthroughs so you can learn to be in the right places at the right times" ( - Full review) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Jeremy Freese... Vote for this game

	Curses, by Graham Nelson 2 votes "Easy to get into an unwinnable state, and often no acknowledgment when you're doing the right thing" [+]"Easy to get into an unwinnable state, and often no acknowledgment when you're doing the right thing: First of all, you'll quickly learn that this game seems to have been written almost exclusively for literary giants - you'll likely have to consult a dictionary multiple times for every new room you enter. Second, there are two puzzles which I won't disclose here for spoiler reasons, where you have to have done something much earlier in the game (unwinnable states), but if you had done it, the response was "nothing seems to happen" (no acknowledgement)." --mjhayes... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --shornet... Vote for this game

	Finding Martin, by G.K. Wennstrom 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --David Welbourn... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Canalboy... Vote for this game

	Spellbreaker, by Dave Lebling 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Azazel... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --tggdan3... Vote for this game

	Cragne Manor, by Ryan Veeder, Jenni Polodna, Adam Whybray, Adri, Andrew Plotkin, Andy Holloway, Austin Auclair, Baldur Brückner, Ben Collins-Sussman, Bill Maya, Brian Rushton, Buster Hudson, Caleb Wilson, Carl Muckenhoupt, Chandler Groover, Chris Jones, Christopher Conley, Damon L. Wakes, Daniel Ravipinto, Daniel Stelzer, David Jose, David Petrocco, David Sturgis, Drew Mochak, Edward B, Emily Short, Erica Newman, Feneric, Finn Rosenløv, Gary Butterfield, Gavin Inglis, Greg Frost, Hanon Ondricek, Harkness Munt, Harrison Gerard, Ian Holmes, Ivan Roth, Jack Welch, Jacqueline Ashwell, James Eagle, Jason Dyer, Jason Lautzenheiser, Jason Love, Jeremy Freese, Joey Jones, Joshua Porch, Justin de Vesine, Justin Melvin, Katherine Morayati, Kenneth Pedersen, Lane Puetz, Llew Mason, Lucian Smith, Marco Innocenti, Marius Müller, Mark Britton, Mark Sample, Marshal Tenner Winter, Matt Schneider, Matt Weiner, Matthew Korson, Michael Fessler, Michael Gentry, Michael Hilborn, Michael Lin, Mike Spivey, Molly Ying, Monique Padelis, Naomi Hinchen, Nate Edwards, Petter Sjölund, Q Pheevr, Rachel Spitler, Reed Lockwood, Reina Adair, Riff Conner, Roberto Colnaghi, Rowan Lipkovits, Sam Kabo Ashwell, Scott Hammack, Sean M. Shore, Shin, Wade Clarke, Zach Hodgens, Zack Johnson 1 vote "A huge game with 84 rooms, some very large" [+]"A huge game with 84 rooms, some very large" ( - Full review) --MathBrush... Vote for this game

	Pascal's Wager, by Doug Egan 1 vote "Winner of Spring Thing 2008. Six games in one." [+]"Winner of Spring Thing 2008. Six games in one.: A re-playable puzzle game where the desirable goals, and the correct solutions to puzzles, depend on which god currently rules the universe." () --Doug Egan... Vote for this game

	Hard Puzzle, by Ade McT 1 vote "It's a hard puzzle." [+]"It's a hard puzzle." ( - Full review) --CMG... Vote for this game

	The Pawn, by Rob Steggles, Peter Kemp, Hugh Steers, Ken Gordon, and Geoff Quilley 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) () --shornet... Vote for this game

	Savage Island, Part II, by Scott Adams and Russ Wetmore 1 vote "They don't call it Savage Island because it's not savage." [+]"They don't call it Savage Island because it's not savage." --Wade Clarke... Vote for this game

	Castle Ralf, by Doug Clutter and Steve Vance 1 vote "Very Tough Old School Parser Game" [+]"Very Tough Old School Parser Game: Escape from the world's most escape proof castle. Mind those alligators and the most dangerous radiators that ever heated a construction." ( - Full review) --Canalboy... Vote for this game

	Quondam, by Rod Underwood and Peter Killworth 1 vote "Mind bogglingly difficult mainframe game from 1980" [+]"Mind bogglingly difficult mainframe game from 1980: This offering from the Cambridge University undergraduate Rod Underwood just may be the toughest text adventure ever written. More compact than most from this stable what it lacks in sprawl it compensates with incredibly difficult posers in practically every room. Almost endless ways to lock yourself out of victory. Even using the SAVE and EXAMINE commands can kill you in this game. Everything from a British Rail sandwich to the Spanish Inquisition can prove your mortality here. And I certainly didn't expect a British Rail sandwich." ( - Full review) --Canalboy... Vote for this game

	Fish!, by John Molloy, Pete Kemp, Phil South, Rob Steggles 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... Vote for this game

	The Lurking Horror, by Dave Lebling 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --Grey... Vote for this game

	Savoir-Faire, by Emily Short 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Victor Gijsbers... Vote for this game

	So Far, by Andrew Plotkin 1 vote "Lots of tricky puzzles, easy to make unwinnable" [+]"Lots of tricky puzzles, easy to make unwinnable" () --Emily Short... Vote for this game

	Ferret, by [email protected] 1 vote "Short title - enormous game." [+]"Short title - enormous game.: A massive 17 phase journey from cryogenic chamber to....well, play and find out. Some incredibly difficult posers here. Google, Google Google some more." ( - Full review) --Canalboy... Vote for this game

	Suspended, by Michael Berlyn 1 vote "Only info com game I never finished." [+]"Only info com game I never finished." --davidjhall... Vote for this game

	Hadean Lands, by Andrew Plotkin 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game

	Savage Island, Part I, by Scott Adams 1 vote "They don't call it Savage Island because it's not savage." [+]"They don't call it Savage Island because it's not savage." --Wade Clarke... Vote for this game

	Starcross, by Dave Lebling 1 vote "Another game I can't get anywhere on (and I first tried in '85). Its listed as "Expert" level for a reason, I suppose." [+]"Another game I can't get anywhere on (and I first tried in '85). Its listed as "Expert" level for a reason, I suppose." --Xervosh... Vote for this game

Is there another game that you think should be on this list? Just fill in the title of a game you'd like to vote for.

Poll created on January 16, 2010