Games where you can't screw up - an IFDB Poll

by Pinstripe
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Sometimes, when I'm playing a game, I spend more time juggling my save files than I do reading the text. I don't want to have to restart because I picked up the green rod instead of the clay jug (with apologies to Zarf). So I'm looking for games where any death can be avoided with a simple undo, and I can never find myself in an unwinnable state. More traditional games, not conversation games or one-move games, would be preferred.

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Lost Pig, by Admiral Jota
8 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Victor Gijsbers... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --declain... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --UmbrellaPie...

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Suveh Nux, by David Fisher
7 votes
"Mishaps easily undone, and there are lots of easter eggs, to boot." [+]"Mishaps easily undone, and there are lots of easter eggs, to boot." () --Ziixxxitria... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Victor Gijsbers... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) --sirjiles...

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City of Secrets, by Emily Short
5 votes
"Vast but not intimidating" [+]"Vast but not intimidating: The game includes a comprehensive tutorial and a map and it is apparently impossible to lock yourself out of a winnable state." () --verityvirtue... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Victor Gijsbers... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Denk...

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Blue Lacuna, by Aaron A. Reed
4 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Victor Gijsbers... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo...

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Tales of the Traveling Swordsman, by Mike Snyder
4 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Victor Gijsbers... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2...

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Photopia, by Adam Cadre
4 votes
"More like reading a story than playing a game... but what a compelling story it is!" [+]"More like reading a story than playing a game... but what a compelling story it is!: There's no way to mess up in this game. There's only one part that actually passes as a puzzle, but it basically only requires you to "think outside the box," as it were. Just enjoy the ride." --Arkholt... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Victor Gijsbers... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Felix Pleșoianu...

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Mrs. Pepper's Nasty Secret, by Jim Aikin and Eric Eve
3 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Victor Gijsbers... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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Six, by Wade Clarke
3 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer...

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De Baron, by Victor Gijsbers
3 votes
"It is impossible..." [+]"It is impossible to become stuck." --Victor Gijsbers... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Felix Pleșoianu...

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Violet, by Jeremy Freese
2 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Victor Gijsbers... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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The Plant, by Michael J. Roberts
2 votes
"There's just..." [+]"There's just no way to screw up in this game. You can always go back and pick up something you missed, and objects that are required for the plot (e.g. flashlight) cannot be used up." ( - Full review) --Wladimir... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo...

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Escape From Santaland, by Jason Ermer
2 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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Inside the Facility, by Arthur DiBianca
2 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Robin Johnson... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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Floatpoint, by Emily Short
1 vote
"You cannot get..." [+]"You cannot get stuck in floatpoint." --Victor Gijsbers...

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Toddler RPG, by Noah Marshall
1 vote
"Bet you never knew kids at the playground are trying to build their stats." [+]"Bet you never knew kids at the playground are trying to build their stats.: Failure proof." --sirjiles...

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The Meteor, the Stone and a Long Glass of Sherbet, by Graham Nelson (as Angela M. Horns)
1 vote
"I can't be..." [+]"I can't be entirely sure, seeing as I've played the game on autopilot, but apparently Meteor... is specifically designed to remain winnable no matter what (except at the very end, I think)." () --Felix Pleșoianu...

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The Wand, by Arthur DiBianca
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Denk...

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The Dreamhold, by Andrew Plotkin
1 vote
"Also a very..." [+]"Also a very beginner-friendly game in general (without being overly easy)" --Christina Nordlander...

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The Impossible Bottle, by Linus Åkesson
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Denk...

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Witch Upon a Star, by BellaBandida
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --BellaBandida...

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Mortlake Manor, by Ben Chenoweth
1 vote
"Can't die, but with mazes and a ghost!" [+]"Can't die, but with mazes and a ghost!: You cannot die and you cannot get to a point where you can't win. But there are mazes and a ghost just to keep things interesting." --Ben Chenoweth...

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Bronze, by Emily Short
1 vote
"Classic adventure format with an optional beginner's mode" [+]"Classic adventure format with an optional beginner's mode" ( - Full review) --Ron Newcomb...

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Perdition's Flames, by Michael J. Roberts
1 vote
"Advertised As Impossible To Become Unwinnable." [+]"Advertised As Impossible To Become Unwinnable.: Michael J. Roberts advertises this game as being impossible to become unwinnable. Also... you can't die! Because, you're ALREADY DEAD!" --TheGrandRascal...

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Fate, by Victor Gijsbers
1 vote
"You can lock..." [+]"You can lock yourself out of certain endings, but only by deliberate choice, and you are never confined to "losing" endings." --Victor Gijsbers...

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The liberation, by Stephane F.
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Stephane F....

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Jacqueline, Jungle Queen!, by Steph Cherrywell
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edward Lacey...

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The Isle of the Cult, by Rune Berg
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Gemma Bristow...

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Hackenslash RPG Chapter 4: Death, by Noah Marshall
1 vote
"Death by puns." [+]"Death by puns.: The game just restores you to life where you were if you die." --sirjiles...

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Djinn on the Rocks, by Joshua Wilson
1 vote
"A short and unique comic fantasy excursion featuring a fresh take on magic mechanics." [+]"A short and unique comic fantasy excursion featuring a fresh take on magic mechanics.: There are many victory paths to explore with no dead ends or unwinnable states." --Joshua Wilson...

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The Lurking Horror II: The Lurkening, by Ryan Veeder
1 vote
"The game world..." [+]"The game world resets itself every nine turns; use what you learned from previous cycles." --David Welbourn...

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Hunter, in Darkness, by Andrew Plotkin
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Christina Nordlander...

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The Storm, by Stephane F.
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Stephane F....

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Sunset Over Savannah, by Ivan Cockrum
1 vote
"Respawns..." [+]"Respawns destroyed/lost items when necessary." --David Welbourn...

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9:05, by Adam Cadre
1 vote
"Short and sweet" [+]"Short and sweet: A very short game with two negative endings for the player character. One of them involves death and cutting the game short before solving all the "puzzles", but it can be easily undone." --P-Tux7...

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Grandma Bethlinda's Variety Box, by Arthur DiBianca
1 vote
"A fun one-room puzzle with no wrong answers" [+]"A fun one-room puzzle with no wrong answers" () --mg51...

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Alias 'The Magpie', by J. J. Guest
1 vote
"Rated..." [+]"Rated 'merciful' on the Zarfian scale - 'You can't get stuck, and the main character can't die. It's impossible to permanently lose an object that's required to win the game. The game will always remain winnable no matter what you do.'" --J. J. Guest...

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Eat Me, by Chandler Groover
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Malasana...

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Wishbringer, by Brian Moriarty
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Robot Marvin...

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worm, by Gunther Schmidl
1 vote
"Simple, linear, and puzzleless" [+]"Simple, linear, and puzzleless: This game is very short, linear, and puzzleless, so you can't make it unwinnable." --P-Tux7...

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Poll created on March 2, 2009