The absolute hardest non-broken games you've played - an IFDB Poll

After reading Jason Dyer's post on his excellent adventure blog (at bluerenga.wordpress.com) about the hardest adventure ever (which I haven't tried yet, but want to!).

Everyone has a game that they've experienced that is just absolutely insane. I'm not looking for hard games that are fair or well done or even that you'd want to play, just as long as they aren't completely broken.

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	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky 5 votes "The evil classic" [+]"The evil classic: My vote for hardest Infocom game, barely edging out Spellbreaker. I saw a review once that claimed it was "too short". They must have been using a walkthrough. Expect this one to take at least a month if you go light on the hints." --Jason Dyer... "Had great times with it back in the day!! Way ahead of its time!!" [+]"Had great times with it back in the day!! Way ahead of its time!!: But good thing I had the Solid Gold version with included in game Invisiclues :)" --Manolis Marinakis... "What makes this so hard are illogical and non-intuitive puzzles later in the game. The famous Babel fish puzzle is actually quite logical and good." [+]"What makes this so hard are illogical and non-intuitive puzzles later in the game. The famous Babel fish puzzle is actually quite logical and good." () --Artran... "Fun game, especially for those who read the book(s)" [+]"Fun game, especially for those who read the book(s): Could not finish even with a walkthrough." --ayc15... (No comment) [+](No comment) --ocdunlap... Vote for this game

	Fish!, by John Molloy, Pete Kemp, Phil South, Rob Steggles 4 votes "Starts out fair but then it gets crazy" [+]"Starts out fair but then it gets crazy: Though the game starts out fair enough, the game becomes very difficult peaking with the insane dimension maze. Even with a walkthrough it was difficult." () --Denk... "Agreed, this one is madness" [+]"Agreed, this one is madness" --Jason Dyer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Mr. Patient... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	A Change in the Weather, by Andrew Plotkin 2 votes "It's a change in the weather. Probably the most awesome cruel game ever." [+]"It's a change in the weather. Probably the most awesome cruel game ever." --Ruber Eaglenest... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Elizabeth DeCoste... 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 2 votes "Took me fifty hours, and that was with nearly real-time hints from the writing group." [+]"Took me fifty hours, and that was with nearly real-time hints from the writing group." --Greg Frost... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Lance Cirone... Vote for this game

	Quondam, by Rod Underwood and Peter Killworth 2 votes "This was Jason Dyer's pick. A really, really hard game." [+]"This was Jason Dyer's pick. A really, really hard game." --MathBrush... "My word this is beyond tough. I love mindbending old school puzzle fests but this is the daddy of difficult" [+]"My word this is beyond tough. I love mindbending old school puzzle fests but this is the daddy of difficult: The Phoenix mainframe games of the seventies and eighties earned a merited reputation for toughness. Of the seventeen games available (the eighteenth, Xerb, seems sadly lost forever) this may well be the most ferocious. It may be even more diamond hard than Acheton and Xeno which are generally considered the other toughies of a very tough bunch. When a game kills you for typing the SAVE command you know you are in for a Herculean struggle." ( - Full review) --Canalboy... Vote for this game

	Trinity, by Brian Moriarty 2 votes "Perfect game - Cruel as itself" [+]"Perfect game - Cruel as itself: Trinity has a fame for being one of the cruelest adventures out there. You can get stuck, you can make the game unwinnable, there's no absolute handholding for solving it, you can even just cross a door, and be in outer space and die. It is a no matter, this game is perfect as is." () --Ruber Eaglenest... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Mikalye... Vote for this game

	Praser 5, by Andrew Plotkin 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Zape... Vote for this game

	So Far, by Andrew Plotkin 2 votes "Zarf cruelness a different dimensions make for a hard ride" [+]"Zarf cruelness a different dimensions make for a hard ride: This game has puzzles and an internal logic that would ruin the game for you without knowing. Just keep your grapes safe!" --Ruber Eaglenest... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lance Campbell... Vote for this game

	Starcross, by Dave Lebling 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Drew Cook... "Tough as nails,..." [+]"Tough as nails, clueing ranges from pretty good to nonexistent." () --Greg Frost... Vote for this game

	Ofrenda a la Pincoya, by Incanus 2 votes "Demands a lot of patience" [+]"Demands a lot of patience: Incanus' Castillian language games nearly always feature very specific procedures just for moving from room to room. But I almost couldn't finish this one even WITH a walk-through. " () --IFforL2... "From the spanish master" [+]"From the spanish master: I have played and finished all the games Incanus has released, except this one: I have to restart from the beggining becouse I can't finish it even chatting with the author while I play." () --Jade68... Vote for this game

	+=3, by Carl de Marcken and David Baggett 1 vote "Logical but impossible to solve" [+]"Logical but impossible to solve: Contains just a single puzzle, whose solution is perfectly logical. But you’ll never be able to figure it out …" () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... Vote for this game

	Cottage, by Viggo Eriksson, Kimmo Eriksson, Olle E Johansson 1 vote "The map changes in random ways, and there are some quite hard puzzles" [+]"The map changes in random ways, and there are some quite hard puzzles" --Fredrik Ramsberg... Vote for this game

	Castle Blackstar, by Mark Sheppard, Andrew Cummins, Geoff Richardson 1 vote "This is a very large and complex treasure hunt." [+]"This is a very large and complex treasure hunt.: A 181 room homage to Colossal Cave and Zork. Beyond the inevitable lamp timer and last lousy point this is easy to soft lock. Some obscure puzzles and much inventory juggling." () --Canalboy... Vote for this game

	Spy Snatcher, by Jonathan Partington and Jon Thackray 1 vote "A tightly-timed,..." [+]"A tightly-timed, multiple-replay game like Varicella, except that many elements of the game are randomized at the time you encounter them. It's almost impossible to learn anything by replay." () --Mr. Patient... Vote for this game

	All Things Devours, by half sick of shadows 1 vote "Beautiful mechanics and logic. 'Nuff said. " [+]"Beautiful mechanics and logic. 'Nuff said. : This isn't necessarily a traditional "adventure" IF, but the sheer mechanics and timing designed for replay makes this one of the 'hardest' games I've completed, without requiring a walkthrough or hints. It's definitely one of those works where you have to take concise notes of where - and more importantly - when you take each action." () --_firexe... Vote for this game

	Castle of Riddles, by Peter D. Killworth 1 vote "Keyboard Hammering Frustrations Await" [+]"Keyboard Hammering Frustrations Await: This was a competition game and consequently is very very hard. You have to fail and fail again to both work out the solutions to all the puzzles and also to decipher the order in which to solve them. Toss in a lamp timer and benevolent NPCs who unwittingly kill you and you have one of the toughest text adventures ever created." ( - Full review) --Canalboy... Vote for this game

	Castle Ralf, by Doug Clutter and Steve Vance 1 vote "Possibly Never Completed By Anyone Outside Of The Authors Themselves" [+]"Possibly Never Completed By Anyone Outside Of The Authors Themselves: Excruciatingly tough escape-from-a-castle-game. Soft locks, hard locks, unclued learning by death and wrong choice scenarios abound; and the cherry on the cake is a mechanical puzzle involving the retrieval of a golden key which ranges across multiple levels and makes the Babel Fish puzzle in HHGG seem like child's play. Even with the hint sheet you will be tearing your hair out. " ( - Full review) --Canalboy... Vote for this game

	Time: All Things Come to an End, by Andy Phillips 1 vote "Unwinnable gamestates abound!" [+]"Unwinnable gamestates abound!: Due to the linear structure, you can never go back for items you miss. Strict inventory limit for the first 20% and the items you need to take forward are left unclued. Timed sections where every move has to be made perfectly. Step and die traps. Puzzles that pretend to be solved (giving you points) when you've done them incorrectly, with no difference in description for the correct solution. Endgame is filled with obscure actions that must simply be guessed. Having an item at the wrong time can get you killed. Hard to finish even with the walkthrough handy." --Blake... Vote for this game

	SNOSAE, by R. Dale McDaniel 1 vote "Dozens of puzzles, and each one is a killer. Incredibly difficult." [+]"Dozens of puzzles, and each one is a killer. Incredibly difficult." ( - Full review) --MathBrush... Vote for this game

	Deadline, by Marc Blank 1 vote "Whew!" [+]"Whew!" ( - Full review) --Drew Cook... Vote for this game

	Curses, by Graham Nelson 1 vote "Huge, with lots of sudden death puzzles. Save often." [+]"Huge, with lots of sudden death puzzles. Save often." () --Greg Frost... Vote for this game

	Philosopher's Quest, by Peter D. Killworth and Jonathan Mestel 1 vote "Mainframe Game With Cruel Puzzles Galore" [+]"Mainframe Game With Cruel Puzzles Galore: A real old school puzzlefest with sudden deaths, no wriggle room for the order the puzzles need to be solve in, a tight lamp timer and at least two totally unfair (in my opinion) puzzles. The Tower of Babel problem must be a podium finish in the Puzzle Olympics." ( - Full review) --Canalboy... Vote for this game

	Large Machine, by Jon Ingold 1 vote "The game..." [+]"The game isn't completely broken, and I managed to win, but fighting bugs was as hard as fighting puzzles. Save a lot." () --Sobol... Vote for this game

	Spellbreaker, by Dave Lebling 1 vote "Surprised this hasn't made the list yet. Famously difficult." [+]"Surprised this hasn't made the list yet. Famously difficult." ( - Full review) --Drew Cook... 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 September 23, 2017