Games You Return To - an IFDB Poll

What games do you find yourself revisiting from time to time, games that have proven to be a kind of comfort-food of text adventuring, the warm old socks of parser and puzzle, the socks-full-of-comfort-food of overextended metaphor? What games do you enjoy coming back to, now and then?

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	Anchorhead, by Michael Gentry 4 votes "It is probably one of the greatest horror and longest IF there is." [+]"It is probably one of the greatest horror and longest IF there is.: Well, the game itself has a very long replay value, and has a very interesting plot and great puzzles. Won't mind replaying this again!" () --BlitzWithGuns... "Basically, this is the game I wish I had written." [+]"Basically, this is the game I wish I had written." () --Marco Innocenti... "I replay this..." [+]"I replay this every couple of years. It's still a great, spooky ride." () --insufficient data... (No comment) [+](No comment) --akaisha0... Vote for this game

	All Things Devours, by half sick of shadows 3 votes "Based around a single puzzle that I love solving over and over" [+]"Based around a single puzzle that I love solving over and over: The puzzle is pretty fluid about finding ways to solve it. And freeform time-travel is always fun. If you beat the game, your reward is a more difficult version of the same puzzle. Hooray!" () --Stewjar... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lionstooth... Vote for this game

	Beyond Zork, by Brian Moriarty 3 votes "Every couple of years ..." [+]"Every couple of years ...: I return to this one, and it never disappoints. In many ways, it gets better. And this isn't about "replay value" in the traditional sense (the experience doesn't vary all that much, though you CAN play with different stats and vary the experience a bit) just more about the comfort of the ritual, the pleasure of re-experiencing the best parts." () --Ghalev... "I wish I had a working copy of this to return to!" [+]"I wish I had a working copy of this to return to!: And it's too bad "Return to Zork" wasn't a good game because it would be hilarious as a "Game you return to..." Anybody? This thing on?" --Hanon Ondricek... "I enjoy playing the same story file across multiple interpreters" [+]"I enjoy playing the same story file across multiple interpreters: In a text-based terminal window, all stats are displayed, including Armor Class. But in WinFrotz, it has the blorb title image as well as the graphical map as on the DOS port of the game. Too bad I don't have a VT220 to try it on." ( - Full review) --mjhayes... Vote for this game

	Photopia, by Adam Cadre 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Rhetta_Lynnea... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lionstooth... Vote for this game

	Leather Goddesses of Phobos, by Steve Meretzky 2 votes "Baby-Bird Bond I" [+]"Baby-Bird Bond I: One of the first two games I ever played on my own, so there's a strong, simple nostalgia factor. But beyond that, I consider this a game of surprising warmth and character, given the breezy, pulpy, ribald subject matter, so it feels like a homecoming in ways beyond the basic. Plus, it's mildly naughty, and that's always going to win points with me." () --Ghalev... "I still have to solve it" [+]"I still have to solve it: It was my first Infocom game, and I still believe it's the best." () --Marco Innocenti... Vote for this game

	Changes, by David Given 2 votes "Required playing..." [+]"Required playing for wilderness ecosystems. Great all around aside from perhaps too steep of a difficulty curve at the start." () --Floating Info... "Bittersweet and..." [+]"Bittersweet and compelling story. The cutscenes and gameplay both draw you back." () --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game

	Metamorphoses, by Emily Short 2 votes "Large amounts of..." [+]"Large amounts of replay value due to all the different endings and multiple-solution puzzles. Also, the writing is something to be savoured: arguably the best-written IF game I've played." --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Lance Campbell... Vote for this game

	PataNoir, by Simon Christiansen 2 votes "It's fun to..." [+]"It's fun to just tinker with the game's mechanism- it uses just one, very intriguing way of handling objects." () --verityvirtue... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Lance Cirone... Vote for this game

	Galatea, by Emily Short 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DustyCypress... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lionstooth... Vote for this game

	Spider and Web, by Andrew Plotkin 1 vote "Something about..." [+]"Something about the story and the unique way it was told has brought me back to Spider and Web many times. " () --Ismarus... Vote for this game

	The Hobbit, by Philip Mitchell and Veronika Megler 1 vote "Still fascinates" [+]"Still fascinates: There are so many curious details and the game engine is so powerful (for its time) that I love to go back and replay. Sometimes I try to find new ways to solve old puzzles. " () --Fredrik... Vote for this game

	Plundered Hearts, by Amy Briggs 1 vote "Baby-Bird Bond II" [+]"Baby-Bird Bond II: One of the first two games I ever played on my own, and the first one I _completed_ on my own, but my return here is only 20% nostalgia, and 80% raw admiration for the games ability to lead me to visualize its locations, care about (or detest) its characters, and have a real sense of the protagonist. I don't know what the alchemy is, really (I suppose one of the ingredients is laudanum) but when I play this game, I'm reminded very directly why I play any of these games at all." () --Ghalev... Vote for this game

	The Axe of Kolt [2014 ADRIFT version], by Larry Horsfield 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Denk... Vote for this game

	Blue Lacuna, by Aaron A. Reed 1 vote "So much to explore" [+]"So much to explore" () --Sdn... Vote for this game

	Pogoman GO!, by Jack Welch and Ben Collins-Sussman 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... Vote for this game

	Aisle, by Sam Barlow 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DustyCypress... Vote for this game

	Best of Three, by Emily Short 1 vote "Ironically comforting" [+]"Ironically comforting: I love the atmosphere and how the dialogue gives me stuff to think about. I always find new conversation topics." ( - Full review) --Lance Cirone... Vote for this game

	The Gostak, by Carl Muckenhoupt 1 vote "After some time,..." [+]"After some time, you forget the word meanings - and can discover them again." ( - Full review) --Sobol... Vote for this game

	Varicella, by Adam Cadre 1 vote "The writing and..." [+]"The writing and blacker-than-a-starless-night humour keep me coming back even when I know how to solve it." --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game

	The Djinni Chronicles, by J. D. Berry 1 vote "Something in the..." [+]"Something in the storyline and unique setting of this game really appeals to me, and keeps me coming back whenever I crave nostalgia." () --Christina Nordlander... 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 July 27, 2014