I'm looking for games that are suited for adults who are new to IF. My purpose is to share these games with friends and let them get experience IF without being frustrated by mazes or guess-the-verb issues. Please avoid children's games. I'm interested in both traditional plot driven games as well as esoteric experimental pieces. These games should not only be forgiving, but demonstrate the interactive nature of the medium.
| Lost Pig, by Admiral Jota 39 votes "Love it." [+]"Love it.: Very fun and no frustration." --heartsis100... "Very amusing, and something about the caveman dialogue makes it easier to 'think' in the syntax of IF." [+]"Very amusing, and something about the caveman dialogue makes it easier to 'think' in the syntax of IF." --Tortoiseshell Bat... "My first completion" [+]"My first completion: Very enjoyable to someone who's very new the the genre. The hints were very helpful to me as i was still grasping some of the concepts." ( - Classic text-adventure structure, but the distinctive narrative voice refreshingly different from old school text adventures. - Fairly easy, and with good hint system." ( Vote for this game | |
| Bronze, by Emily Short 21 votes "I can't recommend Bronze highly enough." [+]"I can't recommend Bronze highly enough." ( Vote for this game | |
| Photopia, by Adam Cadre 19 votes "Thrilling, puzzleless and highly competent" [+]"Thrilling, puzzleless and highly competent: It is almost impossible to get stuck in this game, which makes it very good for newcomers. On top of that, it is a very good piece." --Victor Gijsbers... "Well-written, engaging, moving" [+]"Well-written, engaging, moving" ( Vote for this game | |
| 9:05, by Adam Cadre 17 votes "Simple, fun and quick." [+]"Simple, fun and quick." ( Vote for this game | |
| The Dreamhold, by Andrew Plotkin 16 votes "Designed for beginners" [+]"Designed for beginners: Dreamhold walks new players through the basics of IF when they begin and then lets them loose in a polished, forgiving fantasy adventure. Forgettable, but good fun." --Emily Boegheim... "Not too hard" [+]"Not too hard" --Weaver... "A game designed for beginners" [+]"A game designed for beginners: Dreamhold is a game that explains IF, written by the award-winning author Andrew Plotkin. The game has dynamic hints if you get stuck and it explains different commands and possibilities." --DarkWolf... "Designed to tutor..." [+]"Designed to tutor new players, but with lots of optional challenges, and a couple of particularly beautiful images" --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Violet, by Jeremy Freese 12 votes "Polished, contemporary, amusing, and a little romantic" [+]"Polished, contemporary, amusing, and a little romantic" ( Vote for this game | |
| Gun Mute, by C.E.J. Pacian 11 votes "Linear" [+]"Linear: Puzzles are easy and teach player how to interact with more complex games." ( Vote for this game | |
| Wishbringer, by Brian Moriarty 11 votes "Two ways to solve every puzzle" [+]"Two ways to solve every puzzle: ...Just make sure to find the instructions on how to use the stone. Googling "wishbringer" should work. Other than that, it's pretty easy to finish without hints, although familiarity with Zork might help a little. " ( Vote for this game | |
| Blue Lacuna, by Aaron A. Reed 10 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short 7 votes "My absolute favourite IF." [+]"My absolute favourite IF." --Chris Longhurst... "Welcoming and intuitive" [+]"Welcoming and intuitive" ( Vote for this game | |
| Glowgrass, by Nate Cull 7 votes "This is my first pick when introducing someone to IF." [+]"This is my first pick when introducing someone to IF." ( Vote for this game | |
| Aisle, by Sam Barlow 6 votes "Only one move" [+]"Only one move: The game is very short but it shows what can be done in the medium." --Sam Jackson... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Yes, Another Game with a Dragon!, by John Kean 6 votes "The writing is solid, and all the puzzles can be solved with simple experimentation." [+]"The writing is solid, and all the puzzles can be solved with simple experimentation." ( Vote for this game | |
| Shade, by Andrew Plotkin 5 votes "Incredible, oddly suspenseful" [+]"Incredible, oddly suspenseful" ( Vote for this game | |
| Eat Me, by Chandler Groover 5 votes "Beautifully grotesque" [+]"Beautifully grotesque: disgusting details through beautiful prose—Chandler Groover really shines in this work; the puzzles are very straightforward, too" ( Vote for this game | |
| Babel, by Ian Finley 5 votes "Cohesive, great atmosphere, appropriate length and difficulty for a beginner. " [+]"Cohesive, great atmosphere, appropriate length and difficulty for a beginner. " --Robot Marvin... "Small inventory, clear puzzles, no sudden-death. " [+]"Small inventory, clear puzzles, no sudden-death. : Linear but riveting story with high attention to detail. No quick romp; quite involved but not too difficult." ( Vote for this game | |
| Worlds Apart, by Suzanne Britton 4 votes "Nice help/hint system, "polite", e.g., u can't really get killed. Puzzles weren't outlandish to solve, & hints helped if u get stuck. Wasn't thrilled w/the ending, but perhaps there is more than 1." [+]"Nice help/hint system, "polite", e.g., u can't really get killed. Puzzles weren't outlandish to solve, & hints helped if u get stuck. Wasn't thrilled w/the ending, but perhaps there is more than 1." --AbleTec... (No comment) [+](No comment) --perch... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Otto... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| I-0, by Anonymous 4 votes "Short and silly with multiple paths!" [+]"Short and silly with multiple paths!: A quirky travel story with a couple interesting stops along the way. Allows for experimentation and forces you to pay attention subtly. Supports different paths and play styles." ( Vote for this game | |
| Hunter, in Darkness, by Andrew Plotkin 4 votes "The one which caught me into IF" [+]"The one which caught me into IF: This is the very first game which caught me into IF. The world description felt so natural to me. So, I guess that it would be suited for beginners." ( Vote for this game | |
| 77 Verbs, by MathBrush (as Prismatik) 4 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Galatea, by Emily Short 4 votes "Amazing NPC interactions" [+]"Amazing NPC interactions: It's a one-room dialogue-based story that can go in almost any direction. The hints are helpful and concise, and the language is stunning." --gettera... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Superluminal Vagrant Twin, by C.E.J. Pacian 3 votes "Non-linear, well..." [+]"Non-linear, well integrated hint system, and SPACESHIPS! Also, no map to mentally track streamlines the experience." --boogerball... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Plant, by Michael J. Roberts 3 votes "One of my favorites" [+]"One of my favorites: Michael J. Roberts, the author of TADS, writes some of the most polished games, with a good story and great puzzles. No "guess the verb" nonsense here." ( Vote for this game | |
| Ether, by MathBrush 3 votes "First parser game I enjoyed" [+]"First parser game I enjoyed: Simple puzzles, solid walkthrough. More details in my review." ( Vote for this game | |
| Earth and Sky, by Paul O'Brian 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Miss Gosling's Last Case, by Daniel M. Stelzer 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Ecdysis, by Peter Nepstad 2 votes "short & sweet" [+]"short & sweet: straightforward lovecraftian horror that experiments with player-character identification." ( Vote for this game | |
| Lime Ergot, by Caleb Wilson (as Rust Blight) 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Castle of the Red Prince, by C.E.J. Pacian 2 votes "Unusual game..." [+]"Unusual game mechanic, but nothing that should impede your progress. Short, well-clued, and the puzzles are easy and logical." ( Vote for this game | |
| Party Foul, by Brooks Reeves 2 votes "has some..." [+]"has some difficult puzzles but a small map and not too many things to interact with that can cause problems. " ( Vote for this game | |
| Walker & Silhouette, by C.E.J. Pacian 2 votes "Amusing and forgiving." [+]"Amusing and forgiving." ( Vote for this game | |
| rendition, by nespresso 2 votes "esoteric, experimental, but with simple gameplay mechanic" [+]"esoteric, experimental, but with simple gameplay mechanic: easy to pick up and play... one room... not for kids... serious, important subject matter... great demo for IF interactivity." ( Vote for this game | |
| The Magpie Takes the Train, by Mathbrush 2 votes "Beginner-friendly, one-room heist" [+]"Beginner-friendly, one-room heist: I share this with my friends who are new to IF." --BitterlyIndifferent... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Dead Like Ants, by C.E.J. Pacian 2 votes "Dark yet cute" [+]"Dark yet cute: amusing interactions, with a well-written environment; the puzzles are easy, and the game is very short" ( Vote for this game | |
| Suveh Nux, by David Fisher 2 votes "Contains little..." [+]"Contains little of the frustrations that often bother beginning players. Good for puzzle lovers." ( Vote for this game | |
| So, You've Never Played a Text Adventure Before, Huh?, by Ryan Veeder 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Raising the Flag on Mount Yo Momma, by Juhana Leinonen 1 vote "Simplified..." [+]"Simplified mechanics, fair puzzles, many hints." ( Vote for this game | |
| Enhanced Beginners Cave, by Donald Brown and John Nelson 1 vote "Nice introduction to Eamon" [+]"Nice introduction to Eamon: Available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux as part of Eamon Deluxe." ( Vote for this game | |
| Asylum, by cpuguy89 1 vote "Short and simple, includes only the most basic commands." [+]"Short and simple, includes only the most basic commands.: Not made specifically for adults, but contains nothing childish either." --cpuguy... Vote for this game | |
| The Blue Lettuce, by Caleb Wilson 1 vote "TALP game" [+]"TALP game" --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| All Hope Abandon, by Eric Eve 1 vote "Very complete..." [+]"Very complete implementation, all sorts of useful verbs ('look north', 'think about <puzzle>', etc.), good story, logical puzzles." ( Vote for this game | |
| Napier's Cache, by Vivienne Dunstan 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| 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!: This is definitely forgivng: you cannot die and you cannot get to a point where you can't win. But there are mazes and a ghost..." --Ben Chenoweth... Vote for this game | |
| Beware The Faerie Food You Eat, by Astrid Dalmady 1 vote "Got me into IF" [+]"Got me into IF: It's a beautiful game with an intriguing story. It deserves to be played. And it's very friendly with new IF users like I was. It was the first IF work I read and I loved it. I haven't stopped since." --Florencia... Vote for this game | |
| Hunger Daemon, by Sean M. Shore 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --Space Cowboy... Vote for this game | |
| TOMBs of Reschette, by Richard Goodness 1 vote "Twine adventure..." [+]"Twine adventure with more of a world-model than most. Rewards experimentation." ( Vote for this game | |
| Cryptozookeeper, by Robb Sherwin 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Game Formerly Known as Hidden Nazi Mode, by Victor Gijsbers 1 vote "Quick and easy kid's game" [+]"Quick and easy kid's game: Contrary to its title, "The Game Formally Known as Hidden Nazi Mode" is a game about collecting rabbits. Although the game is limited and generally uninteresting, it's great for beginners and extremely easy." --Mrs. Info-adventurer... Vote for this game | |
| Myriad, by Porpentine 1 vote "Choose Your Own..." [+]"Choose Your Own Adventure story with a great deal of branching." ( Vote for this game | |
| Captain Verdeterre's Plunder, by Ryan Veeder 1 vote "I've successfully introduced people to IF with this game." [+]"I've successfully introduced people to IF with this game.: Only a few commands needed. Easy to navigate. No stubborn puzzle bottlenecks. Even if you finish with a sub-optimal score, you're still very likely to finish, which gives new players confidence that they can beat a parser game." ( Vote for this game | |
| Dinner Bell, by Jenni Polodna 1 vote "One-room game..." [+]"One-room game with easy puzzles" ( Vote for this game | |
| Moonmist, by Stu Galley, Jim Lawrence 1 vote "Great mystery and atmosphere" [+]"Great mystery and atmosphere: I struggled early on to find a game that was at an introductory level. This was the first game I ever beat and I was so happy. I think it's perfect for beginners." ( Vote for this game | |
| Mrs. Pepper's Nasty Secret, by Jim Aikin and Eric Eve 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Afflicted, by Doug Egan 1 vote "I used this game..." [+]"I used this game to introduce my dad to the medium. I guess I would use a different game with my mom though." ( Vote for this game | |
| Ka, by Dan Efran 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Enlightenment, by Taro Ogawa 1 vote "Fun one-room..." [+]"Fun one-room puzzle game. Might be challenging, but nothing unfair or gruellingly difficult." ( Vote for this game | |
| Untold Riches, by Jason Ermer 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Sentient Beings, by Tristin Grizel Dean 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| It Is Pitch Black, by Caelyn Sandel 1 vote "Atmospheric Twine..." [+]"Atmospheric Twine horror, challenging without being frustrating" ( Vote for this game | |
| Being There, by Jordan Magnuson 1 vote "Excellent game for beginners, since you cannot get stuck and the whole aim is just to interact with the environment in every imaginable way." [+]"Excellent game for beginners, since you cannot get stuck and the whole aim is just to interact with the environment in every imaginable way." ( Vote for this game | |
| A Matter of Heist Urgency, by FLACRabbit 1 vote "can't really lose, simple parser and like a kid's cartoon (but adults seem to like it)" [+]"can't really lose, simple parser and like a kid's cartoon (but adults seem to like it)" ( Vote for this game | |
| Les espions ne meurent jamais, by Hugo Labrande 1 vote "One action per playthrough. Big reward" [+]"One action per playthrough. Big reward: The game is extremelly simple and rewarding, as each playthrough will required one action only. So whatever the player tries, he'll get a juicy (an funny) reward. It is in french, so is very good for french speaking beginners." ( Vote for this game | |
| The Storm, by Stephane F. 1 vote "No puzzle, just..." [+]"No puzzle, just exploration" --Stephane F.... Vote for this game | |
| The Familiar, by groggydog 1 vote "Made for beginners in mind" [+]"Made for beginners in mind" ( Vote for this game | |
| The Surprising Case of Brian Timmons, by Marshal Tenner Winter 1 vote "really easy and fun" [+]"really easy and fun" ( Vote for this game | |
| The Lookout, by Paul Michael Winters 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Acorn Court, by Todd S. Murchison 1 vote "Well it depends..." [+]"Well it depends what type of beginner. Really beginner or just beginner. If it's really beginner than this one is great" ( Vote for this game | |
| The Gostak, by Carl Muckenhoupt 1 vote "It may sound odd..." [+]"It may sound odd to recommend this for a beginner — but this is the game that got me back into playing IF after a couple of decades' hiatus. I played "adventure games" as a kid, and had heard about this new rebranding of it as "interactive fiction", but nothing grabbed me until I stumbled on The Gostak. I'm very interested in language and meaning, and it just clicked with me. I think this would be a good suggestion for a beginner who isn't all that excited by the idea of an adventure/roleplaying game, but who's interested in stories/experiences that can't be told/conveyed by traditional means." ( Vote for this game | |
| De Baron, by Victor Gijsbers 1 vote "It was my own first parser game." [+]"It was my own first parser game." ( Vote for this game | |
| Dial C for Cupcakes, by Ryan Veeder 1 vote "modern-day setting, fun, not very difficult" [+]"modern-day setting, fun, not very difficult" ( Vote for this game | |
| Inhumane, by Andrew Plotkin 1 vote "Treasure hunt..." [+]"Treasure hunt parody that is easy to solve and will give you a few laughs along the way." --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| An Act of Murder, by Christopher Huang 1 vote "It's free of puzzles but requires logic to solve" [+]"It's free of puzzles but requires logic to solve: It's excellent fun for those who like murder mystery movies or books" ( Vote for this game | |
| Balances, by Graham Nelson 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Mystery of Winchester High, by Garry Francis 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Basilisk and the Banana, by Jasper & Darren 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --manonamora... Vote for this game | |
Poll created on November 11, 2008