forgotten gems - an IFDB Poll

by Marius Müller
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I'm looking for games that don't show up in the IF histories or recommended lists, for what reason whatsover. Old games that maybe weren't boundary-pushing or noteworthy, but still give you a fun play experience. If you ever thought "Hey, everyone mentions Zork but not..." That is the kind of game I'm looking for.

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Worlds Apart, by Suzanne Britton
5 votes
"Still n°1 on my list." [+]"Still n°1 on my list." ( - Full review) --Rovarsson... (No comment) [+](No comment) --ifwizz... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --MerelBlackbird...

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Augmented Fourth, by Brian Uri!
5 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Audiart... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Pinstripe... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer...

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Christminster, by Gareth Rees
4 votes
"Great atmosphere, fitting with the coherent story." [+]"Great atmosphere, fitting with the coherent story." --Biep... (No comment) [+](No comment) --ifwizz... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFonthebrain... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Victor Gijsbers...

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Adventurer's Consumer Guide, by Øyvind Thorsby
4 votes
"Solidly fun puzzle game." [+]"Solidly fun puzzle game.: I've put it on a few lists myself, I suppose, but for the most part I don't see people talking about this one as much as I think it deserves. It's thoroughly silly, but the puzzles are inventive and clever and it's a big, rewarding piece." ( - Full review) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Kenneth Hutt... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ryan Veeder... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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The Edifice, by Lucian P. Smith
3 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) --ifwizz... "An intelligent..." [+]"An intelligent work with excellent, involved puzzles and a setting rarely seen in IF." --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car...

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First Things First, by J. Robinson Wheeler
3 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... "Probably one of..." [+]"Probably one of the largest and most ambitious games people don't really talk about anymore. Not all of that ambition works, but it's still a great, epic experience." () --Pinstripe...

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Gourmet, by Aaron A. Reed and Chad Barb
3 votes
"Wickedly funny" [+]"Wickedly funny: A tremendously entertaining farce with some occasionally difficult bits and the most fiendish lobster in history. Doesn't get discussed as much as Aaron's later work, but good stuff." --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) --ifwizz... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer...

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Degeneracy, by Leonard Richardson
3 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Pinstripe...

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Bolivia By Night, by Aidan Doyle
3 votes
"A lighthearted..." [+]"A lighthearted romp of a superhero story based on exotic mythology, Excellent use of superpowers in a text adventure." () --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car... (No comment) [+](No comment) --jakomo...

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Guess the Verb!, by Leonard Richardson
2 votes
"A minor IF comedy classic" [+]"A minor IF comedy classic: I don't see this game on the "best of" lists very often, which is a shame, as this is a very clever and often inventive, if somewhat flawed, take on IF conventions and cliches. The puzzle involving the finicky parser is an early highlight." --Molly... "Another oldish..." [+]"Another oldish classic that doesn't seem to be talked about much. Bite-sized, well-written, with great jokes and puzzles (I particularly like how you convince Lalrry to take your payment), plus the format means that on replay you have a shot at skipping the areas you didn't like." () --Christina Nordlander...

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The Plant, by Michael J. Roberts
2 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) --ifwizz... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car...

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Blighted Isle, by Eric Eve
2 votes
"One of my favorites..." [+]"One of my favorites...: It is strange that this game is so little talked about, compared to Eve's other works." () --strivenword... "Big, ambitious,..." [+]"Big, ambitious, many-NPC work." () --Emily Short...

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The Mulldoon Legacy, by Jon Ingold
2 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) --ifwizz... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --IFonthebrain...

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Worldsmith, by Ade McT
2 votes
"Only one rating the last two years" [+]"Only one rating the last two years: A masterpiece" () --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --jakomo...

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Halothane, by Ravi Rajkumar
2 votes
"not perfect, but a good story, a lot of fun, and greatly overlooked" [+]"not perfect, but a good story, a lot of fun, and greatly overlooked" () --Anya Johanna DeNiro... "Nothing special..." [+]"Nothing special in terms of gameplay, but the writing and story are very good." --Christina Nordlander...

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Nevermore, by Nate Cull
1 vote
"Another of my favourites that rarely shows up on polls" [+]"Another of my favourites that rarely shows up on polls: a dark, excellently coded and written adaptation/expansion of Poe's "The Raven"." () --Christina Nordlander...

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Gnome Ranger, by Pete Austin
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk...

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Orevore Courier, by Brian Rapp
1 vote
"A brilliant little thing;" [+]"A brilliant little thing;: one of my favorite games that no one really remembers. Simple but fun characterizations and a fun pulpy setting mixed with one great little puzzle." () --Pinstripe...

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Stationfall, by Steve Meretzky
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk...

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Enlightenment, by Taro Ogawa
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short...

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Breakers, by Rodney Smith, Joe Vierra, William Mataga
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --kala...

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Redemption, by Sam Ruby
1 vote
"Great Eamon game" [+]"Great Eamon game" ( - Full review) --Denk...

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On Optimism, by Zach Flynn (as Tim Lane)
1 vote
"A very good surrealist game." [+]"A very good surrealist game.: I think it just came out in a bad time, when the IF community was tired of surrealism. I think everyone thought it was just another "Blue Chairs" -- but it does have much of the appeal of works like Blue Chairs and So Far, at least to me." () --strivenword...

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La Canción del Bardo, by Bruce Humphrey
1 vote
"Castilian language - Well written, fun, polished... and unheard of." [+]"Castilian language - Well written, fun, polished... and unheard of.: This game doesn't even show up on caad.es (the Spanish equivalent of IFDB). The author put a lot of work into it, beta tested it, entered it into a contest, and revised it again afterward. It works well, has good puzzles and narrative, and I just enjoyed it. The title is entirely misleading, I suppose; it isn't written in verse, and the PC is more like a wizard than a bard." () --IFforL2...

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Ingrid's Back, by Pete Austin, Peter McBride, Godfrey Dowson, Graham Jones
1 vote
"Great and obtainable!" [+]"Great and obtainable!" () --Denk...

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Small World, by Andrew D. Pontious
1 vote
"Unique and fun..." [+]"Unique and fun setting, some really cool puzzles, and just generally very well-written and polished -- why isn't this better known?" () --Christina Nordlander...

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Scapeghost, by Pete Austin
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk...

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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.
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Poll created on October 25, 2011