Best of The Quill, PAW and GAC - an IFDB Poll

by Denk
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More than 1000 games were made with the British tools "The Quill", "PAW" and "GAC" through the 80s and early 90s. Some bad, others worth playing today. I would like to know which are the best. Those with the most votes are probably among the best. I will add a few myself too. Thanks

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Bugsy, by Priscilla Langridge
3 votes
"Funny game" [+]"Funny game" () --Denk... "Very funny game" [+]"Very funny game" --Richard Otter... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Nomad...

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Dracula, by Rod Pike
3 votes
"I love this so much that I made a remake" [+]"I love this so much that I made a remake: Yeah, it is true.

Also, this game does something interesting with its difficulty and punishment. Each death is illustrated and richly narrated. So, in a way, it is a game that rewards you for failing.

As a Bram Stoker's Dracula adaptation, it is a really good one but fails to provide something thematically essential to the book: friendship and dear ones. Mina Harker and Lucy Westerna does not appear in the game." --Ruber Eaglenest
... "Pretty unfair by..." [+]"Pretty unfair by modern standards, but certainly made an impression on me as a fan of the Dracula story." ( - Full review) --Wade Clarke... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Jade68...

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The Dark Tower, by Jack Lockerby
2 votes
"Good puzzles - fantasy game" [+]"Good puzzles - fantasy game" () --Denk... "Worth playing for the very unique use of the sack!" [+]"Worth playing for the very unique use of the sack!: Any game by Jack Lockerby comes highly recommended by me, but this one was particularly memorable because of the unique use of a container!" --Strident...

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The Boggit, by Fergus McNeill and Judith Child
2 votes
"Bimbo Faggins needs your help" [+]"Bimbo Faggins needs your help" --Richard Otter... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Nomad...

Denk says: I've played The Big Sleaze by Fergus, so I look forward to this one.

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The Big Sleaze, by Fergus McNeill
2 votes
"Nice humour" [+]"Nice humour" () --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Nomad...

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Corya the Warrior-Sage, by Anthony Collins
2 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Strident... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk...

Denk says: At first I didn't think of this one, but it is actually pretty good as far as I remember (played it more than 20 years ago). Should be good for beginners.

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Atalan, by Mandy Rodrigues
2 votes
"Great for beginners" [+]"Great for beginners: Stranded on an island" --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Nomad...

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An Everyday Tale of a Seeker of Gold, by John Wilson and Sean Doran
1 vote
"Decent first effort in '86 by John Wilson. " [+]"Decent first effort in '86 by John Wilson. : Nice puzzles including some "pun-based" ones." ( - Full review) --Denk...

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Jack the Ripper, by Priscilla Langridge,Jared Derrett
1 vote
"Best game of those times. PERIOD" [+]"Best game of those times. PERIOD: What to say of this marvel. Simply, best text adventure for microcomputers. Best game, and more important one by Priscilla Langridge.

Also, it is one of the best adaptations of the Jack the Ripper story. It is a retelling where modernity fights feminity to keep women slaved in patriarchy, through a satanic conspiracy. Really, is just mind-blowing. And marked the change of an era before even Alan Moore thought on create From Hell. Pretty amazing." --Ruber Eaglenest
...

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Cloud 99, by Linda Wright
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Strident...

Denk says: This one seems quite interesting - thanks for the tip.

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The Legend of Apache Gold, by Peter Torrance
1 vote
"Relatively merciful" [+]"Relatively merciful: I haven't played it since I was a kid, but remember enjoying it and it not being too hard like most of the others I tried." --ChrisM...

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Subsunk Adventure, by Peter Torrance and Colin Liddle
1 vote
"Submarine adventure" [+]"Submarine adventure" --Richard Otter...

Denk says: I knew that the sequal to this game is the great Seabase Delta, but wasn't sure if this was any good, so I am glad it is recommended. I look forward to play it.

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The Mines of Lithiad, by Jack Lockerby
1 vote
"PAW version (Spectrum) is quite good" [+]"PAW version (Spectrum) is quite good" ( - Full review) --Denk...

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The Labours of Hercules, by Terry Taylor
1 vote
"The Greek myth elegantly ported to the Quill" [+]"The Greek myth elegantly ported to the Quill: A huge map, with mazes, but don't let that put you off trying this excellent recreation of the Greek myth. " --Strident...

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Brian and the Dishonest Politician, by The Spud
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Strident...

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Diablo!, by Mark Cantrell
1 vote
"One of the most ambitious PAWed games; showcasing a lot of the system's advanced features " [+]"One of the most ambitious PAWed games; showcasing a lot of the system's advanced features " --Strident...

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Murder - he said., by Jack Lockerby
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Strident...

Denk says: Ahh - a Whodunit! Hope to try this one soon.

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The Taxman Cometh, by Steve J. Clay
1 vote
"The first in a great trilogy of adventures that mixes adventuring with more traditional brain-teasers" [+]"The first in a great trilogy of adventures that mixes adventuring with more traditional brain-teasers" --Strident...

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Retarded Creatures and Caverns, by John Wilson
1 vote
"Fun with many puzzles in few locations" [+]"Fun with many puzzles in few locations" ( - Full review) --Denk...

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Winter Wonderland, by Tim Walsha and Simon Lipscomb
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Nomad...

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Captain Kook, by Paul Cardin
1 vote
"Well-thought out sci-fi." [+]"Well-thought out sci-fi." --Strident...

Denk says: I like sci-fi, so good to see a sci-fi game on the list.

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Jhothamia 6, by David Edgar
1 vote
"Sci-fi" [+]"Sci-fi: I didn't get far but I enjoyed it." () --Denk...

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Out of the Limelight, by Jonathan Scott and Stephen Boyd
1 vote
"very good" [+]"very good" ( - Full review) --Denk...

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Seabase Delta, by Peter Torrance
1 vote
"A classic (Z-code version exists)" [+]"A classic (Z-code version exists): Great fun" () --Denk...

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Agatha's Folly, by Linda Wright
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Strident...

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The Puppet-Man, by Geoff. H. Larsen
1 vote
"A classic. " [+]"A classic. " --Anthony Hope...

Denk says: Curious about this one. Hope to try it soon.

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Nythyhel, by Anthony Collins
1 vote
"Creepy horror" [+]"Creepy horror" () --Denk...

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The Bounty Hunter, by Jack Lockerby
1 vote
"C64 version was completely(!) different than the ZX Spectrum version." [+]"C64 version was completely(!) different than the ZX Spectrum version.: I liked the C64 version a lot. Also tried the ZX Spectrum version but it had too many locations." () --Denk...

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Loose Ends, by Jonathan Scott and Stephen Boyd
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Denk...

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The Great Aussie Adventure, by Dorothy Millard
1 vote
"Two parts of nice puzzlefests" [+]"Two parts of nice puzzlefests: You must accept a two-word parser" () --Denk...

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Violator of Voodoo, by The Traveller in Black
1 vote
"A great mix of fantasy and historical adventuring" [+]"A great mix of fantasy and historical adventuring: Part of Ian Brown's excellent series of fantasy/historical adventures that started with Phoenix; all of which are well worth checking out. " --Strident...

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The Beast of Torrack Moor, by Linda Wright
1 vote
"One of the best" [+]"One of the best: One of the best of the original PAW games. Detailed and atmospheric. Recently ported to Adventuron." --ChrisM...

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Adventure in Time and Space, by Dorothy Millard
1 vote
"Nice sci-fi game" [+]"Nice sci-fi game" () --Denk...

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The Black Knight, by Mandy Rodrigues
1 vote
"The first I completed without hints" [+]"The first I completed without hints" () --Denk...

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Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Andrew Dean, Lee Hodgson, Mark Davies
1 vote
"Excellent atmospheric gothic horror... just a bit tricky at the start!" [+]"Excellent atmospheric gothic horror... just a bit tricky at the start!: An excellent PAWed game from the Essential Myth, whose GACed Book of the Dead is also well worth checking out. Just very tricky to get past the initial opening section... so don't be afraid of consulting a walkthrough. " --Strident...

Denk says: I never got around to read the book, so I hope I get to play this soon.

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Poll created on November 15, 2020