I'm very interested in hearing truthful accounts of at least somewhat difficult games (or games that don't solve themselves at least) solved completely without recourse to hints, walkthroughs, etc.
| Delightful Wallpaper, by Andrew Plotkin ('Edgar O. Weyrd') 7 votes "Some Pride" [+]"Some Pride: The first part of this is one of the trickier environmental mechanical puzzles I've seen represented in IF. I was pleased to solve it. I finished the second half as well, though I'm not sure that I fully grasped the different possibilities. " --joncgoodwin... "As long as you take the time to map the house you should have no trouble." [+]"As long as you take the time to map the house you should have no trouble." ( Vote for this game | |
| Planetfall, by Steve Meretzky 6 votes "I remember this game very fondly" [+]"I remember this game very fondly: The first Infocom game I finished on my own. And I loved Floyd." --Sophronisba... "99% sure no hints were available when I played this" [+]"99% sure no hints were available when I played this" ( Vote for this game | |
| Dual Transform, by Andrew Plotkin 6 votes "Easy but satisfying game." [+]"Easy but satisfying game.: I solved this in a couple of hours. A very creative and well crafted game. Too bad about the To Be Continued message. I was hoping for more." ( Vote for this game | |
| Pirate Adventure, by Scott Adams and Alexis Adams 6 votes "Very easy, but then, it was supposed to be. Solved it the first day I played it. I was glad I didn't pay for it!" [+]"Very easy, but then, it was supposed to be. Solved it the first day I played it. I was glad I didn't pay for it!" ( Vote for this game | |
| Zozzled, by Steph Cherrywell 5 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --J. J. Guest... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Hunter, in Darkness, by Andrew Plotkin 5 votes "Solved the second time around - I think I just wasn't persistent enough the first time." [+]"Solved the second time around - I think I just wasn't persistent enough the first time." ( Vote for this game | |
| Zork III, by Dave Lebling, Marc Blank 5 votes "When Young" [+]"When Young: And I think I solved a couple of puzzles without understanding them completely (as I did in Zork II, but I did use hints for that one.)" --joncgoodwin... "Zork III was one of my most memorable IF experiences. Solving it became a personal mission. I can still remember how fast I woul type in different sequences of operations in desperate attempts to solve puzzles I had been stuck on for weeks :->" [+]"Zork III was one of my most memorable IF experiences. Solving it became a personal mission. I can still remember how fast I woul type in different sequences of operations in desperate attempts to solve puzzles I had been stuck on for weeks :->: I solved it without hints / clues! I remember my graph paper maps had parts of the paper erased so much that holes were worn right though :->" ( Vote for this game | |
| Babel, by Ian Finley 5 votes "Classic IF at its best." [+]"Classic IF at its best." --Anthony Mueller... "Read. Explore. Examine. The Three Adventuring Commandments. They will get you through.." [+]"Read. Explore. Examine. The Three Adventuring Commandments. They will get you through.." ( Vote for this game | |
| Violet, by Jeremy Freese 4 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| I-0, by Anonymous 4 votes "East=y, forgiving, but short" [+]"East=y, forgiving, but short" --Chuckles... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Infidel, by Michael Berlyn 4 votes ""Wasn't Hard"" [+]""Wasn't Hard": For me, for some reason, though I've read that some folks found it difficult." --joncgoodwin... "The first game I ever completed without hints" [+]"The first game I ever completed without hints" ( Vote for this game | |
| Plundered Hearts, by Amy Briggs 4 votes "Dangerous Dining." [+]"Dangerous Dining.: When I finally got access to my own copies of some text adventures in the 1990s (I knew of them in the 80s but had no computer), I began with a stack of Infocom titles handed down from a friend of mine. The first game I completed on my own was probably an odd choice for anyone's "first timer" game, but well worth the effort. I was stuck the longest on the sequence near the end when LaFond is trying to get his clammy mitts on the protagonist." ( Vote for this game | |
| Lock & Key, by Adam Cadre 4 votes "Fun game to..." [+]"Fun game to solve!" --JasonMel... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Junior Arithmancer, by Mike Spivey 4 votes "Got 101 points." [+]"Got 101 points." ( Vote for this game | |
| Pytho's Mask, by Emily Short 4 votes "One of my favorite short games" [+]"One of my favorite short games" ( Vote for this game | |
| Spider and Web, by Andrew Plotkin 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Leather Goddesses of Phobos, by Steve Meretzky 3 votes "The Riddle Took Me A While, But ..." [+]"The Riddle Took Me A While, But ...: This was the second game Infocom game I completed during my better-late-than-never dive into the form in the 1990s. I had no access to hints or walkthroughs, so it took awhile, and I recall two specific sticking points: the Sultan's Riddle (the solution to which tickled me to no end when it dawned on me) and the swordfight in space (again, while i hit my head against it for days, I found it very satisfying when I finally nailed it). When virtually every long-form game I'm ever likely to write has a sidekick NPC in it, this game (and not the usual suspect) is why." ( Vote for this game | |
| All Things Devours, by half sick of shadows 3 votes "Very logical, very satisfying" [+]"Very logical, very satisfying: It took me several attempts to solve this, but it was really worth it: at its core is one of the most satisfying, because logical, puzzles." ( Vote for this game | |
| Voodoo Castle, by Alexis Adams and Scott Adams 3 votes "Took me about a year of semi-frequent play during the mid-1980s." [+]"Took me about a year of semi-frequent play during the mid-1980s." ( Vote for this game | |
| Hollywood Hijinx, by Dave Anderson, Liz Cyr-Jones 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Large Machine, by Jon Ingold 3 votes "Bugs made it..." [+]"Bugs made it especially hard." ( Vote for this game | |
| Suveh Nux, by David Fisher 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Gun Mute, by C.E.J. Pacian 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Hoist Sail for the Heliopause and Home, by Andrew Plotkin 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Zork II, by Dave Lebling, Marc Blank 3 votes "My proudest achievement" [+]"My proudest achievement: Probably helped that I didn't have internet at the time; nothing to distract me from completing the game on my own!" ( Vote for this game | |
| John's Fire Witch, by John Baker 3 votes "One of my favorites so far." [+]"One of my favorites so far.: Aside from reading a few reviews that mentioned the existence of a couple of items and puzzles, I solved the game without actively seeking any hints. I found the puzzles to be quite challenging, and yet completely fair and well hinted." ( Vote for this game | |
| The Impossible Bottle, by Linus Åkesson 2 votes "Took me a long time, but I managed" [+]"Took me a long time, but I managed" ( Vote for this game | |
| Pick Up The Phone Booth And Die, by Rob Noyes 2 votes "Found all three..." [+]"Found all three endings by myself! Boy, am I proud." ( Vote for this game | |
| Child's Play, by Stephen Granade 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Count, by Scott Adams 2 votes "This one actually took me a several years of on-and-off play during the first half of the 1980s." [+]"This one actually took me a several years of on-and-off play during the first half of the 1980s." ( Vote for this game | |
| Brain Guzzlers from Beyond!, by Steph Cherrywell 2 votes "Sleeping on it helped." [+]"Sleeping on it helped." ( Vote for this game | |
| Ka, by Dan Efran 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Alone, by Paul Michael Winters 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Leadlight, by Wade Clarke 2 votes "A great slasher/horror game. " [+]"A great slasher/horror game. : I solved this one without hints or a walk-through. I missed a few of the secrets though, but was satisfied with the game-play and the very logical puzzles. Some of the puzzles took a little while for me, but with some careful thinking got past all hurdles." ( Vote for this game | |
| Cacahuetes, Sal y Aceite, by José Baltasar García Perez-Schofield 2 votes "Short, inmersive piece of IF" [+]"Short, inmersive piece of IF: This is a one location game by Baltasar. It counts into the 20 first adventures I played in my new SXXI IF contact." --Jade68... "Baltasar loves..." [+]"Baltasar loves puzzle fests. This is the only game of his I've beaten without hints." ( Vote for this game | |
| The Origin of Madame Time, by Mathbrush 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky 2 votes "Getting the Babel fish was well worth the effort" [+]"Getting the Babel fish was well worth the effort: This game is so much fun that even afrustrarting puzzle like the babel fish is enjoyable." ( Vote for this game | |
| Chemistry and Physics, by Caelyn Sandel (as Colin Sandel) and Carolyn VanEseltine 2 votes "Took a damnably long time to solve this, but I did" [+]"Took a damnably long time to solve this, but I did: In fact I solved a surprisingly large number of games in this year's Ectocomp with minimal or no hints. (Surprisingly large in this case means non-zero.)" --Molly... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Skies Above, by Arthur DiBianca 2 votes "Reached the ending (sort of - but no achievements)" [+]"Reached the ending (sort of - but no achievements): Even though there is a sort of ending, the game can continue forever it seems with a list of achievements and some mysterious objects you can obtain if you keep playing." ( Vote for this game | |
| The Gostak, by Carl Muckenhoupt 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Magpie Takes the Train, by Mathbrush 2 votes "Really intuitive and smooth puzzle" [+]"Really intuitive and smooth puzzle" ( Vote for this game | |
| An Act of Murder, by Christopher Huang 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Wishbringer, by Brian Moriarty 2 votes "Only Infocom Game I ever solved without hints" [+]"Only Infocom Game I ever solved without hints: Wishbringer's not easy, exactly, but after enjoying banging my head against many other Infocom games and resorting to Invisiclues, I got through Wishbringer without a single Invisiclue and without using a single wish. I had one hinky guess-the-verb issue at the very end that I had to look up, but I don't count that since I'd conceptually solved the puzzle." --neroden... "It is very forgiving, multiple ways to win" [+]"It is very forgiving, multiple ways to win" --Chuckles... Vote for this game | |
| Lists and Lists, by Andrew Plotkin 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Wonderland, by David Bishop, Bob Coles, Paul Findley, Ken Gordon, Richard Huddy, Steve Lacey, Doug Rabson, Anita Sinclair, Hugh Steers and Mark Taylor 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Jigsaw, by Graham Nelson 1 vote "Note: I did use..." [+]"Note: I did use Wikipedia and other internet sources occasionally for help on the real world topics in the game (e.g. the Enigma Machine), but no hints directly about the game." ( Vote for this game | |
| Bradford Mansion, by Lenard Gunda 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Dr Ludwig and the Devil, by SV Linwood 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| All Roads, by Jon Ingold 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Edgar's Adventures, by Frank Kunze 1 vote "Nice puzzle game with combat" [+]"Nice puzzle game with combat" ( Vote for this game | |
| The Witness, by Stu Galley 1 vote "In under 72 hours, back in 1984." [+]"In under 72 hours, back in 1984." ( Vote for this game | |
| To Hell in a Hamper, by J. J. Guest 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Hermit's Secret, by Dian Crayne 1 vote "I started this..." [+]"I started this game in 1985, and I finally won it in 2005, all without using hints. (I would have used hints if I could have found some; there were none available!)" ( Vote for this game | |
| The Plant, by Michael J. Roberts 1 vote "Stuck Twice" [+]"Stuck Twice: But I worked it out both times. The two or three things you have to do to get into the plant (outside of the scenery searching) were satisfying puzzles to solve." --joncgoodwin... Vote for this game | |
| Undo, by Neil deMause 1 vote "Solved the game...." [+]"Solved the game. Liked it. Didn't understand it." ( Vote for this game | |
| Letters from Home, by Roger Firth 1 vote "Didn't get..." [+]"Didn't get one of the clues though." ( Vote for this game | |
| Border Zone, by Marc Blank 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Art of Fugue, by Victor Gijsbers, Jimmy Maher, Dorte Lassen, and Johan 1 vote "Personal high..." [+]"Personal high scores: first puzzle - 7 moves, second puzzle - 9 moves, third puzzle - 11 moves, fourth puzzle - 30 moves, fifth puzzle - 11 moves, sixth puzzle - 13 moves, eighth puzzle - 12 moves." ( Vote for this game | |
| Dutch Dapper IV: The Final Voyage, by Harry Hol 1 vote "Hilarious and mind-bending... a worthy successor of Douglas Adams." [+]"Hilarious and mind-bending... a worthy successor of Douglas Adams.: I'm a terrible puzzle solver, yet I was able to play this puzzlefest to the end with no help at all -- must be exceptionally well-clued." ( Vote for this game | |
| Madam Spider's Web, by Sara Dee 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Never Gives Up Her Dead, by Mathbrush 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| When in Rome 1: Accounting for Taste, by Emily Short 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Perdition's Flames, by Michael J. Roberts 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Tass Times in Tonetown, by Michael Berlyn and Muffy Berlyn 1 vote "One puzzle was a bit obtuse" [+]"One puzzle was a bit obtuse: It took me a while to rescue Gramps. You probably would have to play through the game over and over until you get the right item which you only have one chance to collect. Back in the day, I personally didn't mind. I was proud of myself for figuring it out." ( Vote for this game | |
| A Bear's Night Out, by David Dyte 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Augmented Fourth, by Brian Uri! 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Firebird, by Bonnie Montgomery 1 vote "Being familiar..." [+]"Being familiar with the Russian folklore helped (for example, I instantly knew how to use the water of life and the water of death) - but it isn't necessary." ( Vote for this game | |
| Adventureland, by Scott Adams 1 vote "Very easy; took me just half a dozen tries, at most, during the early 1980s." [+]"Very easy; took me just half a dozen tries, at most, during the early 1980s." ( Vote for this game | |
| Mentula Macanus: Apocolocyntosis, by One of the Bruces and Drunken Bastard 1 vote "It's long,..." [+]"It's long, but isn't hard. I didn't get the last lousy point, though." ( Vote for this game | |
| STARFLIGHT: A Cosmic Adventure, by Chris Lampton 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Golden Wombat of Destiny, by Huw Collingbourne 1 vote "Finished this game, but because of the ending, I wasn't sure if I'd missed something." [+]"Finished this game, but because of the ending, I wasn't sure if I'd missed something." --Mike Ciul... Vote for this game | |
| Endgame, by Samuel T. Denton 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Fish!, by John Molloy, Pete Kemp, Phil South, Rob Steggles 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Pyramid of Doom, by Scott Adams and Alvin Files 1 vote "The first adventure I solved without help." [+]"The first adventure I solved without help." --baf... Vote for this game | |
| Broken Legs, by Sarah Morayati 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Softporn Adventure, by Chuck Benton 1 vote "Quite simple. Took me about 2-3 days of determined effort in 1985 to solve my pirated copy." [+]"Quite simple. Took me about 2-3 days of determined effort in 1985 to solve my pirated copy." ( Vote for this game | |
| Trinity, by Brian Moriarty 1 vote "It took me about..." [+]"It took me about two months of playing it fairly regularly, but I finally won it (at age 13)." ( Vote for this game | |
| Metamorphoses, by Emily Short 1 vote "Stark, immersive atmosphere with open ended puzzles." [+]"Stark, immersive atmosphere with open ended puzzles.: Lady Short has thought of just about everything. If you understand the laws, there are many solutions. " ( Vote for this game | |
| Improv: Origins, by Neil deMause 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Make It Good, by Jon Ingold 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Lurking Horror II: The Lurkening, by Ryan Veeder 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Inside Woman, by Andy Phillips 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Trouble in Sector 471, by Arthur DiBianca 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Conan Kill Everything, by Ian Haberkorn 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Sorcerer, by Steve Meretzky 1 vote "Fastest time to..." [+]"Fastest time to solve an Infocom game - about a day and a half, at age 14" ( Vote for this game | |
| Faithful Companion, by Matt Weiner 1 vote "A creepy little..." [+]"A creepy little brother to The Art of Fugue." ( Vote for this game | |
| Zyll, by Marshal Linder and Scott Edwards (IBM) 1 vote "Obscure game with..." [+]"Obscure game with no real puzzles, just a huge map and a bunch of keys to find." --saneiac... Vote for this game | |
| Valley of the Minotaur, by Nicolas van Dyk 1 vote "Solved it once, but was never able to achieve the maximum score." [+]"Solved it once, but was never able to achieve the maximum score." ( Vote for this game | |
| Jon Doe – Wildcard Nucleus, by Olaf Nowacki 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Xylophoniad, by Robin Johnson 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| First Things First, by J. Robinson Wheeler 1 vote "Satisfyingly puzzly, but not impossible" [+]"Satisfyingly puzzly, but not impossible: The puzzles were pitched at just the right difficulty level: they kept my brain going, but I was able to solve without a walkthrough (except for a point where I found a possible bug: see my review). Really engaging!" ( Vote for this game | |
| Aayela, by Magnus Olsson 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Deadline, by Marc Blank 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| When in Rome 2: Far from Home, by Emily Short 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Redemption, by Sam Ruby 1 vote "Great Eamon Game" [+]"Great Eamon Game" ( Vote for this game | |
| Mindwheel, by Robert Pinsky, William Mataga, Steve Hales 1 vote "This was a lot of fun, and took me probably about two weeks, in 1985." [+]"This was a lot of fun, and took me probably about two weeks, in 1985." ( Vote for this game | |
| The Temple of Shorgil, by Arthur DiBianca 1 vote "Visited all 49 rooms." [+]"Visited all 49 rooms." ( Vote for this game | |
| Gourmet, by Aaron A. Reed and Chad Barb 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Adventurer's Consumer Guide, by Øyvind Thorsby 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Risorgimento Represso, by Michael J. Coyne 1 vote "Didn't get..." [+]"Didn't get full points though." ( Vote for this game | |
| Suspended, by Michael Berlyn 1 vote "Two difficulty levels" [+]"Two difficulty levels: Solved both with best status" ( Vote for this game | |
| For a Change, by Dan Schmidt 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Weapon, by Sean Barrett 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Magic Word, by B.J. Best 1 vote "The game is described as "fiendishly difficult" by the author" [+]"The game is described as "fiendishly difficult" by the author: It took me three hours or so to play this hintless, fun!" ( Vote for this game | |
| City of Secrets, by Emily Short 1 vote "Reached the good ending without solving all puzzles" [+]"Reached the good ending without solving all puzzles" ( Vote for this game | |
| Myth, by Paul Findley 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Indigo, by Emily Short 1 vote "Perfect blend of infuriation and satisfaction." [+]"Perfect blend of infuriation and satisfaction.: The only speed IF I've ever played. I nearly gave up after trying nearly everything. But when the first bit of the puzzle clicks it becomes a watershed of satisfaction." --calindreams... Vote for this game | |
| The Black Knight, by Mandy Rodrigues 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Dinner with Andre, by Liza Daly 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Starcross, by Dave Lebling 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Alias 'The Magpie', by J. J. Guest 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Varicella, by Adam Cadre 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Oppositely Opal, by Buster Hudson 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Countdown to Doom, by Peter D. Killworth 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
Poll created on July 16, 2010