Games for Beginners - an IFDB Poll

by WriterBob
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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.

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Lost Pig, by Admiral Jota
39 votes
"Love it." [+]... "Very amusing, and something about the caveman dialogue makes it easier to 'think' in the syntax of IF." [+]... "My first completion" [+]... "good puzzles, good story" [+]... "Simple but Intreging" [+]... "My first IF! An awesome experience :)" [+]... "Laugh Out Loud and fun for IF Beginners" [+]... "A middle length game with some surprising ideas" [+]... "All-time favorite" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "I tried it out on..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... "- Extremely..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "This is a..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Bronze, by Emily Short
21 votes
"I can't recommend Bronze highly enough." [+]... "Good help for beginners; not too hard; interesting story" [+]... "Great introduction to exploration-type plots, with "go-to" commands that aid navigation and generally excellent hint system" [+]... "Standard, yet special" [+]... "brilliant exploration and discovery mechanics in a good story" [+]... "Designed with beginners in mind." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Without being too..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Photopia, by Adam Cadre
19 votes
"Thrilling, puzzleless and highly competent" [+]... "Well-written, engaging, moving" [+]... "Great speech system" [+]... "The story guides you along as needed" [+]... "Easy, short original game about colours." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "An emotionally..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... "A literary work..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... "An easy game, if..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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The Dreamhold, by Andrew Plotkin
17 votes
"Designed for beginners" [+]... "Not too hard" [+]... "A game designed for beginners" [+]... "Designed to tutor..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Beautiful fantasy..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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9:05, by Adam Cadre
15 votes
"Simple, fun and quick." [+]... "I tried giving this to some people who never played IF, it was a success!" [+]... "Simple, fun, eye-opening!" [+]... "Great beginners game!!" [+]... "Short and easy to get the hang of with a great plot twist" [+]... "Simple, fun, short piece about a wake up morning in a working day." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Wishbringer, by Brian Moriarty
11 votes
"Two ways to solve every puzzle" [+]... "Charming" [+]... "Made me fall in love with IF" [+]... "Enchanting" [+]... "Multiple solutions and logical puzzles" [+]... "My favorite IF." [+]... "officially introductory" [+]... "Good story and "wishes"" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Violet, by Jeremy Freese
10 votes
"Polished, contemporary, amusing, and a little romantic" [+]... "Especially appealing to women, IMHO" [+]... "Short, Simple, Funny" [+]... "just one room" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Blue Lacuna, by Aaron A. Reed
10 votes
(No comment) [+]... "Contains many..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "The most fully..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Gun Mute, by C.E.J. Pacian
10 votes
"Linear" [+]... "Simple and efficient" [+]... "Limited verb set, great setting" [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Simple, fun, and..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Glowgrass, by Nate Cull
8 votes
"This is my first pick when introducing someone to IF." [+]... "This is a nicely..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "More like an..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short
7 votes
"My absolute favourite IF." [+]... "Welcoming and intuitive" [+]... "Many beginner..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Shade, by Andrew Plotkin
6 votes
"Incredible, oddly suspenseful" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Short, quick, and..." [+]... "Short,..." [+]...

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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." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Comprehensive..." [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Babel, by Ian Finley
5 votes
"Cohesive, great atmosphere, appropriate length and difficulty for a beginner. " [+]... "Small inventory, clear puzzles, no sudden-death. " [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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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." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Aisle, by Sam Barlow
4 votes
"Only one move" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Hunter, in Darkness, by Andrew Plotkin
4 votes
"The one which caught me into IF" [+]... "Fairly short,..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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77 Verbs, by MathBrush (as Prismatik)
4 votes
(No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Eat Me, by Chandler Groover
4 votes
"Beautifully grotesque" [+]... "The prose and..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Superluminal Vagrant Twin, by C.E.J. Pacian
3 votes
"Non-linear, well..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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The Plant, by Michael J. Roberts
3 votes
"One of my favorites" [+]... "Flows nicely, bug-free." [+]... "My first IF" [+]...

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I-0, by Anonymous
3 votes
"Short and silly with multiple paths!" [+]... "Exploration makes things easy" [+]... "Very hard to make..." [+]...

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Walker & Silhouette, by C.E.J. Pacian
3 votes
"Amusing and forgiving." [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Galatea, by Emily Short
3 votes
"Amazing NPC interactions" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Ether, by MathBrush
3 votes
"First parser game I enjoyed" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Earth and Sky, by Paul O'Brian
3 votes
(No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Ecdysis, by Peter Nepstad
2 votes
"short & sweet" [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Lime Ergot, by Caleb Wilson (as Rust Blight)
2 votes
(No comment) [+]... "Unusual and..." [+]...

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Castle of the Red Prince, by C.E.J. Pacian
2 votes
"Unusual game..." [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Party Foul, by Brooks Reeves
2 votes
"has some..." [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Mrs. Pepper's Nasty Secret, by Jim Aikin and Eric Eve
2 votes
(No comment) [+]...

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rendition, by nespresso
2 votes
"esoteric, experimental, but with simple gameplay mechanic" [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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The Magpie Takes the Train, by Mathbrush
2 votes
"Beginner-friendly, one-room heist" [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Dead Like Ants, by C.E.J. Pacian
2 votes
"Dark yet cute" [+]... "Interesting,..." [+]...

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Suveh Nux, by David Fisher
2 votes
"Contains little..." [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Raising the Flag on Mount Yo Momma, by Juhana Leinonen
1 vote
"Simplified..." [+]...

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Enhanced Beginners Cave, by Donald Brown and John Nelson
1 vote
"Nice introduction to Eamon" [+]...

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Asylum, by cpuguy89
1 vote
"Short and simple, includes only the most basic commands." [+]...

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The Blue Lettuce, by Caleb Wilson
1 vote
"TALP game" [+]...

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All Hope Abandon, by Eric Eve
1 vote
"Very complete..." [+]...

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Napier's Cache, by Vivienne Dunstan
1 vote
(No comment) [+]...

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Mortlake Manor, by Ben Chenoweth
1 vote
"Can't die, but with mazes and a ghost!" [+]...

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Beware The Faerie Food You Eat, by Astrid Dalmady
1 vote
"Got me into IF" [+]...

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Hunger Daemon, by Sean M. Shore
1 vote
(No comment) [+]...

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TOMBs of Reschette, by Richard Goodness
1 vote
"Twine adventure..." [+]...

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Cryptozookeeper, by Robb Sherwin
1 vote
(No comment) [+]...

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The Game Formerly Known as Hidden Nazi Mode, by Victor Gijsbers
1 vote
"Quick and easy kid's game" [+]...

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Myriad, by Porpentine
1 vote
"Choose Your Own..." [+]...

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Captain Verdeterre's Plunder, by Ryan Veeder
1 vote
"I've successfully introduced people to IF with this game." [+]...

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Dinner Bell, by Jenni Polodna
1 vote
"One-room game..." [+]...

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Moonmist, by Stu Galley, Jim Lawrence
1 vote
"Great mystery and atmosphere" [+]...

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Afflicted, by Doug Egan
1 vote
"I used this game..." [+]...

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Ka, by Dan Efran
1 vote
(No comment) [+]...

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Enlightenment, by Taro Ogawa
1 vote
"Fun one-room..." [+]...

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Sentient Beings, by Tristin Grizel Dean
1 vote
(No comment) [+]...

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It Is Pitch Black, by Caelyn Sandel
1 vote
"Atmospheric Twine..." [+]...

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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." [+]...

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Les espions ne meurent jamais, by Hugo Labrande
1 vote
"One action per playthrough. Big reward" [+]...

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The Storm, by Stephane F.
1 vote
"No puzzle, just..." [+]...

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The Familiar, by groggydog
1 vote
"Made for beginners in mind" [+]...

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The Surprising Case of Brian Timmons, by Marshal Tenner Winter
1 vote
"really easy and fun" [+]...

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The Lookout, by Paul Michael Winters
1 vote
(No comment) [+]...

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The Acorn Court, by Todd S. Murchison
1 vote
"Well it depends..." [+]...

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The Gostak, by Carl Muckenhoupt
1 vote
"It may sound odd..." [+]...

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De Baron, by Victor Gijsbers
1 vote
"It was my own first parser game." [+]...

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Dial C for Cupcakes, by Ryan Veeder
1 vote
"modern-day setting, fun, not very difficult" [+]...

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Inhumane, by Andrew Plotkin
1 vote
"Treasure hunt..." [+]...

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An Act of Murder, by Christopher Huang
1 vote
"It's free of puzzles but requires logic to solve" [+]...

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So, You've Never Played a Text Adventure Before, Huh?, by Ryan Veeder
1 vote
(No comment) [+]...

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