by Beable - 36 votes for 15 games, last vote on October 9, 2026; created on November 25, 2023
"I'm looking for games that pretend to be another, older game - sort of like Repeat the Ending and LAKE Adventure - or that contain elements within them that are supposed to play like an older game - like And Then You Come to a House Not..."
by baf - 35 votes for 16 games, last vote on October 6, 2026; created on August 5, 2024
"I'm interested in games where the player must learn an unfamiliar language. I'm particularly interested in ones that have done it in unique ways, and ones where the language is dissimilar to English."
by Victor Gijsbers - 133 votes for 53 games, last vote on September 28, 2026; created on August 9, 2018
"Playing Curses!, I started wondering which games belong to the canon of great puzzlefests. With this term I mean puzzle based games that are long, difficult and punishing; but also fair, engaging and truly rewarding to work through. The..."
by grimperfect - 123 votes for 85 games, last vote on September 28, 2026; created on September 23, 2019
"Specifically, works where the main mechanic is either exploring a in-game digital interface(ala Secret Little Haven) or communicating using a type of chat/text messenger system(think Emily is Away). "
by The Elusive9 - 26 votes for 20 games, last vote on September 27, 2026; created on August 29, 2026
"Games where you can cast spells, change objects’ properties, or shapeshift etc. Enchanter, Oppositely Opal, Metamorphoses are some of my favorite magical games "
by Canalboy - 16 votes for 12 games, last vote on September 23, 2026; created on February 11, 2026
"One man's meat is another man's revolting quorn burger, but back in the days when good old fashioned sausages had sawdust from the butcher's broom handle as a staple ingredient, mazes were a sine qua non in text adventures. I have always..."
by Greg Frost - 32 votes for 21 games, last vote on September 21, 2026; created on March 22, 2021
"I am looking for games which use the literary technique of ekphrasis: "a vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a visual work of art, either real or imagined" (Wikipedia)."
by Amanda Walker - 34 votes for 20 games, last vote on September 21, 2026; created on August 1, 2022
"I'm looking for games that heavily feature learning how to use a device or machine. For instance, the machine in Emily Short's Savoir-Faire, Art DiBianca's devices in the Grandma Bethlinda games, or the box in Paul Michael Winters's The..."
by Denk - 46 votes for 37 games, last vote on September 21, 2026; created on November 15, 2020
"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..."
by Tabitha - 85 votes for 54 games, last vote on September 20, 2026; created on October 3, 2025
"I want to see the games you love that have flown under the radar--add your favorite works of IF with fewer than five IFDB ratings! Hopefully this poll will help more people discover and enjoy them."
by Sam Jackson - 54 votes for 29 games, last vote on September 20, 2026; created on February 24, 2014
"I'm looking for preferably short games that focus on part of someone's life in our world and preferably our time. I would like games with an emotional focus."
by Tabitha - 38 votes for 27 games, last vote on September 19, 2026; created on May 8, 2026
"I'm looking for games like Theatre (which I've added to this poll): set primarily in a single building and where your goal is to explore that building, uncovering information about its history/associated people/events that happened..."
by dmarymac - 41 votes for 30 games, last vote on September 19, 2026; created on September 22, 2025
"I'm trying to discover games that rely on uses of nature in games. I'd like to find ones for which the environments can be verbosely described with outdoor nature, but also games that use it in puzzles."
by P-Tux7 - 20 votes for 19 games, last vote on September 15, 2026; created on August 30, 2026
"Dungeons and spaceships aren't new ground for adventure games, but some games take it so far that you wouldn't have imagined in a hundred years that you'd virtually visit these places."
by Karl Ove Hufthammer - 36 votes for 29 games, last vote on September 10, 2026; created on July 29, 2012
"I have always thought that music has a huge potential for enhancing IF, more so than graphics has. So what are the best examples of IF games that use music? Note that this poll does not include games with only sound effects; they have to..."
by The Elusive9 - 9 votes for 8 games, last vote on September 5, 2026; created on August 29, 2026
"Like Cut the Sky and Tales of the Traveling Swordsman where you play as a lonely traveler with nothing but a purpose. Games that are full of atmosphere."
by aaronius - 28 votes for 16 games, last vote on September 5, 2026; created on November 5, 2009
"I'm looking for games that demonstrate the power of text-based games. Games with sentences that would make developers of 3D games weep, like "The army of ten million robots marched over the liquid landscape," or "She concealed her anger..."
by Cosmic Hamster - 49 votes for 45 games, last vote on August 30, 2026; created on September 9, 2015
"If someone were going to play one IF you've written, which one would you recommend? This can be based on any criteria you choose: personal favorite, highest rated, most representative, most accessible, whatever. (You can always change..."
by The Secret Meta - 15 votes for 11 games, last vote on August 30, 2026; created on October 16, 2025
"Looking for games that tell a singular story without major branching paths or multiple endings, but still allow for some degree of interactivity, such as uncovering clues or discovering lore. "
by Ghalev - 30 votes for 17 games, last vote on August 30, 2026; created on May 17, 2010
"In some games, you play a brave hero, or a cynical crime-fighter, or a cunning robber. In others, you play an artificial mind, an alien, or an animal. In many, you play nobody in particular, just an average person of some kind, doing a..."
by Isa - 49 votes for 22 games, last vote on August 29, 2026; created on September 26, 2018
"I'm really interested in games which put a new spin on the mechanics. I'm thinking of a specific one where the narrator is really mean to you and is its own character in the game, but I'm really interested in any games which are..."
by MostImmortalSnail - 10 votes for 8 games, last vote on August 28, 2026; created on June 30, 2026
"For those who don't know, NEET stands for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training". Most commonly used to discuss young adults who don't or can't find a job after graduating, and end up continuously living with their parents,..."
by Cosmic Hamster - 11 votes for 9 games, last vote on August 27, 2026; created on September 13, 2015
"Most of the games I see on the "appropriate for children" lists are pure parser IF. Are there kid friendly games that have a more accessible interface? Choice-based, hyperlink, hybrid parser--any interface that offers some help in..."
by strivenword - 67 votes for 38 games, last vote on August 25, 2026; created on November 17, 2011
"Sam Kabo Ashwell's statement in his recent review of Cana According to Micah that "the best works dealing prominently with Christian themes are written by non-Christians" made me curious. Perhaps a list of games with serious Christian..."
by OverThinking - 79 votes for 59 games, last vote on August 24, 2026; created on July 13, 2025
"I could have sworn this was already a poll, but I can't find it now. This is for games that gained some amount of recognition outside our bubble. Any amount of notice will do, from write-ups on non-IF gaming blogs to Wikipedia pages to..."
by Alyssia - 5 votes for 4 games, last vote on August 24, 2026; created on April 22, 2026
"Right, so we all know that writers love torturing their characters and making them go through stuff, but which characters need the most therapy and maybe some hugs and Just Eat vouchers? Could be the PC or an NPC, or multiple."
by penguincascadia - 61 votes for 18 games, last vote on August 19, 2026; created on February 19, 2016
"I'm looking for games that attempt (with at least some success) to portray a large city setting that the player can explore and interact with to at least some depth. Games like Gotomomi, City of Secrets, and A Mind Forever Voyaging are..."
by penguincascadia - 100 votes for 75 games, last vote on August 9, 2026; created on February 19, 2016
"This list is for games either about travel or with travel as a major part of the plot or background. Stuff like being able to choose where you go from a relatively wide range of destinations, road trips, exploring a city or region as a..."
by Tabitha - 1 vote, last vote on July 29, 2026; created on July 26, 2026
"The IF Review-a-thon is an event meant to spur reviews of games that haven't received much reviewing attention. If you're an IF author who would like more reviews of your work, feel free to submit your eligible works (up to three per..."
by Nell (Lamp Post Projects) - 29 votes for 19 games, last vote on July 28, 2026; created on December 26, 2025
"Games in which the player takes control of more than one protagonist/player character. Not only are there multiple protagonists described in the text, but the player is prompted to actively switch between them during gameplay. May be..."
by joncgoodwin - 219 votes for 115 games, last vote on July 27, 2026; created on July 16, 2010
"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. "
by Anya Johanna DeNiro - 20 votes for 20 games, last vote on July 18, 2026; created on May 8, 2016
"Interpret "under-rated" however that means to you. Perhaps it's one that's simply not played very much for whatever reason. Or it's a game you consider flawed but still worth playing, or an early effort that you are fond of."
by Canalboy - 2 votes for 2 games, last vote on July 14, 2026; created on July 12, 2026
"Games where even the source code doesn't reveal the author. Search For The Lost Orb is another game without a known author although it isn't on the IFDB database. That one has the feel of the Cambridge mainframe games and plays very..."
by Denk - 21 votes for 18 games, last vote on July 8, 2026; created on August 13, 2023
"Any game which has been practically unavailable for a long time for most players but is now again available to play, though there might be differences from the original version."
by Tabitha - 32 votes for 29 games, last vote on June 28, 2026; created on July 15, 2025
"The IF Review-a-thon is an event meant to spur reviews of games that haven't received much reviewing attention. If you're an IF author who would like more reviews of your work, feel free to submit your eligible works (up to three per..."
by Andrew Schultz - 7 votes for 6 games, last vote on June 22, 2026; created on May 26, 2026
"I saw a parallel between two very different games, and I think there must be more such games! I appreciated the economy in both, diagonal exits or no. I sort-of wrote one of my own & have a WIP that is sort of 3x3. If I ever write it,..."
by Denk - 19 votes for 13 games, last vote on June 15, 2026; created on March 14, 2020
"There are more than 600 Quest games on IFDB. Surely there must be a lot of bad Quest games, but there are certainly good ones too. It would be interesting to know, which ones are worth playing."
by Denk - 10 votes for 6 games, last vote on June 12, 2026; created on January 27, 2026
"After having tried to implement realistic elevators in a couple of games, I still find it difficult and I am curious to see which games that contain advanced elevators (in contrast to simply pushing a button resulting in the right floor..."
by Tabitha - 102 votes for 68 games, last vote on June 10, 2026; created on December 13, 2023
"The discussion in this thread, from which I've borrowed the term "microparser" (thanks Pinkunz!), led me to want to collect small parser games. I'm thinking of ones that fit what's described in the thread--generally taking less than 30..."
by Cygnus - 22 votes for 15 games, last vote on June 9, 2026; created on February 17, 2024
"I recently played Never Gives Up Her Dead by Mathbrush, and I loved it a lot. I especially loved the magic part in a certain part, and I've previously played The Wand and loved that to pieces. I also love researching time travel and I..."
by juliaofbath - 263 votes for 59 games, last vote on June 4, 2026; created on July 27, 2017
"I'm interested in determining whether or not a clear canon has emerged within the world of IF/hypertext. Of course, there is a clear critical opinion regarding which works belong to this tentative canon, but I'm interested in what..."
by Cygnus - 40 votes for 24 games, last vote on May 16, 2026; created on March 28, 2023
"There seems to be a LOT of games where you just.. explore hidden secrets in mansions, or similar. some of them have a plot, some of 'em don't, but i'm lookin' for stuff like D'Arkun, the Manor at Whitby.. Or any games with just..."
by Marius Müller - 60 votes for 28 games, last vote on May 15, 2026; created on October 25, 2011
"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..."
by MathBrush - 43 votes for 26 games, last vote on May 10, 2026; created on September 23, 2017
"After reading Jason Dyer's post on his excellent adventure blog (at bluerenga.wordpress.com) about the hardest adventure ever (which I haven't tried yet, but want to!). Everyone has a game that they've experienced that is just absolutely..."
by Floating Info - 21 votes for 16 games, last vote on May 5, 2026; created on April 30, 2015
"What are some games that start off with the PC in a regular situation but turn into something different? This would include a regular person finding a portal to a fantasy world, or a regular person already in a fantasy world abruptly..."
by Spike - 22 votes for 13 games, last vote on May 2, 2026; created on November 22, 2018
"I enjoy games with lots of good puzzles, but so far nearly all the ones I've played have a parser-based interface. This poll is to help me find good choice-based puzzlefests."
by Fredrik - 221 votes for 71 games, last vote on April 30, 2026; created on February 13, 2011
"No doubt you have played some great games with great titles, or been disappointed to find games with great titles that did not hold up to expectations. What are the best titles of IF? They can be funny, elegant, evocative, or whatever..."
by Rose - 511 votes for 65 games, last vote on April 22, 2026; created on February 1, 2009
"As a historical exercise, I've begun compiling a list of IF games that have either done something ground breaking with the medium or otherwise influenced it; and I've turned it into a poll so everyone can have input on the expansion...."
by Kinetic Mouse Car - 11 votes for 9 games, last vote on April 21, 2026; created on January 30, 2023
"This poll is for games where the player's sole purpose is to fix things. It's their job, or a near equivalent to a job. Does not necessarily have to be traditional employment but fixing things has to be part of the PC's purpose, not..."
by Andrew Schultz - 18 votes for 14 games, last vote on March 26, 2026; created on January 2, 2023
"In IFComp 2022, it struck me how your partner Alex, in A Walk Around the Neighborhood and your father in The Last Christmas Present did a really good job of providing an NPC that gave hints without outright spoilers. This was to help you..."
by Jeff Sonas - 323 votes for 61 games, last vote on March 11, 2026; created on March 26, 2009
"I am looking for the games that, in your opinion, you simply must have played in order to really call yourself an IF aficionado. Or if someone wanted to play N number of IF games in order to get as good an overview of the IF classics..."
by MathBrush - 260 votes for 63 games, last vote on March 3, 2026; created on July 13, 2025
"I'm interested in knowing what games people have heard of, but have put off playing for one reason or another (or never intend on playing at all). I'm also interested in people's decision of what 'famous' means in interactive fiction. "
by diddlescatter - 68 votes for 31 games, last vote on February 16, 2026; created on February 13, 2011
"(Sorry, Fredrik, but your poll was such a great idea that I couldn't resist!) So here's the question: Which titles out there do you absolutely hate? Remember, it doesn't have to be a game you've actually played. In fact, maybe it's a..."
by MathBrush - 38 votes for 14 games, last vote on February 16, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best humor game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 44 votes for 15 games, last vote on February 16, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best fantasy game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 34 votes for 9 games, last vote on February 16, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for a game of 2025 that you saw as a trailblazer. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 20 votes for 6 games, last vote on February 16, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best Dialog game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 72 votes for 15 games, last vote on February 16, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the most outstanding writing in a game from 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 42 votes for 14 games, last vote on February 16, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the most outstanding NPC design in a game from 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 3 votes for 2 games, last vote on February 16, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best Bitsy game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games..."
by MathBrush - 15 votes for 5 games, last vote on February 16, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best Adventuron game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 49 votes for 16 games, last vote on February 16, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best Inform 7 game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 29 votes for 6 games, last vote on February 16, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best Godot game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games..."
by MathBrush - 15 votes for 5 games, last vote on February 16, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best Inform 6 game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 17 votes for 3 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the most outstanding game for beginners from 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 44 votes for 11 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the most outstanding technical implementation in a game from 2025. Voting is..."
by MathBrush - 31 votes for 6 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best ink game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games..."
by MathBrush - 42 votes for 9 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best surreal game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 24 votes for 8 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best Videotome game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 69 votes for 17 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the most outstanding plot in a game from 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 10 votes for 3 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best German-language game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 25 votes for 7 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best slice of life game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 20 votes for 9 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best game of 2025 written in an uncommon system. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 25 votes for 7 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best Decker game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 7 votes for 2 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best TADS game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games..."
by MathBrush - 16 votes for 5 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best ren'py game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 63 votes for 15 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best twine game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games..."
by MathBrush - 58 votes for 14 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the most outstanding puzzle design in a game from 2025. Voting is open to all..."
by MathBrush - 49 votes for 14 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best science fiction game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 26 votes for 9 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best romance game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 31 votes for 11 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best overall game of 2025. Unlike all other polls in the IFDB Awards, this..."
by MathBrush - 77 votes for 20 games, last vote on February 15, 2026; created on February 1, 2026
"This poll is part of the 2025 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best overall game of 2025. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."