by MathBrush - 76 votes for 33 games, last vote on May 3, 2025; created on December 28, 2024
"This is a poll for the games that you think would be helpful for people new to IF. You should vote for whatever game(s) you think best answer the question: "My friend is new to IF. Can you recommend a good game for beginners?" There..."
by WriterBob - 297 votes for 75 games, last vote on April 25, 2025; created on November 11, 2008
"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...."
by Fredrik - 220 votes for 70 games, last vote on April 23, 2025; 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 Fredrik - 65 votes for 38 games, last vote on April 9, 2025; created on January 7, 2011
"I have always been fascinated with games that have several wandering and independent NPCs, especially when you have the ability to try to order them around. This sets the stage for a game where no one session is like any other, and even..."
by grimperfect - 63 votes for 45 games, last vote on April 6, 2025; 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 Floating Info - 39 votes for 13 games, last vote on April 4, 2025; created on December 10, 2012
"I'd like to see games that are long and spacious, yet aren't Cruel (or very Nasty) on the Zarfian scale. Essentially, games that the main reason for saving is for time or the occasional timed part."
by MyTheory - 57 votes for 35 games, last vote on March 30, 2025; created on July 27, 2010
"Whether it was the witty dialogue, the charming atmosphere, or the cleverness of the puzzle - you played "this" game and it inspired you to write your own. Selfishly, I'm looking for my own inspiration, but I am also very, very curious..."
by Marius Müller - 58 votes for 27 games, last vote on March 29, 2025; 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 baf - 68 votes for 27 games, last vote on March 28, 2025; created on April 21, 2010
"In a normal game, there is a single fictional entity that is considered to be: - The protagonist: the character that the player is meant to identify with, and whose goals you are trying to achieve - The viewpoint character: the character..."
by Puddin Tame - 66 votes for 21 games, last vote on March 28, 2025; created on October 28, 2012
"IF that doesn't explicitly clue players in on knowledge they would/should have if they actually were the player character (The character's motivation, interests, relevant parts of their past etc.), which, for good or bad, results in some..."
by baf - 21 votes for 10 games, last vote on March 28, 2025; 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 Tabitha - 84 votes for 60 games, last vote on March 28, 2025; 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 JasonMel - 85 votes for 42 games, last vote on March 27, 2025; created on March 27, 2012
"I would like to be able to recommend to someone many examples of interactive fiction in which the player character is far from a cipher or an everyman or everywoman, but is instead a character with a definite personality within a game..."
by Rovarsson - 114 votes for 46 games, last vote on March 27, 2025; created on November 9, 2020
"When browsing for good recent games, I'm overwhelmed by the amount of Twine and Choice games. Add to that a great number of games with five stars and only one rating, many of which are also, yes, Twine and Choice games, it gets difficult..."
by Canalboy - 15 votes for 15 games, last vote on March 26, 2025; created on March 16, 2025
"As a compulsive map maker I recently came across two games where you have to know your location exactly as you need to move in complete darkness. This set me wondering about how many games feature this particular conundrum."
by albie - 41 votes for 24 games, last vote on March 23, 2025; created on January 10, 2024
"Looking for Twine games (ideally) that are appropriate for 10-16 year olds. Bonus points if it has an interesting/fun story or showcases some of the cool stuff that can be done with this medium. Thanks! :)"
by Merk - 67 votes for 35 games, last vote on March 17, 2025; created on July 29, 2015
"Two that come to mind, which I haven't played in years and may be remembering wrong, are Moebius and All Things Devours. Games with fail states, by their nature, fit the bill from a mechanical level, but I'm curious about games where..."
by MarkyJez - 32 votes for 21 games, last vote on March 16, 2025; created on January 11, 2021
"I'm interested in trying out games that are more relaxed than a lot of IFs are. Though I do like the adventure and excitement of those particular IFs, I also want to try out other stuff that is more quiet and understated, the kind of..."
by verityvirtue - 40 votes for 22 games, last vote on March 12, 2025; created on February 1, 2015
"I'm looking for games which work like Bigger Than You Think - where dying isn't the end, where you're given second chances, where your second chances give you gear or skills or knowledge that you need to know to win the game."
by Fredrik - 25 votes for 21 games, last vote on February 25, 2025; created on November 2, 2010
"I really need to improve my rotten Spanish, and I can think of no better way to do it than by playing IF. But there are tons of games out there, so what to choose? In other words: Por favor, ¡dame los favoritos tuyos!"
by MathBrush - 18 votes for 6 games, last vote on February 17, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 Moiki game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games..."
by MathBrush - 20 votes for 6 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 Spanish game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 106 votes for 27 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 51 votes for 12 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024 by a new author. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 119 votes for 41 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 short game of 2024, where the definition of 'short' is left up to the..."
by MathBrush - 51 votes for 15 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 an outstanding game of 2024 that felt truly interactive. Voting is open to..."
by MathBrush - 59 votes for 20 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 41 votes for 9 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 mystery game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 66 votes for 15 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games..."
by MathBrush - 51 votes for 16 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024 written in an uncommon system. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 95 votes for 25 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 64 votes for 17 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 32 votes for 10 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 52 votes for 19 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 69 votes for 16 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 62 votes for 20 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 multimedia experience in a game from 2024. Voting is open..."
by MathBrush - 65 votes for 14 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 23 votes for 7 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games..."
by MathBrush - 47 votes for 11 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is..."
by MathBrush - 16 votes for 5 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 retro game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 55 votes for 13 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024 that you saw as a trailblazer. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 43 votes for 11 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 sequel-worthy game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 51 votes for 11 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 an outstanding game of 2024 with a playtime of over 2 hours (as judged by the..."
by MathBrush - 91 votes for 35 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 underappreciated game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 87 votes for 20 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all..."
by MathBrush - 19 votes for 5 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 travel game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 55 votes for 23 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 horror game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 30 votes for 11 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 28 votes for 9 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 21 votes for 6 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 15 votes for 4 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games..."
by MathBrush - 62 votes for 18 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 49 votes for 8 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 historical game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 28 votes for 5 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 educational game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 40 votes for 14 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 French game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 70 votes for 25 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 65 votes for 14 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 game with the best worldbuilding of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 79 votes for 30 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Unlike all other polls in the IFDB Awards, this..."
by MathBrush - 13 votes for 4 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 in a custom system of 2023. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 61 votes for 16 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 Choicescript game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 58 votes for 14 games, last vote on February 16, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 24 votes for 7 games, last vote on February 15, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 11 votes for 2 games, last vote on February 14, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 Unity game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games..."
by MathBrush - 20 votes for 4 games, last vote on February 14, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games..."
by MathBrush - 21 votes for 3 games, last vote on February 13, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 19 votes for 8 games, last vote on February 13, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 16 votes for 7 games, last vote on February 13, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 PunyInform game of 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 13 votes for 4 games, last vote on February 11, 2025; created on February 1, 2025
"This poll is part of the 2024 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 2024. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by Sam Kabo Ashwell - 68 votes for 31 games, last vote on February 7, 2025; created on September 12, 2012
"A considerable number of games exist largely as the commentary of the IF community (or some subset of it) upon the medium and the community itself. These works are likely to be befuddling to outsiders, but provide windows onto blah blah..."
by delano - 52 votes for 28 games, last vote on February 6, 2025; created on April 27, 2014
"I'm looking for games that offer hints in any way, except for printing them in sequence on the screen. For example: characters that offer hints; objects that, when examined or used in a certain way, suggest actions to the player; etc."
by Andrew Schultz - 10 votes for 5 games, last vote on February 5, 2025; created on January 2, 2023
"Mike Spivey's A Beauty Cold and Austere had a gray lady guarding a storage bin, where you could ask her if something had served its purpose. If it did, in the bin it went. If it didn't, you may've gotten a vague hint what to do with it...."
by dfranke - 18 votes for 8 games, last vote on January 29, 2025; created on December 30, 2024
"What game first got you interested in interactive fiction? This may, or may not, be the first IF game you ever played. Respond to this poll only if you first played the game IN 1994 OR PRIOR; otherwise, respond to one of the two other..."
by dfranke - 15 votes for 12 games, last vote on January 28, 2025; created on December 30, 2024
"What game first got you interested in interactive fiction? This may, or may not, be the first IF game you ever played. Respond to this poll only if you first played the game BETWEEN 1995 and 2012 INCLUSIVE; otherwise, respond to one of..."
by deathbytroggles - 10 votes for 9 games, last vote on January 26, 2025; created on March 30, 2023
"So I'm not looking for games from the well-known companies like Infocom, Tellarium, Legend, etc. Looking to compile a list of: 1. Games that used to be commercial but no longer (e.g. Once and Future, The Shadow and the Cathedral, 1893)..."
by filiaa - 22 votes for 21 games, last vote on January 14, 2025; created on July 10, 2024
"Beaucoup de FI en français abordent des sujets sérieux, éveillent des sentiments difficiles et des émotions fortes. Malgré la grande qualité de ces FI sérieuses et tristes, on recherche parfois quelque chose de plus amusant ou..."
by dfranke - 14 votes for 11 games, last vote on January 11, 2025; created on December 30, 2024
"What game first got you interested in interactive fiction? This may, or may not, be the first IF game you ever played. Respond to this poll only if you first played the game IN 2013 OR LATER; otherwise, respond to one of the two other..."
by blue/green - 10 votes for 9 games, last vote on January 8, 2025; created on December 25, 2024
"What are some games that focus on the bond between siblings, or that feature a fair amount of interaction between siblings (more than just a passing mention)?"
by juliaofbath - 254 votes for 57 games, last vote on January 2, 2025; 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 Cendare - 28 votes for 17 games, last vote on January 1, 2025; created on July 17, 2011
"I was thinking about "Nothing But Mazes" and how it, in fact, contains things that aren't mazes. What other games have titles that don't quite reflect what's inside?"
by Joan - 44 votes for 30 games, last vote on December 31, 2024; created on April 22, 2024
"Interested in games where you swap between different characters' heads (whether at will or at specific points in the story), not games where a single main character possesses different bodies or games that play with different..."
by Molly - 23 votes for 14 games, last vote on December 31, 2024; created on October 11, 2012
"It's often been said that super-heroes are a poor fit for IF, given the reliance of the former on flashy, colorful costumes and fights. But let it never be said that some poor bastards didn't try. What are some notable attempts at..."
by Pinstripe - 77 votes for 41 games, last vote on December 31, 2024; created on March 2, 2009
"Sometimes, when I'm playing a game, I spend more time juggling my save files than I do reading the text. I don't want to have to restart because I picked up the green rod instead of the clay jug (with apologies to Zarf). So I'm looking..."
by Mike Sousa - 92 votes for 37 games, last vote on December 28, 2024; created on October 11, 2008
"My 10 year old twins recently "discovered" IF. They fell in love with Grunk and are asking for more games to play. I've searched BAF and have some ideas, but figured I would give this poll a shot since there are hundreds and hundreds of..."
by Dawn S. - 31 votes for 20 games, last vote on December 10, 2024; created on March 19, 2023
"I’m reading and really enjoying The Weird and the Eerie, by critic Mark Fisher. In this book, Fisher explores the sense of something’s being simultaneously unsettling and fascinating. “Weird” and “eerie,” according to Fisher,..."
by Karl Ove Hufthammer - 32 votes for 25 games, last vote on December 7, 2024; 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 Ferret From Hell - 43 votes for 26 games, last vote on November 27, 2024; created on March 20, 2012
"It struck me the other day that sex is one thing that actually seems to feature rarely in IF. What games are there, other than out and out AIF, that give prominence to sex or sex scenes? The only ones that immediately spring to mind are..."
by A. I. Wulf - 70 votes for 32 games, last vote on November 27, 2024; created on October 18, 2017
"Games are a new medium of art. It's still a maturing medium. But still some works May have succeeded in being truly classic in their writing. As an enthusiastic writer I need to know about the growth of IF in this field."
by Jeff Sonas - 321 votes for 61 games, last vote on November 24, 2024; 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..."