by Bloodsong - 54 votes for 38 games, last vote on August 23, 2022; created on June 10, 2009
"I was wondering just how many games out there, either completely text based, or text-adventure hybrids, are out there that involve a story line over the course of several games. I know for sure of the Sorcerer trilogy from Infocom...any..."
by Ghalev - 53 votes for 35 games, last vote on July 17, 2024; created on August 6, 2009
"I know of a small handful of games where you play a beast, and I want to know of more. (By beast I mean a cat, a dog, a chicken, an orangutan, that kind of thing ... not looking for mythical monsters and not looking for part-timers, so..."
by MathBrush - 53 votes for 13 games, last vote on February 18, 2024; created on February 1, 2024
"This poll is part of the 2023 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 2023. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by JonathanCR - 52 votes for 18 games, last vote on August 1, 2022; created on July 30, 2009
"I'm interested in games that are set in cities - historical, modern, fantasy, or science-fiction. In particular, games that make you feel that you are in a real, functioning, busy city where life is being lived all around you. Which..."
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 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 Sam Jackson - 51 votes for 26 games, last vote on August 24, 2022; 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 tggdan3 - 51 votes for 35 games, last vote on December 31, 2023; created on November 1, 2010
"Obviously not counting "death" as an ending, but non-successful ends can count if there are other successful ends. Variation in endings should at least vary the ending somewhat (as opposed to be an extra word or two). "
by matt w (Matt Weiner) - 51 votes for 32 games, last vote on December 23, 2023; created on March 13, 2015
"What are some IF works that involve a relationship between a mother and a daughter? Not necessarily as the center of the work, but as something that impinges on it at all."
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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 51 votes for 10 games, last vote on February 18, 2024; created on February 1, 2024
"This poll is part of the 2023 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 2023 that you saw as a trailblazer. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by Tabitha - 50 votes for 49 games, last vote on August 3, 2024; created on March 10, 2024
"EDIT 2: I've locked this poll, but have started a new one here for next year's Review-a-thon! EDIT: The inaugural IF Review-a-thon is now underway! Full information here. Are you an IF author who would like more reviews of your work?..."
by penguincascadia - 50 votes for 15 games, last vote on June 27, 2025; 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 Emily Short - 50 votes for 27 games, last vote on June 22, 2018; created on October 10, 2008
"I'm looking for works in the general spirit of The Fire Tower or 1893: they can be puzzly or not, have a story or not, but they should attempt to represent a real-world setting as accurately as possible, and in some detail."
by blue/green - 50 votes for 24 games, last vote on January 9, 2024; created on July 17, 2014
"What interactive fiction would you recommend that evokes a sense of wonder? These could be games that capture wonder or beauty in ordinary things, perhaps by viewing the world through the eyes of a child. Or they could be games that..."
by MathBrush - 50 votes for 16 games, last vote on February 18, 2024; created on February 1, 2024
"This poll is part of the 2023 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 2023. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by MathBrush - 50 votes for 14 games, last vote on February 18, 2024; created on February 1, 2024
"This poll is part of the 2023 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 2023. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games..."
by MathBrush - 50 votes for 16 games, last vote on February 18, 2024; created on February 1, 2024
"This poll is part of the 2023 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 2023. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
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 Juhana - 48 votes for 27 games, last vote on October 8, 2024; created on May 28, 2010
"Fast-paced action is something that's notoriously hard to do in IF where waiting for player's input necessarily pauses the game every turn. Which games have succeeded in creating action scenes that convey the sense of urgency, danger and..."
by MathBrush - 48 votes for 14 games, last vote on February 18, 2024; created on February 1, 2024
"This poll is part of the 2023 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 2023. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 48 votes for 13 games, last vote on February 17, 2023; created on January 30, 2023
"This poll is part of the 2022 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 2022. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by Andrew Schultz - 47 votes for 32 games, last vote on January 9, 2024; created on May 13, 2016
"I'm interested in games with lots of books you can read through. Maybe it's just a lot of cool titles and authors. Maybe they're randomly or procedurally generated. Maybe they reference pop culture, or maybe they're the author's own..."
by IFforL2 - 47 votes for 30 games, last vote on September 6, 2022; created on March 12, 2017
"I want to distinguish toys from three other IF game elements: Puzzles require the player to find a solution to a problem in the narrative. If she can't find a solution, she's stuck. Branching allows the player to steer the plot of the..."
by Jeremy Freese - 47 votes for 23 games, last vote on December 8, 2018; created on June 6, 2009
"I'm interested in examples of excellent individual puzzles in IF. In other words: not 'Spider and Web' so much as 'getting out of the chair' in 'Spider and Web' "
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 Teaspoon - 46 votes for 29 games, last vote on June 22, 2025; created on April 9, 2016
"Whilst writing a review of "All Alone", Joey Jones's sequel to his game "If I Wasn't Shy", I became curious - how many examples of sequels are there in IF? Preferably good ones."
by MathBrush - 46 votes for 12 games, last vote on February 18, 2024; created on February 1, 2024
"This poll is part of the 2023 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 2023 written in an uncommon system. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by trojo - 46 votes for 23 games, last vote on August 9, 2020; created on December 27, 2011
"Expectations for Speed-IFs are generally low, but sometimes games written as Speed-IFs are in fact awesome-- not just "awesome for a Speed IF" but truly worthwhile. List some favorites here."
by Jonathan Blask - 45 votes for 29 games, last vote on May 17, 2023; created on January 15, 2012
"I think it is both funny and interesting when games bill themselves as "Part # in the [blank] series" (and other games are never written). It is fun to speculate what directions those future games may have gone. This poll is a memorial..."
by ChrisM - 45 votes for 31 games, last vote on January 21, 2024; created on February 24, 2021
"I'm interested in games that are straightforward adaptations of conventional books (probably novels, but I'd be interested to know if there are any non-fiction book adaptations). The ones that I know of are The Famous Five and The..."
by Denk - 44 votes for 35 games, last vote on May 26, 2023; 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 Spike - 44 votes for 25 games, last vote on March 19, 2023; created on July 7, 2019
"Several of us are interested in using IF for education, both in the classroom as well as more broadly. The purpose of this poll is to collect examples of IF with an educational focus."
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 MathBrush - 44 votes for 13 games, last vote on February 18, 2023; created on January 30, 2023
"This poll is part of the 2022 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 2022. Voting is anonymous and open only to IFDB..."
by MathBrush - 44 votes for 12 games, last vote on February 18, 2023; created on January 30, 2023
"This poll is part of the 2022 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 2022. Voting is open to all IFDB..."
by Christopher Caesar - 43 votes for 18 games, last vote on August 6, 2022; created on September 25, 2013
"Hey everybody. I am looking for a murder mystery text game. I finished An Act of Murder a while ago and want to play more games like that, where to get to solve the murder yourself. If you could tell me some of your recommendations that..."
by Isa - 43 votes for 19 games, last vote on November 10, 2024; 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 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 thecanvasrose - 43 votes for 35 games, last vote on November 25, 2023; created on October 20, 2019
"I'm making a list based on this poll as I play the elected games and can write snippets about them. See here: https://ifdb.org/viewlist?id=3n6rheokfkcsntf - - - - - - - - - I'm looking for games which are: 》Neither parser nor gamebook..."
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 Anya Johanna DeNiro - 43 votes for 23 games, last vote on June 24, 2024; created on November 17, 2014
"Looking for games that really explore verticality, which go up (way up) in their setting. Human-made structures in particular: towers, skyscrapers, radio antennae. Games that figuratively can make you feel dizzy, particularly after a..."
by Cryptic Puffin - 42 votes for 22 games, last vote on June 7, 2025; created on November 14, 2021
"I'm looking for games with effective use of location, language, etc. to really immerse you in the locale and the story, no matter the genre-- any game which you felt really taken with the atmosphere would be great. Thank you!"
by AndyC - 42 votes for 25 games, last vote on June 6, 2022; created on October 10, 2011
"I am a returning player to IF (which I loved 30 years ago) having recently discovered the fantastic Frotz for the iPad. Looking at some of the old games again has really blown me away. I don't enjoy drawing maps but I love reading good..."
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 Wendymoon - 41 votes for 27 games, last vote on January 1, 2023; created on October 2, 2009
"What games do you find yourself returning to again and again? Maybe to get every last lousy point, to do some amusing things, to try for different endings or just for the enjoyment of replaying?"
by blue/green - 41 votes for 39 games, last vote on March 29, 2023; 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 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 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 MathBrush - 40 votes for 12 games, last vote on February 18, 2023; created on January 30, 2023
"This poll is part of the 2022 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 2022. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
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 verityvirtue - 39 votes for 39 games, last vote on April 10, 2016; created on February 11, 2016
"This is for suggesting settings from games released 2015 which you think might be worth considering for Best Setting in the XYZZY awards. This is not a zeroth-round nomination. The category will still be text-entry, and games not..."
by Urtikor - 39 votes for 22 games, last vote on May 24, 2025; created on August 19, 2012
"Hello, I just recently came across interactive fiction and I want to try it out and see if it's my kind of thing. I tried Dreamhold for maybe half an hour, but even though it seemed well written, solving puzzles isn't interesting for me...."
by MathBrush - 39 votes for 11 games, last vote on February 18, 2023; created on January 30, 2023
"This poll is part of the 2022 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 2022. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible..."
by MathBrush - 39 votes for 24 games, last vote on September 16, 2024; 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 - 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 MCCLUTCH32 - 38 votes for 20 games, last vote on June 25, 2022; created on March 14, 2013
"I like a game with a good story, good puzzles that aren't too difficult to understand and a good mystery. I was thinking more along the lines of horror, but murder mysteries work as well."
by Cygnus - 37 votes for 22 games, last vote on February 27, 2024; 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 Sdn - 37 votes for 19 games, last vote on September 1, 2020; created on August 30, 2013
"Playing Losing Your Grip has reminded me of just how tedious I find manual mapping in lengthy games, no matter how much I enjoy everything else. So, I'm looking for some long, engrossing games that don't require the player to draw maps...."
by Ghalev - 37 votes for 23 games, last vote on August 2, 2022; created on May 22, 2009
"I'm polling to learn of modern (post-commercial-era) IF that revels in the tradition of providing additional documentation & related materials which are evocative and deepen your enjoyment of the game. What games have gone that extra..."
by Emily Short - 37 votes for 20 games, last vote on August 24, 2022; created on June 2, 2009
"Games where a significant portion of the gameplay involves buying, selling, or trading items, especially if there are tactical advantages associated with different objects and the player has to decide which things to acquire for what..."
by MathBrush - 36 votes for 11 games, last vote on February 18, 2023; created on January 30, 2023
"This poll is part of the 2022 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 2022. Voting is open to all IFDB members...."
by MathBrush - 36 votes for 11 games, last vote on February 18, 2024; created on February 1, 2024
"This poll is part of the 2023 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 2023. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."
by Brendan Patrick Hennessy - 35 votes for 32 games, last vote on April 17, 2016; created on February 12, 2016
"This is for suggesting games released in 2015 which you think might be worth considering for Best Game in the XYZZY awards. This is not a zeroth-round nomination. The category will still be text-entry, and games not mentioned here will..."
by MathBrush - 35 votes for 24 games, last vote on March 31, 2024; created on April 23, 2020
"I love to review games. Let me know if you've made a game that needs more reviews, or can suggest someone else's! I might not be personally able to review every game due to time, content, or platform, but I'll try!"
by MathBrush - 35 votes for 15 games, last vote on February 18, 2023; created on January 30, 2023
"This poll is part of the 2022 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 2022, with the definition of short left up to the voter...."
by Victor Gijsbers - 35 votes for 19 games, last vote on May 22, 2023; created on September 1, 2010
""[T]he thief [in Zork] is important to the development of interactive fiction because he functions as a true villain, not simply an obstacle or opponent.", writes Nick Montfort. Apparently, he moves around, taunts the player, actively..."
by Jeremy Freese - 34 votes for 19 games, last vote on June 8, 2025; created on December 12, 2012
"What I'm looking for are games that have fights that are ostensibly combat, but the solution to winning the fight is really a matter of solving a puzzle."
by dacharya64 - 34 votes for 23 games, last vote on June 15, 2024; created on March 20, 2013
"Not as complicated as it sounds! Interactive fiction is dominated by the iconic second person narrative (*You* find yourself in a room). But this is not the only way that these stories could be told. I'm looking for those games out there..."
by Brendan Patrick Hennessy - 34 votes for 32 games, last vote on August 13, 2016; created on February 12, 2016
"This is for suggesting games released in 2015 which you think might be worth considering for Best Writing in the XYZZY awards. This is not a zeroth-round nomination. The category will still be text-entry, and games not mentioned here..."
by Ghalev - 34 votes for 20 games, last vote on January 1, 2023; created on July 27, 2014
"What games do you find yourself revisiting from time to time, games that have proven to be a kind of comfort-food of text adventuring, the warm old socks of parser and puzzle, the socks-full-of-comfort-food of overextended metaphor? What..."
by Sorrel - 34 votes for 17 games, last vote on July 27, 2017; created on May 29, 2016
"I haven't played any IF for roughly the past 6 years and am excited to get back into it. So, what have I missed? What have been some of your favorite games released since 2010? Alternatively, what games do you think would serve as a good..."
by Spike - 34 votes for 19 games, last vote on February 18, 2021; created on June 15, 2018
"I'm looking for well-designed and challenging games that revolve around solving a single puzzle. The puzzle may have multiple parts, but the whole game needs to be essentially about solving that single puzzle."
by Molly - 34 votes for 25 games, last vote on December 4, 2022; created on December 27, 2008
"I'm looking for IF that centers around specific real-world holidays, e.g. Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, Passover, the Fourth of July, Guy Fawkes Day, Halloween, etc."
by Joey Jones - 34 votes for 17 games, last vote on December 31, 2023; created on August 25, 2012
"I'm hankering to play a good space-themed game. That is to say, a game not necessarily set in space, but a game that is in some way about space or our relation to space. Any takers?"
by MathBrush - 34 votes for 10 games, last vote on February 18, 2023; created on January 30, 2023
"This poll is part of the 2022 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 2022 with a playtime of over 2 hours (as judged by the voter)...."
by MathBrush - 34 votes for 8 games, last vote on February 18, 2024; created on February 1, 2024
"This poll is part of the 2023 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 oustanding game of 2023 with a playtime of over 2 hours (as judged by the..."
by Andrew Schultz - 33 votes for 24 games, last vote on January 9, 2024; created on April 7, 2015
"Lots of games have one amusing death, but what games best take the concept and run with it? These deaths could be nudges on messing something up, or even better, or even a nice reward for a reader who is playing attention and notices a..."
by Sam Kabo Ashwell - 33 votes for 19 games, last vote on January 22, 2019; created on February 9, 2015
"A list of games which notably use elision, sleight-of-hand, cleverly framed premises, or other fiendish implementor tricks in order to include significant NPCs in the story without having to implement them in deep, complicated detail...."
by Sorrel - 33 votes for 9 games, last vote on January 1, 2023; created on September 2, 2009
"I'm looking for a one-room game where the main focus is the conversation with an NPC. The kind of game where the NPC feels so realistic that you actually begin to feel an emotional connection of sorts. Something to the effect of Galatea."
by MathBrush - 33 votes for 12 games, last vote on February 18, 2024; created on February 1, 2024
"This poll is part of the 2023 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 2023. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Suggested..."