Textfire Golf

In this game, you play through 9 holes of golf with 3 coworkers. I never actually beat it, due to bad golfing.

It's actually fairly fun; instead of normal puzzles, you have a real-time drive meter and a left-to-right meter, and you have to get it right in correct spot to win.

I especially had trouble, thinking that a 9-iron would go farther than a 3-iron. But it was still fun.

The NPCs are entertaining, and there are some practice sessions for putting and driving.

A fun diversion.

I know little about golf; in fact, my golf knowledge has increased significantly by playing Textfire Golf. So I cannot comment on the accuracy of the representation of golf that Cadre gives us, but it feels realistic and detailed to a non-golfer.

That is important because Textfire Golf is, first and foremost, a golf game. You get a description of the course you are on, you select a club, and then you type "swing". This will open up a little semi-graphical interface in the title bar in which you have to press a key at the right time to indicate first the strength and then the direction of your shot. The aim is... well, the aim supposedly is to finish the 9-hole course in as few hits as possible. So at the core, here, we have an arcade game. (Don't worry if you're really bad at this, though: you can "undo" whenever you want.)

But there is also real interactive fiction going on. You can type any command you want, and interactions with the environment and with your three fellow golfers (some guys from work who have invited you to join them) are possible and sometimes lead to startling results. Your fellow golfers continually comment on how the game is going, and the final result of the game will depend on their scores as well as yours.

The combination works surprisingly well. The arcade game is entertaining and gives us something to do, while the characters keep us interested in completing the game. It's a weird little set-up, but definitely worth experiencing.

Should that be four stars? In the end, I decided to give the game three stars because the arcade part of the game is just not that interesting in the long run. Replaying the game will give you different endings, but not many people will be replaying this game more than once or twice.

This is a rare example of arcade IF. You have to play a 9 holes golf course, against 3 other opponents. You choose the club, and you control power and direction (via a cursor which moves on screen, while you have to press SPACE at the right/desired moment). In it's way, it's curious and well done.
There is some story background, though minimal. And, being an Adam Cadre game, you might want to try different commands, other than shooting the ball. Many of them will have you laugh (showing the *famous* Cadre's cruel humor - which I love), and leave you craving to find all the possible ones - though there aren't many. Don't forget to check the "about the author" option in the beginning.
Definitely worth a try.