This list does not include authors, where I have only played one of their games. Thus great games such as Anchorhead and Blue Lacuna are currently not included.
Having played 22 of Ryan Veeder's games, I suppose he is my favorite IF author. Ryan Veeder tends to write short games of high quality and good humor, so if you are in the mood of a short game, there is plenty to choose from. I regard The Lurking Horror 2 as his best game so far. . .
2. Zork III by Dave Lebling, Marc Blank (1982) Average member rating: (75 ratings)
Denk says:
This author pair is responsible for Zork I,II and III as well as Enchanter. In addition both authors have made good games on their own. My favorite game from this pair of authors is Zork III. . .
Back in the heyday of homegrown 8-bit text adventures, Larry Horsfield received the title of Best Text Adventure Author at the Adventure Convention Awards in 1992. Twenty years later he makes a comeback on the ADRIFT scene. So far I have played all his ADRIFT games (six are published so far) and they are all of high quality with clever puzzles and good implementation. Die Feuerfaust is my favorite. . .
4. Worldsmith by Ade McT (2016) Average member rating: (30 ratings)
Denk says:
Ade McT is responsible for Worldsmith, the Hard Puzzle series and a couple of IFcomp games. I regard Worldsmith as one of the best IF games ever and I enjoyed his other games too. . .
5. Gnome Ranger by Pete Austin (1987) Average member rating: (4 ratings)
Denk says:
Pete Austin has authored or co-authored at least 15 games published by Level 9. I include him on the list mainly because of the Gnome Ranger series and Scapeghost, which in my opinion are the three best Level 9 games. . .
6. The Wand by Arthur DiBianca (2017) Average member rating: (58 ratings)
Denk says:
Compared to many on this list, Arthur DiBianca is among the more modern authors. I have already enjoyed 7 of his games, and gave 5 stars to both "The Wand" and "Skies Above". . .
Mathbrush finally made it onto this list as this game is the second of his I give 5 stars (the other is Sherlock Indomitable) and I have enjoyed several others as well. . .
8. Endless, Nameless by Adam Cadre (2012) Average member rating: (55 ratings)
Denk says:
I haven't played that many by Adam Cadre but I played some excellent ones, especially "Endless, Nameless", "9:05" and "Photopia". . .
9. Kaged by Ian Finley (2000) Average member rating: (51 ratings)
Denk says:
I only played three of Ian Finley's games but I liked all a lot, especially Kaged. . .
10. Junior Arithmancer by Mike Spivey (2018) Average member rating: (53 ratings)
Denk says:
Mike Spivey only made three games but they are all excellent! . .
11. Redemption, by Sam Ruby (1993) Average member rating: (1 rating) Denk says:
Sam Ruby has only made eamon games (usually with a lot of randomized, simple combat) but if you are into that kind of thing his games are excellent. . .
12. Alone by Paul Michael Winters (2020) Average member rating: (31 ratings)
Denk says:
Paul Michael Winters' greatest games are in my opinion: 1. Alone 2. The Lookout 3. The House on Sycamore Lane . .
13. Return to the Castle, by John Wilson (2020) Average member rating: (1 rating) Denk says:
Though John Wilson's games vary a lot in quality, he has made some excellent games including the PunyInform game "Return to the Castle" which was a nostalgic return to another golden oldie "Retarded Creatures and caverns". He also wrote most games in the "Behind Closed Doors"-series which has several fun games (nine in total), though of very varying quality. . .
14. Chlorophyll by Steph Cherrywell (2015) Average member rating: (60 ratings)
