I've played a lot of these recently, so I'm making a list. A contrast to my Detective and Mystery games list and similar to my Espionage and Spy game list, where I put Spider and Web, for instance.
Wacky Choicescript space adventure with a diverse cast of aliens (like a living shadow and a shapeshifter who always looks like the nearest person). Multiple heists and thefts.
Time-limited adventure where you have to grab as much treasure as you can.
8. Limerick Heist by Pace Smith (2019) Average member rating: (27 ratings)
MathBrush says:
A heist game composed entirely in Limerick's. Pretty dang funny.
9. LET'S ROB A BANK by Bethany Nolan (2018) Average member rating: (14 ratings)
MathBrush says:
A shortish CYOA that branches wildly, including (I believe) destroying the entire universe in one branch.
10. A Matter of Importance, by Valentine Kopteltsev (2007) Average member rating: (8 ratings) MathBrush says:
A hard but fairly fun parser heist game whose big idea is that none of the scenery is important, but it's not important in an important way. A riff on default parser messages.
A game famous for its bizarre central puzzle. Steal a chalice. Short and sweet parser game.
14. Escape to New York, by Richard Otter (2005) Average member rating: (4 ratings) MathBrush says:
Somewhat fussy Adrift theft game set on the Titanic.
15. Heist, by Andy Phillips (1997) Average member rating: (10 ratings) MathBrush says:
If you've played Andy Phillips games, you know what this is like. If not, expect a huge parser game with action-movie style storytelling, femme fatales, and a lot of fiddly puzzles.
16. Heroes, by Sean Barrett (2001) Average member rating: (25 ratings) MathBrush says:
One of my first IF favorites, when I started playing on Frotz on the iPad. Play any of 4 traditional RPG classes to steal a staff and a gem. Most heist-like is thief, least heist-like is Royal/Dragon.
17. The Hobbit by Philip Mitchell and Veronika Megler (1983) Average member rating: (29 ratings)
MathBrush says:
I mean, technically it's a heist, right? You even assemble the team and all...
18. Infidel by Michael Berlyn (1983) Average member rating: (62 ratings)
MathBrush says:
Infocom classic. Rob a pyramid. Controversial (at the time) ending.