Games what I like (for John)

Recommendations by insufficient data

These are some games that I like! They tend to err on the side of puzzle-y vs pure story games, and on the more polite side of the cruelty scale.

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1. Lost Pig
by Admiral Jota
(2007)
Average member rating: (485 ratings)

insufficient data says:

An orc searches for a lost pig. Very cute, very funny. A good intro game.

2. 9:05
by Adam Cadre
(2000)
Average member rating: (532 ratings)

insufficient data says:

This is a game so short that it's kind of pointless to describe, but worth a playthrough (or two). Very easy.

3. Glowgrass, by Nate Cull (1997)
Average member rating: (96 ratings)
insufficient data says:

Short and sweet sci-fi game where you've crash-landed on an alien planet.

4. Augmented Fourth
by Brian Uri!
(2000)
Average member rating: (64 ratings)

insufficient data says:

A fun and funny fantasy puzzler.

5. Shade
by Andrew Plotkin
(2000)
Average member rating: (408 ratings)

insufficient data says:

Shade is sort of less of a game and more of an experience. There aren't any puzzles; it's more atmospheric. I can't decide whether it's deep or pretentious, but it creeps me out whenever I play it so that's something. And it's another game that's easy so it's a good starter.

6. A Day for Soft Food
by Tod Levi
(1999)
Average member rating: (27 ratings)

insufficient data says:

I like this one because you play as a kitty!

7. Suveh Nux
by David Fisher
(2007)
Average member rating: (225 ratings)

insufficient data says:

You are a magician trapped in your master's basement. Fun magic system.

8. Slouching Towards Bedlam
by Star Foster and Daniel Ravipinto
(2003)
Average member rating: (210 ratings)

insufficient data says:

Another one of my favorites. I would say there's also kind of a Lovecraftian feel to it- not in the sense of tentacled monsters, of which there are none, but in the sense of a crawling, incomprehensible madness.

9. The Edifice
by Lucian P. Smith
(1997)
Average member rating: (82 ratings)

insufficient data says:

You are a simple ancient humanoid who finds a strange, tall, black... hmm, what would you call it? Mono something? Edifice. Right. Some puzzles, not too hard.

10. Aisle
by Sam Barlow
(1999)
Average member rating: (320 ratings)

insufficient data says:

This is, again, less a game, more a... something, IDK. It's just one move, and the point is basically to try things and see what happens.

11. The Dreamhold
by Andrew Plotkin
(2004)
Average member rating: (174 ratings)

insufficient data says:

This is actually meant to be a game for beginners, but I still found it fairly challenging. Has an adjustable difficulty. Very puzzly.

12. Hunter, in Darkness, by Andrew Plotkin (1999)
Average member rating: (120 ratings)
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A cave crawl based on the game Hunt the Wumpus (which I never actually played). This again is more atmospheric than puzzly, although there is some puzzling to be done.

13. Babel
by Ian Finley
(1997)
Average member rating: (151 ratings)

insufficient data says:

A classic "you wake up in a strange place with amnesia" game. (also, you might notice where I got some inspiration for our most recent Dread game)

14. The Meteor, the Stone and a Long Glass of Sherbet
by Graham Nelson (as Angela M. Horns)
(1996)
Average member rating: (49 ratings)

insufficient data says:

A homage to Zork. You've got your cave crawl, your magic... there's probably a maze in there, I don't remember. I remember it being good, though!

15. Anchorhead
by Michael Gentry
(1998)
Average member rating: (383 ratings)

insufficient data says:

A Lovecraftian horror tale. (You could probably run this as a Call of Cthulu plot, actually.) This game is very long, pretty difficult, and you will probably die a lot. That said, it's one of my favorites.

16. A Matter of Importance, by Valentine Kopteltsev (2007)
Average member rating: (8 ratings)
insufficient data says:

This is probably one of those games that makes a lot more sense after you've played a lot of other IF, because it plays on a lot of those tropes. But it has one of my favorite ever puzzles.

17. Rematch, by Andrew D. Pontious (2000)
Average member rating: (89 ratings)
insufficient data says:

This is a one-move game that actually is a game- you have to figure out the one move that will win by playing over and over again, seeing how it affects the scenario.

18. The Mulldoon Legacy, by Jon Ingold (1999)
Average member rating: (42 ratings)
insufficient data says:

This is 100% pure puzzles with a framing device. It's also long and difficult (I actually haven't beaten it yet). But sometimes banging your head against puzzles is the sort of distraction you want, and there are enough that if you get stuck on one you can go work on something else.

19. The Gostak
by Carl Muckenhoupt
(2001)
Average member rating: (87 ratings)

insufficient data says:

So this is a weird one- set in an alien world where you don't just have to figure out the puzzles- you have to figure out what the words themselves mean. It's difficult- you can't really die/lose, but you can get stuck because you don't know what the heck a glaud is and whether you should distunk them. Definitely not one to start with.

20. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky
(1984)
Average member rating: (180 ratings)

insufficient data says:

Hideously, frustratingly, tear-your-hair-out difficult. But hey! It's a classic.


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