Games for Beginners - an IFDB Poll
by WriterBob
RSS FeedI'm looking for games that are suited for adults who are new to IF. My purpose is to share these games with friends and let them get experience IF without being frustrated by mazes or guess-the-verb issues. Please avoid children's games. I'm interested in both traditional plot driven games as well as esoteric experimental pieces. These games should not only be forgiving, but demonstrate the interactive nature of the medium.
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| Lost Pig, by Admiral Jota 39 votes "Love it." [+]"Love it.: Very fun and no frustration." --heartsis100... "Very amusing, and something about the caveman dialogue makes it easier to 'think' in the syntax of IF." [+]"Very amusing, and something about the caveman dialogue makes it easier to 'think' in the syntax of IF." --Tortoiseshell Bat... "My first completion" [+]"My first completion: Very enjoyable to someone who's very new the the genre. The hints were very helpful to me as i was still grasping some of the concepts." ( ) --Pope of Gainz... "good puzzles, good story" [+]"good puzzles, good story: the hint system was also very good for beginners, and so was the tone of the piece." --mousetail... "Simple but Intreging" [+]"Simple but Intreging" --Chuckles... "My first IF! An awesome experience :)" [+]"My first IF! An awesome experience :)" --sandrohm... "Laugh Out Loud and fun for IF Beginners" [+]"Laugh Out Loud and fun for IF Beginners: Hysterical!! Interacting with the parser is just like being an Orc!" --marbledRye... "A middle length game with some surprising ideas" [+]"A middle length game with some surprising ideas" ( - Full review) --Jade68... "All-time favorite" [+]"All-time favorite: unforgettable characters and hilarious tone, with very enternating command options" ( - Full review) --egostat... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --perching path... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Kake... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --flatluigi... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --zer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --ensoul... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Shigosei... "I tried it out on..." [+]"I tried it out on some friends of mine who are not even very computer-savvy, and they became engrossed." ( - Full review) --Michael R. Bacon... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Rob Maule... "- Extremely..." [+]"- Extremely polished. - Classic text-adventure structure, but the distinctive narrative voice refreshingly different from old school text adventures. - Fairly easy, and with good hint system." ( ) --RichCheng... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --declain... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Nikos Chantziaras... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --ptkw... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... "This is a..." [+]"This is a wonderful game. Puzzles are awesome" --Agnishom... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --StarSkys... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sdn... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Artran... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Renegade... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --morlock... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Chris Longhurst... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --leanbh... (No comment) [+](No comment) --boogerball... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --tekket... (No comment) [+](No comment) --patrick.brian.mooney... (No comment) [+](No comment) --meadowmower... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karlok... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --WidowDido...  Vote for this game | |
| Bronze, by Emily Short 21 votes "I can't recommend Bronze highly enough." [+]"I can't recommend Bronze highly enough." ( - Full review) --Ron Newcomb... "Good help for beginners; not too hard; interesting story" [+]"Good help for beginners; not too hard; interesting story" --Victor Gijsbers... "Great introduction to exploration-type plots, with "go-to" commands that aid navigation and generally excellent hint system" [+]"Great introduction to exploration-type plots, with "go-to" commands that aid navigation and generally excellent hint system" () --SarahTheEntwife... "Standard, yet special" [+]"Standard, yet special: Standard enough to give an idea of the genre, yet special enough to get the player hooked with IF." --Accatitippi... "brilliant exploration and discovery mechanics in a good story" [+]"brilliant exploration and discovery mechanics in a good story" --zazu... "Designed with beginners in mind." [+]"Designed with beginners in mind." () --mg51... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --perching path... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Dave Chapeskie... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Gemma Bristow... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Rhian Moss... "Without being too..." [+]"Without being too hard, this game offers a solid introduction to "mainstream" IF with an intriguing twist on a traditional tale." --Eric Eve... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Nikos Chantziaras... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Artran... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Hanon Ondricek... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Chris Longhurst... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Xavid... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --lucyclare... (No comment) [+](No comment) --patrick.brian.mooney... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sayeth... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Jade68... Vote for this game | |
| Photopia, by Adam Cadre 19 votes "Thrilling, puzzleless and highly competent" [+]"Thrilling, puzzleless and highly competent: It is almost impossible to get stuck in this game, which makes it very good for newcomers. On top of that, it is a very good piece." --Victor Gijsbers... "Well-written, engaging, moving" [+]"Well-written, engaging, moving" ( ) --Michael L.... "Great speech system" [+]"Great speech system: The best thing about this game is the speech system, which make it easier to talk to people. It's a great beginners game. Plus- It's a fun game. Definitely worth a play." --Mrs. Info-adventurer... "The story guides you along as needed" [+]"The story guides you along as needed: If you spend more than a few turns not making progress, the story will help you." --mjhayes... "Easy, short original game about colours." [+]"Easy, short original game about colours." ( - Full review) --Jade68... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Kake... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --VK... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --alblazek... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Rob Maule... "An emotionally..." [+]"An emotionally engaging story that doesn't faze beginners (to IF or games in general) with puzzles and is generally considered a 'classic' modern IF work" () --Cheryl L... (No comment) [+](No comment) --alkenrinnstet... "A literary work..." [+]"A literary work that gently guides you along, with very easy puzzles that serve more to engage the reader than to pose an obstacle." () --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... "An easy game, if..." [+]"An easy game, if that helps beginners. But to fully appreciate it, both in its content and its historical relevance, you really need to have an understanding of IF." () --Sdn... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Renegade... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --suchamazingdoge... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karlok... Vote for this game | |
| The Dreamhold, by Andrew Plotkin 17 votes "Designed for beginners" [+]"Designed for beginners: Dreamhold walks new players through the basics of IF when they begin and then lets them loose in a polished, forgiving fantasy adventure. Forgettable, but good fun." --Emily Boegheim... "Not too hard" [+]"Not too hard" --Weaver... "A game designed for beginners" [+]"A game designed for beginners: Dreamhold is a game that explains IF, written by the award-winning author Andrew Plotkin. The game has dynamic hints if you get stuck and it explains different commands and possibilities." --DarkWolf... "Designed to tutor..." [+]"Designed to tutor new players, but with lots of optional challenges, and a couple of particularly beautiful images" --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --flatluigi... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Rob Maule... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Nikos Chantziaras... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) --StarSkys... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sdn... "Beautiful fantasy..." [+]"Beautiful fantasy game especially intended for beginning players." --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) --borabosna... (No comment) [+](No comment) --patrick.brian.mooney... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sayeth... (No comment) [+](No comment) --everlastingwonder... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karlok... Vote for this game | |
| 9:05, by Adam Cadre 15 votes "Simple, fun and quick." [+]"Simple, fun and quick." ( - Full review) --Fredrik Ramsberg... "I tried giving this to some people who never played IF, it was a success!" [+]"I tried giving this to some people who never played IF, it was a success!" () --lagran-G-an... "Simple, fun, eye-opening!" [+]"Simple, fun, eye-opening!: Shows the possibilities of IF well to new players. Not too hard to figure out what to do next. Captures the imagination of future writers." () --Sylvia Storm... "Great beginners game!!" [+]"Great beginners game!!: The game is easy enough for beginners, however if you don't know what you're doing, you may wind up just stumbling around. I showed this game to a few of my friends and they got a bit lost trying to find the car. This game is interesting enough that you'll want to come back and make more mistakes, and excite when you do something right. This is actually the game that cemented my love for text adventures and set my personal standard for I.F. games. " --Mrs. Info-adventurer... "Short and easy to get the hang of with a great plot twist" [+]"Short and easy to get the hang of with a great plot twist" --candicorn... "Simple, fun, short piece about a wake up morning in a working day." [+]"Simple, fun, short piece about a wake up morning in a working day." --Jade68... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --RichCheng... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Artran... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sdn... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --morlock... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --TheAncientOne... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --suchamazingdoge... Vote for this game | |
| Wishbringer, by Brian Moriarty 11 votes "Two ways to solve every puzzle" [+]"Two ways to solve every puzzle: ...Just make sure to find the instructions on how to use the stone. Googling "wishbringer" should work. Other than that, it's pretty easy to finish without hints, although familiarity with Zork might help a little. " ( ) --ArtrexDenthur... "Charming" [+]"Charming" () --Robot Marvin... "Made me fall in love with IF" [+]"Made me fall in love with IF" --alblazek... "Enchanting" [+]"Enchanting" () --Ghalev... "Multiple solutions and logical puzzles" [+]"Multiple solutions and logical puzzles: As said above, there are multiple solutions which make the game much more forgiving than many other early IF games. The puzzles are also quite logical and simple, making it perfect for beginners." () --Hulk Handsome... "My favorite IF." [+]"My favorite IF.: The most forgiving, and also the most instantly-engaging Infocom game I have ever had the privilege of playing." () --Matt Bates... "officially introductory" [+]"officially introductory" () --Denk... "Good story and "wishes"" [+]"Good story and "wishes"" --Chuckles... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Form 27b-6... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Nomad... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karlok... Vote for this game | |
| Violet, by Jeremy Freese 10 votes "Polished, contemporary, amusing, and a little romantic" [+]"Polished, contemporary, amusing, and a little romantic" ( - Full review) --Ron Newcomb... "Especially appealing to women, IMHO" [+]"Especially appealing to women, IMHO" --alblazek... "Short, Simple, Funny" [+]"Short, Simple, Funny" --Chris Longhurst... "just one room" [+]"just one room" () --_eMMe_... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --leanbh... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Xavid... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Laney Berry... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Dan Fabulich... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Vulturous... Vote for this game | |
| Blue Lacuna, by Aaron A. Reed 10 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Emily Short... "Contains many..." [+]"Contains many features to make it more accessible to beginners. That said, it is a _big_ game, so only for enthusiastic beginners!" --Victor Gijsbers... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Divide... (No comment) [+](No comment) --baf... (No comment) [+](No comment) --strask... "The most fully..." [+]"The most fully integrated tutorial I've seen. Downside is that it's long." ( - Full review) --The Year Is Yesterday... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sdn... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Renegade... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Dan Fabulich... Vote for this game | |
| Gun Mute, by C.E.J. Pacian 10 votes "Linear" [+]"Linear: Puzzles are easy and teach player how to interact with more complex games." ( ) --Artran... "Simple and efficient" [+]"Simple and efficient" --Fabien Vidal... "Limited verb set, great setting" [+]"Limited verb set, great setting" ( - Full review) --Matt W... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --perching path... "Simple, fun, and..." [+]"Simple, fun, and short." () --baywoof... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sdn... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Chris Longhurst... (No comment) [+](No comment) --itsdnoftheworld... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Vulturous... Vote for this game | |
| Glowgrass, by Nate Cull 8 votes "This is my first pick when introducing someone to IF." [+]"This is my first pick when introducing someone to IF." ( - Full review) --Rovarsson... "This is a nicely..." [+]"This is a nicely written game, not too long and not too hard for beginners, with the particular advantage that it's the game used for Stephen Granade's Brass Lantern article on 'How to Play a Text Adventure'." --Eric Eve... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Grey... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Nikos Chantziaras... "More like an..." [+]"More like an interactive sci-fi story than a game, Glowgrass is a pleasure to go through. It does have puzzles, but they're on the easy side and feel perfectly natural." () --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --morlock... (No comment) [+](No comment) --patrick.brian.mooney... Vote for this game | |
| Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short 7 votes "My absolute favourite IF." [+]"My absolute favourite IF." --Chris Longhurst... "Welcoming and intuitive" [+]"Welcoming and intuitive" ( - Full review) --Lance Cirone... "Many beginner..." [+]"Many beginner friendly features. There's an interactive map; no need for note-taking; a built-in tutorial; extensive help menu; polite on the cruelty scale; puzzles with multiple solutions etc. Plus, it's easily one of the best works out there. " () --Sdn... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Edward Lacey... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Draconis... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Dan Fabulich... Vote for this game | |
| Shade, by Andrew Plotkin 6 votes "Incredible, oddly suspenseful" [+]"Incredible, oddly suspenseful" ( - Full review) --cpuguy... (No comment) [+](No comment) --perching path... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Grey... "Short, quick, and..." [+]"Short, quick, and chilling - a good example of how powerful the medium can be." () --Cheryl L... "Short,..." [+]"Short, essentially puzzleless, and extremely well-written and atmospheric." --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Yes, Another Game with a Dragon!, by John Kean 6 votes "The writing is solid, and all the puzzles can be solved with simple experimentation." [+]"The writing is solid, and all the puzzles can be solved with simple experimentation." ( ) --Pinstripe... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Bernie... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) --StarSkys... "Comprehensive..." [+]"Comprehensive hint system, humorous, and challenging puzzles. " --boogerball... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Babel, by Ian Finley 5 votes "Cohesive, great atmosphere, appropriate length and difficulty for a beginner. " [+]"Cohesive, great atmosphere, appropriate length and difficulty for a beginner. " --Robot Marvin... "Small inventory, clear puzzles, no sudden-death. " [+]"Small inventory, clear puzzles, no sudden-death. : Linear but riveting story with high attention to detail. No quick romp; quite involved but not too difficult." ( ) --Audiart... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Cheryl L... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
| Worlds Apart, by Suzanne Britton 4 votes "Nice help/hint system, "polite", e.g., u can't really get killed. Puzzles weren't outlandish to solve, & hints helped if u get stuck. Wasn't thrilled w/the ending, but perhaps there is more than 1." [+]"Nice help/hint system, "polite", e.g., u can't really get killed. Puzzles weren't outlandish to solve, & hints helped if u get stuck. Wasn't thrilled w/the ending, but perhaps there is more than 1." --AbleTec... (No comment) [+](No comment) --perching path... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Otto... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Laney Berry... Vote for this game | |
| Aisle, by Sam Barlow 4 votes "Only one move" [+]"Only one move: The game is very short but it shows what can be done in the medium." --Sam Jackson... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Teaspoon... Vote for this game | |
| Hunter, in Darkness, by Andrew Plotkin 4 votes "The one which caught me into IF" [+]"The one which caught me into IF: This is the very first game which caught me into IF. The world description felt so natural to me. So, I guess that it would be suited for beginners." ( ) --Fabien Vidal... "Fairly short,..." [+]"Fairly short, challenging without being too hard, and simply a very dramatic and suspenseful game." --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
| 77 Verbs, by MathBrush (as Prismatik) 4 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lance Campbell... (No comment) [+](No comment) --roboman... Vote for this game | |
| Eat Me, by Chandler Groover 4 votes "Beautifully grotesque" [+]"Beautifully grotesque: disgusting details through beautiful prose—Chandler Groover really shines in this work; the puzzles are very straightforward, too" ( - Full review) --egostat... "The prose and..." [+]"The prose and game world are baroque, but the puzzles are fairly easy, due to the heavily restricted parser, and it can't be rendered unwinnable. Be aware that it contains a heavy streak of horror and gross-out contents." () --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) --roboman... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Malasana... Vote for this game | |
| Superluminal Vagrant Twin, by C.E.J. Pacian 3 votes "Non-linear, well..." [+]"Non-linear, well integrated hint system, and SPACESHIPS! Also, no map to mentally track streamlines the experience." --boogerball... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| The Plant, by Michael J. Roberts 3 votes "One of my favorites" [+]"One of my favorites: Michael J. Roberts, the author of TADS, writes some of the most polished games, with a good story and great puzzles. No "guess the verb" nonsense here." ( - Full review) --puzzler... "Flows nicely, bug-free." [+]"Flows nicely, bug-free.: My first lengthy exposure to IF - a fortunate choice, in hindsight." () --fschuhi... "My first IF" [+]"My first IF: A great introduction to the genre -- I speak from experience!" () --Rose... Vote for this game | |
| I-0, by Anonymous 3 votes "Short and silly with multiple paths!" [+]"Short and silly with multiple paths!: A quirky travel story with a couple interesting stops along the way. Allows for experimentation and forces you to pay attention subtly. Supports different paths and play styles." ( ) --Sylvia Storm... "Exploration makes things easy" [+]"Exploration makes things easy: The style of the game makes it very easy to explore and get used to your surroundings and controls before really doing anything. It also has some interactions that most games wouldn't consider, such as kiss. (Most games just say to focus on the mission.) These are the kinds of actions beginners may choose, as they don't know much and are trying to figure out what they're supposed to do." --Mrs. Info-adventurer... "Very hard to make..." [+]"Very hard to make the game completely unwinnable. Sure some paths are very hard (I still haven't figured out the guy at the convenience store thing), but you can switch paths usually to the "easy" one. You can also ditch most items and still find a way to make it home. " ( - Full review) --tggdan3... Vote for this game | |
| Walker & Silhouette, by C.E.J. Pacian 3 votes "Amusing and forgiving." [+]"Amusing and forgiving." ( ) --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| Galatea, by Emily Short 3 votes "Amazing NPC interactions" [+]"Amazing NPC interactions: It's a one-room dialogue-based story that can go in almost any direction. The hints are helpful and concise, and the language is stunning." --gettera... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
| Ether, by MathBrush 3 votes "First parser game I enjoyed" [+]"First parser game I enjoyed: Simple puzzles, solid walkthrough. More details in my review." ( - Full review) --Felicity Banks... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --CMG... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Dawn Sueoka... Vote for this game | |
| Earth and Sky, by Paul O'Brian 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) --patrick.brian.mooney... Vote for this game | |
| Ecdysis, by Peter Nepstad 2 votes "short & sweet" [+]"short & sweet: straightforward lovecraftian horror that experiments with player-character identification." ( - Full review) --lobespear... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Nikos Chantziaras... Vote for this game | |
| Lime Ergot, by Caleb Wilson (as Rust Blight) 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --CMG... "Unusual and..." [+]"Unusual and atmospheric short game that is easy to solve once you get the hang of the gimmick" () --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Castle of the Red Prince, by C.E.J. Pacian 2 votes "Unusual game..." [+]"Unusual game mechanic, but nothing that should impede your progress. Short, well-clued, and the puzzles are easy and logical." ( - Full review) --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --CMG... Vote for this game | |
| Party Foul, by Brooks Reeves 2 votes "has some..." [+]"has some difficult puzzles but a small map and not too many things to interact with that can cause problems. " ( - Full review) --tggdan3... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... Vote for this game | |
| Mrs. Pepper's Nasty Secret, by Jim Aikin and Eric Eve 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Nikos Chantziaras... Vote for this game | |
| rendition, by nespresso 2 votes "esoteric, experimental, but with simple gameplay mechanic" [+]"esoteric, experimental, but with simple gameplay mechanic: easy to pick up and play... one room... not for kids... serious, important subject matter... great demo for IF interactivity." ( ) --lobespear... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --sylvania... Vote for this game | |
| The Magpie Takes the Train, by Mathbrush 2 votes "Beginner-friendly, one-room heist" [+]"Beginner-friendly, one-room heist: I share this with my friends who are new to IF." --BitterlyIndifferent... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Balances, by Graham Nelson 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Nomad... Vote for this game | |
| Dead Like Ants, by C.E.J. Pacian 2 votes "Dark yet cute" [+]"Dark yet cute: amusing interactions, with a well-written environment; the puzzles are easy, and the game is very short" ( ) --egostat... "Interesting,..." [+]"Interesting, well-written story and easy puzzles" --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Suveh Nux, by David Fisher 2 votes "Contains little..." [+]"Contains little of the frustrations that often bother beginning players. Good for puzzle lovers." ( ) --Molly... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| Raising the Flag on Mount Yo Momma, by Juhana Leinonen 1 vote "Simplified..." [+]"Simplified mechanics, fair puzzles, many hints." ( ) --Simon Deimel... Vote for this game | |
| Enhanced Beginners Cave, by Donald Brown and John Nelson 1 vote "Nice introduction to Eamon" [+]"Nice introduction to Eamon: Available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux as part of Eamon Deluxe." ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Asylum, by cpuguy89 1 vote "Short and simple, includes only the most basic commands." [+]"Short and simple, includes only the most basic commands.: Not made specifically for adults, but contains nothing childish either." --cpuguy... Vote for this game | |
| The Blue Lettuce, by Caleb Wilson 1 vote "TALP game" [+]"TALP game" --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| All Hope Abandon, by Eric Eve 1 vote "Very complete..." [+]"Very complete implementation, all sorts of useful verbs ('look north', 'think about <puzzle>', etc.), good story, logical puzzles." ( ) --strask... Vote for this game | |
| Napier's Cache, by Vivienne Dunstan 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Mortlake Manor, by Ben Chenoweth 1 vote "Can't die, but with mazes and a ghost!" [+]"Can't die, but with mazes and a ghost!: This is definitely forgivng: you cannot die and you cannot get to a point where you can't win. But there are mazes and a ghost..." --Ben Chenoweth... Vote for this game | |
| Beware The Faerie Food You Eat, by Astrid Dalmady 1 vote "Got me into IF" [+]"Got me into IF: It's a beautiful game with an intriguing story. It deserves to be played. And it's very friendly with new IF users like I was. It was the first IF work I read and I loved it. I haven't stopped since." --Florencia... Vote for this game | |
| Hunger Daemon, by Sean M. Shore 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --Space Cowboy... Vote for this game | |
| TOMBs of Reschette, by Richard Goodness 1 vote "Twine adventure..." [+]"Twine adventure with more of a world-model than most. Rewards experimentation." ( - Full review) --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Cryptozookeeper, by Robb Sherwin 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Nikos Chantziaras... Vote for this game | |
| The Game Formerly Known as Hidden Nazi Mode, by Victor Gijsbers 1 vote "Quick and easy kid's game" [+]"Quick and easy kid's game: Contrary to its title, "The Game Formally Known as Hidden Nazi Mode" is a game about collecting rabbits. Although the game is limited and generally uninteresting, it's great for beginners and extremely easy." --Mrs. Info-adventurer... Vote for this game | |
| Myriad, by Porpentine 1 vote "Choose Your Own..." [+]"Choose Your Own Adventure story with a great deal of branching." ( ) --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Captain Verdeterre's Plunder, by Ryan Veeder 1 vote "I've successfully introduced people to IF with this game." [+]"I've successfully introduced people to IF with this game.: Only a few commands needed. Easy to navigate. No stubborn puzzle bottlenecks. Even if you finish with a sub-optimal score, you're still very likely to finish, which gives new players confidence that they can beat a parser game." ( ) --CMG... Vote for this game | |
| Dinner Bell, by Jenni Polodna 1 vote "One-room game..." [+]"One-room game with easy puzzles" ( ) --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Moonmist, by Stu Galley, Jim Lawrence 1 vote "Great mystery and atmosphere" [+]"Great mystery and atmosphere: I struggled early on to find a game that was at an introductory level. This was the first game I ever beat and I was so happy. I think it's perfect for beginners." ( ) --Aimski... Vote for this game | |
| Afflicted, by Doug Egan 1 vote "I used this game..." [+]"I used this game to introduce my dad to the medium. I guess I would use a different game with my mom though." ( ) --Ryan Veeder... Vote for this game | |
| Ka, by Dan Efran 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Artran... Vote for this game | |
| Enlightenment, by Taro Ogawa 1 vote "Fun one-room..." [+]"Fun one-room puzzle game. Might be challenging, but nothing unfair or gruellingly difficult." ( ) --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Untold Riches, by Jason Ermer 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Doug Orleans... Vote for this game | |
| Sentient Beings, by Tristin Grizel Dean 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| It Is Pitch Black, by Caelyn Sandel 1 vote "Atmospheric Twine..." [+]"Atmospheric Twine horror, challenging without being frustrating" ( - Full review) --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Being There, by Jordan Magnuson 1 vote "Excellent game for beginners, since you cannot get stuck and the whole aim is just to interact with the environment in every imaginable way." [+]"Excellent game for beginners, since you cannot get stuck and the whole aim is just to interact with the environment in every imaginable way." ( - Full review) --Victor Gijsbers... Vote for this game | |
| Les espions ne meurent jamais, by Hugo Labrande 1 vote "One action per playthrough. Big reward" [+]"One action per playthrough. Big reward: The game is extremelly simple and rewarding, as each playthrough will required one action only. So whatever the player tries, he'll get a juicy (an funny) reward. It is in french, so is very good for french speaking beginners." ( ) --Fabien Vidal... Vote for this game | |
| The Storm, by Stephane F. 1 vote "No puzzle, just..." [+]"No puzzle, just exploration" --Stephane F.... Vote for this game | |
| The Familiar, by groggydog 1 vote "Made for beginners in mind" [+]"Made for beginners in mind" ( - Full review) --manonamora... Vote for this game | |
| The Surprising Case of Brian Timmons, by Marshal Tenner Winter 1 vote "really easy and fun" [+]"really easy and fun" ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| The Lookout, by Paul Michael Winters 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| The Acorn Court, by Todd S. Murchison 1 vote "Well it depends..." [+]"Well it depends what type of beginner. Really beginner or just beginner. If it's really beginner than this one is great" ( - Full review) --Aintelligence... Vote for this game | |
| The Gostak, by Carl Muckenhoupt 1 vote "It may sound odd..." [+]"It may sound odd to recommend this for a beginner — but this is the game that got me back into playing IF after a couple of decades' hiatus. I played "adventure games" as a kid, and had heard about this new rebranding of it as "interactive fiction", but nothing grabbed me until I stumbled on The Gostak. I'm very interested in language and meaning, and it just clicked with me. I think this would be a good suggestion for a beginner who isn't all that excited by the idea of an adventure/roleplaying game, but who's interested in stories/experiences that can't be told/conveyed by traditional means." ( - Full review) --Kake... Vote for this game | |
| De Baron, by Victor Gijsbers 1 vote "It was my own first parser game." [+]"It was my own first parser game." ( ) --CMG... Vote for this game | |
| Dial C for Cupcakes, by Ryan Veeder 1 vote "modern-day setting, fun, not very difficult" [+]"modern-day setting, fun, not very difficult" ( - Full review) --OtisTDog... Vote for this game | |
| Inhumane, by Andrew Plotkin 1 vote "Treasure hunt..." [+]"Treasure hunt parody that is easy to solve and will give you a few laughs along the way." --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| An Act of Murder, by Christopher Huang 1 vote "It's free of puzzles but requires logic to solve" [+]"It's free of puzzles but requires logic to solve: It's excellent fun for those who like murder mystery movies or books" ( - Full review) --ZUrlocker... Vote for this game | |
| The Mystery of Winchester High, by Garry Francis 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --manonamora... Vote for this game | |
| So, You've Never Played a Text Adventure Before, Huh?, by Ryan Veeder 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |