Comedy that works

Recommendations by Emily Short

Light-hearted, well-paced interactive humor.

1. To Hell in a Hamper
by J. J. Guest
(2003)
Average member rating: (112 ratings)

Emily Short says:

A one-room puzzle game with lots of quirky charm.

2. Gourmet
by Aaron A. Reed and Chad Barb
(2003)
Average member rating: (53 ratings)

Emily Short says:

You have a kitchen to run and a lobster for an arch-nemesis. What could go wrong?

3. Paint!!!, by David Whyld (2004)
Average member rating: (8 ratings)
Emily Short says:

The absurd humor of this game will probably not be to everyone's taste. Still, it's a sound entry in the it-just-keeps-getting-worse school of comedy.

4. The Tale of the Kissing Bandit
by J. Robinson Wheeler (as 'Cary Valentino')
(2001)
Average member rating: (46 ratings)

Emily Short says:

Goofy and sweet.

5. Being Andrew Plotkin
by J. Robinson Wheeler
(2000)
Average member rating: (55 ratings)

Emily Short says:

An oddly effective parody of both Being John Malkovich and interactive fiction tropes. I am not always a great fan of IF whose whole point is to spoof other IF, but BAP has plenty of verve and spirit of its own.

6. Sting of the Wasp, by Jason Devlin (2004)
Average member rating: (35 ratings)
Emily Short says:

A darkly funny day in the life of a scheming socialite.

7. ASCII and the Argonauts
by J. Robinson Wheeler
(2003)
Average member rating: (17 ratings)

Emily Short says:

A spoof of Scott Adams games and old-school convention, but it turns out to be remarkably tight, funny, and playable. The puzzles are (deliberately) unfair, but after a few plays everything fits together in a pleasingly solid way.

8. Fine-Tuned
by Dennis Jerz
(2001)
Average member rating: (21 ratings)

Emily Short says:

Melodrama and adventure in the age of the earliest automobiles. It's terrific fun, at least until the later acts: this game was never completely finished. So be warned. But the opening segments are so entertaining that you may find them worth your time anyway.

9. You are a Chef!, by Dan Shiovitz (2000)
Average member rating: (49 ratings)
Emily Short says:

Absurd, inexplicable, endearing. Very very brief.

10. Dinner with Andre, by Liza Daly (2000)
Average member rating: (21 ratings)
Emily Short says:

A short puzzle comedy about misadventures in dating.

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

Emily Short says:

A medium-length humorous puzzle game themed (unusually) around music.

12. Adventurer's Consumer Guide
by Øyvind Thorsby
(2007)
Average member rating: (31 ratings)

Emily Short says:

A medium-to-long puzzle game with lots of easter eggs and richly thought-out implementation, even though object descriptions are omitted.

13. Arrival, or Attack of the B-Movie Clichés
by Stephen Granade
(1998)
Average member rating: (32 ratings)

Emily Short says:

Spoof science fiction, with entertaining HTML-TADS graphics.

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

Emily Short says:

A terrific little fantasy puzzle game, with a memorable protagonist and side characters. Beautifully polished.

15. Gun Mute
by C.E.J. Pacian
(2008)
Average member rating: (153 ratings)

Emily Short says:

Half funny, half touching: in form Gun Mute is a combat puzzle game, but what makes it such fun are the interactions with your allies and opponents, all of them characterized with crazy quirks.

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