1: Summary
2: What is interactive fiction
3: How do I play
4: How do I download and
    run games
5: Choose platform
6: Download games
7: Download interpreters
Appendix A: Glossary
Appendix B: Links
Appendix C: Credits
Appendix D: Copyright
Appendix E: About
Appendix F: Guestbook

A Beginner's Guide to Playing Interactive Fiction

Step 6: Download games

Computer platform:PocketPC

Important notes:

  • Don't just look at which rewards the games have won - All of the games below are good. Find a game whose description makes you want to play it instead.
  • All if games are eligible for Xyzzy Awards. not all games enter the rec.arts.int-fiction competition. Some of the games are so new that they haven't had a chance to receive any awards yet.
  • The games are listed in alphabetical order.
  • Many games have built-in hints.
  • Don't use hints or solutions unless you're so stuck that you'll either get help or stop playing the game entirely.
  • You can usually get hints or answers to specific questions on rec.games.int-fiction. See Links.


Choose a game:


Aayela
 You go on a quest to find a legendary stone. The stone lies in a dark cave, where your eyes won't be of any use to you. This makes for original gameplay. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (108KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

All Roads
 1st place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 2001
Winner, Best Game, Xyzzy Awards 2001
Winner, Best Story, Xyzzy Awards 2001
Winner, Best Setting, Xyzzy Awards 2001

Supernatural espionage thriller. Clever story, not much puzzles. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (168KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Arrival, or Attack of the B-Movie Clichés
 4th place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 1998

Aliens land in your backyard. Being 8 years old, you can't even convince your parents that the aliens are actually there. Uses graphics and sounds. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (852KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Augmented Fourth
 Humorous game in a fantasy setting, with good and not too hard puzzles. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (351KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Babel
 2nd place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 1997
Winner, Best Story, Xyzzy Awards 1997

You wake up with amnesia in an abandoned research station in the Arctic. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (454KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
Hints
Solution
 
 

A Bear's Night Out
 5th place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 1997
Winner, Best Setting, Xyzzy Awards 1997

You play a teddy bear who comes to life when the people in the house are all asleep. Known to be both appealing and suitable for children, and no less so for adults. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (107KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

City of Secrets
 Winner, Best NPCs, Xyzzy Awards 2003

You're a traveler whose train makes a short, unscheduled, stop in "the City." At least, you thought it'd be short. Written with beginners in mind. Quite big, but not difficult. Can be played both with and without graphics. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (6994KB)   Required
Glulx interpreter  Required
 
 

Common Ground
 You play the same scene three times, from three different characters' point of view. Few puzzles, but rich in character interaction. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (256KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
 
 

The Dreamhold
 You wake up with amnesia in a very strange place. Written explicitly for beginners - the game will often suggest things to try, in order to teach the player how to play an IF game. Also has an 'expert mode' which makes it play like a regular game. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (378KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
 
 

The Edifice
 1st place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 1997
Winner, Best Puzzles, Xyzzy Awards 1997
Winner, Best Individual Puzzle, Xyzzy Awards 1997

You start out as a prehistoric man who encounters a large, strange stone. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (177KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Exhibition
 5th place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 1999

You play four different characters walking around at an art exhibition. Rather unlike a game, but contains masterful writing. You can't really win or lose; you can just experience, and in a way shape, the story. Warning: A 4MB download, because game contains much sound data. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (4270KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
 
 

Fallacy of Dawn
 Winner, Best Individual NPC, Xyzzy Awards 2001
Winner, Best Writing, Xyzzy Awards 2001

You play a strange, brain damaged character, making a living in a video arcade in a near-future dystopian city. Has graphics. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (5765KB)   Required
Hugo interpreter  Required
 
 

Film at Eleven
 You play a television reporter on your first big assignment. Rather simple puzzles, and the game often allows for multiple different solutions. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (112KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Fine-Tuned
 You play Troy Sterling, a daredevil hero in the childhood of the automobile. Well written and with lots of humour. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (287KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Firebird
 Based on Russian folk tales, sprinkled with lots of humour and good, yet not to difficult puzzles. Known to be both appealing and suitable for children, and no less so for adults. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (341KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

For a Change
 Winner, Best Writing, Xyzzy Awards 1999
2nd place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 1999

Imaginative and innovative game. Part of the problem-solving in the game is figuring out the very special language used. It's English, but a weird flavour. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (89KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
 
 

Galatea
 Best of Show, 2000 IF Art Show
Winner, Best Individual NPC, Xyzzy Awards 2000

Retells the myth of Pygmalion, the sculptor whose statue came to life. The game consists entirely of a conversation with the statue, who is certainly the most elaborate character ever put in an IF game. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (259KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
 
 

Glowgrass
 3rd place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 1997

A short science fiction story. You are on an expedition to recover artifacts of "the Ancients". Known to be both appealing and suitable for children, and no less so for adults. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (144KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
 
 

Kaged
 1st place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 2000

A dystopian sci-fi story with a rich atmosphere. Has good graphics. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (1003KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
Hints
Solution
 
 

The Light: Shelby's Addendum
 A scary mystery set around an old lighthouse. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (193KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Masquerade
 A romantic story set in the 19th century. The game is rather linear most of the time, but there are many different endings. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (220KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
 
 

Metamorphoses
 2nd place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 2000
Winner, Best Writing, Xyzzy Awards 2000

You're a slave girl on a mission for your master. Rich story and good puzzles. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (173KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

My Angel
 Winner, Best Story, Xyzzy Awards 2000

A complicated plot around a very special relationship. Nice puzzles, neatly intervowen with the story. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (251KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Once and Future
 Winner, Best NPCs, Xyzzy Awards 1998

You start out as a soldier in Vietnam, but you'll be out of there sooner than you had imagined. One of the biggest IF games ever written. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (465KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

The One That Got Away
 3rd place, TADS, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 1995

A story about fishing. Your goal is to catch the Big One. Few and simple puzzles, and some good writing. Known to be both appealing and suitable for children, and no less so for adults. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (59KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Photopia
 1st place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 1998
Winner, Best Writing, Xyzzy Awards 1998
Winner, Best Story, Xyzzy Awards 1998

Intriguing story without puzzles. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (189KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Pytho's Mask
 Winner, Best NPCs, Xyzzy Awards 2002

Intrigue. Romance. Magic. And a man in a dark mask.

Pytho's Mask tries to provide as many routes to success as possible. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (286KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
 
 

Rameses
 Winner, Best Individual PC, Xyzzy Awards 2000

A puzzleless story about a silent, unhappy teenager at a board school. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (160KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
 
 

Shade
 Winner, Best Setting, Xyzzy Awards 2000

A one-room game set in your apartment. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (106KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
 
 

She's Got a Thing for a Spring
 4th place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 1997
Winner, Best Individual NPC, Xyzzy Awards 1997

You are to meet your husband at a hot spring in the Rocky Mountains. Great writing, easy puzzles. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (250KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Shrapnel
 Winner, Best Use of Medium, Xyzzy Awards 2000

A short, dark, violent and puzzleless story. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (96KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
 
 

Spur
 Great writing in a Western setting. You start off in a gunfight, not knowing why you are there. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (180KB)   Required
Hugo interpreter  Required
 
 

Theatre
 A horror story, set in an old theatre. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (182KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Uncle Zebulon's Will
 1st place, TADS, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 1995

A nice game with a bit of magic in it. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (85KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Unnkulian Underworld: The Unknown Unventure
 A spoof of the classical dungeon crawl adventures, like Zork. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (168KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Vacation Gone Awry
 You wake up to find that your family is gone. Then it gets worse. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (256KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Varicella
 Winner, Best Game, Xyzzy Awards 1999
Winner, Best NPCs, Xyzzy Awards 1999
Winner, Best Individual NPC, Xyzzy Awards 1999
Winner, Best Individual PC, Xyzzy Awards 1999

A very dark and yet humorous story about intrigue around the throne following the king's death. Not particulary suitable for children. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (490KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
Solution
 
 

Winter Wonderland
 1st place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 1999

About a little girl who stumbles into a fantasy world. Aimed at both kids and adults. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (186KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required
 
 

Worlds Apart
 Winner, Best Story, Xyzzy Awards 1999

A very rich and detailed story, where you start by waking up on a strange beach with amnesia. Excellent writing and puzzles. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (605KB)   Required
TADS2 interpreter  Required
 
 

YAGWAD ("Yes, Another Game with a Dragon!")
 A spoof of Zork-like fantasy games. Well written and with a surprising air of freshness over it, considering it's in a somewhat over-populated genre. 
 
Downloads:
 Game file (164KB)   Required
Zcode interpreter  Required