is there a cyoa style of interactive fiction?

i don’t like the idea of puzzles or inventory. i mainly enjoy the reading and the travel parts of cyoa. i did try basic if (the pig story) but i didn’t find it enjoyable because it really was more problem solving then traveling. like asking questions, matching inventory, and solving puzzles. i just want to read the story, and go wherever it takes me. i don’t know if there’s a cyoa (or whatever its called in the hobby) but it would be really nice if a cyoa aspect of if existed.

https://intfiction.org/t/choose-your-own-adventure/1119/1

This thread has a link in it for an in-depth CYOA style internet game.
Also Zork Caverns of Doom is CYOA on the IF Database.

If you’re looking for general puzzlelessness, rather than a strict CYOA format, you might also enjoy games like The Baron or Ecdysis, which are tightly focused on story, and may eschew traditional “puzzles” altogether.

Ecdysis doesn’t have much exploration in it, though - it’s very linear.

What you’re describing sounds like what the original Colossal Cave might have been, before it became an Adventure.

I don’t know of anything off the top of my head that has a big map but not too much puzzle, but then I’m not familiar with the CYOA stuff.

You might try Redemption, though, which mainly consists of a branching conversation.

ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=59d0udoc5ofsg7fj

And Galatea, of course.

ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=urxrv27t7qtu52lb

If you prefer pure CYOA, here’s a link to CYOA games in IFDB: ifdb.tads.org/search?sortby=ratu … tag%3Acyoa

Based on your preferences, I’d suggest The Fire Tower, which is a written trek through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Photopia is the quintessential puzzle-less IF game. Maybe not the first one, but the first one that people really noticed.

Ramases is also puzzle-less, but may be an acquired taste.

Masquerade is a romance game that tries to be puzzle-less, but the implementation may still leave you stuck in places.

Adam Cadre has made a few games with no or simple puzzles such as Interstate Zero and Shrapnel (adult content in both).

Centipede is an exercise in Starship Troopers style science fiction. It’s short and unwinnable, so the fun comes from trying to find different branches and examining your surroundings.

Aisle is a one-move game with no right or wrong answers.

Whom the Telling Changed is apparently very choice based, although I’ve never played it.

Nightfall has simple puzzles, but also accessible hints, and is very focused on exploration.

And then there’s the entire conversation sub-genre, which usually emphasises interacting with characters and following the flow of conversation. (I’m partial to Galatea, August and Pythos’s Mask - although I did get stuck towards the end of that last one.)

That’s a good list, but I would cross Interstate Zero off. The puzzles may be simple, but they’re there, and based on the OP’s post I suspect s/he would find some of them pretty annoying – there’s several instant game overs, and at least one that involves inventory matching

where you’re pretty unlikely to have found the object, though you can always achieve the same effect by screwing an NPC.

I can’t remember whether Floatpoint has any puzzles, but if they do they’re not much past Masquerade-level, and it’s definitely about exploring the world and then choosing what to do. But I guess it might present some obstacles in interaction.

Another one that might be worth looking into is Into the Open Sky from the recent JayIsGames comp. I think there’s a simple puzzle or two, but it’s mostly about exploring the world and uncovering the story. (The author isn’t a native English speaker, and it sometimes shows, but the worldbuilding is nicely done.)

“Best of Three” is a conversation in a coffee shop. You don’t do much as a player but select 1, 2, or 3. The dialogue meanders nicely.