IFDB Top 100 (2015-06-26)

Playing Game Hints
21

I’ll stand beside you in weirdness because I liked Zork Zero, too. Though Zork II was my favourite. I’m a sucker for Alice in Wonderland references.

22

Good point. I assumed the Top 50 would be more similar to a list sorted only on the amount of five star ratings on IFDB. It turns out the median deviation when comparing those two is 12.5 though.

I am a bit ambivalent about the value of the IMDb Top 250 actually. Many of the users there set a 1 or 10 star rating just to change the average as much as possible. The main problem is however as you point out that people have different tastes. To anyone who understands Swedish I wholeheartedly recommend filmtipset.se, a site that does an excellent job predicting what films you will like based on your previous ratings. IFDB has this feature too, but I think the volume of ratings might be too low for it to function optimally.

It seems the distribution of ratings in the IFComp and on IFDB sometimes differ quite a lot. This blog post shows some interesting statistics about it.

23

Fair point. Technically, it would apply to most of the older comp games written well before the IFDB was created–many of the votes on those games would come from people motivated to play them. But with The Gostak, more than with most games, if you have any information in advance, you probably know whether it’s your cup of tea.

24

And the odd-size-liquid-container puzzle and the don’t-take-the-last-stone puzzle and the lady-or-the-tiger puzzle, and let’s not even get into the riddles.

(Also, was it possible to win Double Fanucci without the “indefensible gambit”? I’ve always assumed that the game was rigged so that you’d never win without it. Maybe I’m wrong.)

25

I think the Double Fanucci “indefensible gambit” might have been feelie copy protection. I think this is the game that came with a GUE calendar which had trivia, and one of the trivia items was some famous DF player who couldn’t remember that an indefensible gambit was (some card) played immediately after three discards of trebled fromps. (Something like that). I sincerely doubt there’s any way to actually win the game otherwise. Perhaps it could be considered a very well-disguised faux-maze puzzle. Or at very minimum, Mornington Crescent.

26

It had the calendar, yeah, which was mammoth copy protection and contained other critical information. ZZ is probably the Infocom game to most rely on feelies, if you consider the number of puzzles the feelies refer to.

I doubt you could win Double Fannucci without that indefensible gambit, too.

It really was a mammoth of a game. Like it or lump it (and its gratuitous puzzles - Meretzky, man, you really should have known better at that stage! - are definitely in the LUMP cathegory), you have to admire it. Gargantuous.

EDIT - Then again, modern adventures also enjoy sticking in too many gratuitous, non-game-related puzzles just because. Maybe ZZ was pioneering the technique! In true GUE style!

27

Zork Zero was the first IF game I played! It is also the only Zork game I’ve ever played for more than ten turns. I put a lot of hours and replays into into it but I don’t think I ever finished it – my vague recollection is that an unwinnable state involving flies was the final turnoff for me.

28

I decided to automate the list creation completely and keep an updated version here.

29

That’s very nice! But surely it won’t update itself over time… will it? That’s not possible, is it?

30

It will be kept updated by a script running on a computer of mine. The script is only run once a week, since I do not want to load the IFDB server too much. Updating involves scraping a lot of pages.

31

You may already know this, but the IFDB’s MySQL database is dumped to the Archive every 3 months: ifarchive.org/indexes/if-archiveXinfoXifdb.html It’s easier to process than scraping the web site directly and doesn’t stress the server, although it’s not real time data.

32

Thanks for pointing it out, I did not know about those dumps. Perhaps I should use them instead of scraping. Things does not change that much in three months anyway.

Edit: I just realized that I can get the relevant data from XML versions of browse pages. This reduces the amount of HTML requests greatly, why the strain on the server no longer should be a concern.

33

First, great to see this list! I’d be curious about a top 150 or 200 even, if only because…well…one of my games must’ve gotten close. I suspect there are a lot of games just below the threshold, because that’s how random distributions work, bell curve yada yada.

Now to specific games:

Hey! Don’t forget the nim puzzle! The nim puzzle made me groan. Maybe because I’d been able to solve a lot of the other canonical puzzles, but this one stopped me cold, and then I faceplanted on the story-based stuff that wasn’t copy protection.

It did, however, help me understand nim and, to a certain extent, mathematical induction.

And I did appreciate the explanation of the peg puzzle, too.

Of course, it’s plastered all over the internet now, and it didn’t jibe with the story, but it was fun to be able to get through a good chunk of a Zork game on my own. Unfortunately, ZZ doesn’t feel fully replayable, because of that–I remember too many of the puzzles, and there’s a trap or two where you can’t win the game, and that gets in the way of the crazy imagination and the jester being wonderfully obnoxious.

Or look at it this way–the peg puzzle is one where I recall the positions I want and the general ideas, but it’s not in the flow of the game. That’s markedly different from Beyond Zork, where a time travel type puzzle is one I don’t quite remember with all the other cool stuff going on, but I recall the basic idea, so it’s fun to walk through it again.

34

You’ve just described in a handful of words why I hate puzzles like this. It rips me out of the game, out of the flow of the game and the mindset necessary for progressing that far, and strands me in a compartmentalised little box from which I can’t go out and play the game I like until I get past this bit I don’t.

Zork Zero and Black Dahlia are, to my mind, the worst offenders.

Now, in a game that is ALL about those puzzles, like Myst or Aura, that’s another matter entirely. The game is about the puzzles, so bring them on! But these things intruding in the middle of a nice adventure game? Pshaw! Pshaw, I say! With a very strong P!

35

Here are all 384 works with at least nine ratings and an average higher than the mean rating on all of IFDB. The two games of yours with enough ratings are indeed on the list.

[spoiler]1. 4.61 Counterfeit Monkey (2012) by Emily Short (51 votes)

  1. 4.61 Anchorhead (1998) by Michael Gentry (230 votes)
  2. 4.43 Lost Pig (2007) by Admiral Jota (277 votes)
  3. 4.40 Worlds Apart (1999) by Suzanne Britton (61 votes)
  4. 4.38 Violet (2008) by Jeremy Freese (223 votes)
  5. 4.36 Trinity (1986) by Brian Moriarty (62 votes)
  6. 4.35 Planetfall (1983) by Steve Meretzky (81 votes)
  7. 4.33 Hadean Lands (2014) by Andrew Plotkin (18 votes)
  8. 4.32 Spider and Web (1998) by Andrew Plotkin (186 votes)
  9. 4.32 The Mulldoon Legacy (1999) by Jon Ingold (28 votes)
  10. 4.32 Blue Lacuna (2008) by Aaron A. Reed (72 votes)
  11. 4.31 Photopia (1998) by Adam Cadre (373 votes)
  12. 4.30 Savoir-Faire (2002) by Emily Short (78 votes)
  13. 4.27 City of Secrets (2003) by Emily Short (75 votes)
  14. 4.26 Bronze (2006) by Emily Short (152 votes)
  15. 4.23 Slouching Towards Bedlam (2003) by Star Foster and Daniel Ravipinto (135 votes)
  16. 4.23 Metamorphoses (2000) by Emily Short (78 votes)
  17. 4.19 Coloratura (2013) by Lynnea Glasser (43 votes)
  18. 4.19 Suveh Nux (2007) by David Fisher (136 votes)
  19. 4.18 Enchanter (1983) by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling (62 votes)
  20. 4.17 Flexible Survival (2010) by Nuku Valente (20 votes)
  21. 4.16 Endless, Nameless (2012) by Adam Cadre (22 votes)
  22. 4.15 Make It Good (2009) by Jon Ingold (51 votes)
  23. 4.14 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1984) by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky (130 votes)
  24. 4.11 Eric the Unready (1993) by Bob Bates (25 votes)
  25. 4.11 Babel (1997) by Ian Finley (105 votes)
  26. 4.09 80 DAYS (2014) by inkle, Meg Jayanth (11 votes)
  27. 4.09 Mentula Macanus: Apocolocyntosis (2011) by One of the Bruces and Drunken Bastard (22 votes)
  28. 4.06 The Gostak (2001) by Carl Muckenhoupt (41 votes)
  29. 4.05 Varicella (1999) by Adam Cadre (85 votes)
  30. 4.05 A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985) by Steve Meretzky (70 votes)
  31. 4.04 Vespers (2005) by Jason Devlin (101 votes)
  32. 4.04 Spellbreaker (1985) by Dave Lebling (35 votes)
  33. 4.03 The Guild of Thieves (1987) by Rob Steggles (17 votes)
  34. 4.03 Adventurer’s Consumer Guide (2007) by Øyvind Thorsby (20 votes)
  35. 4.03 Jigsaw (1995) by Graham Nelson (57 votes)
  36. 4.03 The Lurking Horror (1987) by Dave Lebling (63 votes)
  37. 4.02 The King of Shreds and Patches (2009) by Jimmy Maher (44 votes)
  38. 4.01 Leather Goddesses of Phobos (1986) by Steve Meretzky (51 votes)
  39. 4.01 All Things Devours (2004) by half sick of shadows (58 votes)
  40. 4.01 Curses! (1993) by Graham Nelson (82 votes)
  41. 4.00 Augmented Fourth (2000) by Brian Uri! (44 votes)
  42. 4.00 Bee (2012) by Emily Short (44 votes)
  43. 4.00 Sorcerer (1984) by Steve Meretzky (38 votes)
  44. 4.00 Stationfall (1987) by Steve Meretzky (30 votes)
  45. 3.99 Treasures of a Slaver’s Kingdom (2007) by S. John Ross (24 votes)
  46. 3.99 18 Cadence (2013) by Aaron A. Reed (13 votes)
  47. 3.99 The Axolotl Project (2013) by Samantha Vick (11 votes)
  48. 3.98 Christminster (1995) by Gareth Rees (64 votes)
  49. 3.97 Nightfall (2008) by Eric Eve (37 votes)
  50. 3.97 Kerkerkruip (2011) by Victor Gijsbers (36 votes)
  51. 3.97 Blighted Isle (2007) by Eric Eve (33 votes)
  52. 3.97 Gateway (1992) by Mike Verdu, Michael Lindner, and Glen Dahlgren (25 votes)
  53. 3.96 To Hell in a Hamper (2003) by J. J. Guest (69 votes)
  54. 3.96 Zork Zero (1988) by Steve Meretzky (42 votes)
  55. 3.95 Fallacy of Dawn (2001) by Robb Sherwin (16 votes)
  56. 3.94 Suspended (1983) by Michael Berlyn (29 votes)
  57. 3.94 Gun Mute (2008) by C. E. J. Pacian (92 votes)
  58. 3.93 Dual Transform (2010) by Andrew Plotkin (69 votes)
  59. 3.93 Not Just An Ordinary Ballerina (1999) by Jim Aikin (23 votes)
  60. 3.93 Shade (2000) by Andrew Plotkin (267 votes)
  61. 3.93 Arthur (1989) by Bob Bates (22 votes)
  62. 3.92 9:05 (2000) by Adam Cadre (324 votes)
  63. 3.91 CYBERQUEEN (2012) by Porpentine (26 votes)
  64. 3.91 Alabaster (2009) by John Cater, Rob Dubbin, Eric Eve, Elizabeth Heller, Jayzee, Kazuki Mishima, Sarah Morayati, Mark Musante, Emily Short, Adam Thornton, Ziv Wities (80 votes)
  65. 3.90 The Shadow in the Cathedral (2009) by Ian Finley and Jon Ingold (12 votes)
  66. 3.90 Wishbringer (1985) by Brian Moriarty (69 votes)
  67. 3.89 Cryptozookeeper (2011) by Robb Sherwin (11 votes)
  68. 3.89 Exhibition (1999) by Ian Finley (20 votes)
  69. 3.89 Pytho’s Mask (2001) by Emily Short (56 votes)
  70. 3.89 Horse Master (2013) by Tom McHenry (37 votes)
  71. 3.89 With Those We Love Alive (2014) by Porpentine and Brenda Neotenomie (28 votes)
  72. 3.89 You Will Select a Decision (2013) by Brendan Patrick Hennessy (28 votes)
  73. 3.89 Beyond Zork (1987) by Brian Moriarty (36 votes)
  74. 3.88 Six (2011) by Wade Clarke (27 votes)
  75. 3.88 Plundered Hearts (1987) by Amy Briggs (43 votes)
  76. 3.88 Hunger Daemon (2014) by Sean M. Shore (26 votes)
  77. 3.88 Rover’s Day Out (2009) by Jack Welch and Ben Collins-Sussman (33 votes)
  78. 3.88 Ad Verbum (2000) by Nick Montfort (97 votes)
  79. 3.87 Delightful Wallpaper (2006) by Andrew Plotkin (‘Edgar O. Weyrd’) (56 votes)
  80. 3.87 Ollie Ollie Oxen Free (2013) by Carolyn VanEseltine (16 votes)
  81. 3.87 Hunter, in Darkness (1999) by Andrew Plotkin (94 votes)
  82. 3.87 First Draft of the Revolution (2012) by Emily Short, Liza Daly and inkle (23 votes)
  83. 3.86 Robin & Orchid (2013) by Ryan Veeder and Emily Boegheim (29 votes)
  84. 3.86 Gateway 2: Homeworld (1993) by Mike Verdu and Glen Dahlgren (14 votes)
  85. 3.86 ULTRA BUSINESS TYCOON III (2013) by Porpentine (28 votes)
  86. 3.86 Tales of the Traveling Swordsman (2006) by Mike Snyder (35 votes)
  87. 3.86 Rematch (2000) by Andrew D. Pontious (49 votes)
  88. 3.86 Spellcasting 101 - Sorcerers Get All The Girls (1990) by Steve Meretzky (20 votes)
  89. 3.86 Lists and Lists (1996) by Andrew Plotkin (13 votes)
  90. 3.85 Child’s Play (2006) by Stephen Granade (40 votes)
  91. 3.85 Sunset Over Savannah (1997) by Ivan Cockrum (40 votes)
  92. 3.85 So Far (1996) by Andrew Plotkin (59 votes)
  93. 3.85 Moments Out of Time (2001) by L. Ross Raszewski (12 votes)
  94. 3.84 First Things First (2001) by J. Robinson Wheeler (11 votes)
  95. 3.84 Raising the Flag on Mount Yo Momma (2010) by Juhana Leinonen (11 votes)
  96. 3.84 The Elysium Enigma (2006) by Eric Eve (60 votes)
  97. 3.84 Dinner Bell (2012) by Jenni Polodna (29 votes)
  98. 3.84 LASH – Local Asynchronous Satellite Hookup (2000) by Paul O’Brian (29 votes)
  99. 3.84 For a Change (1999) by Dan Schmidt (72 votes)
  100. 3.84 Taco Fiction (2011) by Ryan Veeder (47 votes)
  101. 3.83 Aotearoa (2010) by Matt Wigdahl (39 votes)
  102. 3.83 Heroes (2001) by Sean Barrett (15 votes)
  103. 3.83 Insight (2003) by Jon Ingold (15 votes)
  104. 3.82 Dangerous Curves (2000) by Irene Callaci (19 votes)
  105. 3.82 Firebird (1998) by Bonnie Montgomery (19 votes)
  106. 3.81 Rameses (2000) by Stephen Bond (87 votes)
  107. 3.81 my father’s long, long legs (2013) by michael lutz (39 votes)
  108. 3.81 The Moonlit Tower (2002) by Yoon Ha Lee (44 votes)
  109. 3.81 Little Blue Men (1998) by Michael S. Gentry (54 votes)
  110. 3.80 howling dogs (2012) by Porpentine (53 votes)
  111. 3.80 De Baron (2006) by Victor Gijsbers (114 votes)
  112. 3.80 The Plant (1998) by Michael J. Roberts (27 votes)
  113. 3.80 Floatpoint (2006) by Emily Short (77 votes)
  114. 3.80 Aisle (1999) by Sam Barlow (191 votes)
  115. 3.79 KING OF BEES IN FANTASY LAND (2013) by Brendan Patrick Hennessy (16 votes)
  116. 3.79 Invisible Parties (2014) by Sam Kabo Ashwell (as Psychopup) (11 votes)
  117. 3.79 Perdition’s Flames (1993) by Michael J. Roberts (11 votes)
  118. 3.79 Zork II (1981) by Dave Lebling, Marc Blank (63 votes)
  119. 3.79 The Primrose Path (2006) by Nolan Bonvouloir (25 votes)
  120. 3.79 Return to Ditch Day (2005) by M.J. Roberts (20 votes)
  121. 3.79 The Edifice (1997) by Lucian P. Smith (62 votes)
  122. 3.79 Delusions (1996) by C. E. Forman (29 votes)
  123. 3.79 the uncle who works for nintendo (2014) by michael lutz (29 votes)
  124. 3.78 The Dreamhold (2004) by Andrew Plotkin (102 votes)
  125. 3.78 The Ebb and Flow of the Tide (2006) by Peter Nepstad (10 votes)
  126. 3.78 Sorcery! (2013) by Steve Jackson and inkle (10 votes)
  127. 3.78 Textfire Golf (2001) by Adam Cadre (19 votes)
  128. 3.78 Fail-Safe (2000) by Jon Ingold (68 votes)
  129. 3.78 Theatre (1995) by Brendon Wyber (59 votes)
  130. 3.78 PataNoir (2011) by Simon Christiansen (32 votes)
  131. 3.77 Beyond (2005) by Roberto Grassi, Paolo Lucchesi, and Alessandro Peretti (35 votes)
  132. 3.77 Bad Machine (1998) by Dan Shiovitz (9 votes)
  133. 3.77 Ekphrasis (2006) by JB (9 votes)
  134. 3.77 The Worm in Paradise (1985) by Mike Austin, Nick Austin, Pete Austin, and James Horsler (9 votes)
  135. 3.77 Dead Like Ants (2009) by C.E.J. Pacian (39 votes)
  136. 3.77 Chlorophyll (2015) by Steph Cherrywell (13 votes)
  137. 3.76 An Act of Murder (2007) by Christopher Huang (59 votes)
  138. 3.76 Arrival, or Attack of the B-Movie Clichés (1998) by Stephen Granade (25 votes)
  139. 3.75 1893: A World’s Fair Mystery (2002) by Peter Nepstad (12 votes)
  140. 3.75 Almost Goodbye (2012) by Aaron A Reed (12 votes)
  141. 3.75 :heart: Magical Makeover :heart: (2014) by S. Woodson (16 votes)
  142. 3.74 The Chinese Room (2007) by Harry Giles and Joey Jones (23 votes)
  143. 3.74 Yes, Another Game with a Dragon! (2000) by John Kean (19 votes)
  144. 3.74 Weird City Interloper (2014) by C.E.J. Pacian (15 votes)
  145. 3.74 Lord Bellwater’s Secret (2007) by Sam Gordon (50 votes)
  146. 3.74 Rogue of the Multiverse (2010) by C.E.J. Pacian (50 votes)
  147. 3.74 Galatea (2000) by Emily Short (195 votes)
  148. 3.73 Creatures Such As We (2014) by Lynnea Glasser (29 votes)
  149. 3.73 Guess the Verb! (2000) by Leonard Richardson (25 votes)
  150. 3.73 Kaged (2000) by Ian Finley (36 votes)
  151. 3.73 Andromeda Dreaming (2012) by Joey Jones (10 votes)
  152. 3.73 Pirate’s Plunder! (2010) by Tiberius Thingamus (10 votes)
  153. 3.73 Nord and Bert Couldn’t Make Head or Tail of It (1987) by Jeff O’Neill (43 votes)
  154. 3.73 All Roads (2001) by Jon Ingold (112 votes)
  155. 3.72 A Cold Grave (2013) by Mike Michalik (13 votes)
  156. 3.71 Blue Chairs (2004) by Chris Klimas (79 votes)
  157. 3.71 Starcross (1982) by Dave Lebling (30 votes)
  158. 3.71 Solarium (2013) by Alan DeNiro (23 votes)
  159. 3.71 Andromeda Apocalypse — Extended Edition (2012) by Marco Innocenti (16 votes)
  160. 3.71 Coming Out Simulator 2014 (2014) by Nicky Case (16 votes)
  161. 3.71 Knight Orc (1987) by Pete Austin (16 votes)
  162. 3.71 Glowgrass (1997) by Nate Cull (68 votes)
  163. 3.71 The Hobbit (1983) by Philip Mitchell and Veronika Megler (19 votes)
  164. 3.71 IFDB Spelunking (2012) by Joey Jones (12 votes)
  165. 3.70 Walker & Silhouette (2009) by C.E.J. Pacian (35 votes)
  166. 3.70 Zork I (1980) by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling (141 votes)
  167. 3.70 The Meteor, The Stone And A Long Glass Of Sherbet (1996) by Graham Nelson (as Angela M. Horns) (38 votes)
  168. 3.70 Shelter from the Storm (2009) by Eric Eve (18 votes)
  169. 3.69 Zork III (1982) by Dave Lebling, Marc Blank (50 votes)
  170. 3.69 Damnatio Memoriae (2006) by Emily Short (37 votes)
  171. 3.69 Fish! (1988) by John Molloy, Pete Kemp, Phil South, Rob Steggles (11 votes)
  172. 3.69 Save the Date (2013) by Chris Cornell (11 votes)
  173. 3.68 The Play (2011) by Deirdra Kiai (32 votes)
  174. 3.67 Janitor (2002) by Peter Seebach and Kevin Lynn (19 votes)
  175. 3.67 Fragile Shells (2010) by Stephen Granade (31 votes)
  176. 3.67 Deadline (1982) by Marc Blank (37 votes)
  177. 3.67 A Bear’s Night Out (1997) by David Dyte (46 votes)
  178. 3.67 Lock & Key (2002) by Adam Cadre (55 votes)
  179. 3.67 Shrapnel (2000) by Adam Cadre (127 votes)
  180. 3.66 Till Death Makes a Monk-Fish Out of Me (2002) by Mike Sousa and Jon Ingold (27 votes)
  181. 3.66 Bigger Than You Think (2012) by Andrew Plotkin (24 votes)
  182. 3.66 Party Foul (2010) by Brooks Reeves (21 votes)
  183. 3.66 Losing Your Grip (1998) by Stephen Granade (15 votes)
  184. 3.66 Transfer (2000) by Tod Levi (15 votes)
  185. 3.66 At Wit’s End (2000) by Mike Sousa (12 votes)
  186. 3.66 Toby’s Nose (2015) by Chandler Groover (9 votes)
  187. 3.66 Deadline Enchanter (2007) by Alan DeNiro (41 votes)
  188. 3.65 Hoosegow (2010) by Ben Collins-Sussman, Jack Welch (26 votes)
  189. 3.65 Ex Nihilo (2013) by Juhana Leinonen (23 votes)
  190. 3.65 The Weapon (2001) by Sean Barrett (20 votes)
  191. 3.64 Corruption (1988) by Rob Steggles, Hugh Steers (14 votes)
  192. 3.64 Lost New York (1996) by Neil deMause (14 votes)
  193. 3.64 Final Selection (2006) by Sam Gordon (11 votes)
  194. 3.64 Hoist Sail for the Heliopause and Home (2010) by Andrew Plotkin (61 votes)
  195. 3.64 Whom The Telling Changed (2005) by Aaron A. Reed (47 votes)
  196. 3.63 Degeneracy (2001) by Leonard Richardson (13 votes)
  197. 3.63 Zero Sum Game (1997) by Cody Sandifer (13 votes)
  198. 3.62 August (2001) by Matt Fendahleen (18 votes)
  199. 3.62 Everybody Dies (2008) by Jim Munroe (71 votes)
  200. 3.62 Geist - An Interactive Geek Horror (2014) by Dave Bernazzani, Dean Svendsen, Jonna Hind and Steven Robert (10 votes)
  201. 3.62 Roofed (2010) by Jim Munroe (10 votes)
  202. 3.62 The Act of Misdirection (2004) by Callico Harrison (39 votes)
  203. 3.62 Sting of the Wasp (2004) by Jason Devlin (23 votes)
  204. 3.62 Earth and Sky 2: Another Earth, Another Sky (2002) by Paul O’Brian (36 votes)
  205. 3.61 Zork (1979) by Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling (20 votes)
  206. 3.61 One Eye Open (2010) by Caelyn Sandel (as Colin Sandel) and Carolyn VanEseltine (30 votes)
  207. 3.61 The Ascent of the Gothic Tower (2014) by Ryan Veeder (12 votes)
  208. 3.61 A Colder Light (2012) by Jon Ingold (12 votes)
  209. 3.61 Scavenger (2003) by Quintin Stone (17 votes)
  210. 3.61 The Sleeping Princess (2008) by Molly Engelberg, Alex Engelberg, and Mark Engelberg (17 votes)
  211. 3.61 Mystery Science Theater 3000 Presents “Detective” (1995) by C. E. Forman, Graeme Cree, and Stuart Moore (40 votes)
  212. 3.61 Love, Hate and the Mysterious Ocean Tower (2011) by C.E.J. Pacian (27 votes)
  213. 3.61 Fate (2007) by Victor Gijsbers (32 votes)
  214. 3.61 Bureaucracy (1987) by Douglas Adams, The Staff of Infocom (37 votes)
  215. 3.60 Ideal Pacific Coast University (2005) by NewKid (9 votes)
  216. 3.60 Jacqueline, Jungle Queen! (2014) by Steph Cherrywell (14 votes)
  217. 3.60 Balances (1994) by Graham Nelson (24 votes)
  218. 3.59 Fallen London (2009) by Failbetter Games (16 votes)
  219. 3.59 Bolivia By Night (2005) by Aidan Doyle (11 votes)
  220. 3.59 Candlesmoke (2014) by Caelyn Sandel and Carolyn VanEseltine (11 votes)
  221. 3.59 Hana Feels (2015) by Gavin Inglis (11 votes)
  222. 3.59 I’m Really Sorry About That Thing I Said When I Was Tired and/or Hungry (2014) by Deirdra “Squinky” Kiai (11 votes)
  223. 3.59 Ecdysis (2007) by Peter Nepstad (57 votes)
  224. 3.59 Hollywood Hijinx (1986) by Dave Anderson, Liz Cyr-Jones (18 votes)
  225. 3.58 Pick Up the Phone Booth and Aisle (2001) by David Dyte, Steve Bernard, Dan Shiovitz, Iain Merrick, Liza Daly, John Cater, Ola Sverre Bauge, J. Robinson Wheeler, Jon Blask, Dan Schmidt, Stephen Granade, Rob Noyes, and Emily Short (73 votes)
  226. 3.58 Snowblind Aces (2007) by C. E. J. Pacian (25 votes)
  227. 3.58 Winter Wonderland (1999) by Laura Knauth (25 votes)
  228. 3.58 Book and Volume (2005) by Nick Montfort (13 votes)
  229. 3.58 Shuffling Around (2012) by Andrew Schultz (as Ned Yompus) (13 votes)
  230. 3.58 Death off the Cuff (2010) by Simon Christiansen (39 votes)
  231. 3.58 Best of Three (2001) by Emily Short (46 votes)
  232. 3.58 The Djinni Chronicles (2000) by J. D. Berry (27 votes)
  233. 3.58 Opening Night (2008) by David Batterham (15 votes)
  234. 3.58 Risorgimento Represso (2003) by Michael J. Coyne (22 votes)
  235. 3.57 The People’s Glorious Revolutionary Text Adventure Game (2010) by Taylor Vaughan (36 votes)
  236. 3.57 Masquerade (2000) by Kathleen M. Fischer (24 votes)
  237. 3.57 their angelical understanding (2013) by Porpentine (33 votes)
  238. 3.56 Castle of the Red Prince (2013) by C.E.J. Pacian (28 votes)
  239. 3.56 Infidel (1983) by Michael Berlyn (39 votes)
  240. 3.56 My Angel (2000) by Jon Ingold (23 votes)
  241. 3.55 Lydia’s Heart (2007) by Jim Aikin (16 votes)
  242. 3.55 Necrotic Drift (2004) by Robb Sherwin (16 votes)
  243. 3.55 Photograph: A Portrait of Reflection (2002) by Steve Evans (16 votes)
  244. 3.55 Uncle Zebulon’s Will (1995) by Magnus Olsson (38 votes)
  245. 3.55 Aunts and Butlers (2006) by Robin Douglas Johnson (29 votes)
  246. 3.55 The Moon Watch (2008) by Paolo Maroncelli and Alessandro Peretti (9 votes)
  247. 3.54 The Lost Spellmaker (1997) by Neil James Brown (11 votes)
  248. 3.54 Moon-Shaped (2006) by Jason Ermer (24 votes)
  249. 3.54 Gourmet (2003) by Aaron A. Reed and Chad Barb (37 votes)
  250. 3.54 The Blind House (2010) by Amanda Allen (26 votes)
  251. 3.54 Olivia’s Orphanorium (2012) by Sam Kabo Ashwell (13 votes)
  252. 3.54 Snack Time! (2008) by Hardy the Bulldog and Renee Choba (43 votes)
  253. 3.53 Tapestry (1996) by Daniel Ravipinto (32 votes)
  254. 3.53 Marika the Offering (2007) by revgiblet (17 votes)
  255. 3.53 Episode in the Life of an Artist (2003) by Peter Eastman (19 votes)
  256. 3.53 The Pawn (1985) by Rob Steggles, Peter Kemp, Hugh Steers, Ken Gordon, and Geoff Quilley (21 votes)
  257. 3.52 Earth And Sky 3: Luminous Horizon (2004) by Paul O’Brian (25 votes)
  258. 3.52 Guilded Youth (2012) by Jim Munroe (25 votes)
  259. 3.52 Indigo (2011) by Emily Short (27 votes)
  260. 3.52 Muse: An Autumn Romance (1998) by Christopher Huang (29 votes)
  261. 3.52 Digital Witnesses (2014) by rosencrantz (10 votes)
  262. 3.52 HUNTING UNICORN (2014) by Chandler Groover (10 votes)
  263. 3.52 Six Gray Rats Crawl Up The Pillow (2015) by Caleb Wilson (as Boswell Cain) (10 votes)
  264. 3.52 The Beetmonger’s Journal (2001) by Scott Starkey (12 votes)
  265. 3.51 Moist (1996) by Scarlet Herring (14 votes)
  266. 3.51 AlethiCorp (2014) by Simon Christiansen (16 votes)
  267. 3.51 The Life (and Deaths) of Doctor M (2011) by Michael D. Hilborn (20 votes)
  268. 3.51 Nautilisia (2012) by Ryan Veeder (24 votes)
  269. 3.51 Divis Mortis (2010) by Lynnea Dally (26 votes)
  270. 3.51 Being Andrew Plotkin (2000) by J. Robinson Wheeler (46 votes)
  271. 3.50 The Warbler’s Nest (2010) by Jason McIntosh (61 votes)
  272. 3.50 Eurydice (2012) by Anonymous (27 votes)
  273. 3.49 The Cabal (2004) by Stephen Bond (21 votes)
  274. 3.49 The Duel in the Snow (2009) by Utkonos (17 votes)
  275. 3.49 Chemistry and Physics (2013) by Caelyn Sandel (as Colin Sandel) and Carolyn VanEseltine (13 votes)
  276. 3.49 Lime Ergot (2014) by Caleb Wilson (as Rust Blight) (13 votes)
  277. 3.49 Carma (2001) by Marnie Parker (11 votes)
  278. 3.49 Marble Madness (2001) by Emily Short (11 votes)
  279. 3.49 The Rocket Man From The Sea (2012) by Janos Honkonen (11 votes)
  280. 3.49 Dial C for Cupcakes (2014) by Ryan Veeder (9 votes)
  281. 3.49 Ka (2010) by Dan Efran (9 votes)
  282. 3.49 Monkey and Bear (2014) by Carolyn VanEseltine (as the opposite of sublimation) (9 votes)
  283. 3.49 Queers in Love at the End of the World (2013) by Anna Anthropy (9 votes)
  284. 3.49 Stygia (2012) by Kitty Horrorshow (9 votes)
  285. 3.49 You Were Made For Loneliness (2014) by Tsukareta (9 votes)
  286. 3.48 Leadlight (2010) by Wade Clarke (28 votes)
  287. 3.48 Mrs. Pepper’s Nasty Secret (2008) by Jim Aikin and Eric Eve (28 votes)
  288. 3.48 John’s Fire Witch (1995) by John Baker (26 votes)
  289. 3.48 Möbius (2006) by J.D. Clemens (24 votes)
  290. 3.48 Pascal’s Wager (2008) by Doug Egan (22 votes)
  291. 3.48 The Endling Archive (2009) by Kazuki Mishima (20 votes)
  292. 3.48 Body Bargain (2012) by Amanda Lange (18 votes)
  293. 3.48 Border Zone (1987) by Marc Blank (18 votes)
  294. 3.48 Voices (2001) by Aris Katsaris (18 votes)
  295. 3.47 Coke Is It! (1999) by Lucian P. Smith, Adam Thornton, J. Robinson Wheeler, Michael Fessler, Dan Shiovitz, and David Dyte (16 votes)
  296. 3.47 Suspect (1984) by Dave Lebling (14 votes)
  297. 3.47 Letters from Home (2000) by Roger Firth (12 votes)
  298. 3.47 When in Rome 2: Far from Home (2006) by Emily Short (12 votes)
  299. 3.46 HOLY ROBOT EMPIRE (2014) by Caleb Wilson (as Ralph Gide) (10 votes)
  300. 3.46 Small World (1996) by Andrew D. Pontious (10 votes)
  301. 3.46 Across The Stars: The Ralckor Incident (2007) by Dark Star and Peter Mattsson (23 votes)
  302. 3.46 A Day for Soft Food (1999) by Tod Levi (19 votes)
  303. 3.46 Depression Quest (2013) by Zoe Quinn, Patrick Lindsey, Isaac Schankler (19 votes)
  304. 3.46 Goose, Egg, Badger (2004) by Brian Rapp (17 votes)
  305. 3.46 Kissing the Buddha’s Feet (1996) by Leon Lin (17 votes)
  306. 3.45 All Hope Abandon (2005) by Eric Eve (28 votes)
  307. 3.45 The Fire Tower (2004) by Jacqueline A. Lott (28 votes)
  308. 3.45 The Lesson of the Tortoise (1997) by G. Kevin Wilson (15 votes)
  309. 3.45 Glass (2006) by Emily Short (73 votes)
  310. 3.45 The Abyss (2013) by dacharya64 (13 votes)
  311. 3.44 Narcolepsy (2003) by Adam Cadre (47 votes)
  312. 3.44 I-0 (1997) by Anonymous (115 votes)
  313. 3.44 ASCII and the Argonauts (2003) by J. Robinson Wheeler (11 votes)
  314. 3.44 A Fine Day for Reaping (2007) by James Webb (aka revgiblet) (18 votes)
  315. 3.44 Amnesia (1986) by Thomas M. Disch (9 votes)
  316. 3.44 Castronegro Blues (2013) by Marshal Tenner Winter (9 votes)
  317. 3.44 Ghosterington Night (2012) by Wade Clarke (9 votes)
  318. 3.44 The Hunt for the Gay Planet (2013) by Anna Anthropy (9 votes)
  319. 3.44 A Matter of Importance (2007) by Valentine Kopteltsev (9 votes)
  320. 3.44 Max Blaster and Doris de Lightning Against the Parrot Creatures of Venus (2003) by Dan Shiovitz and Emily Short (9 votes)
  321. 3.44 Pantomime (2006) by Robb Sherwin (9 votes)
  322. 3.43 Andromeda Awakening - The Final Cut (2011) by Marco Innocenti (23 votes)
  323. 3.43 Enlightenment (1998) by Taro Ogawa (35 votes)
  324. 3.43 Broken Legs (2009) by Sarah Morayati (21 votes)
  325. 3.43 Cana According To Micah (2011) by Rev. Stephen Dawson (14 votes)
  326. 3.43 Trapped in Time (2013) by Simon Christiansen (14 votes)
  327. 3.42 A Dark and Stormy Entry (2001) by Emily Short (19 votes)
  328. 3.42 A Change in the Weather (1995) by Andrew Plotkin (50 votes)
  329. 3.42 Nevermore (2000) by Nate Cull (12 votes)
  330. 3.42 Robot Finds Kitten (1997) by David Griffith, Leonard Richardson (12 votes)
  331. 3.42 Zork: The Undiscovered Underground (1997) by Marc Blank, Michael Berlyn, and G. Kevin Wilson (24 votes)
  332. 3.41 The Intercept (2012) by Jon Ingold and inkle (10 votes)
  333. 3.41 One Girl (2001) by dr khel (10 votes)
  334. 3.41 Ugly Chapter (2003) by Sam Kabo Ashwell (10 votes)
  335. 3.41 Ballyhoo (1985) by Jeff O’Neill (27 votes)
  336. 3.41 The Legend of the Missing Hat (2012) by Adri (20 votes)
  337. 3.41 Afflicted (2008) by Doug Egan (30 votes)
  338. 3.40 Toonesia (1995) by Jacob Weinstein (13 votes)
  339. 3.40 Sand-dancer (2010) by Aaron Reed and Alexei Othenin-Girard (18 votes)
  340. 3.40 Madam Spider’s Web (2006) by Sara Dee (28 votes)
  341. 3.39 Varkana (2007) by Maryam Gousheh-Forgeot (21 votes)
  342. 3.39 Changes (2012) by David Given (16 votes)
  343. 3.39 Everybody Loves a Parade (1997) by Cody Sandifer (11 votes)
  344. 3.39 Earth and Sky (2001) by Paul O’Brian (52 votes)
  345. 3.38 Myriad (2012) by Porpentine (14 votes)
  346. 3.38 Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels (1987) by Bob Bates (17 votes)
  347. 3.38 A Day for Fresh Sushi (2001) by Emily Short (62 votes)
  348. 3.38 Mite (2010) by Sara Dee (25 votes)
  349. 3.37 All Alone (2000) by Ian Finley (52 votes)
  350. 3.37 Gris et Jaune (2010) by Jason Devlin (20 votes)
  351. 3.37 Starborn (2011) by Juhana Leinonen (20 votes)
  352. 3.37 Nemesis Macana (2012) by Herman Schudspeer, Victor Gijsbers (12 votes)
  353. 3.37 On the Farm (1999) by Lenny Pitts (12 votes)
  354. 3.37 Six Stories (1999) by Neil K. Guy (23 votes)
  355. 3.37 Distress (2005) by Mike Snyder (15 votes)
  356. 3.37 The Duel That Spanned the Ages (2009) by Oliver Ullmann (15 votes)
  357. 3.37 Orevore Courier (2007) by Brian Rapp (15 votes)
  358. 3.36 Attack of the Terror Tabby!!! (2008) by Eric Mayer (10 votes)
  359. 3.36 A Flustered Duck (2009) by Jim Aikin (10 votes)
  360. 3.36 Tex Bonaventure and the Temple of the Water of Life (2013) by Truthcraze (13 votes)
  361. 3.36 Threediopolis (2013) by Andrew Schultz (13 votes)
  362. 3.35 climbing 208 feet up the ruin wall (2013) by Porpentine (16 votes)
  363. 3.35 Square Circle (2004) by Eric Eve (19 votes)
  364. 3.35 Attack of the Yeti Robot Zombies (2006) by Øyvind Thorsby (22 votes)
  365. 3.34 Augustine (2002) by Terrence V. Koch (11 votes)
  366. 3.34 Being There (2010) by Jordan Magnuson (11 votes)
  367. 3.34 Sunday Afternoon (2012) by Virgil Hilts (11 votes)
  368. 3.34 Even Cowgirls Bleed (2013) by Christine Love (14 votes)
  369. 3.34 Fifteen Minutes (2014) by Ade McT (14 votes)
  370. 3.34 Gamlet (2004) by Tomasz Pudlo (14 votes)
  371. 3.34 Witch’s Girl (2013) by Geoff Moore (14 votes)
  372. 3.34 Wrenlaw (2013) by Ryan Veeder (14 votes)
  373. 3.34 Adventure (1976) by William Crowther and Donald Woods (64 votes)
  374. 3.34 The Nemean Lion (2009) by Anonymous (17 votes)
  375. 3.33 Snowquest (2009) by Eric Eve (33 votes)
  376. 3.33 Wearing the Claw (1996) by Paul O’Brian (24 votes)
  377. 3.33 Constraints (2002) by Martin Bays (15 votes)
  378. 3.33 Escape From Santaland (2011) by Jason Ermer (15 votes)
  379. 3.33 Mercy (1997) by Chris Klimas (12 votes)
  380. 3.32 (do not) forget (2014) by lectronice (9 votes)
  381. 3.32 Missive (2014) by Joey Fu (9 votes)
  382. 3.32 Muggle Studies (2012) by M. Flourish Klink (9 votes)
  383. 3.32 The Statue Got Me High (2012) by Ryan Veeder (19 votes)
    [/spoiler]
    Below these are 310 works with enough ratings but lower average, and then 2,988 works with between one and eight ratings.

Edit: List moved to a spoiler tag.

36

TV Tropes names this “Solve the Soup Cans” from T7G:

37

Oddly enough, in Seventh Guest (and, notably for me, Shivers) it did’t rrally bother me because the game was all about those puzzles . THEY were the flow of the game. The pretense of a story failed to draw me in, and sound levels were so bad I couldn’t understand what the actors were saying most of the time.

38

Admittedly, in real life like 90% of IF players would be unable to leave the room without solving the puzzle.

39

Weeeell, I don’t know - if there are more rooms and they all have puzzles, I can imagine the average IF player leaving the room/puzzle to dedicate themselves to another room/puzzle!

40

Whoah, thanks for the fuller list. Guess I was further away than I thought :slight_smile:. But it’s great to see the stats!

(Oh, you can put things in a spoiler tag to smallify the post.)