Most Played Free Games in History (by year for year 1990 on, as of circa June 1st 2025, according to IFDB)

Playing
1

Some notes:

  • Data used for these charts is from the IFDB public backup circa June 1st 2025.
  • The metric of interest is “plays” as determined by the presence of a rating/review or checking the “I’ve played it” box. Rating given does not matter.
  • Ordering is high-to-low in terms of plays, then publication datetime (earliest first), then title in alphabetical order.
  • The top 20 games for each year are shown. In cases where the 20th row is tied with those below it, additional rows are shown.
  • Some commercial entries may have made it past the filter; if so, sorry.
  • An effort was made to filter out AIF based on categorized genre, but it may not have been 100% successful.
2024 
+-----+-----------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                  | year_publ | title                                                                  | game_plays |
+-----+-----------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Chandler Groover                        |      2024 | The Bat                                                                |         65 |
|   2 | Damon L. Wakes (as Leah Thargic)        |      2024 | Uninteractive Fiction                                                  |         43 |
|   3 | Ben Jackson                             |      2024 | The Den                                                                |         42 |
|   4 | Sarah Mak                               |      2024 | You Can't Save Her                                                     |         36 |
|   5 | Viktor Sobol                            |      2024 | Where Nothing Is Ever Named                                            |         34 |
|   6 | C.E.J. Pacian                           |      2024 | Forsaken Denizen                                                       |         34 |
|   7 | Mandy Benanav                           |      2024 | An Account of Your Visit to the Enchanted House & What You Found There |         30 |
|   8 | Emery Joyce and N. Cormier              |      2024 | Winter-Over                                                            |         29 |
|   9 | Vivienne Dunstan                        |      2024 | Bad Beer                                                               |         28 |
|  10 | Damon L. Wakes                          |      2024 | Quest for the Teacup of Minor Sentimental Value                        |         27 |
|  11 | Dee Cooke                               |      2024 | Turn Right                                                             |         27 |
|  12 | Lauren O'Donoghue                       |      2024 | Eikas                                                                  |         26 |
|  13 | MACHINES UNDERNEATH                     |      2024 | KING OF XANADU                                                         |         26 |
|  14 | Riaz Moola                              |      2024 | Metallic Red                                                           |         24 |
|  15 | Daniel M. Stelzer                       |      2024 | Miss Gosling's Last Case                                               |         24 |
|  16 | Allyson Gray                            |      2024 | The Apothecary's Assistant                                             |         23 |
|  17 | Shruti Deo                              |      2024 | House of Wolves                                                        |         23 |
|  18 | Stanwixbuster (as THE BODY & THE BLOOD) |      2024 | LATEX, LEATHER, LIPSTICK, LOVE, LUST                                   |         23 |
|  19 | Kit Riemer                              |      2024 | Verses                                                                 |         23 |
|  20 | Carter X Gwertzman                      |      2024 | You                                                                    |         23 |
+-----+-----------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
2023 
+-----+------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                             | year_publ | title                                    | game_plays |
+-----+------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | SV Linwood                         |      2023 | Dr Ludwig and the Devil                  |         72 |
|   2 | Drew Cook                          |      2023 | Repeat the Ending                        |         39 |
|   3 | Ben Kirwin                         |      2023 | Assembly                                 |         38 |
|   4 | B.J. Best                          |      2023 | LAKE Adventure                           |         36 |
|   5 | Victor Gijsbers                    |      2023 | Xanthippe's Last Night with Socrates     |         36 |
|   6 | Ryan Veeder                        |      2023 | The Little Match Girl 4: Crown of Pearls |         35 |
|   7 | Allyson Gray                       |      2023 | Dysfluent                                |         34 |
|   8 | Ben Jackson                        |      2023 | LUNIUM                                   |         34 |
|   9 | Ben Jackson                        |      2023 | The Kuolema                              |         29 |
|  10 | Arthur DiBianca                    |      2023 | The Vambrace of Destiny                  |         29 |
|  11 | Mathbrush                          |      2023 | Never Gives Up Her Dead                  |         29 |
|  12 | J. J. Guest                        |      2023 | To Sea in a Sieve                        |         27 |
|  13 | Damon L. Wakes (as "Hubert Janus") |      2023 | DICK MCBUTTS GETS KICKED IN THE NUTS     |         26 |
|  14 | Alex Harby                         |      2023 | Honk!                                    |         26 |
|  15 | Passerine                          |      2023 | free bird.                               |         25 |
|  16 | Geoffrey Golden                    |      2023 | Fix Your Mother's Printer                |         25 |
|  17 | Onno Brouwer                       |      2023 | One King to Loot them All                |         25 |
|  18 | Camron Gonzalez                    |      2023 | We All Fall Together                     |         25 |
|  19 | Yakoub Mousli                      |      2023 | The Sculptor                             |         24 |
|  20 | Charm Cochran                      |      2023 | Gestures Towards Divinity                |         23 |
|  21 | Autumn Chen                        |      2023 | ConfigurationUploader                    |         23 |
+-----+------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------+------------+
2022 
+-----+------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                             | year_publ | title                                 | game_plays |
+-----+------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Jim Nelson                         |      2022 | According to Cain                     |         70 |
|   2 | Brendan Patrick Hennessy           |      2022 | The Grown-Up Detective Agency         |         69 |
|   3 | SV Linwood                         |      2022 | A Long Way to the Nearest Star        |         64 |
|   4 | Autumn Chen                        |      2022 | The Archivist and the Revolution      |         56 |
|   5 | Abigail Corfman                    |      2022 | The Absence of Miriam Lane            |         52 |
|   6 | Mathbrush                          |      2022 | The Impossible Stairs                 |         49 |
|   7 | Geoffrey Golden                    |      2022 | Use Your Psychic Powers at Applebee's |         47 |
|   8 | Amanda Walker                      |      2022 | Fairest                               |         41 |
|   9 | Arthur DiBianca                    |      2022 | Trouble in Sector 471                 |         39 |
|  10 | Brad Buchanan and Alleson Buchanan |      2022 | Esther's                              |         34 |
|  11 | Kit Riemer                         |      2022 | Computerfriend                        |         31 |
|  12 | Autumn Chen                        |      2022 | New Year's Eve, 2019                  |         29 |
|  13 | Amanda Walker                      |      2022 | Of Their Shadows Deep                 |         29 |
|  14 | Amanda Walker                      |      2022 | The Spectators                        |         29 |
|  15 | Damon L. Wakes                     |      2022 | Who Shot Gum E. Bear?                 |         28 |
|  16 | AZ  / ParserCommander              |      2022 | Gent Stickman vs Evil Meat Hand       |         27 |
|  17 | FLACRabbit                         |      2022 | A Matter of Heist Urgency             |         27 |
|  18 | Agnieszka Trzaska                  |      2022 | The Bones of Rosalinda                |         26 |
|  19 | Stanley W. Baxton                  |      2022 | Nose Bleed                            |         25 |
|  20 | Amanda Walker                      |      2022 | The Lonely Troll                      |         24 |
|  21 | fishandbeer                        |      2022 | 4 Edith + 2 Niki                      |         24 |
+-----+------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------+------------+
2021 
+-----+-------------------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                          | year_publ | title                                                    | game_plays |
+-----+-------------------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | B.J. Best                                       |      2021 | And Then You Come to a House Not Unlike the Previous One |         97 |
|   2 | Amanda Walker                                   |      2021 | What Heart Heard Of, Ghost Guessed                       |         63 |
|   3 | Chin Kee Yong                                   |      2021 | The Weight of a Soul                                     |         48 |
|   4 | Sarah Willson                                   |      2021 | Closure                                                  |         40 |
|   5 | Ryan Veeder                                     |      2021 | The Little Match Girl, by Hans Christian Andersen        |         40 |
|   6 | Mathbrush                                       |      2021 | Grooverland                                              |         39 |
|   7 | Agnieszka Trzaska                               |      2021 | 4x4 Archipelago                                          |         39 |
|   8 | Autumn Chen                                     |      2021 | A Paradox Between Worlds                                 |         38 |
|   9 | Leon Arnott                                     |      2021 | You are SpamZapper 3.1                                   |         37 |
|  10 | Arthur DiBianca                                 |      2021 | Grandma Bethlinda's Remarkable Egg                       |         32 |
|  11 | J. J. Guest, G. C. Baccaris, and Duncan Bowsman |      2021 | Excalibur                                                |         30 |
|  12 | Mike Russo                                      |      2021 | Sting                                                    |         30 |
|  13 | George Lockett and Rob Thorman                  |      2021 | The Golden Heist                                         |         29 |
|  14 | Emery Joyce and N. Cormier                      |      2021 | Lady Thalia and the Seraskier Sapphires                  |         28 |
|  15 | Ade McT                                         |      2021 | Dr Horror's House of Terror                              |         28 |
|  16 | Carter X Gwertzman                              |      2021 | My Gender Is a Fish                                      |         27 |
|  17 | Kit Riemer                                      |      2021 | Universal Hologram                                       |         24 |
|  18 | B.J. Best (writing as “Carroll Lewis")          |      2021 | Off-Season at the Dream Factory                          |         23 |
|  19 | AKheon                                          |      2021 | Smart Theory                                             |         23 |
|  20 | Mike Carletta                                   |      2021 | The Song of the Mockingbird                              |         23 |
+-----+-------------------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+------------+
10 Likes
2
2020 
+-----+--------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                   | year_publ | title                                              | game_plays |
+-----+--------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Linus Åkesson            |      2020 | The Impossible Bottle                              |        111 |
|   2 | Mathbrush                |      2020 | The Magpie Takes the Train                         |         64 |
|   3 | Ryan Veeder              |      2020 | A Rope of Chalk                                    |         52 |
|   4 | Josh Labelle             |      2020 | Tavern Crawler                                     |         51 |
|   5 | E. Jade Lomax            |      2020 | Stay?                                              |         40 |
|   6 | Paul Michael Winters     |      2020 | Alone                                              |         37 |
|   7 | Ann Hugo                 |      2020 | You Couldn't Have Done That                        |         36 |
|   8 | Nick Montfort            |      2020 | Amazing Quest                                      |         34 |
|   9 | Brendan Patrick Hennessy |      2020 | BOAT PROM                                          |         34 |
|  10 | ruqiyah                  |      2020 | Academic Pursuits (As Opposed To Regular Pursuits) |         33 |
|  11 | Lance Campbell           |      2020 | Stuff of Legend                                    |         33 |
|  12 | Alex Harby               |      2020 | Vampire Ltd                                        |         33 |
|  13 | MathBrush (as Prismatik) |      2020 | 77 Verbs                                           |         32 |
|  14 | Mark Sample              |      2020 | Babyface                                           |         31 |
|  15 | n-n                      |      2020 | BYOD                                               |         31 |
|  16 | Becci                    |      2020 | Congee                                             |         31 |
|  17 | Mike Russo               |      2020 | The Eleusinian Miseries                            |         31 |
|  18 | Abigail Corfman          |      2020 | A Murder in Fairyland                              |         29 |
|  19 | Lei                      |      2020 | Doppeljobs                                         |         29 |
|  20 | Thomas Mack and Xavid    |      2020 | Vain Empires                                       |         29 |
+-----+--------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------+------------+
2019 
+-----+----------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                           | year_publ | title                                                    | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Victor Gijsbers                  |      2019 | Turandot                                                 |         69 |
|   2 | Steph Cherrywell                 |      2019 | Zozzled                                                  |         66 |
|   3 | Liza Daly                        |      2019 | The Ballroom                                             |         40 |
|   4 | Pace Smith                       |      2019 | Limerick Heist                                           |         40 |
|   5 | Mike Spivey                      |      2019 | Sugarlawn                                                |         40 |
|   6 | G. C. Baccaris                   |      2019 | Heretic's Hope                                           |         38 |
|   7 | Viktor Sobol                     |      2019 | Out                                                      |         36 |
|   8 | Hanon Ondricek                   |      2019 | robotsexpartymurder                                      |         35 |
|   9 | litrouke                         |      2019 | Please Answer Carefully                                  |         29 |
|  10 | dgtziea                          |      2019 | Remedial Witchcraft                                      |         27 |
|  11 | Felicity Drake                   |      2019 | The Missing Ring                                         |         26 |
|  12 | Astrid Dalmady                   |      2019 | Night Guard / Morning Star                               |         26 |
|  13 | Agnieszka Trzaska                |      2019 | Chuk and the Arena                                       |         26 |
|  14 |  Greg Buchanan                   |      2019 | American Election                                        |         25 |
|  15 | Arthur DiBianca                  |      2019 | Skies Above                                              |         24 |
|  16 | Ryan Veeder                      |      2019 | Ryan Veeder's Authentic Fly Fishing                      |         22 |
|  17 | Tom Sykes                        |      2019 | The Empty Chamber: A Celia Swift Mystery                 |         21 |
|  18 | Anssi Räisänen                   |      2019 | Old Jim's Convenience Store                              |         21 |
|  19 | Jacic                            |      2019 | Each-uisge                                               |         20 |
|  20 | Andrew Schultz (as Billy Boling) |      2019 | Very Vile Fairy File                                     |         20 |
+-----+----------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+------------+
2018 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                                    | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Elizabeth Smyth                                    |      2018 | Bogeyman                                 |        111 |
|   2 | J. J. Guest                                        |      2018 | Alias 'The Magpie'                       |         89 |
|   3 | Mike Spivey                                        |      2018 | Junior Arithmancer                       |         85 |
|   4 | Aster (formerly Maddie) Fialla, Marijke Perry      |      2018 | Erstwhile                                |         73 |
|   5 | Ryan Veeder, Jenni Polodna, Adam Whybray, Adri, An |      2018 | Cragne Manor                             |         47 |
|   6 | Ian Michael Waddell                                |      2018 | Animalia                                 |         45 |
|   7 | Hanon Ondricek (as Keanhid Connor)                 |      2018 | Cannery Vale                             |         44 |
|   8 | Linus Åkesson                                      |      2018 | Tethered                                 |         44 |
|   9 | Chandler Groover                                   |      2018 | + = x                                    |         36 |
|  10 | G.C. "Grim" Baccaris (as G. Grimoire)              |      2018 | DEVOTIONALIA                             |         36 |
|  11 | ProP                                               |      2018 | Grimnoir                                 |         36 |
|  12 | Pseudavid                                          |      2018 | The Master of the Land                   |         34 |
|  13 | Arthur DiBianca                                    |      2018 | Best Gopher Ever                         |         33 |
|  14 | Michael J. Coyne                                   |      2018 | Illuminismo Iniziato                     |         33 |
|  15 | Victor Gijsbers                                    |      2018 | Terminal Interface for Models RCM301-303 |         33 |
|  16 | Arthur DiBianca                                    |      2018 | The Temple of Shorgil                    |         33 |
|  17 | Jack Welch                                         |      2018 | En Garde                                 |         32 |
|  18 | Ryan Veeder                                        |      2018 | The Lurking Horror II: The Lurkening     |         31 |
|  19 | Agnieszka Trzaska                                  |      2018 | Lux                                      |         31 |
|  20 | Mathbrush                                          |      2018 | The Origin of Madame Time                |         31 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------+------------+
2017 
+-----+--------------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                           | year_publ | title                       | game_plays |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Buster Hudson                                    |      2017 | The Wizard Sniffer          |        184 |
|   2 | Chandler Groover                                 |      2017 | Eat Me                      |        160 |
|   3 | Liza Daly                                        |      2017 | Harmonia                    |        102 |
|   4 | Stephen Granade                                  |      2017 | Will Not Let Me Go          |         82 |
|   5 | Arthur DiBianca                                  |      2017 | The Wand                    |         81 |
|   6 | Mike Spivey                                      |      2017 | A Beauty Cold and Austere   |         80 |
|   7 | mathbrush                                        |      2017 | Absence of Law              |         74 |
|   8 | John Ayliff                                      |      2017 | Seedship                    |         70 |
|   9 | Mathbrush (as Rainbus North)                     |      2017 | Swigian                     |         53 |
|  10 | Víctor Ojuel                                     |      2017 | 1958: Dancing With Fear     |         37 |
|  11 | Daurmith and Ruber Eaglenest                     |      2017 | Tuuli                       |         34 |
|  12 | Kreg Segall                                      |      2017 | Tally Ho                    |         34 |
|  13 | litrouke                                         |      2017 | 10pm                        |         30 |
|  14 | Jonny Muir                                       |      2017 | Unit 322 (Disambiguation)   |         29 |
|  15 | fireisnormal                                     |      2017 | Domestic Elementalism       |         29 |
|  16 | Team Salvato                                     |      2017 | Doki Doki Literature Club   |         27 |
|  17 | Ryan Veeder                                      |      2017 | The Roscovian Palladium     |         25 |
|  18 | Michael Kielstra                                 |      2017 | Black Marker                |         23 |
|  19 | Thomas Mack, Nick Mathewson, and Cidney Hamilton |      2017 | The Owl Consults            |         22 |
|  20 | Richard Otter                                    |      2017 | Word of the Day             |         19 |
|  21 | Filip Hráček                                     |      2017 | Insignificant Little Vermin |         19 |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------------------+------------+
2016 
+-----+-----------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                  | year_publ | title                                                              | game_plays |
+-----+-----------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | C.E.J. Pacian                           |      2016 | Superluminal Vagrant Twin                                          |        164 |
|   2 | Abigail Corfman                         |      2016 | 16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonalds                             |        134 |
|   3 | Astrid Dalmady                          |      2016 | Cactus Blue Motel                                                  |        109 |
|   4 | mathbrush                               |      2016 | Color the Truth                                                    |        105 |
|   5 | Chandler Groover                        |      2016 | Three-Card Trick                                                   |         94 |
|   6 | Robin Johnson                           |      2016 | Detectiveland                                                      |         84 |
|   7 | Brendan Patrick Hennessy                |      2016 | Known Unknowns                                                     |         84 |
|   8 | Buster Hudson                           |      2016 | Foo Foo                                                            |         83 |
|   9 | Arthur DiBianca                         |      2016 | Inside the Facility                                                |         77 |
|  10 | Astrid Dalmady                          |      2016 | Tangaroa Deep                                                      |         64 |
|  11 | Chandler Groover                        |      2016 | The Queen's Menagerie                                              |         52 |
|  12 | Ryan Veeder                             |      2016 | Reference and Representation: An Approach to First-Order Semantics |         49 |
|  13 | Chandler Groover                        |      2016 | Mirror and Queen                                                   |         49 |
|  14 | Liza Daly                               |      2016 | Stone Harbor                                                       |         49 |
|  15 | Katherine Morayati (as Amelia Pinnolla) |      2016 | Take                                                               |         47 |
|  16 | Chandler Groover                        |      2016 | Bring Me A Head!                                                   |         43 |
|  17 | Brendan Patrick Hennessy                |      2016 | Open Up!                                                           |         39 |
|  18 | Robin Johnson                           |      2016 | Draculaland                                                        |         38 |
|  19 | Ryan Veeder                             |      2016 | An Evening at the Ransom Woodingdean Museum House                  |         37 |
|  20 | Ade McT                                 |      2016 | Worldsmith                                                         |         36 |
+-----+-----------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
3 Likes
3
2015 
+-----+------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                       | year_publ | title                                                    | game_plays |
+-----+------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Brendan Patrick Hennessy     |      2015 | Birdland                                                 |        215 |
|   2 | Chandler Groover             |      2015 | Toby's Nose                                              |        171 |
|   3 | Chandler Groover             |      2015 | Midnight. Swordfight.                                    |        130 |
|   4 | Steph Cherrywell             |      2015 | Brain Guzzlers from Beyond!                              |         93 |
|   5 | Buster Hudson                |      2015 | Oppositely Opal                                          |         90 |
|   6 | Steph Cherrywell             |      2015 | Chlorophyll                                              |         78 |
|   7 | Gavin Inglis                 |      2015 | Hana Feels                                               |         72 |
|   8 | Astrid Dalmady               |      2015 | Arcane Intern (Unpaid)                                   |         62 |
|   9 | Joey Jones, Melvin Rangasamy |      2015 | Sub Rosa                                                 |         59 |
|  10 | Arthur DiBianca              |      2015 | Grandma Bethlinda's Variety Box                          |         58 |
|  11 | Bruno Dias                   |      2015 | Cape                                                     |         57 |
|  12 | furkle                       |      2015 | SPY INTRIGUE                                             |         51 |
|  13 | chandler groover             |      2015 | creak, creak                                             |         48 |
|  14 | Erik108                      |      2015 | The Tiniest Room                                         |         46 |
|  15 | S. Woodson                   |      2015 | Beautiful Dreamer                                        |         45 |
|  16 | MathBrush                    |      2015 | Ether                                                    |         44 |
|  17 | Ade McT                      |      2015 | Map                                                      |         43 |
|  18 | Jedediah Berry               |      2015 | Fabricationist DeWit Remakes the World                   |         42 |
|  19 | Ryan Veeder                  |      2015 | Winter Storm Draco                                       |         41 |
|  20 | Chandler Groover             |      2015 | Taghairm                                                 |         40 |
+-----+------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+------------+
2014 
+-----+---------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                | year_publ | title                            | game_plays |
+-----+---------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Porpentine and Brenda Neotenomie      |      2014 | With Those We Love Alive         |        152 |
|   2 | michael lutz                          |      2014 | the uncle who works for nintendo |        148 |
|   3 | Lynnea Glasser                        |      2014 | Creatures Such As We             |        136 |
|   4 | Caleb Wilson (as Rust Blight)         |      2014 | Lime Ergot                       |        132 |
|   5 | Sean M. Shore                         |      2014 | Hunger Daemon                    |         88 |
|   6 | S. Woodson                            |      2014 | ♥Magical Makeover♥               |         85 |
|   7 | C.E.J. Pacian                         |      2014 | Weird City Interloper            |         82 |
|   8 | Nicky Case                            |      2014 | Coming Out Simulator 2014        |         51 |
|   9 | Ryan Veeder                           |      2014 | The Ascent of the Gothic Tower   |         47 |
|  10 | Astrid Dalmady                        |      2014 | You are Standing at a Crossroads |         46 |
|  11 | Ryan Veeder                           |      2014 | Dial C for Cupcakes              |         45 |
|  12 | Chandler Groover                      |      2014 | HUNTING UNICORN                  |         45 |
|  13 | A.D. Jansen                           |      2014 | Eidolon                          |         43 |
|  14 | Caleb Wilson (as Snowball Ice)        |      2014 | The Northnorth Passage.          |         42 |
|  15 | kaleidofish                           |      2014 | Venus Meets Venus                |         39 |
|  16 | Simon Christiansen                    |      2014 | AlethiCorp                       |         37 |
|  17 | Porpentine                            |      2014 | Begscape                         |         37 |
|  18 | Steph Cherrywell                      |      2014 | Jacqueline, Jungle Queen!        |         33 |
|  19 | michael lutz                          |      2014 | Patrick                          |         32 |
|  20 | Sam Kabo Ashwell (as Psychopup)       |      2014 | Invisible Parties                |         32 |
+-----+---------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------+------------+
2013 
+-----+---------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                      | year_publ | title                                                           | game_plays |
+-----+---------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | michael lutz                                |      2013 | my father's long, long legs                                     |        195 |
|   2 | Lynnea Glasser                              |      2013 | Coloratura                                                      |        153 |
|   3 | Tom McHenry                                 |      2013 | Horse Master                                                    |        124 |
|   4 | Brendan Patrick Hennessy                    |      2013 | You Will Select a Decision                                      |         98 |
|   5 | Porpentine                                  |      2013 | their angelical understanding                                   |         91 |
|   6 | Zoe Quinn, Patrick Lindsey, Isaac Schankler |      2013 | Depression Quest                                                |         90 |
|   7 | Brendan Patrick Hennessy                    |      2013 | Bell Park, Youth Detective                                      |         84 |
|   8 | Ryan Veeder and Emily Boegheim              |      2013 | Robin & Orchid                                                  |         81 |
|   9 | Ryan Veeder                                 |      2013 | Captain Verdeterre's Plunder                                    |         73 |
|  10 | Michael Townsend                            |      2013 | A Dark Room                                                     |         70 |
|  11 | C.E.J. Pacian                               |      2013 | Castle of the Red Prince                                        |         67 |
|  12 | Porpentine                                  |      2013 | ULTRA BUSINESS TYCOON III                                       |         65 |
|  13 | Anya Johanna DeNiro                         |      2013 | Solarium                                                        |         65 |
|  14 | Samantha Vick                               |      2013 | The Axolotl Project                                             |         57 |
|  15 | Brendan Patrick Hennessy                    |      2013 | KING OF BEES IN FANTASY LAND                                    |         56 |
|  16 | Anna Anthropy                               |      2013 | Queers in Love at the End of the World                          |         52 |
|  17 | Porpentine                                  |      2013 | CRY$TAL WARRIOR KE$HA                                           |         45 |
|  18 | Porpentine                                  |      2013 | climbing 208 feet up the ruin wall                              |         44 |
|  19 | Ryan Veeder                                 |      2013 | The Horrible Pyramid                                            |         44 |
|  20 | Andrew Schultz                              |      2013 | Threediopolis                                                   |         42 |
+-----+---------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
2012 
+-----+----------------------------------+-----------+-------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                           | year_publ | title                                     | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------+-----------+-------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Emily Short                      |      2012 | Counterfeit Monkey                        |        387 |
|   2 | Porpentine                       |      2012 | howling dogs                              |        176 |
|   3 | Emily Short                      |      2012 | Bee                                       |        131 |
|   4 | Emily Short, Liza Daly and inkle |      2012 | First Draft of the Revolution             |         91 |
|   5 | Porpentine                       |      2012 | CYBERQUEEN                                |         87 |
|   6 | Adam Cadre                       |      2012 | Endless, Nameless                         |         82 |
|   7 | Jenni Polodna                    |      2012 | Dinner Bell                               |         70 |
|   8 | Andrew Plotkin                   |      2012 | Bigger Than You Think                     |         67 |
|   9 | Jim Munroe                       |      2012 | Guilded Youth                             |         63 |
|  10 | Ryan Veeder                      |      2012 | Nautilisia                                |         51 |
|  11 | Anonymous                        |      2012 | Eurydice                                  |         51 |
|  12 | Adri                             |      2012 | The Legend of the Missing Hat             |         41 |
|  13 | Andrew Schultz (as Ned Yompus)   |      2012 | Shuffling Around                          |         40 |
|  14 | Ryan Veeder                      |      2012 | The Statue Got Me High                    |         39 |
|  15 | Amanda Lange                     |      2012 | Body Bargain                              |         39 |
|  16 | Marco Innocenti                  |      2012 | Andromeda Apocalypse — Extended Edition   |         37 |
|  17 | Winter Lake                      |      2012 | rat chaos                                 |         37 |
|  18 | Lester Galin                     |      2012 | baby tree                                 |         36 |
|  19 | Hulk Handsome                    |      2012 | In a Manor of Speaking                    |         36 |
|  20 | Ethan Rupp and Joshua Rupp       |      2012 | Fish Bowl                                 |         35 |
+-----+----------------------------------+-----------+-------------------------------------------+------------+
2011 
+-----+--------------------------------------------+-----------+-------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                     | year_publ | title                                     | game_plays |
+-----+--------------------------------------------+-----------+-------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Ryan Veeder                                |      2011 | Taco Fiction                              |        149 |
|   2 | Victor Gijsbers                            |      2011 | Kerkerkruip                               |         90 |
|   3 | Dietrich Squinkifer (Squinky)              |      2011 | The Play                                  |         82 |
|   4 | Emily Short                                |      2011 | Indigo                                    |         80 |
|   5 | Wade Clarke                                |      2011 | Six                                       |         60 |
|   6 | C.E.J. Pacian                              |      2011 | Love, Hate and the Mysterious Ocean Tower |         53 |
|   7 | Marco Innocenti                            |      2011 | Andromeda Awakening - The Final Cut       |         51 |
|   8 | Ryan Veeder                                |      2011 | You've Got a Stew Going!                  |         51 |
|   9 | Andrew Plotkin (as Lyman Clive Charles)    |      2011 | Cold Iron                                 |         46 |
|  10 | Emily Boegheim                             |      2011 | It                                        |         40 |
|  11 | Carolyn VanEseltine                        |      2011 | Beet the Devil                            |         39 |
|  12 | Savaric                                    |      2011 | Keepsake                                  |         37 |
|  13 | Robb Sherwin                               |      2011 | Cryptozookeeper                           |         36 |
|  14 | Juhana Leinonen                            |      2011 | Starborn                                  |         35 |
|  15 | Michael D. Hilborn                         |      2011 | The Life (and Deaths) of Doctor M         |         34 |
|  16 | Lynnea Glasser (as Lynnea Dally)           |      2011 | Tenth Plague                              |         34 |
|  17 | Robert Patten                              |      2011 | The Hours                                 |         28 |
|  18 | Doug Orleans (as Cameron Fox)              |      2011 | Last Day of Summer                        |         27 |
|  19 |  Joey Jones                                |      2011 | Danse Nocturne                            |         26 |
|  20 | Christopher Huang (as Rev. Stephen Dawson) |      2011 | Cana According To Micah                   |         25 |
|  21 | Jason Ermer                                |      2011 | Escape From Santaland                     |         25 |
|  22 | Kevin Jackson-Mead                         |      2011 | Playing Games                             |         25 |
+-----+--------------------------------------------+-----------+-------------------------------------------+------------+
4 Likes
4
2010 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                                                   | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Andrew Plotkin                                     |      2010 | Dual Transform                                          |        145 |
|   2 | Jason McIntosh                                     |      2010 | The Warbler's Nest                                      |        115 |
|   3 | Andrew Plotkin                                     |      2010 | Hoist Sail for the Heliopause and Home                  |        112 |
|   4 | C.E.J. Pacian                                      |      2010 | Rogue of the Multiverse                                 |        104 |
|   5 | Matt Wigdahl                                       |      2010 | Aotearoa                                                |         73 |
|   6 | Taylor Vaughan                                     |      2010 | The People's Glorious Revolutionary Text Adventure Game |         73 |
|   7 | Stephen Granade                                    |      2010 | Fragile Shells                                          |         72 |
|   8 | Caelyn Sandel (as Colin Sandel) and Carolyn VanEse |      2010 | One Eye Open                                            |         67 |
|   9 | Lynnea Glasser (as Lynnea Dally)                   |      2010 | Divis Mortis                                            |         58 |
|  10 | Ben Collins-Sussman, Jack Welch                    |      2010 | Hoosegow                                                |         54 |
|  11 | Amanda Allen                                       |      2010 | The Blind House                                         |         53 |
|  12 | Brooks Reeves                                      |      2010 | Party Foul                                              |         48 |
|  13 | Wade Clarke                                        |      2010 | Leadlight                                               |         44 |
|  14 | Eli Piilonen                                       |      2010 | You Find Yourself in a Room.                            |         44 |
|  15 | Christine Love                                     |      2010 | Digital: A Love Story                                   |         42 |
|  16 | Michael Martin                                     |      2010 | Flight of the Hummingbird                               |         40 |
|  17 | Sara Dee                                           |      2010 | Mite                                                    |         40 |
|  18 | Aaron Reed and Alexei Othenin-Girard               |      2010 | Sand-dancer                                             |         37 |
|  19 | Victor Gijsbers                                    |      2010 | The Game Formerly Known as Hidden Nazi Mode             |         35 |
|  20 | Aaron A. Reed                                      |      2010 | > by @                                                  |         35 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
2009 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                          | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | John Cater, Rob Dubbin, Eric Eve, Elizabeth Heller |      2009 | Alabaster                      |        193 |
|   2 | Jon Ingold                                         |      2009 | Make It Good                   |        122 |
|   3 | David Welbourn                                     |      2009 | 69,105 Keys                    |        118 |
|   4 | Jimmy Maher                                        |      2009 | The King of Shreds and Patches |        106 |
|   5 | Lea Albaugh                                        |      2009 | Byzantine Perspective          |         80 |
|   6 | Jack Welch and Ben Collins-Sussman                 |      2009 | Rover's Day Out                |         77 |
|   7 | Failbetter Games                                   |      2009 | Fallen London                  |         75 |
|   8 | C.E.J. Pacian                                      |      2009 | Dead Like Ants                 |         74 |
|   9 | C.E.J. Pacian                                      |      2009 | Walker & Silhouette            |         64 |
|  10 | Eric Eve                                           |      2009 | Snowquest                      |         61 |
|  11 | Sarah Morayati                                     |      2009 | Broken Legs                    |         46 |
|  12 | Rob Dubbin and Allison Parrish                     |      2009 | Earl Grey                      |         44 |
|  13 | Anonymous                                          |      2009 | The Nemean Lion                |         43 |
|  14 | Kazuki Mishima                                     |      2009 | The Endling Archive            |         41 |
|  15 | Kevin Jackson-Mead                                 |      2009 | Gleaming the Verb              |         32 |
|  16 | Eric Eve                                           |      2009 | Shelter from the Storm         |         28 |
|  17 | cpuguy89                                           |      2009 | Asylum                         |         26 |
|  18 | Utkonos                                            |      2009 | The Duel in the Snow           |         26 |
|  19 | Oliver Ullmann                                     |      2009 | The Duel That Spanned the Ages |         26 |
|  20 | Mark Jones                                         |      2009 | Condemned                      |         23 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------+------------+
2008 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                                 | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Jeremy Freese                                      |      2008 | Violet                                |        558 |
|   2 | C.E.J. Pacian                                      |      2008 | Gun Mute                              |        194 |
|   3 | Aaron A. Reed                                      |      2008 | Blue Lacuna                           |        165 |
|   4 | Jim Munroe                                         |      2008 | Everybody Dies                        |        142 |
|   5 | Eric Eve                                           |      2008 | Nightfall                             |         88 |
|   6 | Hardy the Bulldog and Renee Choba                  |      2008 | Snack Time!                           |         80 |
|   7 | Doug Egan                                          |      2008 | Afflicted                             |         67 |
|   8 | Jim Aikin and Eric Eve                             |      2008 | Mrs. Pepper's Nasty Secret            |         50 |
|   9 | Dean Menezes                                       |      2008 | The Absolute Worst IF Game in History |         41 |
|  10 | David Batterham                                    |      2008 | Opening Night                         |         37 |
|  11 | Molly Engelberg, Alex Engelberg, and Mark Engelber |      2008 | The Sleeping Princess                 |         32 |
|  12 | Doug Egan                                          |      2008 | Pascal's Wager                        |         32 |
|  13 | Kazuki Mishima                                     |      2008 | Buried In Shoes                       |         29 |
|  14 | Kalev Tait                                         |      2008 | Taunting Donut                        |         28 |
|  15 | Eric Hickman and Nathan Chung                      |      2008 | The Lighthouse                        |         26 |
|  16 | Juhana Leinonen                                    |      2008 | Gardening for Beginners               |         22 |
|  17 | Jim Aikin                                          |      2008 | April in Paris                        |         22 |
|  18 | Simon Christiansen                                 |      2008 | Grief                                 |         21 |
|  19 | Juhana Leinonen                                    |      2008 | Escapade!                             |         21 |
|  20 | Sean Huxter                                        |      2008 | Piracy 2.0                            |         20 |
|  21 | Jeremy Crockett and Victor Janmey                  |      2008 | Riverside                             |         20 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------+------------+
2007 
+-----+--------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                               | year_publ | title                                  | game_plays |
+-----+--------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Admiral Jota                         |      2007 | Lost Pig                               |        711 |
|   2 | David Fisher                         |      2007 | Suveh Nux                              |        323 |
|   3 | Christopher Huang                    |      2007 | An Act of Murder                       |        117 |
|   4 | Peter Nepstad                        |      2007 | Ecdysis                                |        103 |
|   5 | Sam Gordon                           |      2007 | Lord Bellwater's Secret                |         93 |
|   6 | Victor Gijsbers                      |      2007 | Fate                                   |         74 |
|   7 | Alan DeNiro                          |      2007 | Deadline Enchanter                     |         73 |
|   8 | S. John Ross                         |      2007 | Treasures of a Slaver's Kingdom        |         60 |
|   9 | Eric Eve                             |      2007 | Blighted Isle                          |         55 |
|  10 | Harry Josephine Giles and Joey Jones |      2007 | The Chinese Room                       |         52 |
|  11 | nespresso                            |      2007 | rendition                              |         49 |
|  12 | C.E.J. Pacian                        |      2007 | Snowblind Aces                         |         47 |
|  13 | Øyvind Thorsby                       |      2007 | Adventurer's Consumer Guide            |         44 |
|  14 | Jim Aikin                            |      2007 | Lydia's Heart                          |         44 |
|  15 | Peter Nepstad                        |      2007 | Slap That Fish                         |         41 |
|  16 | Jon Ingold                           |      2007 | Dead Cities                            |         40 |
|  17 | Dark Star and Peter Mattsson         |      2007 | Across The Stars: The Ralckor Incident |         33 |
|  18 | James Webb (aka revgiblet)           |      2007 | A Fine Day for Reaping                 |         30 |
|  19 | Maryam Gousheh-Forgeot               |      2007 | Varkana                                |         30 |
|  20 | revgiblet                            |      2007 | Marika the Offering                    |         27 |
+-----+--------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------+------------+
2006 
+-----+-----------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                            | year_publ | title                                       | game_plays |
+-----+-----------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Emily Short                       |      2006 | Bronze                                      |        421 |
|   2 | Victor Gijsbers                   |      2006 | De Baron                                    |        228 |
|   3 | Emily Short                       |      2006 | Glass                                       |        174 |
|   4 | Emily Short                       |      2006 | Floatpoint                                  |        136 |
|   5 | Andrew Plotkin ('Edgar O. Weyrd') |      2006 | Delightful Wallpaper                        |        115 |
|   6 | Eric Eve                          |      2006 | The Elysium Enigma                          |         99 |
|   7 | Stephen Granade                   |      2006 | Child's Play                                |         93 |
|   8 | Emily Short                       |      2006 | Damnatio Memoriae                           |         83 |
|   9 | Mike Snyder                       |      2006 | Tales of the Traveling Swordsman            |         67 |
|  10 | Robin Johnson                     |      2006 | Aunts and Butlers                           |         58 |
|  11 | Sara Dee                          |      2006 | Madam Spider's Web                          |         50 |
|  12 | Jason Ermer                       |      2006 | Moon-Shaped                                 |         47 |
|  13 | J.D. Clemens                      |      2006 | Möbius                                      |         45 |
|  14 | Emily Short                       |      2006 | When in Rome 1: Accounting for Taste        |         43 |
|  15 | Øyvind Thorsby                    |      2006 | Attack of the Yeti Robot Zombies            |         42 |
|  16 | Nolan Bonvouloir                  |      2006 | The Primrose Path                           |         42 |
|  17 | Jason Devlin (as Ian Anderson)    |      2006 | Legion                                      |         28 |
|  18 | Sam Gordon                        |      2006 | Final Selection                             |         25 |
|  19 | Emily Short                       |      2006 | When in Rome 2: Far from Home               |         24 |
|  20 | Riff Conner                       |      2006 | Another Goddamn Escape the Locked Room Game |         22 |
+-----+-----------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+------------+
2 Likes
5
2005 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                    | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Jason Devlin                                       |      2005 | Vespers                  |        240 |
|   2 | Ian Haberkorn                                      |      2005 | Conan Kill Everything    |         90 |
|   3 | Aaron A. Reed                                      |      2005 | Whom The Telling Changed |         88 |
|   4 | Roberto Grassi, Paolo Lucchesi, and Alessandro Per |      2005 | Beyond                   |         58 |
|   5 | Eric Eve                                           |      2005 | All Hope Abandon         |         56 |
|   6 | Mike Snyder                                        |      2005 | Distress                 |         28 |
|   7 | Sara Dee                                           |      2005 | Tough Beans              |         25 |
|   8 | Aidan Doyle                                        |      2005 | Bolivia By Night         |         23 |
|   9 | Kevin Venzke                                       |      2005 | Chancellor               |         21 |
|  10 | Poster                                             |      2005 | Building                 |         20 |
|  11 | Nick Montfort                                      |      2005 | Book and Volume          |         20 |
|  12 | Emily Short                                        |      2005 | Mystery House Possessed  |         20 |
|  13 | Robert Street                                      |      2005 | The Colour Pink          |         19 |
|  14 | Gregory Weir                                       |      2005 | Snatches                 |         18 |
|  15 | Simon Christiansen                                 |      2005 | Internal Vigilance       |         17 |
|  16 | G.K. Wennstrom                                     |      2005 | Finding Martin           |         15 |
|  17 | Alessandro Schillaci, Roberto Grassi, Simonato Enr |      2005 | Little Falls             |         15 |
|  18 | Zach Flynn (as Tim Lane)                           |      2005 | On Optimism              |         13 |
|  19 | Mark Choba and Renee Choba                         |      2005 | History Repeating        |         12 |
|  20 | Brett Witty                                        |      2005 | Mix Tape                 |         12 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------+------------+
2004 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                             | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Andrew Plotkin                                     |      2004 | The Dreamhold                     |        288 |
|   2 | Chris Klimas                                       |      2004 | Blue Chairs                       |        124 |
|   3 | half sick of shadows                               |      2004 | All Things Devours                |        123 |
|   4 | Callico Harrison                                   |      2004 | The Act of Misdirection           |        108 |
|   5 | Jacqueline A. Lott                                 |      2004 | The Fire Tower                    |         66 |
|   6 | Paul O'Brian                                       |      2004 | Earth And Sky 3: Luminous Horizon |         63 |
|   7 | Jason Devlin                                       |      2004 | Sting of the Wasp                 |         56 |
|   8 | M.J. Roberts                                       |      2004 | Return to Ditch Day               |         39 |
|   9 | Stephen Bond                                       |      2004 | The Cabal                         |         38 |
|  10 | Brian Rapp                                         |      2004 | Goose, Egg, Badger                |         35 |
|  11 | Eric Eve                                           |      2004 | Square Circle                     |         35 |
|  12 | Tommy Herbert                                      |      2004 | Bellclap                          |         33 |
|  13 | Robb Sherwin                                       |      2004 | Necrotic Drift                    |         31 |
|  14 | Tomasz Pudlo                                       |      2004 | Gamlet                            |         24 |
|  15 | Dave Bernazzani                                    |      2004 | Identity                          |         22 |
|  16 | Ryan Weisenberger                                  |      2004 | The Orion Agenda                  |         22 |
|  17 | Penny Wyatt                                        |      2004 | Murder at the Aero Club           |         17 |
|  18 | Videlectrix                                        |      2004 | Thy Dungeonman                    |         17 |
|  19 | Paul Allen Panks                                   |      2004 | Ninja                             |         16 |
|  20 | Kevin Venzke                                       |      2004 | Kurusu City                       |         16 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------------------------------+------------+
2003 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                                                                    | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Star C. Foster and Daniel Ravipinto                |      2003 | Slouching Towards Bedlam                                                 |        297 |
|   2 | Emily Short                                        |      2003 | City of Secrets                                                          |        149 |
|   3 | J. J. Guest                                        |      2003 | To Hell in a Hamper                                                      |        142 |
|   4 | Adam Cadre                                         |      2003 | Narcolepsy                                                               |         92 |
|   5 | Aaron A. Reed and Chad Barb                        |      2003 | Gourmet                                                                  |         77 |
|   6 | Michael J. Coyne                                   |      2003 | Risorgimento Represso                                                    |         64 |
|   7 | Quintin Stone                                      |      2003 | Scavenger                                                                |         48 |
|   8 | Jon Ingold                                         |      2003 | Insight                                                                  |         41 |
|   9 | Daniel Freas                                       |      2003 | The Erudition Chamber                                                    |         38 |
|  10 | Chrysoula Tzavelas                                 |      2003 | shadows on the mirror                                                    |         36 |
|  11 | Peter Eastman                                      |      2003 | Episode in the Life of an Artist                                         |         33 |
|  12 | Chris Molloy Wischer                               |      2003 | Baluthar                                                                 |         28 |
|  13 | J. Robinson Wheeler                                |      2003 | ASCII and the Argonauts                                                  |         26 |
|  14 | Anonymous                                          |      2003 | The Fat Lardo and the Rubber Ducky                                       |         24 |
|  15 | Dan Shiovitz and Emily Short                       |      2003 | Max Blaster and Doris de Lightning Against the Parrot Creatures of Venus |         23 |
|  16 | Robin Johnson                                      |      2003 | Hamlet -- The Text Adventure                                             |         21 |
|  17 | Ben Heaton                                         |      2003 | No Room                                                                  |         20 |
|  18 | Mike Sousa, J. D. Berry, Jon Ingold, and Robb Sher |      2003 | The Recruit                                                              |         18 |
|  19 | Sam Kabo Ashwell                                   |      2003 | Ugly Chapter                                                             |         17 |
|  20 | Mikko Vuorinen                                     |      2003 | The Adventures of the President of the United States                     |         14 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
2002 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                                       | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Emily Short                                        |      2002 | Savoir-Faire                                |        192 |
|   2 | Adam Cadre                                         |      2002 | Lock & Key                                  |        123 |
|   3 | Yoon Ha Lee                                        |      2002 | The Moonlit Tower                           |         88 |
|   4 | Paul O'Brian                                       |      2002 | Earth and Sky 2: Another Earth, Another Sky |         79 |
|   5 | Mike Sousa and Jon Ingold                          |      2002 | Till Death Makes a Monk-Fish Out of Me      |         49 |
|   6 | Peter Seebach and Kevin Lynn                       |      2002 | Janitor                                     |         42 |
|   7 | Robert Goodwin, Helen Trevillion, Nanami Nekono, a |      2002 | The PK Girl                                 |         38 |
|   8 | Steve Evans                                        |      2002 | Photograph: A Portrait of Reflection        |         37 |
|   9 | David Welbourn                                     |      2002 | Cheeseshop                                  |         37 |
|  10 | Martin Bays                                        |      2002 | Constraints                                 |         26 |
|  11 | Joseph Grzesiak                                    |      2002 | Jane                                        |         24 |
|  12 | Jessica Knoch                                      |      2002 | Tookie's Song                               |         21 |
|  13 | J. D. Berry                                        |      2002 | When Help Collides                          |         20 |
|  14 | Stark Springs                                      |      2002 | Words of Power                              |         19 |
|  15 | Jon Ingold                                         |      2002 | The Mulldoon Murders                        |         18 |
|  16 | Terrence V. Koch                                   |      2002 | Augustine                                   |         17 |
|  17 | James Mitchelhill                                  |      2002 | The Granite Book                            |         17 |
|  18 | Ricardo Dague                                      |      2002 | Scary House Amulet!                         |         15 |
|  19 | J. J. Guest                                        |      2002 | Goldilocks is a FOX!                        |         15 |
|  20 | Johan Berntsson                                    |      2002 | The Temple                                  |         14 |
|  21 | Rob Shaw-Fuller                                    |      2002 | Identity Thief                              |         14 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+------------+
2001 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                                             | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Jon Ingold                                         |      2001 | All Roads                                         |        222 |
|   2 | David Dyte, Steve Bernard, Dan Shiovitz, Iain Merr |      2001 | Pick Up the Phone Booth and Aisle                 |        171 |
|   3 | Emily Short                                        |      2001 | A Day for Fresh Sushi                             |        147 |
|   4 | Carl Muckenhoupt                                   |      2001 | The Gostak                                        |        135 |
|   5 | Emily Short                                        |      2001 | Pytho's Mask                                      |        112 |
|   6 | Paul O'Brian                                       |      2001 | Earth and Sky                                     |        110 |
|   7 | Emily Short                                        |      2001 | Best of Three                                     |         89 |
|   8 | J. Robinson Wheeler (as 'Cary Valentino')          |      2001 | The Tale of the Kissing Bandit                    |         65 |
|   9 | Sean Barrett                                       |      2001 | The Weapon                                        |         57 |
|  10 | Sean Barrett                                       |      2001 | Heroes                                            |         52 |
|  11 | Anonymous                                          |      2001 | 1981                                              |         48 |
|  12 | Adam Cadre                                         |      2001 | Textfire Golf                                     |         39 |
|  13 | J. Robinson Wheeler                                |      2001 | First Things First                                |         38 |
|  14 | Emily Short                                        |      2001 | A Dark and Stormy Entry                           |         37 |
|  15 | Matt Fendahleen                                    |      2001 | August                                            |         33 |
|  16 | Aris Katsaris                                      |      2001 | Voices                                            |         33 |
|  17 | Robb Sherwin                                       |      2001 | Fallacy of Dawn                                   |         32 |
|  18 | Dennis Jerz                                        |      2001 | Fine-Tuned                                        |         32 |
|  19 | Leonard Richardson                                 |      2001 | Degeneracy                                        |         31 |
|  20 | Simon Mark                                         |      2001 | Vicious Cycles                                    |         23 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------------+------------+
2 Likes
6
2000 
+-----+---------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author              | year_publ | title                                       | game_plays |
+-----+---------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Adam Cadre          |      2000 | 9:05                                        |        804 |
|   2 | Andrew Plotkin      |      2000 | Shade                                       |        603 |
|   3 | Emily Short         |      2000 | Galatea                                     |        546 |
|   4 | Adam Cadre          |      2000 | Shrapnel                                    |        241 |
|   5 | Emily Short         |      2000 | Metamorphoses                               |        203 |
|   6 | Nick Montfort       |      2000 | Ad Verbum                                   |        196 |
|   7 | Stephen Bond        |      2000 | Rameses                                     |        168 |
|   8 | Jon Ingold          |      2000 | Fail-Safe                                   |        165 |
|   9 | Andrew D. Pontious  |      2000 | Rematch                                     |        131 |
|  10 | Brian Uri!          |      2000 | Augmented Fourth                            |         98 |
|  11 | Ian Finley          |      2000 | All Alone                                   |         87 |
|  12 | J. Robinson Wheeler |      2000 | Being Andrew Plotkin                        |         86 |
|  13 | Ian Finley          |      2000 | Kaged                                       |         75 |
|  14 | Dan Shiovitz        |      2000 | You are a Chef!                             |         64 |
|  15 | Paul O'Brian        |      2000 | LASH -- Local Asynchronous Satellite Hookup |         62 |
|  16 | Kathleen M. Fischer |      2000 | Masquerade                                  |         50 |
|  17 | Leonard Richardson  |      2000 | Guess the Verb!                             |         48 |
|  18 | J. D. Berry         |      2000 | The Djinni Chronicles                       |         48 |
|  19 | Jon Ingold          |      2000 | My Angel                                    |         45 |
|  20 | John Kean           |      2000 | Yes, Another Game with a Dragon!            |         37 |
|  21 | Irene Callaci       |      2000 | Dangerous Curves                            |         37 |
+-----+---------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+------------+
1999 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                                    | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Sam Barlow                                         |      1999 | Aisle                                    |        499 |
|   2 | Adam Cadre                                         |      1999 | Varicella                                |        195 |
|   3 | Dan Schmidt                                        |      1999 | For a Change                             |        177 |
|   4 | Andrew Plotkin                                     |      1999 | Hunter, in Darkness                      |        173 |
|   5 | Suzanne Britton                                    |      1999 | Worlds Apart                             |        121 |
|   6 | Jon Ingold                                         |      1999 | The Mulldoon Legacy                      |         64 |
|   7 | Laura Knauth                                       |      1999 | Winter Wonderland                        |         63 |
|   8 | Stephen Granade                                    |      1999 | Common Ground                            |         50 |
|   9 | Jim Aikin                                          |      1999 | Not Just an Ordinary Ballerina           |         48 |
|  10 | Ian Finley                                         |      1999 | Exhibition                               |         42 |
|  11 | Tod Levi                                           |      1999 | A Day for Soft Food                      |         41 |
|  12 | Lucian P. Smith, Adam Thornton, J. Robinson Wheele |      1999 | Coke Is It!                              |         32 |
|  13 | Neil K. Guy                                        |      1999 | Six Stories                              |         27 |
|  14 | Cameron Wilkin                                     |      1999 | Bliss                                    |         25 |
|  15 | Robert M. Camisa                                   |      1999 | Beat the Devil                           |         23 |
|  16 | J. D. Berry                                        |      1999 | Jacks or Better to Murder, Aces to Win   |         21 |
|  17 | Lenny Pitts                                        |      1999 | On the Farm                              |         21 |
|  18 | Ben Parrish                                        |      1999 | Annoyotron                               |         21 |
|  19 | Neil deMause                                       |      1999 | The Frenetic Five vs. Mr. Redundancy Man |         16 |
|  20 | Jason McIntosh                                     |      1999 | Calliope                                 |         14 |
|  21 | Nick Montfort                                      |      1999 | Winchester's Nightmare                   |         14 |
|  22 | Ravi Rajkumar                                      |      1999 | Halothane                                |         14 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------+------------+
1998 
+-----+--------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                         | year_publ | title                                       | game_plays |
+-----+--------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Adam Cadre                     |      1998 | Photopia                                    |        817 |
|   2 | Andrew Plotkin                 |      1998 | Spider and Web                              |        425 |
|   3 | Michael S. Gentry              |      1998 | Little Blue Men                             |         93 |
|   4 | Taro Ogawa                     |      1998 | Enlightenment                               |         68 |
|   5 | Stephen Granade                |      1998 | Arrival, or Attack of the B-Movie Clichés   |         45 |
|   6 | Bonnie Montgomery              |      1998 | Firebird                                    |         44 |
|   7 | Michael J. Roberts             |      1998 | The Plant                                   |         44 |
|   8 | Christopher Huang              |      1998 | Muse: An Autumn Romance                     |         42 |
|   9 | Dylan O'Donnell                |      1998 | Zork: A Troll's-Eye View                    |         39 |
|  10 | John Kean                      |      1998 | Downtown Tokyo, Present Day                 |         34 |
|  11 | Stephen Granade                |      1998 | Losing Your Grip                            |         34 |
|  12 | Dennis Matheson                |      1998 | The Awakening                               |         33 |
|  13 | Dan Shiovitz                   |      1998 | Bad Machine                                 |         27 |
|  14 | Anonymous                      |      1998 | Stiffy Makane: Mystery Science Theater 3000 |         25 |
|  15 | Ryan Stevens and Cody Sandifer |      1998 | Acid Whiplash                               |         22 |
|  16 | David Cornelson                |      1998 | Cattus Atrox                                |         22 |
|  17 | G. Kevin Wilson                |      1998 | Once and Future                             |         22 |
|  18 | Irene Callaci                  |      1998 | Mother Loose                                |         20 |
|  19 | Anonymous                      |      1998 | Flowers for Algernon                        |         20 |
|  20 | Adam Thornton                  |      1998 | Chicken and Egg                             |         19 |
|  21 | Liza Daly                      |      1998 | Bloodline                                   |         19 |
+-----+--------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+------------+
1997 
+-----+-------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                          | year_publ | title                                 | game_plays |
+-----+-------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Anonymous                                       |      1997 | I-0                                   |        238 |
|   2 | Ian Finley                                      |      1997 | Babel                                 |        204 |
|   3 | Andrew Plotkin                                  |      1997 | The Space Under the Window            |        151 |
|   4 | Nate Cull                                       |      1997 | Glowgrass                             |        142 |
|   5 | Lucian P. Smith                                 |      1997 | The Edifice                           |        135 |
|   6 | David Dyte                                      |      1997 | A Bear's Night Out                    |         92 |
|   7 | Ivan Cockrum                                    |      1997 | Sunset Over Savannah                  |         69 |
|   8 | Marc Blank, Michael Berlyn, and G. Kevin Wilson |      1997 | Zork: The Undiscovered Underground    |         48 |
|   9 | Brent VanFossen                                 |      1997 | She's Got a Thing for a Spring        |         42 |
|  10 | Cody Sandifer                                   |      1997 | Zero Sum Game                         |         31 |
|  11 | G. Kevin Wilson                                 |      1997 | The Lesson of the Tortoise            |         30 |
|  12 | Adam Thornton                                   |      1997 | Sins Against Mimesis                  |         30 |
|  13 | Cody Sandifer                                   |      1997 | Everybody Loves a Parade              |         26 |
|  14 | Chris Klimas                                    |      1997 | Mercy                                 |         26 |
|  15 | Todd S. Murchison                               |      1997 | The Acorn Court                       |         26 |
|  16 | Neil James Brown                                |      1997 | The Lost Spellmaker                   |         21 |
|  17 | Neil deMause                                    |      1997 | The Frenetic Five vs. Sturm und Drang |         19 |
|  18 | David Griffith, Leonard Richardson              |      1997 | Robot Finds Kitten                    |         18 |
|  19 | Andy Phillips                                   |      1997 | Heist                                 |         14 |
|  20 | Jonathan Fry                                    |      1997 | A New Day                             |         14 |
+-----+-------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------+------------+
1996 
+-----+------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                             | year_publ | title                                             | game_plays |
+-----+------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Rob Noyes                          |      1996 | Pick Up The Phone Booth And Die                   |        173 |
|   2 | Andrew Plotkin                     |      1996 | So Far                                            |        110 |
|   3 | Graham Nelson (as Angela M. Horns) |      1996 | The Meteor, the Stone and a Long Glass of Sherbet |         73 |
|   4 | Daniel Ravipinto                   |      1996 | Tapestry                                          |         62 |
|   5 | C. E. Forman                       |      1996 | Delusions                                         |         55 |
|   6 | Paul O'Brian                       |      1996 | Wearing the Claw                                  |         50 |
|   7 | Andrew Plotkin                     |      1996 | Lists and Lists                                   |         41 |
|   8 | Magnus Olsson                      |      1996 | Aayela                                            |         40 |
|   9 | Leon Lin                           |      1996 | Kissing the Buddha's Feet                         |         36 |
|  10 | Neil deMause                       |      1996 | Lost New York                                     |         28 |
|  11 | Joe Mason                          |      1996 | In the End                                        |         28 |
|  12 | Andrew D. Pontious                 |      1996 | Small World                                       |         27 |
|  13 | Neil James Brown                   |      1996 | The Wedding                                       |         21 |
|  14 | Miron Schmidt                      |      1996 | Ralph                                             |         21 |
|  15 | Wesley Osam                        |      1996 | Cheater                                           |         21 |
|  16 | Chuan-Tze Teo                      |      1996 | Fear                                              |         19 |
|  17 | Brian P. Dean                      |      1996 | Maiden of the Moonlight                           |         17 |
|  18 | Charles Gerlach                    |      1996 | Alien Abduction?                                  |         17 |
|  19 | Andy Phillips                      |      1996 | Time: All Things Come to an End                   |         13 |
|  20 | D. S. Yu                           |      1996 | SPIRITWRAK                                        |         13 |
|  21 | Russell Glasser                    |      1996 | Reverberations                                    |         13 |
|  22 | Rob Noyes                          |      1996 | Pick Up The Phone Booth And Die 2                 |         13 |
+-----+------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------------------+------------+
2 Likes
7
1995 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                                                  | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Gareth Rees                                        |      1995 | Christminster                                          |        130 |
|   2 | Brendon Wyber                                      |      1995 | Theatre                                                |        127 |
|   3 | Graham Nelson                                      |      1995 | Jigsaw                                                 |        111 |
|   4 | Andrew Plotkin                                     |      1995 | A Change in the Weather                                |        101 |
|   5 | C. E. Forman, Matt Barringer, Graeme Cree, and Stu |      1995 | Mystery Science Theater 3000 Presents "Detective"      |         83 |
|   6 | Magnus Olsson                                      |      1995 | Uncle Zebulon's Will                                   |         80 |
|   7 | John Baker                                         |      1995 | John's Fire Witch                                      |         54 |
|   8 | Jacob Weinstein                                    |      1995 | Toonesia                                               |         32 |
|   9 | Leon Lin                                           |      1995 | The One That Got Away                                  |         27 |
|  10 | Neil deMause                                       |      1995 | Undo                                                   |         27 |
|  11 | Gareth Rees                                        |      1995 | The Magic Toyshop                                      |         26 |
|  12 | Jason Dyer                                         |      1995 | The Mind Electric                                      |         21 |
|  13 | Michael S. Phillips                                |      1995 | All Quiet on the Library Front                         |         20 |
|  14 | Colm McCarthy                                      |      1995 | The Light: Shelby's Addendum                           |         14 |
|  15 | Stephen Granade                                    |      1995 | Undertow                                               |         12 |
|  16 | Kent Tessman                                       |      1995 | Spur                                                   |         10 |
|  17 | John Metcalf                                       |      1995 | 4K Adventure                                           |          9 |
|  18 | Chris Angelini                                     |      1995 | A Night at the Museum Forever                          |          8 |
|  19 | James T. Reese                                     |      1995 | Veritas                                                |          8 |
|  20 | Dan Shiovitz                                       |      1995 | Lethe Flow Phoenix                                     |          8 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------+------------+
1994 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                                                  | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Graham Nelson                                      |      1994 | Balances                                               |         57 |
|   2 | G. Kevin Wilson                                    |      1994 | The Underoos that Ate New York!                        |         35 |
|   3 | Carl de Marcken and David Baggett                  |      1994 | +=3                                                    |         32 |
|   4 | David Baggett                                      |      1994 | The Legend Lives!                                      |         14 |
|   5 | Hans Persson and Dominik Zemmler                   |      1994 | Enhanced                                               |          9 |
|   6 | Jacob Weinstein                                    |      1994 | Modernism                                              |          5 |
|   7 | Angus R. McLaren                                   |      1994 | 2044: Space Troopers                                   |          4 |
|   8 | Dan Harris-Warwick                                 |      1994 | Hotel California                                       |          4 |
|   9 | Edward McArdle                                     |      1994 | Lost Property                                          |          4 |
|  10 | Carol Hovick                                       |      1994 | Klaustrophobia                                         |          3 |
|  11 | Pearl Tsai, Carl de Marcken, and David Baggett     |      1994 | GC: A Thrashing Parity Bit of the Mind                 |          3 |
|  12 | Robert Parker                                      |      1994 | Bookworm 3-D                                           |          2 |
|  13 | Doug Harrison                                      |      1994 | The Crisis of Dersenia                                 |          2 |
|  14 | Robert Olessak                                     |      1994 | Horsekiller                                            |          2 |
|  15 | Robert Olessak, Attila Heredi, Zoltan Nagy, Oliver |      1994 | A pokol angyala 2.                                     |          2 |
|  16 | Ron Ledbetter                                      |      1994 | Shipwreck Island                                       |          1 |
|  17 | Phil Schulz                                        |      1994 | Prisoner of Darkness                                   |          1 |
|  18 | Brian Westley                                      |      1994 | -Dank -Dungeon                                         |          1 |
|  19 | Anonymous                                          |      1994 | Drool                                                  |          1 |
|  20 | Paul Allen Panks                                   |      1994 | Westfront to Apse II                                   |          1 |
|  21 | Dorothy Millard                                    |      1994 | Yellow Peril                                           |          1 |
|  22 | Allan Porter                                       |      1994 | B I Z A R R O                                          |          1 |
|  23 | Paul Allen Panks                                   |      1994 | Enchanter: Westfront to Apse                           |          1 |
|  24 | Michael Zerbo                                      |      1994 | The Child Murderer                                     |          1 |
|  25 | Michael Zerbo                                      |      1994 | Dark Obsession                                         |          1 |
|  26 | Rüdiger Hanke                                      |      1994 | The Timeless Empire                                    |          1 |
|  27 | Capital World Games                                |      1994 | Dorkgimp Weinerstink: They're Out To Suck Your Brains! |          1 |
|  28 | Chris Allen                                        |      1994 | Gorm                                                   |          1 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------+------------+
1993 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                                        | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Graham Nelson                                      |      1993 | Curses                                       |        214 |
|   2 | Michael J. Roberts                                 |      1993 | Perdition's Flames                           |         37 |
|   3 | Mike Verdu and Glen Dahlgren                       |      1993 | Gateway 2: Homeworld (Demo)                  |         33 |
|   4 | Matt Barringer                                     |      1993 | Detective                                    |         27 |
|   5 | D. A. Leary                                        |      1993 | The Horror of Rylvania                       |         17 |
|   6 | D. A. Leary                                        |      1993 | Unnkulia One-Half: The Salesman Triumphant   |         16 |
|   7 | D. A. Leary                                        |      1993 | Unnkulia Zero: The Search for Amanda         |         11 |
|   8 | Erica Sadun                                        |      1993 | The Sound of One Hand Clapping               |          9 |
|   9 | Jon Drukman and Derek Pizzuto                      |      1993 | Busted!                                      |          8 |
|  10 | Art LaFrana                                        |      1993 | The Abbey                                    |          7 |
|  11 | Jim Fisher                                         |      1993 | The WadeWars Book III: Askin                 |          5 |
|  12 | Fredrik Ramsberg  and Johan Berntsson              |      1993 | The Hobbit: The True Story                   |          5 |
|  13 | Paul Allen Panks                                   |      1993 | Westfront PC: The Trials of Guilder          |          4 |
|  14 | Graham Nelson                                      |      1993 | Deja Vu                                      |          4 |
|  15 | Jeffrey Hersh                                      |      1993 | Lost                                         |          4 |
|  16 | Graeme Cree                                        |      1993 | Lost in Space: Dr. Smith Goes Home           |          4 |
|  17 | C. Evans                                           |      1993 | Ducksoup                                     |          4 |
|  18 | Christoph Schuhr, Marko Heisig, Martin Lassahn, St |      1993 | Die Karawane der Siebten Dynastie            |          3 |
|  19 | Avi Gobbler                                        |      1993 | The Pesach Adventure                         |          3 |
|  20 | Helmar B. Herman                                   |      1993 | A MIS-Adventure                              |          3 |
|  21 | Gary A. Allen                                      |      1993 | Dinkum                                       |          3 |
|  22 | Erica Sadun                                        |      1993 | Pirating                                     |          3 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------+------------+
1992 
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                             | year_publ | title                                 | game_plays |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Ron Schnell                                        |      1992 | Dunnet                                |         19 |
|   2 | Mark Baker, and Steve Bauman, and Belisana, and Mi |      1992 | Shades of Gray                        |         11 |
|   3 | John Olsen                                         |      1992 | Merlin's Golden Trove                 |          6 |
|   4 | John Olsen                                         |      1992 | The Sea Phantom                       |          6 |
|   5 | Andre M. Boyle                                     |      1992 | Space Aliens Laughed at my Cardigan   |          6 |
|   6 | John Olsen                                         |      1992 | Night of the Walking Dead             |          6 |
|   7 | David P. Gray                                      |      1992 | Hugo III, Jungle of Doom!             |          5 |
|   8 | The Grue!                                          |      1992 | The Four Symbols                      |          5 |
|   9 | John Olsen                                         |      1992 | Merlin's Magic Forest                 |          5 |
|  10 | Woody Hunt                                         |      1992 | Electrabot                            |          5 |
|  11 | John Olsen                                         |      1992 | Son of Ali Baba                       |          5 |
|  12 | J. Suchman                                         |      1992 | Cow V: The Great Egg Quest            |          5 |
|  13 | John Olsen                                         |      1992 | Rings for Bony Fingers                |          4 |
|  14 | John Olsen                                         |      1992 | Frankenstein's Legacy                 |          4 |
|  15 | Nathan Fritz                                       |      1992 | The Caves of Dyanty                   |          4 |
|  16 | John LaBonney                                      |      1992 | The Great Archeological Race          |          3 |
|  17 | John Olsen                                         |      1992 | Ghost Riders of El Diablo             |          3 |
|  18 | Art LaFrana                                        |      1992 | Hampton Manor                         |          3 |
|  19 | John Olsen                                         |      1992 | Eye of the Inca                       |          3 |
|  20 | John Olsen                                         |      1992 | Dr. Death's House of Horrors          |          3 |
|  21 | Paul Martinez and Alison Castro                    |      1992 | Caverns of Chaos                      |          3 |
|  22 | D. F. Stone                                        |      1992 | The Lady in Green                     |          3 |
|  23 | Margaret Anderson                                  |      1992 | The Pirate's Cave                     |          3 |
|  24 | Margaret Anderson                                  |      1992 | Treasure Island                       |          3 |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+-----------+---------------------------------------+------------+
1991 
+-----+-----------------------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                              | year_publ | title                                              | game_plays |
+-----+-----------------------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Graham Cluley                                       |      1991 | Humbug                                             |         12 |
|   2 | Dennis Cunningham                                   |      1991 | T-Zero                                             |         10 |
|   3 | Jacob Weinstein and Karine Schaefer                 |      1991 | Save Princeton                                     |         10 |
|   4 | Joel Finch                                          |      1991 | The Multi-Dimensional Thief                        |         10 |
|   5 | Judith Pintar                                       |      1991 | CosmoServe: an Adventure Game for the BBS-Enslaved |         10 |
|   6 | David Baggett                                       |      1991 | Unnkulian Unventure II: The Secret of Acme         |         10 |
|   7 | Simon Avery                                         |      1991 | Danger! Adventurer at Work!                        |          6 |
|   8 | Magnus Olsson                                       |      1991 | The Dungeons of Dunjin                             |          5 |
|   9 | Mike McCauley                                       |      1991 | Sanity Clause                                      |          5 |
|  10 | Dennis Drew                                         |      1991 | Another Lifeless Planet and Me With No Beer        |          4 |
|  11 | David P. Gray                                       |      1991 | Hugo II, Whodunnit?                                |          4 |
|  12 | Simba                                               |      1991 | New England Gothic                                 |          4 |
|  13 | Bert Lee                                            |      1991 | Apprentice                                         |          4 |
|  14 | Clive Wilson                                        |      1991 | The Darkest Road                                   |          4 |
|  15 | Wade Clarke                                         |      1991 | Cliffs of Fire                                     |          4 |
|  16 | John Nelson and Tom Zuchowski                       |      1991 | Curse of the Hellsblade                            |          3 |
|  17 | Hoyle Purvis                                        |      1991 | Demongate                                          |          3 |
|  18 | Anne T. Brenner                                     |      1991 | The Tomb of the Ancient Pharaohs                   |          2 |
|  19 | R. Baribault                                        |      1991 | Hotel Notell                                       |          2 |
|  20 | Brad Friedman                                       |      1991 | Mop and Murder                                     |          2 |
+-----+-----------------------------------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------+------------+
1990 
+-----+------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| num | author                                         | year_publ | title                                                        | game_plays |
+-----+------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
|   1 | Michael J. Roberts                             |      1990 | Ditch Day Drifter                                            |         36 |
|   2 | D. A. Leary                                    |      1990 | Unnkulian Underworld: The Unknown Unventure                  |         18 |
|   3 | Michael J. Roberts and Steve McAdams           |      1990 | Deep Space Drifter                                           |         12 |
|   4 | David P. Gray                                  |      1990 | Hugo's House of Horrors                                      |         10 |
|   5 | Nintendo Power and Anna Anthropy               |      1990 | Dragon Warrior Text Adventure                                |         10 |
|   6 | Steve Herring                                  |      1990 | Crypt                                                        |          7 |
|   7 | Jim MacBrayne                                  |      1990 | Frustration                                                  |          7 |
|   8 | Jim MacBrayne                                  |      1990 | The Mission                                                  |          4 |
|   9 | Charles Hewgley                                |      1990 | The Training Ground                                          |          4 |
|  10 | Anonymous                                      |      1990 | Odieus's Quest for the Magic Flingshot                       |          4 |
|  11 | Donald Brown and John Nelson                   |      1990 | Enhanced Beginners Cave                                      |          4 |
|  12 | Sean Averill                                   |      1990 | Star Wars-Tempest One                                        |          3 |
|  13 | Joseph S. Licari                               |      1990 | Disenchanted                                                 |          3 |
|  14 | Patrick Farley                                 |      1990 | Cliff Diver, Investigator for Hire: Crime to the Ninth Power |          3 |
|  15 | Bob Adams                                      |      1990 | Helvera - Mistress of the Park                               |          3 |
|  16 | Nate Segerlind                                 |      1990 | Attack of the Kretons                                        |          3 |
|  17 | Pat Pflieger                                   |      1990 | The House at the Edge of Time                                |          2 |
|  18 | Robert Parker                                  |      1990 | Encounter: The Bookworm                                      |          2 |
|  19 | Robert Parker                                  |      1990 | Revenge of the Bookworm                                      |          2 |
|  20 | Robert Parker                                  |      1990 | The Creature of Rhyl                                         |          2 |
|  21 | Richard Young                                  |      1990 | Orientation to Van Pelt Library                              |          2 |
|  22 | James S. Nixon                                 |      1990 | Kingsley's Mansion                                           |          2 |
|  23 | Colin Campbell                                 |      1990 | Operation Blue Sunrise                                       |          2 |
|  24 | Dan Gahlinger                                  |      1990 | The New Castle                                               |          2 |
+-----+------------------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------------------------------------+------------+
3 Likes
8

Wow, I haven’t tried a single 1992 game in the list! I should get on that.

4 Likes
9

Get yourself a copy of emacs if you want to play dunnet.

Edit: Haha, of course that’s evident from the IFDB entry duh :slight_smile:

3 Likes
10

Thanks for the tip! That made me look closer at the list and realize that I did play Shades of Gray. It was pretty fun big collab!

1 Like
11

I know I played Hampton Manor (from the 1992 list) for a while back in the day, although I don’t remember how far I got. I took a look at the opening paragraphs again, and man, it’s so familiar. For how much horror really isn’t my thing, I played surprisingly many horror IF. There was this manor one, the abbey one, another one I only vaguely remember except I know it had an apple with razor blades in it that killed you if you tried to eat it, not to mention more well-known ones like Anchorhead and my father’s long long legs. I think horror is easier to tolerate when it’s just text, though. I don’t generally want to experience the same kinds of stories in graphical form. The Painscreek Killings was a bit too much for me, for instance.

3 Likes
12

I’m with you. I remember accidently watching Silence of the Lambs. Once started, I had to see the unsatisfying ending. I pretty sure I wouldn’t play a text IF version.

2 Likes
13

“Shades of Gray” was the pick of the bunch for me for non-commercial games from 1992.

2 Likes
14

I was pretty excited to see one of my games on 1993’s “Most played free games in History” list.

Then I saw “game_plays: 5”.

Uff!

6 Likes
15

I think it’s important to remember that plays registered on IFDB are a fraction of the total that happen in the world.

8 Likes
16

Of course. Hopefully my post didn’t come across as negative. I was really just poking fun at myself.

Thanks for putting the lists together. They are really interesting.

17

Thanks for putting this together, it’s pretty neat to see!

Random observations:

  • If I’m not mistaken, 2024 is all IFComp games, and no other year is. I wonder if that’s just a sort of random fluke, or if IFComp games get more plays up front but other games have a longer tail? I guess we’ll find out next year.
  • The most reliable ways to get lots of plays seem to be either for the game to be well-regarded, or to be very short and make a lot of people angry. Which makes sense, but it’s mildly amusing to see stuff like 4 Edith + 2 Niki or even Amazing Quest among what are otherwise mostly the best games of the year.
  • Looking at the bottom of the top 20 for each year, there’s definitely a trend where the numbers overall go up as you go back and games have more time to accumulate plays, until reaching an inflection point in the mid-‘00s where not as many games were coming out, but 2000 and ‘01 are a bit of an exception, with more games that have a higher number of plays—I wonder why?
4 Likes
18

2000 and 2001 are highlights for IF in general. For years they held the record for the largest IF comps.

There are four IF authors who have:

-won two Best Game XYZZY’s, and

-won IFcomp

Those four are Emily Short, Andrew Plotkin, Jon Ingold, and Adam Cadre. All four were active in 2000 and 2001. I believe intense completion drive people to innovation.

Similar things happened in 2015 and 2017, with people like Steph Cherrywell, Chandler Groover and Buster Hudson. The latter three haven’t had as much time as those earlier four to earn accomplishments but are pretty high up there in terms of number of awards.

2 Likes
19

Some related fun facts: cumulative plays registered on IFDB, by publication year of the games.

graphdata
graphdata953×525 15.9 KB

Note that this does not show the number of plays occurring in each year. Each bar shows cumulative registered plays for all games published in that year (not just the top 20), from the time of publication through June 1st, 2025.

(This means that older games have an inherent advantage because they’ve had more time to accumulate plays.)

4 Likes
20

Wow, the outlier status of 2000 is really visible there! And definitely a bit of a spike around 2015 as well.

Meanwhile 2021 looks like a bit of a weak year, which must be how I made it onto that list. :stuck_out_tongue:

2 Likes