The German translation of Adventure.

What drugs can do to you...
Available upon "registration" of Slacker X

Tooth beavers, hermits, phallic-shaped dust tomatos. Billed a living memorial to the wit, style, and unintentional genius of Rybread Celsius by Cody Sanidfer.

A small, one-location game in which you must escape from a court. The game shows Inform's capability of handling multiple equal objects.

The adventure game that started it all, reconstructed by David M. Baggett to TADS, then ported to Inform by Graham Nelson. This game reconstructs the architecture of Bedquilt Cave that was discovered by the mulatto slave Stephen Bishop. This is the first ever released V6 game.

The adventure game that started it all, reconstructed by David M. Baggett to TADS, then ported to Inform by Graham Nelson. This game reconstructs the architecture of Bedquilt Cave that was discovered by the mulatto slave Stephen Bishop. There also is a V6 version of this game (though without graphics), by Jason C. Penney.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform6/examples/Advent.inf

A port of Scott Adams' classic game "Adventureland." Wander through an enchanted realm and try to uncover the 13 lost treasures. There are wild animals and magical beings to reckon with as well as many other perils and mysteries. This is the Adams Classic that started it all! There is also a 1994 port (Release 1 / Serial 941017 / Inform v1404)available in adamsinform.zip.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform6/examples/Adventureland.inf

Late Thursday night. You've had a hard day and the last thing you need is this: shopping. Luckily, the place is pretty empty and you're progressing rapidly. On to the next aisle...
Aisle started out as a game which would not need the usual meta-verbs... i.e. a game with only one turn. The initial idea was: How do I make a game with only one turn interesting? Give it lots of endings--in fact there are many 'endings' and (hopefully) every sensible action results in an 'ending'. There is no winning action. There is however more going on than just this and the more endings you see the more things should become clear.

Alicia a través del Espejo. Esto es más un ejemplo que un juego. Sólo tiene una habitación, y el juego termina si consigues "entrar" en el espejo. ¿quieres intentarlo?
Source code available: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/9939/alicia.zip

As a student with an IF assignment looming, you need to get a biography out of the library - however, it is a very rare book, and surely you won't be allowed to take it with you...

A pre-release of a game based loosely on true events around the magazine "Amiga Power" and several of its authors. You decide to visit the offices, but as it's very late, everybody has probably already gone home... probably.

A Lovecraftian horror tale, this game casts you in the role of a young woman who comes into the heritage of an ancestral mansion of a clan of relatives very far removed in the town of Anchorhead. Strange - why do the locals react the way they do whenever you ask about the house, or your relatives?

You've awakened from a refreshing 500-year nap. Someone, without so much as a by-your-leave, has built a church over your crypt. Very trying for a hungry vampire.

A small game in which you try to escape from your dull life in Apartment F209. Contains only a small number of puzzles, but lets you learn the hard way if you missed to solve one.

You're trapped in a high-pressure game show with a five-foot chicken.

Although restored to its rightful place in the throne room over 5 years ago the Golden Baton which usually shines brighter than normal gold has suddenly become tarnished, at the same time gloom and despair settles over the whole kingdom. Find the source of this evil influence before it is too late.
Games converted to Inform using scott2zip by Bjorn Gustavsson, and the Inform compiler v5.5 on 4/6/98.

Having successfully completed Arrow of Death Part 1, you now have the components to make a magical arrow with which you will be able to destroy Zerdon, the evil accomplice of the Wizard Akyrz, the real mastermind behind the evil that has befallen the Golden Baton.
Games converted to Inform using scott2zip by Bjorn Gustavsson, and the Inform compiler v5.5 on 4/6/98.

This is a very simple simulation of a car racing around a track done with inform6. You'll need an interpreter of the z-code that supports real-time key reading and action.
Prints the track in the normal window, and lets it scroll down. See also Cars3.z5

This is a very simple simulation of a car racing around a track done with inform6. You'll need an interpreter of the z-code that supports real-time key reading and action.
Prints the track on the status window (resizing it first) without scrolling it down. See also Cars2.z5

This is an interactive tour of the author's aunt's soon-to-be former home.

This game demonstrates the author's automapping library through a bare-boned collection of rooms.
Source code available: http://www.bright.net/~jonadab/inform/mapdemo.inf

The adventure game that started it all. Ported to Spanish Inform. Es el clásico de los clásicos. Cuevas, enanos, dragones... No obstante quizás resulte un poco simplón y aburrido para los cánones actuales. El original en ingléses "Adventure", también conocido como "Colossal Cave".
Source code available: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/9939/aventura.zip

Il file "Avventura.z5" contiene la versione italiana di "Colossal Cave Adventure", la prima avventura testuale della storia (prima versione del 1973). La presente versione in lingua italiana è basata sull'adattamento per Inform fatto da Graham Nelson (ADVENT.Z5 serial 961209). Il file dovrebbe servire come esempio di programmazione in Inform e il suo codice sorgente verrà distribuito insieme a quello degli altri giochi di esempio di Inform (tutti tradotti in Italiano).

You remember darkness. And the cold. Cold and darkness. And silence. Those memories are all that you have. That, and a feeling that something you never knew you possessed has been lost. Suddenly, oblivion is split by a blinding light and a crash of sound. You awaken to the roar of a storm and a deluge of rain and mud. The day goes downhill from there ...
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/awaken.inf

Out of the TextFire "12-pack", this is an April's Fool game "demo" that casts you in the role of a bad guy whose goal it is to become immortal - but this is a bad day...

A homage to Infocom's Enchanter Trilogy, at the same time showing some of the things that Inform is capable of doing. This version is older than the other, but contains the Adaptive Hints library.
Source code available: http://www.ifarchive.org/if-archive/infocom/compilers/inform5.5/library/contributions/adhints/ah_balances.inf

A homage to Infocom's Enchanter Trilogy, at the same time showing some of the things that Inform is capable of doing.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform6/examples/Balances.inf

A game based on the author's experience with a similar problem, your task in Baltimore:24 is to replace a router destroyed by a thunderstorm.

Grown out of a high school project, the Bank of Zork a queueing model with hermaphroditic tellers, numbered people and lots of other interesting exercises. It is, however, not yet bug-free because of troubles with integer overflows.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform6/library/contributions/zorkbank.inf

Tomorrow is the big Teddy Bear party, and you must definitely not let your owner forget about it...

All you want to do is to watch the boxing match tonight, but your wife and kids are doing their best to hinder you. And that is just the beginning... This is a preview of the game "Bedlam."

Early Sunday morning, but already light when you wake. The desperate push to complete your thesis on the nocturnal performance of chickens has again foundered on the nocturnal performance of graduate students.

A one-room puzzle game.

Teenage slumber party. Boys. Girls. Board game. Insight into intelligent-girl angst.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/mini-comps/source/bloodline.inf

A short demonstration game in which you need to rescue the BLORB file from the evil being known only as "PLOTKIN." This is the first ever released BLORB game.

Al speaks: "I feel confident that I have tapped the vast majority of male heterosexual fantasy cliches and offensive female stereotypes. The lack of cheerleaders is only due to a forthcoming game concentrating entirely on that important subject. The object of this game is to solicit blow jobs from strangers who expect nothing in return, you are advised not to behave this way in your real life. You will hurt people's feelings and someone will eventually kill you."
Possibly offensive to some.

Today's a big day; you're going into town to sell your family's only goat. Although you'll be sorry to see the old bleater go, the money will put food on your table for the winter. And if someone were to steal it, well, you'd rather not think too much about that.

"An interactive in-joke." War refugees have it bad, but not when compared with college-dorm residents. How can you get the laundry done? Soon to be a Pink Floyd concept concert.

Strange Things have been happening in Skebdale - and not just the BSE crisis, either. Rumours about devil-worshipping and all manner of strange happenings. Can you, as the unfortunate soul dispatched by the powers that be to investigate, unravel the mystery?

Buckaroo Banzai, a neurosurgeon, rock star and more, must try to fix a jet car that can drive him into the 8th dimension.
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

Returning from classes, you find a message from your friend Keith on your answering machine. He has been "busted" by the cops; and if you aren't careful, you will be, too...

As this game is ported directly from the TRS-80, it is very uncomfortable to play. Your mission is to find a ruby used in a laser projector that has been stolen by a spy ring named CHAOS.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/cia.inf

An interactive, well, camping trip. See if you can solve it in more than two moves.

You are playing a small child dropped off at the house of its aunt, on a desperate quest for candies. This is a beta version of "Candy."

The author's first stab at interactive fiction. A very buggy game that consists mainly of obscure puzzles, with no story at all.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/competition97/inform/cask/cask.inf

A promising date devolves into violence, sex, more violence.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/AtroxSrc.zip

A standard fantasy adventure setting with caves and dwarves.

Walking away from a picnic, you are suddenly caught in a country storm. You must protect a bridge from being destroyed. An ultra-linear game.

A small game; the only way to win is to literally cheat. Might be difficult for players who aren't familiar with the Inform language debugging verbs.

A pastiche of "Spider and Web", which see.

A pastiche of sorts of The Space Under the Window. Get the chicken across the road.
Version 2 was in the 1998 I-F Mini Competition, see which.

A pastiche of sorts of The Space Under the Window. Get the chicken across the road.
Version 1 was in the Chicken competition.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/mini-comps/source/cutwind.inf

There's this chicken, see, and this road...

You find yourself in a cheezy chicken suit, working for the minimum coin outside a fast-food joint. Can things get worse? Well, you can't find North ...

A short example to demonstrate a library that modifies "TAKE ALL" to include containers and supporters.

When your brother Malcolm sends you a telegram inviting you to visit him at Biblioll College in the ancient university town of Christminster, you imagine that the mysterious `discovery' he alludes to is nothing more than some esoteric bit of chemistry, and that you'll have a pleasant day out in beautiful surroundings. But when you get to Christminster, nothing is as you expect. Where has Malcolm vanished to? What are the unpleasant Doctor Jarboe and the positively repulsive Professor Bungay up to? And what do long-forgotten alchemical treatises have to do with the modern day?
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/minister.tar.gz

What appears to be a circus in full swing from the distance suddenly becomes as silent as the grave as you open the gate into the field. Nevertheless you must find some petrol for your car, so here goes...
Games converted to Inform using scott2zip by Bjorn Gustavsson, and the Inform compiler v5.5 on 4/6/98.

Ahhhh! Another can of refreshing Coca-Cola! You sigh in contentment as you partake of the sweet carbonated beverage, so recently purchased. But what's this? The dispenser light is still on! You can select another! You pause, though. The labels seem to be different than they were before,...

Out of the TextFire "12-pack", this is an April's Fool game "demo" all about colours - you need to change the sterile world you're in into a truly blue experience.

A program to sort, describe and rate all of the games in the 2nd Annual IF Competition (1996). Released after the competition was over, the program was a demonstration for "Competition 97" (see there).

A program to sort, describe and rate all of the games in the 3rd Annual IF Competition (1997).

A program to sort, describe and rate all of the games in the 4rd Annual IF Competition (1998).

A short game in which you must take care of your newborn baby.

An office-block mystery.

It begins when you awake in a large brass bed in a castle somewhere in Transylvania. Who are you, what are you doing here and WHY did the postman deliver a bottle of blood?
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

(Traducción del juego titulado "Puzzle" de Andrew Schepler). Este mini-juego no puede considerarse realmente una aventura, sino más bien un acertijo de lógica ¿cómo conseguirás poner a salvo a tu hermanito, su perro y a tí mismo, usando sólo ese par de cajas atadas a la polea? A pesar de su brevedad, este juego muestra cómo pueden crearse rompecabezas complicados usando Inform. Además es el primer juego realizado con la librería InformatE!

As "Curses" opens, you're hunting about in the attic of your family home, looking for a tatty old map of Paris (you're going on holiday tomorrow) and generally trying to avoid all the packing. Aunt Jemima is potting daisies and sulking; the attics are full of endless distractions and secrets; Greek myths, horoscopes, sixth-century politics, a less than altogether helpful demon, a mysterious bomb plot, photography, ritual, poetry and a dream or two all get in your way; and somehow you keep being reminded of your family through the ages, and all its Curses... ...could it be that even you are Cursed?

Not really a game, but the first ever program compiled by Inform; a demonstration of various features of the Inform language.

A trip into virtual reality: all begins with debugging a VR system, but then things get out of hand. Who is Morrodox, what has he to do with your colleagues, and what is going on?

Recuerdas oscuridad. Y frío. Frío y oscuridad. Y silencio. Estos recuerdos son todo lo que tienes. Eso, y una sensación de que has perdido algo que no sabías que tenías.De pronto, el olvido es roto por una luz cegadora y una explosión de sonido. Despiertas entre el rugir de una tormenta y en un diluvio de agua y barro. Este juego de horror lovecraftiano es la traducción de "The Awakening", original de Dennis Matheson.

A rewrite of Matt Barringer's incredibly bad game "Detective", this game was ported to Inform and subjected to treatment with Mystery Science Theater 3000 sarcasm. This version is the Silver Screen edition which includes some highly amusing stuff about the game.
Enhanced version, with special colo[u]r effects.

A rewrite of Matt Barringer's incredibly bad game "Detective", this game was ported to Inform and subjected to treatment with Mystery Science Theater 3000 sarcasm. This version is the Silver Screen edition which includes some highly amusing stuff about the game.
Standard version, without special colo[u]r effects.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/mst3k1.inf

Often imitated, never equaled, an unvarnished port of Barringer's "Detective".

Sitting atop a small white picket fence, you watch the children play in their backyard. Behind you, is old Mr. Harkin's place, an odd place, with an odd owner. What evil might we do today? As the Devil himself, you never tire of creating havoc amongst the little souls of the world. The more innocent the victim, well, all the more satisfying.

Tests division, multiplication and modulo compliance with Z-machine Standard 0.2

In this game you actually play two people - one is the real you, sitting in the dark in a movie theatre, and the other is the hero of the film that you are watching.
Originally conceived for Adam Cadre's infamous Chicken-Comp of June 1998 (spot the chicken-crossing-the-road).

Failing physics--again--would be traumatic enough. But now, you're trapped inside a Particle Accelerator and Reality Translation Integrator, the product of mad genius meeting mixed metaphors. Originally designed to help the human mind understand particle physics, the sub-atomic world inside is a strange blend of mysticism and science, of Zen contemplation and Marx Brothers movies. Dr. Gregory Dumont has sucked you into his P.A.R.T.I., but it's no picnic in there. This is a new version of the original, ported to Inform and much expanded - twice the size of the original.
Commercial product, currently priced at $24.

Something new in your everyday hunter-gatherer routine: where did this strange edifice come from? Dare you enter and explore the secrets of this... thing, or do you try to face your enemies? Like you have a choice.

The German translation of "A Bear's Night Out".

A version of the "Eliza" psychiatric interview program. Alan Turing presumably spinning in his grave somewhere.
Originally from a Creative Computing magazine article.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/eliza.inf

The famous Encyclopedia, rendered as an exercise in Inform menus.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform6/examples/games/Frobozzi.inf

It will forever remain one of life's mysteries: why should a simple man like yourself get on the wrong side of anybody? You are, after all, just a typical accountant. A little sideline romance with the secretary (what's she called -- Joanna) is a pleasant diversion from the tedium of your nine hour working day. Even your name, Charles Johnson, is unremarkable. Unfortunately, in today's world, security is nothing more than an illusion. Predators, sometimes even our most trusted friends, make plans for our downfall. Unseen snipers close in, ready to pull the trigger when we least expect it. Perhaps it's just human nature -- everybody has.... ENEMIES

The intepid Adventurer has escaped the caverns. Nought remains to block a successful escape but this troll here. Hmmm. A one-room adventure.
The author recommends this for people who grew up on Zork II and Advent, and begs people choosing their first piece of IF to play to look at other IF (preferably good IF!).

As last surviving crew member of this ill-fated space freighter you must somehow manage to make your escape in the frail shuttle craft without being eaten by the mutant monster now roaming free.

A character assassination of an apparently not-very-good AGT game in the style of Mystery Science Theatre 3000.
Enhanced version, with special colo[u]r effects.

A character assassination of an apparently not-very-good AGT game in the style of Mystery Science Theatre 3000.
Standard version, without special colo[u]r effects.

You are to inherit $10 million from your uncle Arnold, but only if you can find the lost family heirloom in the course of 48 hours. But beware - the mansion is haunted. Or is it?

The world is suddenly such a frightening place. People are out to get you, and everywhere there is danger, lurking in the dark, even here, in your own home. Can you conquer your own fears before it's too late?

A human guinea-pig for a race of super intelligent beings that have no bodily form. Plucked from your bed in order to satisfy their craving for life force that will sustain them. A warrior that can live up to the image of Alexander the Great.
Games converted to Inform using scott2zip by Bjorn Gustavsson, and the Inform compiler v5.5 on 4/6/98.

You stand in the kitchen. Sigh! Yet another darn treasure hunt game!
Modeled after Scott Adams's "Adventureland." Dedicated to Sam Loyd (1841-1911), inventor of the 15-puzzle.

Out of the TextFire "12-pack", this is an April's Fool game "demo" that has you play an illiterate person who has an appointment at the hospital to increase his intelligence...

A demonstration of the Inform 5 forms.h library, imitating the form from Bureaucracy, plus several others.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform5.5/examples/form.zip

Tetris for the Z-machine, an original "fun" entry for the 1995 IF Competition. Needs an interpreter capable of timed events to work properly.

Trapped in the MicroSun offices, you have just one wish: get out of there by six, to meet your date, and prove that you're not a nerd.

You're working late at the computer lab in an attempt to finish the assignment which is due in very shortly. Emerging from a daydream you carelessly lapsed into, you are surprised to find that the whole world around you has frozen in time...

You must explore a once-thriving mining town in search of the 13 hidden treasures. With everything from rattlesnakes to runaway horses, it sure ain't going to be easy! Includes a special bonus scoring system too!
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

This program tests some of the features required for Z-machine 0.99+ compliant interpreters. Available in the etude.* files in compressed form.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/interpreters/tools/etude.tar.Z

Your mission is to recover the Golden Baton, a priceless artefact that holds within it a kind of life force that maintains the equilibrium between good and evil. Stolen from the Palace of King Ferrenuil, the kingdom is already beginning to feel the effects of drought and pestilence.

The king lies near death in the royal palace. You have only three days to bring back the elixir needed to rejuvenate him. Journey through the lands of magic fountains, sacred temples, stormy seas and gold, gold, GOLD! This one is for experienced Adventurers only!
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

You are longing for a good breakfast, but where do you get the ingredients from?

As the owner of a debt-ridden detective agency in the 1920's, you have to find some way of keeping afloat. The case involving suspected infidelity should help with the finances, though...

This is a demonstration of the author's improved libraries for Inform 6/7

Your unloved uncle has died. At his funeral, you are given a curious note from him, asking you to finish his dream for him. But what is it he wants you to do? One thing is clear: it won't be easy. The choice is yours...

A somewhat modified version of the Designer Manual's "Hello World" program.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform5.5/examples/hellow.inf

Crossing the road just got a lot tougher. All these damn traffic cones. You're amazed ...

An explore-my-house game with passable puzzles.

An escaped serial killer is loose in the neighbourhood. Even worse, he might be in your house. Or was that smashing sound something to do with the cat?

A state-of-the-art job interview for a position as computer programmer.

Stranded on Interstate Zero after your car broke down, you are miles away from the last sign of civilisation. It's twenty minutes to noon and the temperature is well over 120. It's beginning to look like you'll not make it to your family's Thanksgiving dinner...
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/I-0.inf

While watching the skaters on Christmas Eve, you notice a beautiful woman. As you try to follow her, she leaves the ice rink, disappearing towards a forest... This is a demo of "The Ice Princess."
Full game offered for sale by author.

A text IF rendering of an arcade game. Not real-time or ASCII graphics; it just prints an English description of what you see, and understands the verb "shoot." Created as an easter egg for the action game Icebreaker.

This game is a parody of Joe Mason's "In The End". The original game didn't make me feel suicidal enough.
Original story by Joe Mason.
Source code available: http://interactfiction.miningco.com/library/ifff98/games/ite2.zip

Your best friend has just died, and life drags on miserably. Would death be better than this?

A one-room game with one major puzzle. Tie two strings together. Simple?

A MiSTing of one of the worst IF games ever, your mission as Stiffy Makane is to... umm... (among others) "do" Public Pussy Pamela.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/stiffmst.inf

A sampler of Zork I, Planetfall, Infidel and a sample transcript from The Witness; it also includes the famous "Butterfly Tutorial." Type the name of the game you with to play at the ">>" prompt, or type ENTER to play the tutorial.

A sampler of Zork I, Planetfall, Infidel and a sample transcript from The Witness; it also includes the famous "Butterfly Tutorial."

A sampler of Zork I, Planetfall, Infidel and a sample transcript from The Witness; it also includes the famous "Butterfly Tutorial."

A sampler of Zork I, Leather Goddesses of Phobos and Trinity, and a tutorial that actually is part of Wishbringer.

You feel like weeping; you might as well have stayed by the slit in the stream bed and waited for plate tectonics to widen it. You are in front of that all too familiar white house again! Replay the beginnings of Adventure/Zork, with a few twists...
Original entry is at [if-archive]/games/competition98/inform/informat/informat.z5

Finally, you have reached the end of this maze, a maze which kept you wandering about for the last five hundred turns. Your mad uncle's treasure chamber stretches before you. TIME TO... INHERIT!
You know, I think there may be some bugs in this.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/mini-comps/source/inherit.inf

A parody of Infocom's Infidel, written when the author was fifteen, then converted to Inform. To collect a treasure, you must show an ancient guardian how awful an adventurer you are.

In Intruder, you take the role of an unsuccessful and highly indebted private eye, or, in one word, a loser. And what makes things even worse, your bank manager threatens to distrain upon you if you don't pay at least a part of your debts within a few weeks time. Then, a mysterious stranger turns up in your office, offering you a case. A job in France, by the sea, a burglar's job, a job you simply can't reject. Because if you do, you'll indeed lose everything.

You have been chosen as the winner of a fully trained Australian Cattle Dog (you lucky devil). What adventures lie in store?
Odd, really, that you can't seem to pet it.

"A somewhat traditional cave crawl." Possession of the long-lost Jewel of Knowledge is said to bring fame, wealth, power, and of course knowledge, but you'll have to beat the extraordinarily high mortality rate for adventurers. And the protectors of the Jewel, the ancient dragons of the sixth layer.

New Year's Eve, 1999, a quarter to midnight and where else to be but Century Park! Fireworks cascade across the sky, your stomach rumbles uneasily, music and lasers howl across the parkland... Not exactly your ideal party (especially as that rather attractive stranger in black has slipped back into the crowds) - but cheer up, you won't live to see the next. Also available in Z5 format, as two files: Jigsaw_Game.z5 and Jigsaw_Footnotes.z5

If you keep it on your computer for three thousand years, you'll be rewarded by a message saying, "Welcome to Alpha Centauri. Now go home."
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/Alpha.inf

No doubt.

Written as a "TextWater" game (as an answer to the "TextFire" April's Fool Hoax), you are in a dark place without knowing why (or what to do).

A verbose but really interesting game, told in the third-person past tense ("What did Leopold do next?").

Catch the chicken for dinner. Should be easy, it's already lost its head ...

It's been seventeen months since your last erection. Highest time to do something about it.

You're staying with your uncle. It's raining. You're bored.
Written as part of "The Lion, the Witch and the Lavatory" (LWL) series, knowledge of which might - or might not - be useful. Other LWL files can be found at http://www.gizmo1.demon.co.uk/li/goodies/index.htm

A demonstration program to test the various style bits for WriteListFrom.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform5.5/examples/listless.inf

A tutorial in which a genie teaches you the basics of a simplified version of LISP.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform6/examples/games/lists.tar.Z

This game is a joke. This game is a warning. This game is a satire. This game is inspired in equal parts by Vaclav Havel's "The Memorandum" and Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". This game is a big, stupid shaggy dog story.

Highest time to return that copy of "Waiting for Godot" to the library. But where did you put it?

A parody of "Pick up the Phone Booth and Die", only that this time it's Anaheim Hills that mustn't be picked up. No plot, no story, nothing.

Spells are in short supply, and spellmakers are disappearing one by one. So your boss T sends you on a mission to find the famous Drew Tungshinach so that he may entertain the community further with his spells.

A recreation of the old "Bombers" game, where you have to bomb a city into ashes to be able to land safely.

For Madame L'Estrange, contacts with beings from the ghost world are everyday routine. This case, however, is not. Did Dr. Taverner really kill himself? If not, who did it? And what about that beast?

A blank room, the only feature a large lever on the wall.This is an easy way of determining how to write your next IF game, copyright Gerry Kevin "Whizzard" Wilson. It has been translated to Inform by me, Gunther Schmidl. Just pull the lever to get your very own game idea. Now, isn't that neat?

A one-location game in which you play a series of puzzles against a shopkeeper in order to get a present.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/magic-toyshop.inf

A small program to test the conversion of the author's hint library to V6.

You see, when the scientists had thought that the only smallpox around was in a very very small box kept securely closed, they were wrong. When you come into the clinic today, seven people have already died. A nurse is missing. He's probably gone, too. You think that his name was Simon. You are a doctor at Mercy Hospital, euthanizing people that suffer from smallpox. Long ago, you have stopped caring, about anything. Or have you?

Another day wasted as guest of the Empress, a wretchedly long tour of the breath-taking Boreal Falls, conducted as ever by the Lady Amilia. As if she weren't bad enough, an honour guard of soldiers, their breast-plates red in the setting sun, march ahead of the procession and protect you from seeing anything unrehearsed. It's a dog's life being an Ambassador.

A parody of spy thrillers - MFI is a cheap British furniture maker, whereas MI5 are our secret police.

Set in an unusual cyber/virtual reality background, you play a disembodied consciousness trapped in an electron prison of the mind.

A demo of Scott Adams' classic game "Adventureland."Wander through an enchanted realm and try to uncover the 3 lost treasures. There are wild animals and magical beings to reckon with as well as many other perils and mysteries.
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

A demo version of Zork I that came on the cover disk of some magazine.

It's been one of those days. It started out bad and just got worse: You're seven years old and in trouble a lot. You try to be good and to do as you ought, but nothing, it seems, goes exactly as planned. For instance, today things got quite out of hand: you poured your own milk, but it spilled on the floor; the cat wanted out just as you slammed the door; you didn't remember to turn off the faucet; your brother, poor thing, is still locked in the closet. But that wasn't all. No, indeed. Did I mention that things got much worse? They did. Pay attention: you're lost and alone and nothing's familiar. You wander around for a while until you're ready to panic. Then, out of the blue, an egg on a fence asks for help--and from you!

Early September, 1886. Autumn. The Victorian Era. The Rev. Dawson, 59, is off to the Continent and an unexpected Romance...

An Interactive Companion to the Designer's Manual, contains many examples and solutions to the various exercises.
Code updated to Inform 6 by Anson Turner, at [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform5.5/examples/Museum6.inf.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform5.5/examples/Museum.inf

As Adventure #7 begins, you find yourself hopelessly lost in the middle of a carnival fun house. While escape may elude you, one thing is very clear -- you're NOT here to have a good time!
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

For some reason, the author of this game died while writing it, and so you're stuck in an unfinished room. The author's creation, Winston, asks you to find out what happened. Can you finish an unfinished game full of bugs?

Another my-house kind of game.

Someone has run off with one of the university's printers, and you, as a computer lab technician, must retrieve it if you want to keep your job.

Can you save your town from the curse of the terrible vampire bunny?
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/bunny_s.zip

Your mission: Infiltrate the Ministry of Political Correctness and retrieve the top-secret Plan.

A very simple treasure-hunting game, aimed at being a gentle introduction to the world of Interactive Fiction.

Help Odieus in his search for the magic flingshot to get rid of his arch-enemy Blackwing, son of Blackfeather. This game was ported from AGT and is still a beta test copy.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/odieus.inf

A game that starts off in a college room, soon to move on to other, stranger places. This game was influenced by Andrew Plotkin's "So Far."

Out of the TextFire "12-pack", this is an April's Fool game "demo" in which your grandmother has you weed her garden - when you suddenly find something much better to do.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/once.inf

You, too, must cross that road. If you want your girlfriend to ever speak to you again.

Sunday noon. Barbara has gone inside the farmhouse carrying wood for the stove. Farmer Bill is standing outside sharpening his axe and looking hungry. Your beady little eyes take all this in. You stop pecking at the corn.

You work against the computer in painting a billboard. You are paid for the amount of blue paint you put down, but be careful not to paint over any existing paint!

You want your college qualification - but red tape and unhelpful, bureaucratic officials block your progress...
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/paperchase.inf

As Philo-R-DMD, you will die several times during the adventure. A new clone will be activated to take the place of the one that died, in a different location. The new Philo-R will usually have to retrace some of the old Philo-R's path; hopefully he won't make the same mistakes as his predecessor. Simply complete the mission before expending all six of your clones. Remember... stay alert, and keep your laser handy.
PARANOIA is based on a solo adventure by Sam Shirley in the Jan/Feb 1977 issue of "SpaceGamer/FantasyGamer" magazine, which in turn is based on the Paranoia roleplaying game. It was implemented in C on a Vax 11/780 by Tim Lister, which is how I got hold of it. Just for kicks (and the programming practice) I ported it to Inform. Note for all you IF fans: it's not very interactive. It's not a proper IF game. It beats up the Inform parser in a dark alley. But it will make you appreciate all the other IF games more.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/zcode/paranoia.zip

You have been volunteered by your master for a quest to save the small city of Windhall from a terrible fate.

You are a company commander on weekend leave with your men in sunny Bostwin in the Kingdom of Pentari. With that big mission looming, what to do for entertainment?
A prequel to the author's forth-coming game on The Mission.

"A really short interactive comic tragedy." Humourously based on Infocom's Enchanter trilogy, your goal is to run off a newly completed report in triplicate. But you'll need the appropriate spell scrolls...

Take on the role of Perseus, son of Zeus and Danae. Bring back the head of Medusa the gorgon, whose very glance can turn a man to stone. Otherwise King Polydectes will have his wicked way.
Games converted to Inform using scott2zip by Bjorn Gustavsson, and the Inform compiler v5.5 on 4/6/98.

You've found it at last - the chest containing the Treasure of Phlegm. Now, all you need to do is get it down from the tree. A cannon could help, if you can find the tools necessary to fire it...
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/phlegm.inf

Tragedy and otherwise in multiple personalities?
Photopia makes heavy use of special colo[u]red text effects that are not properly rendered on all interpreters. But you can turn them off. The original contest entries, including a colo[u]rless version, is at [if-archive]/games/competition98/photopia/

The Royal Court Jester wants his pizza, and he wants it quickly. So his chef, Chet, sends you out to get all the necessary items. Along the way, you discover there just might be something going on...

A parody of "Pick up the Phone Booth and Die", full of obscure in-jokes, but with at least traces of a plot.

Same phone booth, different problem... this one will not be so easily destroyed. This is a demo version of "Pick up the Phone Booth and Die part 2."

A very short game. Whatever you do, do not pick up the phone booth; well, you can guess from the title what happens if you do.

A print-some-text file for testing the now-obsolete PICKLE format. Available in the pickle-kit-* files in compressed form.

Piece of Mind is a short, humorous work which uses the first person "puppet" concept from Scott Adams and other early games and examines the possible causes and consequences of being so controlled by the player. On the way to insight into the protagonist's nature the player will come across some parody (X-Files, cheesy SF), some poetry (real and instant), and perhaps even the odd moral dilemma.

As you are leaving your home, you must return the keys to your small home to the janitor. First, however, you must transform yourself into a human being again, and clean up a bit.

Only by exploring this strange island will you be able to uncover the clues necessary to lead you to your elusive goal -- recovering the lost treasures of Long John Silver.
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

There's a chicken. And a road. But who are you?

This is a port of a REXX-Adventure, copying the menu-based OS/2 user interface. Oh no! You've been promoted! Now what can you do to ever get your phone working without viloating any of the corporation's strict rules?

Welcome to Suburbia. It's a magical land of pristine green lawns, stretching as far as the eye can see. Of pesticides and strict conformity and grass, grass, grass. But not if you can help it. The plastic pink flamingo you just got will just about do the trick....

A wizard has done fiendish things to a village, and you have to find a way to stop him...

Another Earth, another time. War. Disaster. Death. Air travel.

This is an Adventure that will transport you to a dangerous land of crumbling ruins and trackless desert wastes into the PYRAMID OF DOOM! Jewels, gold -- it's all here for the plundering -- IF you can find the way.
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

Find the magic plant that can heal your daughter - before it's too late!
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/mhpquest.inf

Questprobe adventure number 1. The Hulk gets taken to a surreal otherworld for his testing by the Chief Examiner, and must find a way to survive in this alien environment while collecting a number of Gems. Noteworthy if only for the sheer number of times a certain command must be used.
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

Questprobe adventure number 2. It's the amazing Spiderman's turn to be tested by the mysterious Chief Examiner. The offices of the Bugle have been taken over by some of Spidey's most famous adversaries, and it's up to him to get the presses rolling again.
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

In this short excourse you play a dog. It doesn't matter what race, though it's probably a male dog (hence the name 'Ralph'). What matters is that you know you have buried a bone last year, which you now have to reacquire. The problem is, being a rather old dog, about eight to nine years old, your memory isn't what it used to be. The same goes for your nose, so you can't smell the bone through the earth. It seems you're on your very own.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform6/examples/games/Ralph.inf

It isn't easy being a dog - if only you remembered where you buried that bone...

A burnt-out fantasy writer is transported into his own imaginary kingdom to learn a few lessons about himself and be confronted with a few questions.
This game is currently (July '99) in beta-test and won't be released to the IF Archive till several bugs have been fixed.

An apparently straight-forward archeological research dig at an old English churchyard leads to something not quite the norm...

This is a port of a REXX-Adventure, copying the menu-based OS/2 user interface. After being assaulted and cut in half, you are kept alive on the WEB by a person called Ringer. He offers you a deal: you perform some tasks for him, and he will fit your body with cybernetics. You need to gain entry to GMSC if you ever want your body back...

A Doctor Who adventure. Sequel to a televised adventure featuring the fourth Doctor and one of his old enemies. You have been instructed by the Time Lords to retrieve the brain of Morbius; however, you're not the only recent visitor to the planet Karn.

This game is as tricky and devious as the mind of Scott Adams gets. A treasure hunt in the same vein as its predecessor, it incorporates some of the more interesting effects Scott achieved using his system. Knowledge of "Pirate Adventure" is essential.
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

Out of the TextFire "12-pack", this is an April's Fool game "demo" that lets you play a cool surf dude who has to save the world from the Killer Surf Nazi Robot Babes from Hell!

Surely it is too much to expect for you, a mere pizza delivery boy and surfing fanatic, to foil the attempted escape of a notorious criminal from custody, avoid numerous murder attempts, find the gang the criminal belongs to and start up a romance with an attractive attourney?
Updated and revised.

A shameless rip-off of the "Richard Basehart Adventure" from the Introduction of C. E. Formans "Detective" MST3K parody.
Possibly lost. The original URL no longer exists, and the author's web pages no longer mention this game.

You wake, as a balding, plump middle aged man, in what appears to be a house of horrors. How did you get here? What is going on?

A Z-machine version of the old "Daleks" game (also known as "Zombies"). Lack of hints make this game a very hard one to play.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/robots.inf

In der Zeitung stand, dass heute das jährlich wiederkehrende Jugendfest beginnt. Du fühltest dich einsam und gelangweilt, deshalb hast du beschlossen, heute rauszugehen. Das Festgelände liegt ziemlich weit abseits der Stadt. Aber du bist fest entschlossen, heute etwas zu erleben, nämlich eine... Rummelplatzgeschichte!
Demo program for the German Inform library.
Source code available: http://www.copyriot.com/tarnold/rummel/rummel.inform

She's dumped you, and the first problem is getting out of bed.

Use cursor keys or the mouse to select a ball. Remove that ball and its matching neighbours by pressing Enter. Balls can only be removed if two or more neighbours match. The more balls that are removed each turn, the higher the score.
SameGame is an extreme stress test of your interpreter's Standard compliance; it uses file access, the mouse, font 3, colour, the Unicode extension table and print_unicode, together with the rare opcodes print_table and log_shift, just to check your interpreter author is awake.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform6/examples/games/SameGame.inf

A small island holds an awesome secret -- will you be able to discover it? This is the beginning of a two-part Adventure. NOTE: This one's a toughie -- for experienced Adventurers only!
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

The suspense begun in Adventure #10 now comes to an incredible conclusion with SAVAGE ISLAND PART II! This Adventure requires you to have successfully finished #10, wherein you were given the secret password to begin this final half.
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

In this exciting Adventure, time is of the essence as you race the clock to complete your mission in time -- or else the world's first automated nuclear reactor is doomed! If you survive this challenging mission, consider yourself a true Adventurer!
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

The "blank room shell" from the Designer's Manual.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform5.5/examples/shell.inf

It's been a hectic year, and it's time to get away. He told you that, and you agreed. Now you're here, in a grove of aspen, and long for a good, long bath in the nearby hot spring.

A game based on the popular book/film, "Silence of the Lambs." :)

Expect no more than what the title says. No plot, but lots of strange or time-dependent puzzles.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/competition97/inform/home/home.inf

Your lover Black left, and your days are full of loneliness. Your progress in finding him, however, is blocked by none other than the Devil himself; and to get rid of him, you must commit the seven deadly sins. And that is just the beginning...
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/mimesis.zip

As you walked into the office this morning, you heard your supervisor, Agent Dino Scaly, yelling at someone on the phone. It can only mean one thing: you've got a case today... God save us, chicken jokes and X-Files humo[u]r. Where will it end?

You awake with a drug-induced amnesia, trying to find out who threw up on you and what the heck is going on, anyway. Mail the author with comments to receive the registration package that includes "Acid Trip."

Sitting in a cramped theatre, irritated that your partner apparently hasn't turned up, you are strangely intrigued by a current of air. It will lead you to a place very different from your own familiar surroundings...

The text adventure that became the first of Sierra's long-running "Leisure Suit Larry."

The mostly-booring family reunion takes an odd twist as your Uncle Ogdajon bursts in though the front doors. Seems ol' Biff got snuffed by the wise guys and left behind a treasure-hunt will. Sort of thing happens all the time.

Solon the Master Wizard has learnt of Vileroth's destruction and how, in his final days, he concealed the stolen 13 Stars of Power within the Castle of Claymorgue, determined that no one should possess them. As Solon's apprentice with a few spells, can you recover Solon's stolen Stars? The Castle contains further spells but beware -- as an apprentice you may find the results unpredictable!
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

A z-code implementation of the classic arcade game Space Invaders.

A short game featuring the Space Quest swashbuckler Roger Wilco some time after Space Quest 6. The crew of the DeepShip 9 has vanished, and the ship is about to explode. Only a teleporter pad can save you now, but where does it go?

Based on the example transcript that came with Infocom's "Planetfall", with extensions and improvements, of course.
The original competition entry is at [if-archive]/games/competition98/inform/space_st/space_st.z5

A new, experimental game that has no puzzles but uses only words that change your focus on things, thereby adapting the story.

The original Adventure changed to include spells as seen in "Balances."
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform6/examples/games/SpAdventure.inf

A vacation in our lovely country! See the ethnic charms of the countryside, the historic grandeur of the capital city. Taste our traditional cuisine; smell the flowers of the Old Tree. And all without leaving your own armchair! But all is not as it seems...

Set in the universe of Zork, this game starts off in a monastery. The evil Anabis fools Brother Joseph into releasing him from his prison. He shatters the Rod of the Ancients, and the only way to save the order is to retrieve all the pieces and even confront the Implementors themselves...

The prologue to a much longer game, Stargazer features you as a young lad trying to escape the everyday routine of life underground.

At the galaxy's rim, there are rewards aplenty to be harvested from a long-dead alien civilization, including fabulous treasures and advanced technologies far beyond human ken! Prepare yourself for the incredible!
Converted from original code by Paul David Doherty.

You are Sylenius Mysterium, video game player par excellence. At a mall, you discover a long-lost arcade game, and excitedly start to play. But nothing could have prepared you for what happens...

This new mirror you bought really is something. But in the night, it has a life of it's own...

You were born; you lived; you died. Not everyone gets a second chance to go back and change crucial decisions. You have been granted one and must go back to critical moral dilemmas; but do you change the course of your life, or daren't you?

You play Ariel in William Shakespeare's comedy The Tempest. The text and descriptions are lifted from the original works, i. e. in old English.

A train journey begins your quest for the golden idol left by Major Johnston-Smythe when he died. Other treasure hunters have tried before you, most of them have never been seen again...

This program tests some of the features required for Z-machine 0.99+ compliant interpreters. Available in the etude.* files in compressed form.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/interpreters/tools/etude.tar.Z

"An interactive short experience."
This game is intended not as an exploration or a challenge, more as a situation. Stylistically interesting for its lack of banners, opening-titles, location-headers, status-line and meta-verbs such as "save".

Tha' art a magician, embarked on an astral projection. Danger. Romance, perhaps. Learning, maybe...

Your job as a real estate agent brings you into contact with many old buildings, but none are quite like the old theatre that has stood deserted for almost thirty years. After visiting it with some prospective buyers, you discover that you have left your pager behind. You quickly stop off there, on your way out for the evening, to pick it up. However, at night, you soon learn, the theatre's denizens are more than just rats and spiders. Now you find yourself trapped in a world of secrets and of shadows, while a century-old evil awakens to hatch her nefarious plans. In order to survive the horror and insanity, you must use all your wits and cunning, and, to escape, you must solve the dark secret of the THEATRE!

The important thing in acting is: stay in character, and don't get mixed up in the another play.
Source code available: http://www.bioc.rice.edu/~lpsmith/3steps.inf

The compiled version of the Inform tutorial - a small portion from "Alice in Wonderland."
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform5.5/examples/looking.inf

Trapped in a thick fog on the moors whilst searching for the house of Dr. Potter, you begin to wonder just what sort of a story will unfold for your newspaper about the strange goings on that have been witnessed at this home... that's if you ever find it.

After many years developing a time travel machine, the company has decided to close the project down. If only you could get the machine to work, you would be able to make a leap into the future to prove it's merits. But then, how would you get back? An ultra-linear adventure.

This short game comprises of a few puzzles, pieced together to form some kind of continuity, but lacks any story. The author describes it as a test for creating challenging puzzles.

"You need a paddle! Without a paddle, an adult is just a cartoon character to a child. With a paddle, the adult becomes a powerful force of justice and order in the hedonistic and ignorant world of the child."

A dragon is terrorizing your home town, and the mayor is looking for volunteers to get rid of him. Fortunately, someone other than you becomes "volunteer." Unfortunately, it is still you who has to do the dirty work...

A demonstration of some of Inform's features, in a small game.
Source code available: [if-archive]/infocom/compilers/inform5.5/examples/Toyshop.inf

A fairly appealing teleport-to-a-magic-realm game.

A one-room game. It's nicely appointed, but...

When you arrive in the Land of Erden, thriving for adventure, you learn that the most dangerous enemy of the land is already defeated. A challenge less, but there is still the tale of the beautiful ruby, rumored to be hidden somewhere in the mountains surrounding Shalandria...
New, improved.

When you arrive in the Land of Erden, thriving for adventure, you learn that the most dangerous enemy of the land is already defeated. A challenge less, but there is still the tale of the beautiful ruby, rumored to be hidden somewhere in the mountains surrounding Shalandria...
The original competition version.

Your last trip up the stairs before you can relax in a nice hot bath brings you into rather unfortunate contact with a toy car left carelessly on a stair, and your head connects with the wooden banner near the top. As you come to, things don't quite seem so humdrum as they used to be...

You have been trapped in the underground system for what may be days or even weeks - and you are desperately hungry. The chocolate machine is playing up, and there's never a train when you want one.

You are an employee of Biritzcom, and the year 2000 is nearly upon you. Of course, the company has no Year 2000 compliant software, so everything surely is going to fall apart soon... Crippled Demo Version, Shareware $10.
Possibly available in private collections. Game has been withdrawn due to alleged copyright infringement.

Looks like that meteor crash from page 12 wasn't as harmless as everyone was expecting: now your clothes are playing mad!
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/under.inf

A hardly interactive, but highly impressive demonstration of the authors' MoveClass library for handling NPC movement.
Source code available: http://www.highmount.demon.co.uk/demo.inf

You wake up, just in the right mood for a chicken vindaloo. You'll have to find the ingredients and make it yourself, though. Not recommended for vegetarians or animal lovers :)
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/vindaloo.inf

The Count has fallen victim to a fiendish curse placed on him by his enemies. There he lies, with you his only possible hope. Will you pull off a rescue, or is he really down for the Count?!

A nightmare comes true, you must find your way out of the wax works factory in which all the exhibits mysteriously come alive.
Games converted to Inform using scott2zip by Bjorn Gustavsson, and the Inform compiler v5.5 on 4/6/98.

A traditional fantasy quest in which you and your village have been cursed with a slow transformation into various animals. The only way to stop the curse is to retrieve the Pendant of Elinor from the mysterious island of the Goergs.

What should have been a simple task, watching your old flatmate Malcolm get married, becomes an awful lot more complicated when it transpires that Malcolm has disappeared mere hours before the service. You are called in by one of the bride's aunts to sort out the problem. But how can you help? Perhaps the answer to the problem lies somewhere within D'Arcy manor, the bride's family home. The odd characters within may be able to help you. First things first, though - how do you get past the nasty security guard?
Source code is for an earlier release of the game.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/wedding.zip

A game that simulates a week in life, based on the author's personal experiences.

Go to hell. Become a demon. Show them how it's done.

A few short hours ago you were in your private investigator's office sleeping- er, concentrating hard on your work when a frightened young girl named Elizabeth came to you with a sinister tale.

Twice defeated by a mere mortal it has taken the evil wizard some time to recover his powers. Now he forms a new plan to trap and utterly destroy the earthly being that dares to thwart him.
Games converted to Inform using scott2zip by Bjorn Gustavsson, and the Inform compiler v5.5 on 4/6/98.

Dang. Combined chicken/X-Files jokes. It just doesn't get any better than this.

Your roommate has been kidnapped! What foul conspiracy is afoot?
The Second Installment In The Kevin Johnson Residence Hall Saga

A port of an age-old Commodore 64 game in which you have to build walls though a playfield without being hit by a target in the process. Mail the author with comments to receive a cheat code.

"Zazie", an interactive reading, is a divertissement based on the novel "Zazie dans le mètro" by Raymond Queneau. The novel itself is a paradox: the said Zazie, a young, outspoken, rather wild girl of fifteen wants to go into the Paris metro for a ride, but she can't: there's a strike going on. In my little tour-de-force she already *is* inside the metro, and the difficult thing is to get out, mainly because of evil elderly perverts, but not only.
Vending machines have a role in the game too, as a tribute to to the rule n.167/b of the American Clichès Society that demands every single piece of IF to contain at least one vending machine, although nobody really knows why. The game is sometimes reported to be buggy and to lack action, other times to be "well-written" and puzzleless, which I take as a compliment, even if it is not always meant as such. - L.M.

A Z-Machine interpreter for the two-dimensional programming language Befunge, complete with sample programs.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/zbefunge.zip

Welcome to Zork. Will the Circle be unbroken? ZDungeon is a port to Inform of the original Zork/Dungeon game written in MDL at MIT prior to the founding of Infocom. It comes straight from the original without any diversions through FORTRAN or C.
Known Limitations: requires 80 column screen for maximum enjoyment (due to original ASCII art for some of the object descriptions that assume a standard screen width). Wrapping problems aside, it has been played on a palmtop and even on a C-64 (using the V5 engine from, IIRC, Beyond Zork).

A text editor. No, really, a text editor running under the Z machine. Currently in its beta stadium.

A demo program that (using an intrepreter that supports sound) adds 1. annoying background "music" using standard sound effects, 2. rudimentary text-to-speech (producing a horrible robot-like voice), 3. a very primitive Eliza-style response system. Talk to Zen, the computer from the Museum of Inform.
WARNING: this code makes use of Z-machine features (sound effects and keyboard interrupts) that, although explicitly specified in the Z-machine Standard Document V1.0, are not commonly used, and it is possible that your interpreter does not implement them correctly (in particular, it may hang). I, the author, take no responsibility for any weird things that could occur to you and your computer as a consequence of running this code.

The list of available zcode games and other programs, rendered as a zcode program itself, as of 19 May, 1998.

A nearly non-interactive demonstration of The Game of Life (well, you can quit or restart).
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/lize.zip

A small program to test mouse behaviour with various interpreters.

Yet another abuse of the Z-machine, based on a game I played on the Commodore PET many years ago and Torbjörn Anderssons Robots code, which he gave me permission to use. Robots and Zombies are probably based on the same original game. If anyone remembers similar games I would be interested to hear about them and what platforms they ran on. Torbjörn said his version of Robots was based on a unix game, hence the redraw command which redraws the screen after messages are received. I haven't removed the waitbonus from the code although in this version the player receives the same score whether a Zombie is killed while the player is waiting OR moving. I changed the movement keys to the PET setup, this also is a more logical configuration.
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/source/inform/zombies.inf

Many strange tales have been told of the fabulous treasure, exotic creatures, and diabolical puzzles in the Great Underground Empire. As an aspiring adventurer, you will undoubtedly want to locate these treasures and deposit them in your trophy case.

In Zork II, you will explore a long-hidden region of the Empire, a region dominated by the once-respected Wizard of Frobozz. Now bordering on senility, the Wizard still is a force to be reckoned with. Your goal, as you venture into the Wizard's realm, is to aviod his capricious tricks and learn to control his magical powers.

As Zork III begins, your greatest challenge beckons you as you take the final step down into the very heart of the Great Underground Empire. Your character and courage will be tested as the enigmatic Dungeon Master confronts you with predicaments and perils. Your quest hinges upon discovering his secret purpose, even as he oversees your ultimate triumph - or destruction!

Have you ever wondered how the life of a guard troll is? Find out in this game!

Grubald the Bold, Matchlick the Mighty, Linklaw the Lucky; all of the great Heroes are busy, laid up, contracted or dead. So it is you who gets to explore a never before seen part of the Great Underground Empire, giving you the chance to finally see a Grue by daylight! This game was developed by Activision and released as a prequel to their adventure "Zork: Grand Inquisitor."
This file may no longer be available except in private collections. It seems to have been withdrawn from the Activision FTP sites.

The Z-machine port of "Rogue," also known as "Nethack." The object of this text role-playing game is to find the Amulet of Yendor, fighting hundreds of monsters in the quest.

Out of the TextFire "12-pack", this is an April's Fool game "demo" in which you get to play a pawn in a chess game - at the very end. Incorporates a very nifty variation on the status line to show the positions of the chess pieces after each move.
Revised version. The original is in [if-archive]/games/demos/textfire.zip
Source code available: [if-archive]/games/zcode/zugzwang.zip

The small African Zuni Doll seemed a nice addition to your collection of oddities. Myths say it captures the spirit of an African Tribesman who died while committing a cowardly act. To regain honour, he must kill 25 humans. However, all is safe as long as the doll bears its golden Talisman. Later that night, you awake just as your cat drops something tiny, something golden in your lap...