ifdb.org

What is IFDB?

IFDB, the Interactive Fiction Database, is a community-run catalog and recommendation site for interactive fiction — the broad category that includes text adventures, parser games, choice-based stories, and works built in systems like Twine, Ink, Ren'Py, and Quest. Its main job is helping you find something to play and understand what you're getting into before you start.

What you can do there

• Browse or search game listings by title, author, system, or tags, with an advanced search for narrower queries.
• Read member reviews and ratings, and see curated recommendation lists.
• Follow competitions and events such as IF Comp, Spring Thing, and the XYZZY Awards.
• Vote in community polls, or create your own to help others find games.
• Contribute listings, reviews, and recommendations yourself, wiki-style.

Who it suits

• Newcomers who want orientation: there's a "New to IF?" entry point and curated recommendation lists rather than a blank search box.
• Experienced players hunting obscure or historical works, or checking whether a game is worth their evening.
• Authors and organizers who want their competition entries and releases to be findable.

Trade-offs to expect

Coverage is uneven by nature. Well-known competition games tend to be thoroughly reviewed; recent or niche releases may have a listing but little commentary. Reviews are individual opinions, not editorial verdicts, so treat a single negative note as one data point. The site is funded by donations and managed by the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation, which explains the absence of ads but also the volunteer-paced updates.

A practical example

Suppose you liked a choice-based historical story and want something similar. Open that game's listing, check its system and tags, then look at its recommendation lists and the reviewers who rated it highly — their other reviews often point to comparable games faster than keyword search.

Next step

Start with the "IFDB Recommends" or "New to IF?" sections, pick two or three games with several reviews, and read the reviews rather than just the star ratings. If you already know a game you love, search for it and follow its recommendation lists outward. For background on the wider field, the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation describes the organizations and services behind these projects.

How can I find interactive fiction games to play based on my interests?

IFDB is built for exactly this: it catalogs interactive fiction and text adventures, then layers community reviews, lists and recommendations on top so you can move from “I liked X” to “here's what to try next.” You don't need an account to browse; you only need one to contribute reviews, lists or votes.

Practical ways to narrow down

• Start from a game you already love. Open its listing and look at the reviews, the tags and any lists it appears in. Readers who liked it often describe what they liked in specific terms, which is more useful than a star rating.
• Use lists and recommendations. Community members build curated lists around themes, mechanics and moods — the site's front page shows newly created recommended lists alongside its own recommendations feed. These are effectively hand-picked reading paths.
• Browse by competition. Competitions such as IF Comp and Spring Thing produce large batches of short, self-contained games each year. Working through a single year's entries is a low-commitment way to sample many styles.
• Browse by author, engine or year when you find a creator or tool whose work clicks with you. The catalog is wiki-style, so entries usually note the authoring system (Twine, Ink, Ren'Py, Quest and others appear in the recent-games list).
• Filter with polls and tags. Polls ask the community questions like “games with really weird locations,” which surface titles you'd never find through keyword search.
• Check reviews before committing. Reviews on IFDB are written by named members and tend to be candid about rough edges, not just praise — useful when you're deciding whether a game's difficulty or tone suits you.

Matching taste to format

A concrete first move

Pick one game you've enjoyed, open its IFDB page, and read the two or three longest reviews. Note the titles those reviewers also mention, then check whether any appear in a list you can browse in one sitting. That chain — game, review, list, next game — is the fastest loop the site supports.

For broader context on the field, the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation maintains the database and other services, and Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation explains what it supports.

What are some well-regarded interactive fiction games recommended by the community?

The IFDB community surfaces well-regarded interactive fiction mainly through reviews, recommended lists, polls, and its annual competition results rather than a single ranked chart. If you want a starting point that reflects broad community taste, look at The Interactive Fiction Database "IFDB Recommends," the "Recommended Lists" (including member-curated lists), the XYZZY Awards, and the Interactive Fiction Competition (IF Comp) entries, which are judged and discussed by players each year.

H3 How to find community favorites

• Recommended Lists: Curated by members and often themed (e.g., beginner-friendly, puzzle-heavy, story-first). Good for browsing by mood or difficulty.
• Reviews: Recent reviews show what players actually value, not just what is famous. Look for consistent praise across multiple reviewers.
• Competitions and awards: IF Comp and the XYZZY Awards highlight games that were played and discussed by a large community in a given year.
• Polls: Community polls often group games by trait (weird locations, title-driven premises), which helps if you want something specific.

H3 A practical way to choose

1. Start with a recommended list or an award winner in a genre you like (mystery, sci-fi, slice-of-life).
2. Read two or three reviews to see whether the praised strengths match what you enjoy (puzzles vs. prose vs. branching).
3. Check the game's engine or format if it matters to you — IFDB listings note systems like Twine, Ink, Quest, or Ren'Py, which affect how you play.
4. If you are new, pick a shorter, highly reviewed game first; longer parser games can be rewarding but have a steeper learning curve.

A concrete example: if you enjoy mystery, search IFDB for mystery games with strong reviews and check whether reviewers mention "one-room" or "short" if you want a quick session. If you prefer literary, choice-based work, filter toward Twine or Ink games with multiple positive reviews. The trade-off is usually between polish and experimentation: competition entries can be inventive but rough, while older award winners are often more polished but may assume parser familiarity.

For broader context and official links, you can also check Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation, which manages IFDB.

How do I contribute a review or add a new game listing to IFDB?

You can contribute in two ways: add a missing game to the catalog, or write a review of a game that’s already listed. Both require an IFDB account, since contributions are tied to a member profile. The site describes itself as a wiki-style community project where members contribute listings, reviews, recommendations and more.

Adding a new game listing

Use the Add a game listing link on the Games section (also reachable from the home page). Expect a form asking for the game’s title, author, and system/engine (IFDB shows engines like Twine, Ink, Quest, Ren’Py and others alongside listings), plus a publication year and links where the game can be found or played. You can also attach a cover image and a description.

Practical points:

• Search first. Duplicate listings are the most common cleanup task in a catalog like this, so check by title and author before submitting.
• Be precise about the engine. It affects how players will run the game and which other titles it gets grouped with.
• Add a download or play link if one exists; a listing with no way to reach the game is much less useful.
• If you’re the author, say so in the description rather than editing the entry to read like promotion.

Writing a review

Open the game’s page and use the review option there. Reviews on IFDB appear as short quoted excerpts on the home page with a link to the full text, so the first sentence carries a lot of weight.

A review that helps other players usually covers:

• What kind of experience it is (puzzle-heavy, story-driven, experimental, short, long).
• How it plays: parser or choice-based, difficulty, whether it needs a walkthrough.
• Who it suits, and what might put someone off.
• Concrete detail rather than a score alone.

For example, a review excerpt shown on the home page reads “Fun one-room mystery with some rough spots” — that single line tells a reader the scale (one room), the genre (mystery), and that it isn’t polished, which is far more useful than “great game.”

Other ways to contribute

Beyond listings and reviews, IFDB members can create and vote in polls, build recommended lists, add walkthroughs, and list competitions. If you have played several games in a themed area — say, short horror pieces or games set in a single location — a public list is often more useful to newcomers than scattered reviews.

A sensible first contribution

Pick one game you know well that has a thin or missing entry. Check for duplicates, add or correct the listing details, then write a review of two or three paragraphs that names the engine, the length, and the kind of player who would enjoy it. That single action improves both the catalog and the recommendation side of the site at once.

For broader context on interactive fiction as a form, the community around The Interactive Fiction Database is one entry point; The Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation is the organization named on IFDB as managing the site.

What are the major interactive fiction competitions like IF Comp and the XYZZY Awards?

IF Comp and the XYZZY Awards are two distinct institutions in interactive fiction: one is an annual competition for newly released games, and the other is an annual award for already-released work. IFDB tracks both as part of its catalog and community activity, listing competitions such as IF Comp, Spring Thing, and the XYZZY Awards alongside the 32nd Annual Interactive Fiction Competition.

IF Comp is a yearly competition where authors submit new interactive fiction, and judges play and score the entries. It has historically been oriented toward short, self-contained games that can be evaluated within a judging period, which makes it a common entry point for first-time authors and a reliable snapshot of what the community is producing in a given year. Because results come from a broad pool of judges rather than a small jury, the outcome reflects popular reception as much as craft.

The XYZZY Awards work differently: they recognize achievement across categories (such as writing, puzzles, and individual elements) in games released during the previous year. Where IF Comp is a contest with a ranked result, the XYZZYs are closer to an industry-style awards ceremony, highlighting standout work that may have appeared in competitions, jams, or independent releases.

Other events round out the calendar. Spring Thing is another long-running annual competition, and jams such as IntroComp and Neo-Twiny Jam serve narrower purposes, like encouraging unfinished openings or very small games. IFDB's competition listings and news posts are a practical way to follow these cycles.

If you are deciding where to start: play IF Comp entries to sample a wide range of current, short games; browse XYZZY winners to find acclaimed work worth your time; and check competition listings when you want deadlines or a reason to make something small.

A useful next step is to open IFDB's competition pages and sort by year, then read a few member reviews before committing to a game. The Interactive Fiction Database

How does IFDB decide which games to recommend and how are top reviewers ranked?

IFDB's recommendations and reviewer rankings come from community activity rather than a single editorial algorithm. The site is a wiki-style catalog, so much of what surfaces as "recommended" reflects member contributions: reviews, ratings, lists, polls, and recommendations added by other players.

H3 How recommendations work

• Community lists and recommendations. Members can create recommended lists and add games to them. The homepage shows recent examples, such as a new recommended list by David Welbourn.
• Reviews and ratings. Games with more reviews and ratings tend to get more visibility. The "Top" and "Hot" browsing options give different views of the catalog, while "IFDB Recommends" is the site's own recommendation entry point.
• Polls. Members create polls to help others find games by theme or trait, such as games with weird locations. Poll results are another community-driven signal.
• Competitions and awards. Listings for events like IF Comp, Spring Thing, and the XYZZY Awards add context that can shape which games get attention.

H3 How top reviewers are ranked The site has a "Top Reviewers" section, which implies reviewers are ranked by their review activity and possibly by how useful or well-received those reviews are. The homepage shows individual reviews with short pull quotes, so the ranking is tied to visible review contributions rather than a separate editorial board. Because IFDB is collaborative, the exact weighting can change as the site evolves.

H3 What this means for you If you want better recommendations, browse lists, polls, and competitions rather than relying on one ranking. If you want to become a top reviewer, write consistent, specific reviews that help other players decide whether a game is for them.

A practical next step: open a game page, read two or three reviews with different opinions, then check whether the game appears in any recommended list or poll. That combination gives you a clearer picture than any single ranking. For broader interactive fiction discussion, The Interactive Fiction Community Forum is a useful companion.