List of text-based computer games
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
The following list of text-based games is not to be considered an authoritative, comprehensive listing of all such games; rather, it is intended to represent a wide range of game styles and genres presented using the text mode display and their evolution across a long period.
On mainframe computers
Years listed are those in which the game is believed to have originally appeared. Often these games were continually modified and played as a succession of versions for years after their initial posting. (For purposes of this list, minicomputers are considered mainframes, in contrast to microcomputers, which are not.)
| Title | Year Created | Creator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC | 1961 | John Burgeson | Baseball simulator |
| Unnamed American football game[1] | 1968 or before | Unknown | For the Dartmouth Time Sharing System. One of "many games" in library of 500 programs. |
| The Sumer Game | 1968 | Doug Dyment | AKA Hamurabi |
| Highnoon | 1970 | Christopher Gaylo | |
| Baseball | 1971 | Don Daglow | |
| Oregon Trail | 1971 | Don Rawitsch | |
| Star Trek (strategy game) | 1971 | Mike Mayfield | |
| Hunt the Wumpus | 1972 | Gregory Yob | |
| Star Trek (script game) | 1972 | Don Daglow | |
| TREK73 | 1973 | William K. Char, Perry Lee, and Dan Gee | |
| dnd | 1975 | Gary Whisenhunt and Ray Wood | |
| Dungeon | 1975 | Don Daglow | |
| Colossal Cave Adventure | 1976 | Will Crowther | |
| Empire | 1977 | Walter Bright | |
| Mystery Mansion | 1977 | ||
| Zork | 1977 | Tim Anderson, | |
| Acheton | 1978 | Jon Thackray, David Seal and Jonathan Partington | |
| Decwar | 1978 | Hysick, Bob and Potter, Jeff | |
| Battlestar | 1979 | David Riggle | |
| Brand X | 1979 | Peter Killworth and Jonathan Mestel | aka Philosopher's Quest |
| HAUNT | 1979 | John Laird | |
| Martian Adventure | 1979 | Brad Templeton and Kieran Carroll | |
| New Adventure | 1979 | Mark Niemiec | |
| FisK | 1980 | John Sobotik and Richard Beigel | Text based adventure game |
| Hezarin | 1980 | Steve Tinney, Alex Shipp and Jon Thackray | |
| Kingdom of Hamil | 1980 | Jonathan Partington | |
| Monsters of Murdac | 1980 | Jonathan Partington | |
| Quondam | 1980 | Rod Underwood | |
| Rogue | 1980 | Michael Toy, Glenn Wichman, and Ken Arnold | |
| LORD | 1981 | Olli J. Paavola | Based on Lord of the Rings |
| Avon | 1983 | Jonathan Partington | Shakespearean game |
| Castle | 1983 | Barry Wilks | |
| Dunnet | 1983 | Ron Schnell | |
| Fyleet | 1986 | Jonathan Partington | |
| Crobe | 1987 | Jonathan Partington | |
| MIST | 1987 | MUD | |
| Nidus | 1987 | Adam Atkinson | |
| Quest of the Sangraal | 1987 | Jonathan Partington | |
| Spy Snatcher | 1989 | Jonathan Partington and Jon Thackray |
On personal computers
Commercial text adventure games
These are commercial interactive fiction games played offline.
Miscellaneous games
| Title | Year Created | Creator |
|---|---|---|
| Wizard's Castle | 1978 | Joseph R. Power |
| Snipes | 1983 | SuperSet |
| Sleuth | 1983 | Eric N. Miller |
| Beast | 1984 | Dan Baker, Alan Brown, Mark Hamilton and Derrick Shadel |
| Kingdom of Kroz | 1987 | Scott Miller of Apogee Software |
| Mtrek | 1987 | Chuck Peterson of UCSC |
| ZZT | 1991 | Tim Sweeney of Epic MegaGames |
| Curses! | 1993 | Graham Nelson |
| MegaZeux | 1994 | Gregory Janson of Software Visions |
| Jigsaw | 1995 | Graham Nelson |
| Chibot Ultra Battle | 1999 | |
| PAEE | 1999 | Enrique D. Bosch |
| For a Change | 1999 | Dan Schmidt |
| Shade | 2000 | Andrew Plotkin |
| Shrapnel | 2000 | Adam Cadre |
| The Gostak | 2001 | Carl Muckenhoupt |
| Deadline Enchanter | 2007 | Alan DeNiro |
| combatgrounds | 2008 | war games |
| Pork Text-based Adventure | 2012 | Pork Team |
Online games
Play-by-email games
These are play-by-email games played online.
| Title | Year Created | Creator |
|---|---|---|
| Lords of the Earth | 1983 | |
| Quantum Space | 1989 | |
| Atlantis PbeM | 1993 | |
| Eressea PbeM | 1996 | |
| WW2 The Big One PbeM | 2010 |
BBS door games
These are BBS door games played online.
| Title | Year Created | Creator |
|---|---|---|
| TradeWars 2002 | 1987 | Gary Martin for Martech Software |
| Legend of the Red Dragon | 1989 | Seth Able Robinson |
MUDs
Other
- Imperium (1989) by Pocketfiction
- Rise to Glory (1997) by Jason Granum
- Text Gangsters (2014) by Pan Gamers
References
- ^ Kemeny, John G.; Kurtz, Thomas E. (11 October 1968). "Dartmouth Time-Sharing". Science. 162: 223–228.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ https://archive.org/details/EnchantedCastleR3SW2000MichaelR.WilkAdventureInteractiveFiction
- ^ http://www.avalon-rpg.com/
- ^ http://mud.co.uk/richard/imucg4.htm
- ^ http://mud.co.uk/dvw/index.html
- ^ http://www.theyawhg.com
- ^ http://www.criminalgangsters.co.uk
- ^ http://www.nathanielogungbuyi.com/
- ^ http://www.cyborgreality.com/