# Any Old School Text-Based Interactive Fiction Adventure Fans In The House? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 1, 2000, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231 "2000-10-01T08:38:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/1 "2000-10-01T08:38:37Z")
Does the phrase _“You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike.”_ make you smile knowingly? Did you once type “ZYZZY” into a computer to see what happened? Do you remember _“A hollow voice says, ‘Fool’.”_ as the reply? The last time Drain Bead was here, we both rediscovered our love for Interactive Fiction. We found for $5 a small collection of Infocom classic games on CD and had a blast playing them! I subsequently found online and purchased from England the out-of-print _Masterpieces of Infocom_ CD which has every game they ever released (except for two) along with .pdf files of the original documentation that came with the old games (originally for Atari, TRS-80 and Apple II machines - I have a game from then for Dos 2.0 of _Enchanter_ on a 5.25 floppy which I beat on my dad’s old XT) for about $45. Right now, a copy is being auctioned off on ebay for almost $90! Anyway, are there any fans of the old games here? Anyone still play them? Anyone remember playing the old Colossal Cave / Adventure games as a youth? Or using Invisiclues? I still think these games show way more cleverness intelligence and fun than the current crop of games… Oh, and you wanna play the original Zork again? Maybe you are a young’un who never heard of what I am talking about and wanna see what us geezers did for fun before sound cards and color monitors? [Click for WIN Version](http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Download/Zork1.exe) [Click for DOS Version](http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Download/zork1.zip) [Click for MAC Version](http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Download/zorki.hqx) The games were released for free by Activision to promote their subsequent graphical Zork games, so this is not a copyright infringement. Please [click here](http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/download.html) for similar downloads of the other Zork games! * * * Yer pal, Satan - Commissioner, [The Teeming Minions](http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/full/show?lid=39428&page=leaguehome) \*TIME ELAPSED SINCE I QUIT SMOKING: Five months, three weeks, one day, 6 hours, 38 minutes and 30 seconds. 7011 cigarettes not smoked, saving $876.38. Extra time with Drain Bead: 3 weeks, 3 days, 8 hours, 15 minutes. \***“I’m a big Genesis fan.”-David B. _(Amen, brother!)_** ---
**Author:** ![Yue\_Han](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/eada6e/32.png) [@Yue\_Han](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yue_Han)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/2 "2000-10-01T08:49:06Z")
I played the Hitchhiker’s Guide Game from Infocom. One of the best damn games I ever played that didn’t involve a Triforce. –John ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/3 "2000-10-01T09:02:09Z")
Satan, you’ve stumbled onto my secret love: Text-based Adventures! I enjoy them immensely. BTW, I’m looking for one I haven’t been able to find for download. It’s an Infocom game, IIRC, called ‘A Mind Forever Wandering’. I played it once off a rental CD-ROM and didn’t make my own copy (kicking myself silently). So, are there any online venors for those kind of games for a reasonable price? OK, enough of that. I found a good Z-Machine Emulator for Windows 95 called WinFrotz. It’s freeware, and you can legally download the original Zorks and play them. I have it myself, and I’ve downloaded various games for it. If you feel the mood, WinFrotz also supports graphical adventures. WinFrotz is available [here](http://www.concentric.net/~Twist/WinFrotz/). I hope it’s helpful. ---
**Author:** ![mazirian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@mazirian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazirian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/4 "2000-10-01T09:02:37Z")
Ahh… _Leather Goddesses of Phobos_… Ahh… ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/5 "2000-10-01T10:04:17Z")
I loved the old Infocom games, and played a great majority of them back in the 80’s. It’d be tough to pick a favorite, but if I had to, it’d probably be _Spellbreaker_. However, I played that one quite a bit on my Atari 800, was making considerable progress, then the game disk fucked up on me and wouldn’t work. I gave up in frustration at that point, but ever since I’ve been wanting to find a copy and go back and finish that one. I remember the feel of finally solving a tough puzzle, and the suspense as you waited on the slow disk access to reveal what was hidden on the other side of the Flathead Reservoir, having just opened flood control dam #3. They don’t make 'em like that anymore. Hello Sailor! ---
**Author:** ![starfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@starfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starfish)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/6 "2000-10-01T16:31:25Z")
XYZZY try [http://www.sparkynet.com/jderouen/textadvs/](http://www.sparkynet.com/jderouen/textadvs/) for a lot of links. It includes links to the newsgroups [good for discussions] and the interactive fiction archive [games, source code, programming aids, interpreters] ---
**Author:** ![Minxsmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Minxsmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minxsmom)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/7 "2000-10-01T17:52:31Z")
I still play mine all the time. You’ve gotta love Infocom. I don’t think I could ever pick a favorite, but if I were forced to I’d have to go with Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. _give cheese sandwich to dog_ ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/8 "2000-10-01T18:07:36Z")
Oooh! Oooh! I’ve got a Z-Machine on my computer! I haven’t played IF’s in awhile, but maybe I’ll find something new at some of the links above. ---
**Author:** ![Holy\_Avenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@Holy\_Avenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Holy_Avenger)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/9 "2000-10-01T18:14:22Z")
By coincidence, the games for the 2000 Interactive Fiction Competition should be out literally any time now (the deadline was last night at 11:59 EST). For more information, go here: [http://www.textfire.com/comp2000](http://www.textfire.com/comp2000) This is the sixth year of the competition and in that time there have really been some terrific games developed. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/10 "2000-10-01T18:21:41Z")
Those were around when I was ten if IRC. I had too much fun playing them. Too bad I don’t have them anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Juniper200](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/11 "2000-10-01T18:22:15Z")
I love the old text-based games! For all of you hichhiker’s fans out there, the game is available to be played online (no downloads or nuttin’!) at [http://www.douglasadams.com/creations/infocom.html](http://www.douglasadams.com/creations/infocom.html) And they wonder why I never get anything done at work… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/12 "2000-10-01T19:08:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Satan \* > \*\*Does the phrase _“You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike.”_ make you smile knowingly? Did you once type “ZYZZY” into a computer to see what happened? Do you remember _“A hollow voice says, ‘Fool’.”_ as the reply? \*\* Yes! Yes! and…er, no. Everytime I’ve played Adventure, that creepy hollow voice said “PLUGH”. 🙂 It’s funny, I’m not really a games person. Adventure, Windows Solitaire, and Championship Spades ([http://dq.com/spades.html](http://dq.com/spades.html)) are the only games I’ve ever gotten into. Adventure was my first and to be honest, I never fully solved it during the time I had access to the HP mainframe I played it on in the early 80’s, but I sure had fun anyway. Here’s a(nother) nice link to a nice Adventure site: [http://people.delphi.com/rickadams/adventure/index.html](http://people.delphi.com/rickadams/adventure/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/13 "2000-10-01T20:32:22Z")
I’m **still** working on _Bureaucracy_! Thanks for the links, Satan et al. I’ve always loved text-adventures. Playing them instead of these fast n’ flashy games all the kids today like is like the difference between listening to the radio and watching MTV. _Hitchhiker’s_ and _Zork_ were my firsts (can’t remember which was which, though; probably _Hitchhiker’s_) and several already mentioned and some not (like–what was it called?–“Ned and Ed coun’t make Neither Head Nor Tail Of It?”) quickly followed. Ah, meeeeeemories! As soon as I can find that old 5 1/4 disk, I’m going to right back where I left of on _Bureaucracy_… I feel inspired. ---
**Author:** ![Zilch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Zilch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zilch)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/14 "2000-10-01T20:59:55Z")
Played them? Hell, I WROTE one. Okay, so it was done in basic and it sucked . . . hey, maybe I could do better now that I know C++? WHOOHOO! SENIOR SEM PROJECT! 😉 – Zilch ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/15 "2000-10-01T22:32:28Z")
> [@](#): > > “Ned and Ed coun’t make Neither Head Nor Tail Of It?” Nord and Bert…and that game was fucking hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/16 "2000-10-01T23:10:08Z")
**Derleth** You can find that game on a couple of CD RRom compilations which Activision has released from time to time since they bought Infocom. “A Mind Forever Voyaging” (not “Wandering”) came out on “The Lost Treasures of Infocom (Volume II)”, and “The Sci-Fi Collection,” which is just a handful of games. Every Infocom game is available on the “Masterpieces of Infocom,” which is what I purchased from a dealer online from England. **Cabbage** You can get “Spellbreaker” on “The Lost Treasures of Infocom (Volume I)” and “The Fantasy Collection.” **Holy Avenger** Thanks for that! I do remember seeing something about that… **Pantellerite** If you need to look for it, “Bureaucracy” can be found on the second volume of the “Lost Treasures” and also on “The Comedy Collection,” which is what Drain Bead and I managed to find in the Office Max in the cheapo software section. I gave it to Drainy when I got my “Masterpieces” CD, so maybe you and she can discuss making a deal! 🙂 **Zilch** Send a copy to me! I’d love to play around with it! For anyone who wants to check out the CD releases of the games, while they are no longer being made by Activision, you can find them of you look around. In addition to geting lucky (like I did at Office Max), here is what I found in case anyone is interested:[ul] [li][Interdata Developments](http://www.cix.co.uk/~lacegem/) is a company in England who is selling new and shrinkwrapped versions of “The Lost Treasures II” and “The Masterpieces CD” for sale. Check the exchange rates (they only list in British pounds) but the Masterpieces CD with shipping cost me approximately $45.[/li][li]If you think that’s high for a CD, check out the auction for [Masterpieces of Infocom for MAC & PC CD-ROM](http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=451806487) on ebay, which is now up to $91.00! :eek:[/li][li][The Lost Treasures of Infocom](http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=448856001) on ebay going for $51.00 now.[/li][li][Infocom Adventure Collection Mac PC CD Rom](http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=449898188) currently at $18.00.[/li][li][Infocom The Mystery Collection Win/Mac NEW!](http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=453053932) at ebay for $8.99 now.[/li][li][Text Adventure MASTERPIECES of INFOCOM No Res](http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=453760947) on ebay is at $20.50 but it’s early![/li][li][Infocom Fantasy Collection **1st Bid Wins**](http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=450712609) is looking for a first bid at $13.03 approximately to take it.[/li][li]The same buy wants the same amount for [Infocom Adventure Collection _1st Bid Wins_](http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=451315111).[/li][li][Infocom Fantasy Collection](http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=454078084) is going for $12.50 right now.[/li][li][The Lost Treasures of Infocom II for Macintosh](http://page.auctions.yahoo.com/auction/40471798) on Yahoo auctions still looking for an opening $12.99 bid.[/li][li][The Adventure Collection](http://page.auctions.yahoo.com/auction/40495653) on Yahoo for $5.99 now.[/li][li]The same person is selling [The Comedy Collection](http://page.auctions.yahoo.com/auction/40496107) for (currently) the same price.[/ul][/li]Glad to see that Interactive Fiction is still alive! * * * Yer pal, Satan - Commissioner, [The Teeming Minions](http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/full/show?lid=39428&page=leaguehome) \*TIME ELAPSED SINCE I QUIT SMOKING: Five months, three weeks, one day, 21 hours, 10 minutes and 10 seconds. 7035 cigarettes not smoked, saving $879.41. Extra time with Drain Bead: 3 weeks, 3 days, 10 hours, 15 minutes. \***“I’m a big Genesis fan.”-David B. _(Amen, brother!)_** ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/17 "2000-10-02T03:45:12Z")
Thanks, Satan. This thread actually inspired me to head over to Amazon and see what I could find, and I picked up the Zork set of Infocom games, which includes 5 Zorks, the Enchanter trlogy, and Wishbringer. I played all of those, but it’s been many years, and, as I said, I never did finish Spellbreaker (or Beyond Zork, for that matter). I did a little searching around and found a good link devoted to interactive fiction. It’s got pages of reviews of dozens of games, many of which are freeware, along with links where they can be downloaded. It’s enough to keep me busy for quite some time (as if I really need any more distractions from school). [http://www.sparkynet.com/spag/](http://www.sparkynet.com/spag/) Anybody else remember Infocom’s newsletter _The New Zork Times_? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/18 "2000-10-02T08:16:05Z")
Zork! I loved Zork. I have a particular fondness for Zork I, which was the only one I was able to solve. I almost had Zork II, but I couldn’t figure out how to get the bills, even when a friend of mine repeatedly explained how. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/19 "2000-10-02T13:59:46Z")
Hell I’ve got a collection of the original Infocom games at home, something like 15 of them all original and all on 5 1/4. I think only one is missing it’s book and all the others are complete. My favorite was Trinity. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2000, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231/20 "2000-10-03T00:29:43Z")
Nord and Bert! That’s right… Thanks, Drain. Loved that game. When I first played it, I thought it was the hardest one ever. Until, like I mentioned, I met Bureaucracy. Thanks for the tip, Satan. I’ll look for “Lost Treasures, vol. 2” although I’ve got to say that it seems kinda wrong (and perhaps a wee bit blasphemous) to play a text adventure off of a CD rom… without an amber or green monochrome monitor… Hmmm… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-school-text-based-interactive-fiction-adventure-fans-in-the-house/35231.md?page=2)