| Site Title and
Rank |
Description |
Avalon;
The Legend Lives
 |
Perhaps the ultimate evolution of the text adventure game. Beautifully written,
this is a world of enormous depth and complexity, yet with comprehensive
help and guidance for the absolute novice so that he or she may choose the guild and city which best suits their character's outlook. Though packed with puzzles and quests like any good adventure game, this is really a living, ever-evolving world of feuding city-states and political intrigue all watched over by the gods of Mount Olympus. Avalon provides an expansive web site
for additional help plus detailed history of the land. There is
also a Java client for immediate play. |
Rinkworks Adventure Games Live
 |
Several 'live' and online adventure games with a simple to use point and click interface requiring only your mouse and web browser and no java required! There is a 'Trainer' adventure to get you started and several other games of varying difficulty. Not multi-user or truly interactive but a nice idea well executed. |
The
Mysteries of Time and Space |
Award winning, web browser based single use adventure game, but with a chat facility combined for communicating hints to other players. Graphical click and point play and very well presented though with no great depth of game play. Still, it is free to play and well worth a look at a fairly unique approach to online adventure games. |
The Adventure Games Coalition |
A well maintained site with reviews and walkthroughs for a huge number of single user adventures including non-English games. Beware of 'spoilers' in the walkthroughs. |
S.P.A.G.
 |
The Society for the
Promotion of Adventure Games. Dedicated to text based adventures and other
interactive text based games with reviews, related links and a quarterly
magazine with a library of back issues. Perhaps not surprisingly,
the frames option on the site doesn't appear to work. |
First
Age
 |
After the apocalytptic
divine war, the continent of Avalon is bathed in a new dawn where
you the mortal can play a major role. This is the original format
of the classic Avalon role playing adventure game before civilization evolved
and removed the rough edges. Expect blood and gore once you are
through the initial new player support and you had better be on
your mettle for the blow-by-blow combat system of Avalon will test the coolest of heads. This is an action adventure and no mistake. A java client
is available for immediate play from your browser but most players will soon want to move onto a proper mud client in such a fast moving environment. |
Phatgames
|
A free site which includes
a multitude of java-based, single player games including many
implementations of classic '80s arcade games and some single player
adventures. Also sports games and multiplayer backgammon and chess
implementations and some interactive support for Web TV users. |
Agamemnon;
Kings of England  |
A medieval adventure
game based in the era of the one hundred years war between France
and England. They have introduced some refreshingly new ideas
to the text games genre. The evocation of both France and England
is stunningly accurate. Alongside the combat related aspects of
the game is the huge potential for actual adventure; something
which has been lacking in the online adventure games and text based
games genre for some time. |
| The Interactive Fiction Archive |
A no nonesense archive (that is to say rather technical) for public domain and shareware 'interactive fiction' games, or, adventure games. Tools for development and converting old commercial games, now public domain to download and run on your PC or Mac. Classics from Level9 and Infocom with interpreters are available not to mention articles on adventure games, hints and tips etc. But don't thinbk this is all a nostalgia trip! There is an active upload section where authors can make their latest offerings available. Also information and links to a number of adventure game authoring tools. All bang up to date. |
The Explore Adventure Series |
A number of single-user adventures that you can play via a java applet online. Hardly breath-taking but neat and working and playable; but you soon see why multiplayer games with other real human beings in them have taken over to a great extent. |
| Adventureland |
The online source for enthusiasts looking for information on almost any text adventure game and their graphical incarnations, the authors, game-writing systems and so on. Do read the FAQ though, this really is an index of single-user adventures, mostly commercial, from the last 25 years or so and goes out of its way not to include MUDs and RPGs while admitting that definitions and distinguishing between them all is very difficult. |
| Text Based Adventure Games |
Interesting discussion of some of the merits of multiplayer text based online adventure games over multiplayer graphical games purporting to be role playing adventure games. Very much takes the side of the traditionalist but adds interesting points to the debate, if from a biased perspective. |
