Text based games

A text based game is a game you play mostly by reading and writing. The game describes a scene in words. You answer by typing a command or by picking a choice.

There are no graphics, or the graphics are only a small part of the game. The words do the work that pictures do in other games.

This post names the main kinds of text based games, with well known examples of each. Then it shows where LifeSim fits. You read this on the LifeSim blog, so we say clearly where it is not a pure text game.

Text adventures and interactive fiction

In a text adventure, you type short commands like “go north” or “get lamp.” The game reads them and tells you what happens. People also call these games interactive fiction.

Colossal Cave Adventure is the first well known example. William Crowther wrote it in the mid 1970s, and Don Woods expanded it in 1977.

Zork came next. A group at MIT started it in 1977, and some of them founded Infocom to sell it. In November 2025, Microsoft released the code of Zork I, II, and III as open source.

MUDs: text worlds you share

A MUD is a multi-user dungeon. It is a text world where many players are online at the same time. You type commands, and you see what other players do.

Roy Trubshaw started the first MUD in 1978 at the University of Essex. Richard Bartle took it over in 1980. Achaea is a MUD from Iron Realms that is still running. Its site says it is free and that you can play it in a browser.

Choice-based games

In a choice-based game, you do not type. You read a scene and tap one of a few options. The story branches from there.

Choice of Games makes interactive novels with no graphics and no sound. It has published more than 150 of them. Choices: Stories You Play from Pixelberry Studios is a phone app with stories in many genres. Its pictures are bigger, but you still read most of the game.

Text life sims

A text life sim gives you a whole life in words and menus. BitLife from Candywriter is the best known one. Its App Store page calls it a text-based life simulator. Each tap is a choice that changes your next year. Read games like BitLife for more of this kind.

AI text games

In an AI text game, an AI model writes the story while you play. Nobody wrote the scenes before you got there.

AI Dungeon from Latitude is the best known example. Its site calls it a free AI text adventure game. You type an action, a line to say, or a story event, and the AI writes what happens next.

Yes, many. Here are some places to start.

• IFDB, the Interactive Fiction Database, lists thousands of text adventures. Some game pages have a Play Online button.
• Achaea says that it is free and that you can play it entirely in a browser.
• Choice of Games has a Play Online link for its featured games. It says that it makes its older games free to all readers.
• AI Dungeon calls itself free, and you can play online or in its app.
• BitLife and Choices are free phone apps, with in-app purchases.
• LifeSim is free and runs in the browser, on a computer or a phone, with no download.

Partly. LifeSim is a mix, not a pure text game. The talking is all text. The world is not.

You start with one text box. You describe your character, for example “Maya Chen, 28, a kind florist in Paris.” The game reads the name, age, job, and city. Then it puts you in that city on a real 3D map of Earth.

The people around you have a job, a home, friends, and a daily routine. You talk to them in your own words, in person or by text message. There are no dialogue menus. Read open text chat for how that works.

People remember you. They keep a journal of past events and use it when they answer. They also text you on their own. Read NPC memory for more.

So LifeSim is like an AI text game when you talk, and like a life simulator when you move around the map. If you want only words on a screen, a text adventure or a MUD is a better fit.

LifeSim is in English only, and there is no language setting. It has no multiplayer, so you do not share a world with other players. It is free, with no paid items and no subscription.

Pick a text adventure if you like puzzles. Pick a MUD if you want other players around you. Pick a choice-based game if you want a planned story. Pick AI Dungeon if you want any story at all, with no map. Pick LifeSim if you want to talk freely to people in a real city. Read LifeSim vs AI Dungeon and LifeSim vs BitLife for the details.

What was the first text based game?

Colossal Cave Adventure is the first well known text adventure. William Crowther wrote it in the mid 1970s. It led to Zork.

What is the difference between a text adventure and interactive fiction?

Most people use the two names for the same thing: a game where you read a scene and type what you do.

Are there text based games where you can type anything?

Yes. AI Dungeon and LifeSim let you type your own words, and an AI writes the answer. A classic text adventure only knows the commands that its writers planned.

Is there a text based game about a whole life?

Yes. BitLife is a text life sim on phones. LifeSim also lets you live a life, on a map of real Earth. For a quick start, try the random life generator.

Are there story games that are not text based?

Yes. Many story games use full graphics and voice acting. Read story games for a list.

How do I start LifeSim?

Open it in any browser, on a computer or a phone. There is nothing to download. Read how to play for the first steps.

• Colossal Cave Adventure on Wikipedia
• Zork on Wikipedia
• IFDB: the Interactive Fiction Database
• Multi-user dungeon on Wikipedia
• Achaea: official site
• Choice of Games: about us
• Choice of Games: official site
• Choices: Stories You Play on the App Store
• BitLife - Life Simulator on the App Store
• AI Dungeon: official site
• AI Dungeon on Wikipedia