Interactive Fiction Database
Interactive Fiction Database (IFDB) is a community catalog for interactive fiction games, with tools to help players discover what to play.
What Interactive Fiction Database is
Interactive Fiction Database (IFDB) is a community catalog for interactive fiction games, with tools to help players discover what to play. Members can add and edit listings, and search by title, author, or description, then narrow results with filters for genre, language, authoring system, format, rating, and publication date. Recommendations come through personalized tools, curated lists, polls, and reviews from reviewers a member trusts. For supported titles, a Play Online option can launch a game in a browser without an interpreter download. IFDB also offers community reviews, ratings, competitions, and profiles. Its HTTP APIs return JSON for search, listing retrieval, tag editing, and publishing iFiction XML; they are intended for low-volume, user-driven use, not frequent crawling or high-load mirroring. Full SQL exports that omit personal information are available via the IF Archive and updated roughly quarterly. IFDB is free and available on the web, with an API for third-party software. The Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation maintains it, with funding from supporter donations.
Good
- Members can add and correct game listings.
- Search filters include genre, format, and publication date.
- Supported games can launch in a browser.
- Community features include reviews, polls, and lists.
- JSON APIs support search and listing updates.
Watch out
- Browser play is available only for supported listings.
- APIs are not intended for high-load crawling.
- IFDB catalogs game metadata rather than hosting games.
Who it suits
IFDB suits players looking for interactive fiction through detailed search and community recommendations. It also serves contributors and developers who want to maintain listings or use its APIs in low-volume applications.
Verdict
IFDB combines a searchable interactive-fiction catalog with community recommendations and ways to contribute. Its browser-play option and APIs are useful where supported, though the APIs are intended for low-volume use.
The facts
Each one read from Interactive Fiction Database's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- API
- IFDB provides HTTP APIs returning JSON for software that accesses its data, including search and game lookup.checked 5 Oct 2026
- API limits
- The APIs are intended for low-volume, user-driven applications and are not designed for high-speed crawling or large automated batches.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Catalog
- Members can add game listings and edit existing entries to keep the catalog current.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Collaborative catalog
- Members can add and edit game listings, so updates and corrections do not have to wait for site administrators.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Community features
- The site includes reviews, ratings, polls, lists, competitions, and member profiles.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Community moderation
- The Code of Conduct prohibits harassment, spam, malware, misleading links, and bad-faith ratings, and says moderators may remove ratings or reviews judged not to be in good faith.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Content licensing
- User-uploaded original material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States, while cataloged games themselves are not hosted by IFDB.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Cookies and logs
- IFDB uses cookies only at the user’s request to keep them logged in, and says its cookies contain no password or other personal information; it says it does not attempt to identify visitors from IP addresses.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Data exports
- Full SQL database exports excluding users’ personal information are available through the IF Archive and are updated roughly quarterly.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The putific API accepts iFiction XML so authoring software can offer a “Publish to IFDB” feature.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Operator
- IFDB is maintained by the IFDB committee of the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation and funded by supporters’ donations.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Operator and funding
- The Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation maintains IFDB, which is funded by donations from interactive fiction supporters.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Play online
- The Play Online button lets users start supported games in a web browser without downloading an interpreter.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- Many features are accessible without personal information; IFDB says it does not sell or commercially exploit registration information.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- IFDB is an interactive fiction game catalog and recommendation engine run as a wiki-style community project.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Recommendations
- Members can create Recommended Lists and use personalized tools that help match games to individual tastes.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Search
- Search supports title, author, and description matching, plus structured filters such as genre, language, authoring system, format, rating, and publication date.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Security
- IFDB's policy prohibits circumventing passwords or other features that protect personal information and using exploits that may disrupt the site.checked 5 Oct 2026
- Support
- Users can contact the IFDB committee by email or report technical issues and suggest features through its GitHub repository.checked 5 Oct 2026
- User content
- IFDB says it stores metadata about games rather than hosting the games themselves, and user-uploaded original material is generally licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States, with an exception for qualifying cover art.checked 4 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Play in browser
- A game's “Play Online” button can launch it in a browser without requiring a download, when that option is available on its listing.checked 5 Oct 2026
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