Games with Toys - an IFDB Poll

I want to distinguish toys from three other IF game elements: Puzzles require the player to find a solution to a problem in the narrative. If she can't find a solution, she's stuck. Branching allows the player to steer the plot of the narrative. Role-play allows the player to control character traits/abilities of the narrative's player character.

Toys, the focus of this poll, allow the player to, well... 'toy,' or generally monkey around, with a particular element of the game without punishments or decisive effects. I submit Lost Pig by Admiral Jota, Metamorphoses by Emily Short, and The Island of Doctor Wooby by Ryan Veeder as prime examples of games with toys. All three works include freely manipulable props. Lost Pig also includes a well-implemented and forgiving conversational NPC.

So what other toys have you enjoyed experimenting with? Please include the in-game name and in-game location of the toy in your comments.

View Comments (1) - Add a comment

	Suveh Nux, by David Fisher 3 votes "The magical language allows much freedom" [+]"The magical language allows much freedom" ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	Eat Me, by Chandler Groover 3 votes "More "snacks" than "toys"" [+]"More "snacks" than "toys": you can eat or taste pretty much everything in the game, and a lot of objects are there purely so you can try them, without necessarily advancing the plot." () --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... Vote for this game

	The Mary Jane of Tomorrow, by Emily Short 2 votes "The heart of the..." [+]"The heart of the game is a generative speech engine that the player can tinker with; this ultimately solves puzzles, but the interest is more about playing around with possibilities." --Sam Kabo Ashwell... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... IFforL2 says: This is really helpful as an example of a game where toys are possible without complicated parser commands. Vote for this game

	Monster Maker, by Adri ("Erin Gigglecreek") 2 votes "Play dress-up!" [+]"Play dress-up!" --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car... IFforL2 says: Buggy and poorly implemented. But still, I have fun with it. Vote for this game

	Spider and Web, by Andrew Plotkin 2 votes "The gadgets let you do quite a bit" [+]"The gadgets let you do quite a bit" ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	The Queen's Menagerie, by Chandler Groover 2 votes "The toys are the game" [+]"The toys are the game: Since the plot is linear and the game is essentially puzzleless, the interactivity is all in what you choose to feed to which beasts -- and there is a large scope for variety" () --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	Color the Truth, by mathbrush 2 votes "The recording studio" [+]"The recording studio: The recording studio will record jumping, singing, yelling, opening and closing doors, etc. The noise gates and dampeners and echo all work, and so on." --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game

	Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short 2 votes "The..." [+]"The letter-remover, and other wordplay tools acquired later in play, allow the player to tinker around throughout; sometimes this is very obviously about solving puzzles, sometimes more of an amusing diversion." () --Sam Kabo Ashwell... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	Rogue of the Multiverse, by C.E.J. Pacian 2 votes "Buy accessories..." [+]"Buy accessories from the online store and try them out to your heart's content." () --IFforL2... "Decorate your..." [+]"Decorate your test subject bedroom with surprisingly stylist furniture purchased from a wall kiosk." () --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game

	Grandma Bethlinda's Remarkable Egg, by Arthur DiBianca 2 votes "A game where you explore an interactive egg" [+]"A game where you explore an interactive egg" () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game

	Ryan Veeder's Authentic Fly Fishing, by Ryan Veeder 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	Metamorphoses, by Emily Short 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	Lost Pig, by Admiral Jota 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... Vote for this game

	The Island of Doctor Wooby, by Ryan Veeder 2 votes "Living dinosaur dolls and other things to play around with." [+]"Living dinosaur dolls and other things to play around with." () --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... Vote for this game

	Lists and Lists, by Andrew Plotkin 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DAB... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game

	BYOD [es], by n-n 1 vote "¡El teléfono!" [+]"¡El teléfono!" ( - Full review) --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	Friendly Foe, by Mike Sousa 1 vote "Lot's of objects..." [+]"Lot's of objects to play with, even if you can't solve the puzzle. Reviewers say it's "about the experience" more than just about winning." () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	MetaComp [es], by n-n 1 vote " Bling Bling" [+]" Bling Bling: There are tons of poetically named accessories to collect and put on your character." ( - Full review) --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	Beta Tester, by Darren Ingram 1 vote "Lots of them,..." [+]"Lots of them, though they don't always work. In the cafeteria, especially." () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	My Evil Twin, by Carl Muckenhoupt 1 vote "The twin brother is a toy." [+]"The twin brother is a toy." () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	GROWBOTICS, by Cha Holland 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	Eliza, by Anonymous 1 vote "As amusing a time-waster as the "fortune" Unix command" [+]"As amusing a time-waster as the "fortune" Unix command: It's all the more amusing that Eliza is a supposed psychoanalyst. Eliza was originally a Unix program, and there were several other programs that simulated various mental health patients. Running Eliza against one of these patients provided for some very amusing transcript." ( - Full review) --mjhayes... Vote for this game

	Chlorophyll, by Steph Cherrywell 1 vote "Two functional..." [+]"Two functional shops, and various bits of toy-able scenery." () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	Junior Arithmancer, by Mike Spivey 1 vote "Fun...with math!" [+]"Fun...with math!" ( - Full review) --mg51... Vote for this game

	Grandma Bethlinda's Variety Box, by Arthur DiBianca 1 vote "One big toy" [+]"One big toy: The whole game is about interacting with one object and its various buttons, cords and whatsits" () --Robin Johnson... Vote for this game

	AI Dungeon, by Nick Walton 1 vote "Nothing but one massive, awe-inspiring toy." [+]"Nothing but one massive, awe-inspiring toy.: The possibilities are infinite!" () --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	Which Describes How You're Feeling, by Adam Parrish 1 vote "a rhyming game, similar to a road-trip game" [+]"a rhyming game, similar to a road-trip game: Plenty of freedom to toy around with the text." --IFforL2... Vote for this game

	Endure, by Emily Short 1 vote "Play around with translations to your heart's content." [+]"Play around with translations to your heart's content." --IFforL2... Vote for this game

Is there another game that you think should be on this list? Just fill in the title of a game you'd like to vote for.