Hi all,
All aboard the list train for the 8th time around.
For newbies or us forgettful oldies, the aim of this thread is to compile a list of adventure game recommendations from the collected wisdom of everyone here. It is intended to be a resource to help people decide which game to play next.
When I first joined GB, my best source of game recommendations was other boomers. I had no idea there were so many adventure games. I wanted to find out what was good and what to play. The resulting list, and lists for each subsequent year, are the thoughts of all participating boomers.
The method is simple. You list 20 games - yep this year it is 20 - you would recommend to someone looking for opinions on which games to play. They are not necessarily your own top 20 games but they might be. You might decide instead to recommend a cross-section of styles or types, from all the games you have played. You might not recommend one of your personal favourites because your passion for the game is too much a result of your own idiosyncracies at the time you played it. You also might not recommend it because it is notoriously hard to get running on anything later than an abacus. But there is no rule that says you can’t recommend such games; it is entirely up to you.
No game is excluded, if it meets the criteria of being an adventure game. We all know what that is when we see it, so don’t get too hung up on the detail.
There are some rules though:

1. You can recommend a maximum of 20 games. You can choose to recommend less.
2. You cannot recommend a series. If you want to recommend all the Tex Murphy games, that will take 5 seperate recommendations, one for each game.
3. Myst and RealMyst will be counted as one game.
4. Uru and its add ons will be counted as one game.
5. BadMojo and the Redux version are one game.
6. Directors cuts will be counted as the same game.
7. Adventure games only please (Dark Side games get their own list later).

The thread stays open for about three weeks, and I will post intermittent updates with gratuitously pithy commentary. I count as we go so try not to edit your recommendations once you post. And as I say every year it is compulsory to get more posts than the year before.
I am going last so someone else gets to go first.
Happy listing

8 years!!!! You mean to tell me we've been doing this for eight years???? Man how time flies

No list yet - still coming up with my 20 - so far I'm at (syd stops to check her list) 7

OK, I'll jump in. I wondered about mentioning games that are hard, if not impossible to get, but then I thought it was worth mentioning them, so that people can realise that they are good games.

In no particular order:
1. Keepsake
2. The Longest Journey
3. Gabriel Knight I, II and III, particularly II, the Beast within
4. Time Lapse
5. The Journeyman Project I, II and III, particularly III.
6. Tex Murphy series I - V, particularly III - V.
7. Myst series, particularly I and II
8. Necronomicon, mainly because I like HP Lovecraft.
9. Niburu
10. Syberia I and II. Loved Youki. Everyone should have one.
11. Dark Fall: the Journal.
12. The Barrow
13. Moment of Silence
14. Monkey Island Series. Genuinely funny.
15. Pilgrim
16. Legend of the Prophet and the Assassin
17. Black Dahlia
18. Morpheus
19. Obsidian
20. Zork Grand Inquisitor. Loved the Hell phone choice puzzle


Oh dear, I've filled them already. Every year a few new really good adventures are released, so the list gets longer.

Cheers, barbarosso

1. Arthur's Knights
2. Zork Grand Inquisitor
3. Sanitarium
4. Toonstruck
5. Pandora Directive
6. The Longest Journey
7. Syberia
8. Dark Fall
9. Secret of Monkey Island
10. Day of the Tentacle
11. Three Skulls of the Toltecs
12. Bad Mojo
13. Blackstone Chronicles
14. Death Gate
15. Dust a Tale of the Wired West
16. Gabriel Knight 2 The Beast Within
17. King's Quest 6
18. Touche Adventures of Fifth Musketeer
19. Phantasmagoria
20. Master of Dimensions

....and I'm in an agony over the next 20 that I had to leave out!

Hi Flotsam, here's my list for this year:

1-Riven
2-Syberia
3-Sentinel, Descendants in time
4-Myst
5-Syberia 2
6-Black Mirror
7-Keepsake
8-Longest Journey
9-Longest Journey Dreamfall
10-Schizm
11-Paradise
12-Myst 3 Exile
13-Myst 4 Revelation
14-Rhem
15-Amerzone
16-Nibiru
17-Scavenger Hunter
18-Secrets of DaVinci
19-Scratches
20-Time Stand Still

Hi flotsam

You are so good to keep doing this for us - and this "forgetful Oldie" does have a list ready somewhere ........ errrrrrrrrrrrr ...............

Gotcha !!

But 20 still isn't enough. [Pathetically moanin'] Would even 50 be enough, one wonders ??

BAAGS is such a splendid addiction

Cheers.

Mad

****************************************************

Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine

Black Dahlia

Blade Runner

Broken Sword [First One]

Discworld [First One]

Gabriel Knight Sins of the Fathers

Indy Fate of Atlantis

Kings Quest VI

Legend of Kyrandia

Monkey Island II

Phantasmagoria

Return to Zork

Scratches

Secret Files of Tunguska

Secrets of Da Vinci

Sherlock Rose Tattoo

Sherlock The Awakened

Simon the Sorcerer [First One]

Tex Murphy UAKM

Zork : Grand Inquisitor

Flotsam -- thank you, thank you. (Still playing frantically to finalize my list.)

Are Uru and Myst Online: Uru Live considered the same game?

Barbarosso -- those are excellent choices! But according to flotsam's rules, you can't list a game series and have it count as one vote. Gabriel Knight 1, 2 and 3 for instance would count as three games, not as one.

Listing a series makes it extremely difficult to count accurately.

In no particular order:
1-Stupid Invaders
2-Syberia
3-Syberia 2
4-The Longest Journey
5-Ankh
6-Fatal Illusion
7-Sherlock Holmes The Awakened
8-Nightlong
9-Paradise
10-Keepsake
11-Amerzone
12-Sanitarium
13-Atlantis
14-Beyond Atlantis
15-Beyond Atlantis 2 (Atlantis 3)
16-Still Life
17-Moment of Silence
18-Timelapse
19-Egyptian Prophesy
20-Aura

In no particular order:

1.Agatha Christie-Murder On the Orient Express
2.Agatha Christie-And Then There Were None
3.Still Life
4.Scratches Director's Cut
5.Keepsake
6.Syberia
7.Syberia 2
8.Moment of Silence
9.Nibiru
10.Dark Fall: Lights Out
11.Sentinel: Descendants in Time
12.Black Mirror
13.Secrets of the Ark
14.Aura
15.Aura 2
16.Crystal Key 2
17.DreamFall
18.The Longest Journey
19.Broken Sword:The Sleeping Dragon
20.Dark Fall:The Journal

Many more on this list, just had to put a stop though

Great start everyone.
Barbarosso, you need to go back and edit your list. Series require seperate votes for each game you want to mention. Its too hard to count otherwise and anything with a sequel becomes a series which makes having 20 choices a little meaningless.
I will take advice on Uru Becky - what do people think? I never played online.
I agree Mad - but my wife might choose to debate it with you
And I can't believe its 8 either Syd. I think I still had hair then

Arthur's Knights
Black Mirror
BladeRunner
Broken Sword 1
Daemonica
Discworld 1
Discworld 2
Gabriel Knight 1
Gabriel Knight 2
Grim Fandango
Keepsake
The Longest Journey
The Moment of Silence
Neverhood
Paradise
Shivers
Still Life
The Crystal Skull
Touche
Tunguska

Post Mortem**Syberia1**Syberia2**Tony Tough**Tungaska**Secrets of Atlantis**Secrets of DaVinci**Scratches**Ankh**Al Emmo**The Longest Journey**Keepsake**Paradise**Alida**Beyond Atlantis**Agon**Schizm**Beyond Time**The Messenger**Zork Grand Inquister**

1.Agatha Christie - And then there were none
2.Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express
3.The Longest Journey
4.Dark Fall
5.CSI Miami
6.Broken Sword 1
7.Broken Sword 2
8.Cameron Files 2-Curse of the Pharao
9.Case of the Rose Tatoo
10.Black Mirror
11.Discworld Noir
12.Curse of Monkey Island

Caroline

Thanks Flotsam.

Here is my list:

1. Uru
2. Deamfall
3. Myst
4. Riven
5. Myst III
6. Myst IV
7. Myst V
8. The Longest Journey
9. Sentinel
10. Still Life
11. Keepsake
12. The Moment of Silence
13. Syberia 2
14. Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon
15. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
16. Post Mortem
17. Sherlock Holmes: The Awakening
18. Scratches
19. Mysterious Journey II
20. Secret Files Tunguska

OK here goes. I love this list. Listed alphabetically

1. Ankh
2. Black Mirror
3. Broken Sword 1
4. Broken Sword 2
5. Day of the Tentacle
6. Discworld 1
7. Discworld 2
8. Dreamfall
9. Gabriel Knight 2 Beast Within
10. Grim Fandango
11. Lengend of Kyrandia Book 1
12. Monkey Island 1
13. Monkey Island 2
14. Monkey Island 3
15. Runaway 1
16. Sanitarium
17. Simon the Sorcerer 1
18. Simon the Sorcerer 2
19. Syberia 1
20. The Longest Journey

T his is going to be hard, there is so many good games out there.

Obsidian
myst
uru
Zork Grand Inquistor
Black Dahlia
nine
Syberia 1
Syberia 2
Aura
Amerzone
Black Mirror
Stupid Invaders
Ankh
Atlantis 1
Beyond Atlantis
Paridise
Sanitarium
NeverHood
Grim Fandango
Golen Gate

OK, here we go.

Black Mirror
Syberia 1
Syberia 2
Destination Treasure Island
Sherlock Holmes The Awakened
Sherlock Holmes The Case of the Silver Earring
Safecracker 2006
Tunguska
Secrets of Da Vinci
Dreamfall
Still Life
Moment of Silence
The Longest Journey
Delaware St John: The Case of Mystery Manor
Delaware St John: The Town With No Name
Dracula Resurrection
Amerzone
ECHO
Return to Mysterious Island
NiBiRu

Here's mine!
1. Shivers 1 - truly scary
2. Uru & add-ons - keep going back to replay
3. Daemonica - replayed much
4. Around The World in 80 Days -loved collecting 'loot'
5. Dragonriders of Pern - loved the books too
6. Scratches - most talked about game on GB
7. Dark Fall The Journal - Another good scare!
8. Sherlock Holmes Mystery Of The Mummy - solved slider for others often
9. Conspiracies - a 'bra bomb?', so funny
10. Grim Fandango - FUN
11. The Arrival - better than the movie
12. The Longest Journey - Good long game
13. Under A Killing Moon - good replay
14. Gabriel Knight, The Beast Within - difficult but good
15. Byzantine The Betrayal - 'build a hoist'?
16. Temujin - making a cuppa tea
17. Beyond Time - my very first game
18. Beyond Atlantis - loved the series
19. Sherlock Holmes Silver Earring - good, finally got it to run
20. Agatha Christie The Orient Express - loved gathering clues, solving mystery
If I am not allowed to add my 'comments' then ask me please to edit this post. Thanks
Love, Betty Lou

here's mine:

1. Riven
2. Gabriel Knight II, The beast Within
3. The Longest Journey
4. Beyond Atlantis
5. Dreamfall
6. Dark Fall the Journel
7. Keepsake
8. Barrow Hill
9. Myst 4 Revbelation
10. Uru Live
11. Ankh I
12. Aura
13. Obsidian
14. Amber, Journeys Beyond
15. Still Life
16. The Sacred Rings
17. Sentinel, descedents in Time
18. The arrangement
19. Rhem 2
20. Safecracker 2006

wow that was fast!

WW

here's my list:

1 Keepsake
2 Time stand still
3 Remedy
4 The longest journey
5 Scratches
6 secret files of tunguska
7 the black mirror
8 amerzone
9 syberia
10 sherlock holmes, the case of the rose tattoo
11 still life
12 Aura - fate of ages
13 Nibiru
14 Paradise
15 Agatha Christie- and there were none
16 Myst
17 return to mysterious island
18 Runaway
19 the secrets of Da Vinci
20 Hope, Springs, Eternal

I love looking at these lists. Betty Lou, I loved Daemonica, as well, but didn't include it as there was quite a bit of dispute as to it qualifying as an adventure game (I chickened out). It definitely IS an adventure game, though!

I'm also intrigued by the fact that Nine and Crystal Skull have appeared on a favorites list. I have both games but haven't played either one, as my recollection of both is that they were overall poorly reviewed. I guess I ought to play them and formulate my own opinion!!

Sorry for the interjection, flotsam--it's just SO hard not to comment!

Could not come up with 20, but all of these I have played again and again.

01. Quiet Weekend In Capri - really felt like I got away
02. Longest Journey
03. Phantasmagoria - 1st Adventure game I ever played, still love it and wish it would be compatible with Windows XP
04. Amber: Journeys Beyond - unfortunately also incompatible with XP
05. Phastasmaria II: A Puzzle of Flesh
06. Return to Mysterious Island (love inventory games)
07. Voyage
08. Gabriel Knights II: The Beast Within
09. Syberia
10. Secrets of DaVinci: The Forbidden Manuscript
11. Nancy Drew: Secret of the Scarlet Hand
12. Secret of the Lost Cavern

Hi flotsam --

The consensus among the membership is that Myst Online: Uru Live has so much new content (and will continue to have even more) that it should be considered a different game than Uru and all its add-ons.

OK, I've re-edited the game list.


1. Keepsake
2. The Longest Journey
3. Gabriel Knight II
4. Time Lapse
5. The Journeyman Project III
6. Tex Murphy III UAKM
7. Myst I
8. Necronomicon, mainly because I like HP Lovecraft.
9. Niburu
10. Syberia I
11. Dark Fall: the Journal.
12. The Barrow
13. Moment of Silence
14. Monkey Island I
15. Pilgrim
16. Legend of the Prophet and the Assassin
17. Black Dahlia
18. Morpheus
19. Obsidian
20. Zork Grand Inquisitor. Loved the Hell phone choice puzzle


Sorry, I misread your instructions. I must have been tired (but NOT emotional as well!)


Cheers, barbarosso

PS I am not sure whether Americans use this particular journalistic euphemism.
"Tired and emotional" = drunk.

Betty Lou, I loved the comments

OK Here Is MY Game List:

(1) Last Half Of Darkness<Spirits EyE>OK If I can't use this Game
Then Just Cross it Off as one of My games...
(2) Syberia
(3) Runaway 2
(4) Destination Treasure Island
(5) Ugly Duckling
(6) Mystery Of The Druids
(7) Secrets Of Atlantis
(8) Broken Sword 4
(9) Scratches
(10) Moment Of Silence
(11) Nibirui
(12) Agatha Christie..And Then There were none
(13) Grim Fandango
(14) Gabriel Knights 3
(15) Discworld Noir
(16) Keepsake
(17) Barrow Hill
(18) Black Mirror
(19) Post Mortem
(20 Black Dahlia

This is my first list, I'm so excited!!!
In no particular order:

1. Curse of Monkey Island
2. Grim Fandango
3. Zork: Grand Inquisitor
4. The Neverhood
5. Toonstruck
6. Aura: Fate of the Ages
7. Sentinel: Descendants in Time
8. Broken Sword: Sleeping Dragon
9. Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail
10. Stupid Invaders
11. Schizm
12. Mysterious Journey II
13. Riven
14. Myst Online: Uru Live

Candy

Nora ...HUN It has to be 20...

Out of curiousity I must ask.....shouldn't this be 2007?

EDIT: Darleen, they can have one if they want...just not over 20.

Ana

Darleen,

No it doesn't need to be 20.






My Ana! - We missed that. hahahaha.

Rule #1 says it's okay to choose less than 20 Dar.
My head already hurts from trying to come up with 14.

Candy

OH Sorry Guys...I thought 20....

Ignore me...

Agon: The Mysterious Codex
Alida
Amber: Journeys Beyond
Beyond Atlantis (Atlantis 2)
Feeble Files, The
Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time
Lighthouse: The Dark Being
Morpheus
Myst III: Exile
Myst IV: Revelation
Obsidian
RealMyst
Rhem
Riddle of the Sphinx
Riven
Space Bar, The
Starship Titanic
Timelapse
Titanic: Adventure Out of Time
Zork Grand Inquisitor

Thanks for the changes, barbarosso. And for the evocative expression.

Thanks Barbarossa!
And thanks to the muckys for changing the year - must have been me that was tired and emotional
And I will count Uru Online as a seperate game as proposed.

Look me straight in the eye when you call me mucky.

It is an endearment, right?

Mucky?

Hi

Mucky MaG ....

DOES have a sort of ring to it

[Sorry I'm such a cheeky disgrace .... Can't help it ]

Cheers.

Mad

My list of favorites, no particular order (although, I must say Grim Fandango has got to be my all time favorite)

1. Grim Fandango
2. Return to Zork
3. Riddle of the Sphinx
4. Nightlong
5. Syberia
6. The Curse of Monkey Island
7. Rhem
8. Broken Sword The Sleeping Dragon
9. Amerizone
10. The Last Express
11. Riven
12. Broken Sword 4
13. Black Dahlia
14. Shivers
15. The Longest Journey
16. The Omega Stone
17. Tony Tough and the Night of the Roasted Moths
18. Jazz and Faust
19. Conspiracies
20. Alfred Hitchcock Presents The Final Cut


This was fun to look back and remember some of the fun I have had!


Koalanut

Guilty, Marian (Crystal Skull) One of the funniest games I've ever played. Actually I included several that didn't get good reviews - they were wrong of course.

Don't think I have 20

1. Post Mortem
2. Still Life (I dearly hope there will be a third one)
3. Syberia
4. Grim Fandango
5. Gabriel Knight I
6. Gabriel Knight II
7. Broken Sword I
8. Broken Sword II
9. Secrets of DaVinci
10. Cameron Files I
11. Cameron Files II
12. Obsidian
13. Runaway
14. Longest Journey

thanks Flotsam

Gabriel Knight #2 Beast Within
Broken Sword Circle of Blood
Broken Sword Smoking Mirror
Simon The Sorcerer #1
Simon The Sorcerer #2 Lion,Wizard,Wardrobe
Discworld
Discworld #2 Missing Presumed
Sanitarium
Runaway Road Adventure
The Longest Journey
The Black Mirror
Syberia
Tony Tough Roasted Moth
Secret of Monkey Island
Curse of Monkey Island
LeChucks Revenge
Longest Journey #2 Dreamfall
Ankh
Grim Fandango
Syberia #2

Nickie, I'm all for funny in games! I did load up The Crystal Skull a LONG time ago. The sum total of my recollection consists of having been bitten by a snake (?) and seeing Edward James Olmos in a loincloth. It was an interesting first impression.

If I can get the game running, I will give it another try this year.

Well yes, I could have been unduly influenced because of the loincloths. I sometimes like to have a game that makes me laugh the whole way through, and not many do (the four that did on are the list). I'll sure be interested to hear what you think Marian.

My problem is deciding which games not to include. I'd like to list all the old LucasArts adventures, but that would take up too many slots. I hate leaving out The Dig, with its wonderful soundtrack, the one of a kind Loom, and Day of the Tentacle, probably the funniest game I've ever played. So I decide by using criteria like "TLJ, Riven, and Syberia don't need my help because several other people are sure to recommend them."

I also wanted to list a variety -- humorous and not, puzzle-oriented and not, and most importantly, new as well as older games. Generally I only listed one member of a series, though you can see I have 2 or 3 exceptions. (I assume someone who enjoyed GK1 would seek out the other two GK games. But I know of people who enjoyed Zork GI but not Zork Nemesis and vice versa...)

Here are the older (pre year 2000) games I'd recommend (minus those I didn't have room for)

Amerzone
Secret of Monkey Island
Curse of Monkey Island
Gabriel Knight 1
Grim Fandango
Morpheus
Myst/RealMyst
Myst III: Exile
Obsidian
Sanitarium
Shivers
Zork Nemesis
Zork Grand Inquisitor

And below are the newer ones:

Aura
Dark Fall
The Egyptian Prophecy
Keepsake
Return to Mysterious Island
RHEM 2
Tunguska

Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't have a separate list of games that are generally easy to get running on newer computers without needing DOSBox or fussing with compatibility mode, etc. But Microsoft's patches have made this difficult to predict even with relatively recent games, what with needing to run them as administrator and such. The LucasArts games may actually be easier to get running than some of the new games now, thanks to ScummVM. And GK1 and GK2 now have the fan-made XP installers.

Here are mine:

1. Keepsake
2. Barrow Hill
3. Scratches
4. Riddle of the Sphinx
5. Grim Fandango
6. Omega Stone
7. Longest Journey
8. Shivers I
9. Shivers II
10. Dracula Resurrection
11. Dracula The Last Sanctuary
12. The Dig
13. Time Lapse
14. Lighthouse
15. Sanitarium
16. Zork Nemesis
17. Agon The Mysterious Codex
18. Darkfall
19. Lights Out
20. Beyond Atlantis 2

I had to leave off a bunch of good ones.

Bets

My List:

1. Syberia
2. Syberia 2
3. Black Mirror
4. Dream Fall
5. Keepsake
6. Aura
7. Aura 2
8. Nancy Drew games
9. Still Life
10.Amazone
11.Paradise
12.Tunguska
13.Post Mortem
14.Schizm
15.Myst
16.Riven
17.Runaway
18.Secret of Da Vinci
19.Delaware St. John: Case of Mystery Manor
20.Delaware St. John: The town with no name.

I could play all these games, over and over again, and never get tired of them..

Liz

Here's my list:

1. The Longest Journey
2. Dreamfall
3. Dracula: Resurrection
4. Dracula: The Last Sanctuary
5. The Blackstone Chronicles
6. Necronomicon
7. The Black Mirror
8. Nibiru
9. Syberia
10. Syberia 2
11. A Quiet Weekend in Capri
12. Last Half of Darkness: Shadows of the Servants
13. Barrow Hill
14. Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express
15. Amerzone
16. Nancy Drew: The Secret of Shadow Ranch
17. Road to India
18. Keepsake
19. The Sacred Rings
20. The Cameron Files: Secret at Loch Ness

Thanks for doing this yet again, flotsam. I love reading everyone else's choices.

The first two will always be my top 2 favorites, no matter how many games I play. The others are listed alphabetically.

01. Myst I
02. Myst II: Riven
03. Amerzone
04. Ankh 1
05. Aura 1
06. Beyond Atlantis (aka Atlantis II)
07. Broken Sword 1, Circle of Blood
08. Broken Sword 2, The Smoking Mirror
09. Kyrandia 1, Legand of
10. Lighthouse: The Dark Being
11. Loom
12. Monkey Island 1, Secret of
13. Morpheus
14. Myst III: Exile
15. Riddle of the Sphinx
16. Schizm (Mysterious Journey 1)
17. Still Life
18. Syberia I
19. Syberia II
20. Timelapse

Great start - I had better get counting.

My turn:

Secrets of Da Vinci
Paradise
Secret Files Tunguska
Keepsake
Ankh
Moment of Silence
The Riddle of Master Lu
Conspiracies
Runaway
Syberia
The Longest Journey
Kings Quest 6
Broken Sword 1
Legend of Kyrandia 2
Still Life
Pandora Directive
Gabriel Knight 2
Phantasmagoria
Black Mirror
Monkey Island 2

Hi all,
Mucky is indeed a term of endearment - just ask Nickie, the highest of all the muckys.
TLJ leads the way narrowly, and Keepsake proves the most annoying voice ever doesn't prevent a game being popular.
27 games mentioned so far that weren't on last years list, and not all of them new - Loom and Pilgrim to name just two.
Well done to those who list alphabetically, and the comments are fun Betty Lou.
Keep em coming.

oldman, Riddle of Master Lu is a blast from the past for me. I had forgot all about that great game. It makes me miss the old days of Sierra and LucasFilms games.

It was an under mentioned under appreciated oldie but goodie so thought I'd at least get it mentioned.

Kind of similar to the first two Broken Sword games.

Hi oldman

Not under appreciated by me !!

I love it and have played it many times

[So difficult to generate a (short ) list ]

Cheers.

Mad

I loved Riddle of Master Lu, too (although I could have done without the puzzle in the lab). It was a wonderful game. And it runs great in DOSBox!!

Great pick, John! I should have included it on my own list!

Nope Flotsam, I'm just a wizard to the high MaG mucky muck. But endearment now, I'll take all I can get! I alphabetized just for you, dear.

Way to go Nickie, and please apologise to the exhalted one for me.

In no particular order:
1-Myst
2-Zork Nemesis
3-Shivers 1
4-Gabriel Knight: Beast Within
5-Lighthouse
6-Syberia 1
7-Longest Journey
8-Still Life
9-Amber: Journeys Beyond
10-Tex Murphy: Under a Killing Moon
11-Dark Fall: Journal
12-Scratches
13-Riven
14-Myst III
15-Grim Fandango
16-Keepsake
17-Black Mirror
18-Syberia 2
19-Last Half of Darkness
20-Morpheus

Listed alphabetically - going back to the initial release of adventure games on cd-rom media.

Azrael's Tear (1996 Mindscape)
Beyond Atlantis (Atlantis 2)
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (1997 Legend Entertainment)
Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Damned
Lighthouse (1996 Sierra)
Myst / RealMyst
Myst II: Riven
Myst IV: Revelation
Myst V: End of Ages
Myst URU / POTS
Obsidian (1996 SegaSoft)
RAMA (1996 Sierra)
Riddle of the Sphinx 1
Shivers 1
Syberia 1
Tex Murphy: Pandora Directive (1996 Access Software)
Tex Murphy: Under a Killing Moon (1994 Access Software)
The Longest Journey
TimeLapse (1996 GTE Entertainment)
Zork Nemesis (1996 Activision)

FWIW, I think that Azrael's Tear had the most engaging (winning; attractive; pleasing) storyline of any game I have ever played - perhaps not as deep as the Myst series, but equally as memorable, and eminently replayable.

Thanks flotsam for doing this, here's this years list (unfortunately I have a backlog of current games I just haven't had time to play!):

In no particular order:

Syberia I
Discworld Noir
The Longest Journey
Broken Sword I
Still Life
Dracula Resurrection
The Messenger (Louvre)
Last Half of Darkness
Tears of Betrayal
Black Mirror
Secrets of Da Vinci - The Forbidden Manuscript
Agon - The Mysterious Codex
Gabriel Knight - Sins of the Father
Gabriel Knight - Blood of the Damned
Jack the Ripper
Al Emmo & the Lost Dutchman's Mine
Time Stand Still
Tunguska
Lunar Deep
The Moment of Silence


Pretty much the same as last year with a few additions - had to let Nibiru go - I loved it but needed to be replaced with something with a better ending!! 20 was great but still oh so difficult to make the choices!

Pete, boy do I agree with you about Azrael's Tear, and I'm appalled that I forgot to include it on my list. I'm sure glad it's received a mention; I thought it was an amazing game.

Jenny I may be wrong but I believe that Exile (Myst 3) came out in 2001, not pre 2000.

Games with 10 or more at this stage are Black Mirror, GK2, Grim Fandango, Keepsake, TLJ, Myst, Riven, Scratches, Still Life, Syberia 1 & 2, and Tunguska.
Surprisingly, Gothos, The Scroll and Nightmare Ned are yet to be mentioned

Flotsam,
Those go on your Games Suitable for Coasters List, right?

Hey Nightmare Ned was...refreshingly different. I always wondered what it would be like to be thoroughly flushed.

Er...Becky???
And Flotsam, don't forget Fork in the Tale for that special list!

flotsam, hi,

Here is the vote of the quasi-Irish jury:

1. Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned
2. Pandora Directive
3. Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
4. The Longest Journey
5. Syberia
6. Syberia 2
7. The Moment of Silence
8. Obsidian
9. Monkey Island 2: Le Chuck's Revenge
10. Riven
11. Secret Files: Tunguska
12. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
13. Discworld Noir
14. Grim Fandango
15. Day of the Tentacle
16. TimeLapse
17. Simon the Sorceror
18. King's Quest VI
19. Under a Killing Moon
20. Still Life

Best of luck with the compilation duties,
MetzO'Magic

1)Obsidian
2)Timelapse
3)GK series - GK2 (edited by MaG)
4)Tex Murphy series - Tex Murphy Overseer (edited by MaG)
5)Shivers
6)Azrael's tear
7)Darkfall 1
8)Amber
9)Myst 1
10)Temujin
11)Return to Zork
12)Qin
13)Jack the ripper
14)Byzantine
15)Nine the last resort
16)Buried in time
17)Cristal skull
18)Black dahlia
19)Of light and darkness
20)Bad Mojo
Emptyhead spoke...

emptyhead, you can't name a series and count it as one. You need to redo your #3 and 4.

Ana

There are many deserving games out there and with great difficulty I came up with my top ten list and I never thought it would look like this.

1-----The Longest Journey, due to rich detailed characters and a totally engrossing story, unlike anything that came before

2-----Gabriel Knight 1 Sins on the Fathers, The only game I recall that had me ducking worried what was lurking around the corner.

3-----Circle of Blood, BS1 Again story and character driven with great plot that kept you pushing forward.

4-----Lost In Time The Sierra oldie with unique inventory McGuyver type puzzles that I had not seen done before.

5-----Dreamfall, excellent follow up to the original with rich characters, detail and amazing story.

6-----Gabriel Knight 2 Jensen's blend of fact and fiction drove me to doing research just to see what was and wasn't. She almost had me convinced old king Ludwig was a werewolf.

7-----Syberia 1 It could have been higher on the list but the others had something that appealed more to me. Everything about it was outstanding.

8----Kings Quest 7 I know much maligned, however, it is unique for its time. Very funny moments, outstanding graphics comparable to a Disney movie. It was a departure from the previous games in the series.

9----Kings Quest 6 I think it was the best of the the series to that point

10----Nancy Drew Secrets of the Old clock. Before you laugh and scream heresy for placing this one ahead of a thousand others it had some interesting aspects I had not encountered before. (1) I still cannot cut a dress pattern with a mouse. I doubt many grizzled old timers could. I havn't tried it with a pair of shears. And this old guy climbed Mt. St. Helens. Challenges I say. (2) Every time I ran into a puzzle that slowed me a bit I could jump into that fancy blue convertible and drive around town. What game ever let you do that? Not April, Kate, Gabriel or even Sherlock got to drive a car. For my money it belongs on this list even if it is dismissed as a little girl's game by many.

We will leave it at ten no sense in trying to add more so that's my top ten for better or worse. You can tell I like story driven games with good characters.

This was the first year I took KQ7 off of my list, and I almost feel like I snubbed an old friend. One of my favorites, but this year I didn't put all my personal favorites on the list. Glad you mentioned it, oldmariner!

Ok,ok...sorry
3)Gk2
4)Tex Murphy Overseer

Thanks emptyhead and no need to apologise.
And oldmariner, I might well vote for The Messenger simply because of the latex suit, so don't let anyone besmirch the car.
BS1, Dreamfall and Moment of Silence join the 10s and Buried in Time and Of Light and Darkness are new.
Some top games not yet mentioned? Its a matter of opinion but maybe Traitors Gate, Full Throttle and Faust. Plus Isabelle of course.
Ico, Fahrenheit and Outcast have all been mentioned on this list before but not yet, but are probably being saved for the Dark Side (which I think is where they belong).

Latex? Now that's about as bad as the loincloths Flotsam! But I guess there are worse reasons for putting a game on the list.

You are welcome for my comments, flotsam, glad they can stay. Another oldie but goodie and different than any other is a game that has NOT been mentioned here at all, yet = Neverhood! I still have it and have not pulled it out recently to replay but do so love it for its difference from all the other games I have played and its 'comicness', if that is even a word. And there were several other games that I could not include because all of a sudden "20" is not enough - funny how we used to think that 10 was not enough and longed for you to let us list 15 or 20....I guess we will never be satisfied with having to 'cut' some of our favorites from this list
AND, I see nothing wrong with including the Nancy Drew games here, most of them are among my favorites, and I occassionally pull one out and replay it - plus they have given my granddaughter PJ a looksee at what "gramma does with most of her time" every day....got her interested in trying them herself when she is here. Love this list and this thread....thanks Flotsam for doing it again.
Love, Betty Lou

Here is my vote, all the way from the low lands (That's Holland! )
from highest to lowest.

1.Blackstone Chronicles (what a voice-acting, what an atmosphere)
2.Sanitarium (what a voice-acting, what an atmosphere)
3.Dark Fall (what an atmosphere, mind-stimulating)
4.I have no mouth and I must scream
5.Post Mortem (very original, like old french movies)
6.Broken Sword 1 (great game, very funny)
7.Black Mirror (wonderfull to play in a darkened room)
8.Runaway (great characters, very funny)
9.Dark Fall 2 (mabye not as surprising as part 1, but
some great additions for enhancing the mood of the game.
10.Jack the ripper (fine game,ending a bit disappointing)
11.Syberia 1, (very original)
12.Scratches (I love this kind of game,almost as scary
as my nightmares )
13.Barrow Hill
14.Nibiru
15.Dark seed (underestimated game)
16.Silver Earring (and other Sherlock games)
17.Zork, grand Inquisitor (very funny)
18.Lighthouse
19.Amerzone
20.Full Throttle

My list always seems to be the same ...
But the games are in a different order! )

1. Journeyman Project 3
2. Blackstone Chronicles
3. Myst
4. Riven
5. Myst Exile 3
6. Riddle of the Sphinx
7. Timelapse
8. Gabriel Knight 2
9. Syberia
10 Syberia 2
11 Sanitarium
12.The longest Journey
13.Amerzone
14.Black Dahlia
15.Beyond Atlantas
16.Under a Killing Moon
17.Overseer
18.Ring
19.Curse of Monkey Island
20.The Pandora Directive

My favorite games.
1. The Blackstone Chronicles,(the first game I bought)
2. Nancy Drew Ghost Dogs
3. Nancy Drew Deception Island
4. Dark Fall 1
5. The Arrangement
6. Shadybrook
7. The Black Mirror
8. Delaware St John 1
9. Delaware St John 2
10.Remedy
11 Hope Spring Eternal
12.Temujin
13.Runaway 1
14 Runaway 2
15 Broken Sword 4
16.Sanitarium
17 Aura
18.Alfred Hitchcocks The Final Cut
19.Murder on the Orient Express
20.Paradise


8.

It has been - it's on my list, Betty Lou. But I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned more.

Well you can take Full Throttle off my little list. Faust will follow I reckon.
Neverhood has a few mentions Betty Lou and rest assured it will be on my list. A shame there weren't a few more clay games. I have 2 Russian ones but needless to say they are a tad confusing
Loincloths are way to cold nickie!
172 games have been mentioned already, and 2 are leading the way - no prizes for guessing which ones.

In no particular order:-

1. Tunguska
2. Still Life
3. Broken Sword 2
4. The Awakened
5. Black Mirror
6. Black Dahlia
7. Runaway2
8. Schizm
9. Nibiru
10. Syberia 1
11. Syberia 2
12. Return to Mysterious Island
13. Paradise
14. Gabriel Knight - Beast Within
15. Omega Stone
16. Darkfall - The Journal
17. Murder on the Orient Express
18. Moment of Silence
19. The Longest Journey
20. Eqyptian Prophecy

Came to me that its a shame I havent been able to finish more games this year. I am pretty sure a few of those I have 'coming up' would be on this list if I had played them through.

Gong to keep to games that I already do recommend to new adventure game fans. I don't usually expect new gamers to get into the old parser games for example. But a few are too good not to list, like Starship Titanic.

In no particular order...

Myst/realMyst
Riven
Zork: Grand Inquisitor
Uru
Myst V
Curse of Monkey Island
Darkfall
Starship Titanic
Discworld Noir
Broken Sword
Grim Fandango
Nancy Drew: Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time
Sam & Max 1st season
And Then There Were None
Secrets of Atlantis: The Sacred Legacy
Riddle of the Sphinx
Syberia
Mysterious Journey 2/Schizm 2
Al Emmo & the Lost Dutchman's Mine

Even with the expanded space, these lists always feel too short, and I still want to pick some series

Thank you so much for doing these lists, Flotsam. It is so fun to reminisce about each favorite and how much fun they were to play,... Happy memories!

Susan

[syd was just about to post her list when she read what other people listed and said "self - you forgot that game!!!!!"] so she went back to edit her list - again - sigh

Thats why I now go last syd - I need all the reminders.

Thanks flotsam, Here's mine

1. Uru
2. Myst 3 Exile
3. Myst 4 Revelation
4. The Longest Journey
5. Dreamfall
6. Syberia
7. Syberia 2
8. Black Mirror
9. Tunguska
10. Still Life
11. Return to Mysterious Island
12. Echo
13. Beyond Atlantis
14. Journeyman Project 3 -Legacy of Time
15. Curse of Monkey Island
16. Shivers
17. Sanitarium
18. Lighthouse
19. Blackstone Chronicles
20. Broken Sword -The Sleeping Dragon

Kay

Here's my list, in no particular order:

1. Ceremony of Innocence
2. Grim Fandango
3. The Longest Journey
4. Blackstone Chronicles
5. Curse of Monkey Island
6. Ripper
7. Morpheus
8. Amber Journey Beyond
9. Broken Sword I
10. The Neverhood
11. King's Quest VI
12. Post Mortem
13. Sanitarium
14. Phantasmagoria I
15. Discworld I
16. Nancy Drew: Curse Of Blackmoor Manor
17. Faust
18. King’s Quest VII
19. 7th Guest
20. Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love For Sail!

I stand corrected - but I'm glad I mentioned it anyway because now I see it popping up in several new lists......
Love, Betty Lou

There are a lot of games that I haven't played yet, (even though many are on my shelf waiting to be played) so I expect my list will change after I play them.
The final list will sure help me make choices as to which ones to try next. That is, if I can pull myself away from playing the Huntsville games!

Thanx for putting this together for us!

1) Myst 1
2) 7th Guest
3) 11th Guest
4) Nancy Drew Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake
5) Valhalla Classic 1 from Vulcan
6) Riven
7) Grail Quest (old Mac black and white game. I'm keeping my OLD Mac so I can keep replaying this game)
8) Kings Quest IV
9) Beyond Atlantis
10) Agatha Christie-Murder On the Orient Express
11) Monkey Island 1
12) Timelapse
13) Remedy
14) Syberia 1
15) Riddle of the Sphinx
16) Safecracker
17) Secret of DaVinci
18) The Longest Journey
19) King's Quest 6
20) Myst III

Faust has now been mentioned, and a few more new entrants as well - Grail Quest, KQ4 and possibly the best voiced game in Ceremony of Innocence.
Grail Quest becomes the oldest game and like so many others it still remains unplayed on my shelf - too many games, so little time.
8 Nancys have been mentioned, all 7 versions of Myst, and the 4 Broken Swords.

Shockingly, I realize I have only played 4 new games since last year's list, and I'm still on hold with one of them .
Anyhow, I'm still going to add my list, though it is likely quite similar to last year's.

Riven
Obsidian
Myst Exile
RealMyst
Rhem
Zork Nemesis
Schizm
Riddle of the Sphinx
Black Dahlia
Gabriel Knight 2 Beast Within
Gabriel Knight 3 Blood of the Sacred
Dark Fall Lights Out
Alida
Neverhood
Morpheus
Tex Murphy Pandora Directive
Tex Murphy Under a Killing Moon
Beyond Atlantis 1
Zork Grand Inquisitor
Amber

Quite similar is perfectly fine Colpet

My list in no particular order:

1. Black Mirror
2. Blackstone Chronicles
3. Amber--Journeys Beyond
4. Inherent Evil
5. Morpheus
6. Syberia
7. DarkFall
8. Last Half Of Darkness Shadows Of The Servants
9. Dreamfall
10. Nancy Drew--Message In A Haunted Mansion
11. Nancy Drew--Treasure In The Royal Tower
12. Shivers
13. The Messenger
14. Discworld Noir
15. Phantasmagoria
16. REAH
17. Clue Chronicles--Fatal Illusion
18. Still Life
19. The Watchmaker
20. Scratches

I know some of these probably aren't very popluar, but they stand out in my mind of all the games that I've played.

Dawn

I am going to give this a try for my first time. I think I was partly influenced by the excellent choices of dmtomchick, but I also tried to make choices based on how I would represent the whole genre of Adventure games. Here goes.

Grim Famdango
Monkey Island 3
The Watchmaker
ND- Scarlet Hand
Voyage
Blackstone Chronicles
Missing
11th Hour
Riddle of Master Lu
Sherlock Holmes The Case of the Silver Earring
Sanitarium
Myst III
Amber
Still Life
Inherent Evil
Torin's Passage

It is funny how some people go 3rd person games while others pick mostly 1st person games. I like them both.

Here's my list (in no particular order):
1. Syberia I
2. Syberia II
3. Black Mirror
4. Dreamfall
5. Post Mortem
6. Beyond Atlantis
7. Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within
8. Gabriel Knight: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned
9. Black Dahlia
10. Faust: Seven Games of the Soul
11. Destination: Treasure Island
12. Indigo Prophecy
13. Realms of the Haunting
14. Secrets of DaVinci
15. 7th Guest
16. Barrow Hill
17. The Longest Journey
18. Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express
19. The Secrets of Atlantis: The Secret Legacy
20. Scratches

In no special order:

Keepsake
Gabriel Knight 2
Gabriel Knight 1
Gabriel Knight 3
Myst III
Tex Murphy -Pandora Directive
Sherlock Holmes -The Rose Tattoo
Sherlock Holmes -Serrated Scalpel
Syberia 1
Syberia 2
Monkey Island 1
Monkey Island 2
Simon the Sorcerer I
Indiana Jones-Fate of Atlantis
Kyrandia I
Kyrandia II - Hand of Fate
Realms of the Haunting
American McGee's Alice
Twinsen's Odyssey
Relentless
Black Mirror
Aura I

Hi Oldmariner, you only listed your top 10 and you know you can add 10 more - flotsam made it your top 20 this time.....what else do you want on your list?
Love, Betty Lou

You can have "up to" 20, but if you only want 10 Oldmariner that is perfectly fine.

Ana