Infocom holds a special place in the hearts of many. Their interactive fiction text adventures were accessible to children, but were really very adult. The descriptions were well written, the puzzles tough but interesting and there was always enough humour sprinkled through their games to keep you smiling. They also really rewarded you for buying their games, through highly creative box sets filled with all sorts of useless but fun paraphernalia.

It is such a shame that this line of gaming is but a memory now days. In the age of 3d and real time physics, plain old ASCII text just doesn't cut it, I guess.

For those who don't know what interactive fiction is, just think of a text story that you get to star in. You control the pace and direction of the plot, whilst at the same time trying to solve a series of often interlinked puzzles. The experience is engaging, rewarding and addictive. Oh, and frustrating!

If you want to experience this wonderful piece of gaming history first-hand – the good news is, you can – for free! Just head over to this Infocom site and download Zork I , the first in their famous trilogy. Best browse the site a little too, to get a feeling for the style of play and, importantly, the commands understood by the text parser.

And when you do start, make sure you draw a map! Good luck and watch out for those grues...