Recommended interpreters
From IFWiki
This page shows stable interpreters, for all formats, which can be downloaded to play games or which will run games within a browser. They are listed in date order (latest release first).
Click to download the interpreter, or to play online, as appropriate.
| Interpreter | Link | Format | System | Updated | Multimedia support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairn | Download | Z-code | macOS | 2026-06-20 | No multimedia |
| Windows Frotz | Download | Z-code | Windows | 2026-04-01 | Color, Graphics, Sound |
| Spatterlight | Download | ADRIFT 4, AdvSys, AGT, Alan 2, Alan 3, Glulx, Hugo, Level 9, Magnetic Scrolls, ScottFree, TADS 2, TADS 3, Z-code | macOS | 2026-03-22 | Colors, graphics, sound |
| Ozmoo | Download | Z-code | BBC Micro/Acorn Electron, Commodore 64/128, Other | 2026-03-02 | color effects (all platforms), loader image (C128, C64, Plus/4 and MEGA65), sound effects (MEGA65) |
| Gargoyle | Download | ADRIFT 4, AdvSys, AGT, Alan 2, Alan 3, Glulx, Hugo, Level 9, Magnetic Scrolls, ScottFree, TADS 2, TADS 3, Z-code | Windows, macOS, Linux | 2026-02-08 | Different for each game format |
| Lectrote | Download | ADRIFT 4, Glulx, Hugo, Ink JSON, TADS 2, TADS 3, Z-code | Windows, macOS, Linux | 2025-10-04 | Color, Graphics (No TADS multimedia support) |
| Windows Glulxe | Download | Glulx | Windows | 2025-07-19 | Color effects, graphics, sound |
| ScummVM | Download | ADRIFT 4, AdvSys, AGT, Alan 2, Alan 3, Glulx, Hugo, Level 9, Magnetic Scrolls, Quest, ScottFree, TADS 2, TADS 3, Z-code, Other | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Other | 2025-05-25 | |
| Level9 | Download | Level 9 | Windows, macOS, Linux, MS-DOS, Commodore Amiga, Sinclair QL, Other | 2025-05-25 | Both line-drawn and bitmap graphics |
| Status Line | Z-code | Other | 2025-02-15 | "EGA" color | |
| M3ZVM | Download | Z-code | Tandy TRS-80 | 2025-02-09 | No multimedia |
| Vezza | Download | Z-code | CP/M, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Atari 400/800, MSX, MSX2, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Sinclair QL, Tandy TRS-80, Other | 2025-02-09 | No multimedia |
| M4ZVM | Download | Z-code | Tandy TRS-80 | 2025-02-09 | No multimedia |
| Parchment | Download Play | ADRIFT 4, Glulx, Hugo, TADS 2, TADS 3, Z-code | Browser | 2025-01-14 | Colours, graphics, sound (in Glulx only) |
| Fabularium (F-Droid) | Download | ADRIFT 4, ADRIFT 5, AdvSys, AGT, Alan 2, Alan 3, Glulx, Hugo, Level 9, Magnetic Scrolls, ScottFree, TADS 2, TADS 3, Z-code | Android | 2025-01-11 | Colors, graphics |
| ThinBASIC Adventure Builder | Download | Other | Windows | 2024-11-13 | Graphics: jpg, png, bmp, gif
Sound: wav, ogg, mp3, aiff, mod FMVideo: wmv |
| Gelek Vanilla | Download | ADRIFT 4, AdvSys, AGT, Alan 2, Alan 3, Glulx, Hugo, Level 9, Magnetic Scrolls, ScottFree, TADS 2, TADS 3, Z-code | Linux | 2024-09-18 | |
| Infocom Frotz | Play | Z-code | Browser | 2024-09-01 | Fully supports Z6 multimedia (colour, graphics, sound) |
| UnQuill | Other | Windows, Linux, MS-DOS | 2024-08-30 | Colours and character-based graphics | |
| FrankenDrift | Download | ADRIFT 4, ADRIFT 5 | Windows, macOS, Linux | 2024-08-10 | Graphics, color |
| Magnetic for Windows | Download | Magnetic Scrolls | Windows | 2023-12-19 | |
| Frotz for iOS | Download | Glulx, TADS 2, TADS 3, Z-code | iOS | 2023-09-24 | Color, Graphics (No TADS multimedia support) |
| Windows Git | Download | Glulx | Windows | 2023-07-19 | Color, graphics, sound |
| ElseIFPlayer | Play | ADRIFT 4, Glulx, Hugo, TADS 2, TADS 3, Z-code | Browser | 2023-06-29 | No multimedia |
| Parchmap | Play | Glulx, Hugo, TADS 2, TADS 3, Z-code | Browser | 2023-06-17 | |
| QTads | Download | TADS 2, TADS 3 | Windows, macOS, Linux | 2023-05-17 | All multimedia features of TADS are supported. |
| DMagnetic | Download Play | Magnetic Scrolls | Browser, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, CP/M, Other | 2023-05-17 | Colour text effects: yes. Graphics: ANSI, ASCII, sixel, UTF-8. Sound: No. |
| Hugor | Download | Hugo | Windows, macOS, Linux | 2022-05-09 | |
| WinArun | Download | Alan 2, Alan 3 | Windows | 2021-09-21 | |
| Insteadlauncher | Download | Other | Android | 2021-09-04 | |
| Hunky Punk | Download | TADS 2, TADS 3, Z-code | Android | 2021-04-05 | |
| ADRIFT Runner | Download | ADRIFT 4, ADRIFT 5 | Windows | 2020-09-12 | |
| ADRIFT WebRunner | Play | ADRIFT 4, ADRIFT 5 | Browser | 2020-09-12 | |
| Encrusted | Download Play | Z-code | Browser, Windows, Linux | 2019-02-25 | |
| Quest for Windows | Download | Quest | Windows | 2018-07-20 | |
| Magnetic Scripts | Play | Magnetic Scrolls | Browser | 2015-12-18 | |
| Magnetic | Download | Magnetic Scrolls | Other | Graphics (unsure about colour effects or sound) | |
| PAW | Download | Other | MS-DOS, CP/M, BBC Micro/Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Sinclair ZX Spectrum | Multimedia support varies by platform; by default it includes sound (Spectrum), line-and-fill images (Spectrum), bitmap graphics (CPC), custom fonts, coloured text (Spectrum), and UDGs (Spectrum); but also executing external code routines allow other options. | |
| Quest for Web | Play | Quest | Browser | ||
| Magnetic for Amiga | Download | Magnetic Scrolls | Commodore Amiga | ||
| Magnetic for DOS | Download | Magnetic Scrolls | MS-DOS | ||
| MagnetiX | Download | Magnetic Scrolls | macOS | ||
| Magnetic for Ubuntu | Download | Magnetic Scrolls | Linux |
To see all interpreters, including ones that may not be stable, or that may not be as simple to download and run, you can use the search form or drilldown page (see navbox below).
Note: To update information about an interpreter, please go to its IFWiki page and choose "Edit with form." This list of interpreters will be updated automatically.
| Interpreters | |
|---|---|
| By format | ADRIFT • AdvSys • AGT • Alan • Glulx • Hugo • Magnetic Scrolls • TADS • Z-code |
| By system | Browser • Android • iOS • Linux • macOS • Windows |
| Browse | Recommended interpreters • Search form • Drilldown |
| Other software | Authoring systems • Utilities |