Text-based games you play by typing, online and free.
Read the scene, type what you do, see what happens. Auferet is a text-based game where an AI Game Master writes the world around every move and remembers it, so you can try anything instead of guessing the right command.
Or start from a first line, no setup:
Free to play in your browser and on Android. The full memory system is on every plan, including free.
A real session, recorded
This is what a text-based game looks like
The air is thick with the scent of damp stone and rot.
> I search the cellar walls by lantern light for another way out and check whether the rusted key fits anything down here.
You hold the lantern aloft, its weak flame casting long, flickering shadows against the damp, uneven stone of the walls. After a thorough search, you find a loose section of masonry near the corner, behind which lies a small, iron-bound lockbox set directly into the foundation. You try the rusted key, but it is far too large and jagged for the fine mechanism of the lock, and your efforts only result in a harsh, grating sound that echoes loudly in the cramped space. Outside, the dragging noise stops abruptly, and the wood of the door groans under the weight of someone leaning heavily against it.
> I go back to the barred door, slide the rusted key under it, and call out to whoever barred it that I found something they lost.
You shuffle across the damp floor, the grit crunching under your boots, and press the iron key into the narrow gap beneath the thick oak door. With a firm push, it slides through, disappearing into the darkness of the hall beyond. You clear your throat, your voice sounding raspy in the confined space, and call out, "I believe you dropped this." The heavy silence that follows stretches for several agonizing heartbeats.
Recorded on 2026-10-14 on the free-tier model: a fresh account, the first line "a text adventure: I wake up in the cellar of a ruined castle with a lantern, a rusted key, and no memory of how I got here; the only door is barred from the other side", then the two actions above typed in. The AI named the story "Trapped Behind the Oak Door". The rusted key is too large for the lockbox found in the wall, and once it goes under the door, whoever barred it draws the bolt back; that last line is in the full exchange. The Game Master's lines are cut to their first sentences here; the whole exchange, every word, is published as a JSON file.
A text-based game is a game told in words: the game describes where you are, you type what you do, and the game answers in text. There are no graphics to speak of. The world lives in the description and in your imagination, which is exactly why the genre has lasted since the 1970s. Classic text adventures, online MUDs, interactive fiction and modern AI story games all belong to it.
What separates them is what you are allowed to type. A classic text adventure understands a fixed list of commands ("go north," "take lamp"). Choice-based interactive fiction gives you a few options to click. An AI text-based game like Auferet reads whatever you write in plain language and writes the next scene from it, so the game never stalls on "I don't understand that." The catch with AI is memory: a text game is only fair if the world remembers what you found, who you met and what you promised.
What you get
How a text-based game plays on Auferet
Type anything
No command list. "Check the wall for a draft," "lie to the guard," "go back for the map." If you can say it, the Game Master plays it out.
A world that answers
People talk back, doors stay open or shut, and the story moves with what you do instead of waiting on one right answer.
Nothing forgotten
Auferet keeps characters, places, items and events in structured libraries, so the key you found in the first room still matters in the tenth.
Any genre
Fantasy dungeons, murder mysteries, survival horror, space stations, a quiet life in a small town. The first line sets it.
Online, with friends too
Play in any browser on desktop or phone, or start a multiplayer scene where each friend plays their own character in the same story.
Free to start
Play before you pay anything. Auferet's free tier includes the full memory system and 10 free daily credits, in your browser.
Why memory decides it
A text game is only fair if it remembers
Classic text adventures track every item and door in code. Most AI text games instead feed the model a fixed window of recent text each turn, and once the story outgrows it the oldest details fall out: the key you picked up, the door you locked, the name of the person who helped you. The game keeps answering confidently, just with a different world.
That is measurable, so we measured it. Five facts were planted in the first turns of a story on the free model and asked about at turn 20, 40 and 60: once with only recent conversation to read, the way most AI games work, and once with persistent memory, the way Auferet works.
| Asked at | Recent conversation only | Persistent memory |
|---|---|---|
| Turn 20 | 3 of 5 facts | 5 of 5 facts |
| Turn 40 | 1 of 5 facts | 5 of 5 facts |
| Turn 60 | 1 of 5 facts | 5 of 5 facts |
Run on 2026-08-22 and again on 2026-08-27: both runs fell to 1 of 5 by turn 40 on recent conversation and held 5 of 5 with memory. Every question and raw answer is in the result file; the method is on the benchmark page, and how the memory works explains what it stores.
The kinds of text-based games
AI text game vs classic text adventure vs MUD vs choice-based fiction
| AI text game (Auferet) | Classic text adventure | MUD | Choice-based fiction | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you type | Anything, in plain words | Commands the parser knows | Commands, often many | Nothing; you click a choice |
| The story | Written around your moves | Written in advance | A shared world, scripted areas | Branches written in advance |
| Other players | Optional multiplayer scenes | None | Many, always online | None |
| Replay | A new story every time | Same puzzles, same answers | Ongoing | Limited by the branches |
| Learning curve | None | Learn the verbs | Steep | None |
Want character sheets and stats? Try the text RPG. Prefer pure exploration and puzzles? Start an AI text adventure.
FAQ
Text-based games, answered
What is a text-based game?
A game told in words. The game describes the scene, you type what you do, and it answers in text. Classic text adventures, MUDs, interactive fiction and AI story games are all text-based games.
Are there free text-based games online?
Yes. Auferet is free, with 10 daily credits to claim, and the free tier includes the full memory system. It runs online in your browser; unlimited actions start at $10/mo.
Do I need to learn commands?
Not on Auferet. Classic text adventures understand a fixed list of commands, but Auferet's AI Game Master reads plain language, so you type what you want to do the way you would say it.
Can I play text-based games on my phone?
Yes. Auferet runs in the browser on any phone, and there is an Android app if you want it on your home screen.
Are there multiplayer text-based games?
Yes. Auferet has multiplayer: one player hosts, friends join, and everyone plays their own character in the same story, each with their own Game Master.
What is the difference between a text adventure and a text RPG?
A text adventure centres on exploring and solving problems in the story. A text RPG adds a character with stats, items and rules for fights. Auferet plays both, from a plain story to a full rules mode with character sheets and dice.
You wake up in a locked cellar. What do you do?
Start a text-based game free in your browser and type the first move yourself.
Play free