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Twine

The tool behind half the interactive fiction of the past decade, running in the browser and learnable in about twenty minutes.

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How to get the most from it

Twine sits in Text Adventures under Play, filed as coffee break.

  • Set aside five to fifteen minutes and give it your proper attention.
  • Use a laptop or desktop computer — we file it as desktop only.
  • It works with the sound off, so it is fine on a train or in a quiet office.
  • No account needed — you can start without signing up.
  • Go in expecting something clever and useful.

About this category: Interactive fiction, MUDs and choose-your-path stories. Some are forty years old and still better written than most things released this year.

Good for

  • Filling a coffee break properly
  • Being impressed by a clever idea
  • Getting something practical done
  • A quiet break at your desk
  • Trying it with zero commitment

Twine: quick answers

Is Twine free?

Yes. Twine is free to use and needs no account.

Do I need an account to use Twine?

No. You can use Twine without signing up for anything.

Does Twine work on a phone?

Not well. We file Twine as desktop only, so open it on a laptop or desktop computer.

Is Twine safe for work?

Yes, we file it as safe for work. It also works muted.

How long does Twine take?

We file it as "Coffee break": Five to fifteen minutes of proper attention.

More in Text Adventures

All 17 in Text Adventures
  • Starts as one button beside a dying fire and quietly becomes something much larger. Best played without reading anything about it first.

  • Enormous free MUD with hundreds of areas and a browser client, so you can be killed by a wandering mob without installing anything.

  • Text MUD running continuously since 1997, with a player-run economy, real politics and a genuinely intimidating combat system.

  • Free MUD with multiclassing, a web client and a player base that has been levelling the same characters since the nineties.

Same mood: clever

All clever sites
  • Same idea as typing but with notes rather than drums — write a paragraph, receive a surprisingly pretty melody.

    • <1 min
    • Sound on
    • Desktop
  • Type words and each letter becomes a drum hit, so your own name comes out as a loop you will struggle to stop playing.

    • <1 min
    • Sound on
    • Desktop
  • Structured typing lessons with a hand diagram that shows precisely which finger you have been cheating with all along.

    • 10 min
    • Desktop
  • You are an AI told to make paperclips, and you follow that instruction all the way to its conclusion. Four hours, one button to begin.

Keep exploring

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