I’ve posted a lot about using online video games as English language development activities.  You’ll find many of them on my Intermediate Advanced page under Word Games.

However, I haven’t written about a different kind of online video game called Text Adventures (also called Interactive Fiction).  These don’t have any animated characters or music — it’s all text-based (which, of course, is why they call them text adventures.

These games lay-out a scenario, and then players have to type in short and simple commands, which the game’s programming then responds to.  For example,  the game might say “You’re in a dark forest and suddenly see a trail.”  The player would then type in either “go north” or “go south.”  The game would then say what happens next, depending on what direction you chose.

I’ve placed links to several of these text adventures with the other animated video games.  These include Text Adventures (where you have to register — quickly and for free); Zork Text Adventure; and Explore Text Adventures.

These are obviously more accessible to high Intermediate or Advanced English Language Learners.

I also have a link to text adventure that also has animations called Peasant’s Quest.  It’s probably a little more accessible to English Language Learners.