An Interactive Fiction Christmas: Santa's Sleigh Ride

Do you remember reading those awesome "Choose Your Own Adventure" books as a kid? You know, you read a page or two, and you are then given the choice between a few options, and they all usually end up with me dead at camp because I ran into the killer of Camp Mustang. But enough about me, this is about the evolution of the CYOA novels, Interactive Fiction.

Some of you older folks might remember Zork and its ilk. Most of you probably don't, but that's ok! If you've got any interest in playing the digital evolution of the CYOA books, and if you're also in a Christmas-y mood, I highly suggest checking out a very independent IF title, Santa's Sleigh Ride about Santa's last delivery of the year. It's a fun, if short, little diversion from the insanity of the holidays. Of course, like most other IF titles that have been released independently in the past few years, a Z-compiler is required. I'd recommend The Z Machine Preservation Project, because it's java based and universal for (almost) all IF titles, as well as Windows Fontz for those wanting to play it outside a browser.

It's been a while since I've played any IF games, but after this short one, I'm intensely interested in finding more to play. And people say gamers don't ever read anything. The game is under it's second release, but if you have any suggestions/comments, please feel free to use the comments section to let your voice be heard. And as always, be sure to stay tuned in with Blend Games for more gaming news and updates.

Santa's Sleigh Ride Download Link