Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces of Infocom is a collection of 33 computer games from interactive fiction

Interactive fiction

Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as video games. In common usage, the term refers to text...

 pioneer Infocom

Infocom

Infocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone....

, and the top 6 winners of the 1995 Interactive Fiction Competition

Interactive Fiction Competition

The Interactive Fiction Competition is one of the best known of several annual competitions for works of interactive fiction. It has been held since 1995. It is intended for fairly short games, as judges are only allowed to spend two hours playing a game before deciding how many points to award it...

, released in 1996. It was available as a single cross-platform CD-ROM, which included PDFs of all the Infocom games' instructions, maps, and hint booklets.

Infocom was closed in 1989 by its then-parent company Activision

Activision

Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...

. Still holding the copyright

Copyright

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...

 to nearly all the past Infocom titles, Activision bundled them together in this collection, following up the earlier Lost Treasures of Infocom

The Lost Treasures of Infocom

The Lost Treasures of Infocom is a collection of 20 computer games from interactive fiction pioneer Infocom, released in 1991. It was available in MS-DOS, Apple Macintosh, Amiga, and Apple IIGS versions, as well as a cross-platform CD-ROM version. Infocom was closed in 1989 by its then-parent...

series. The Infocom games included are:

• Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur
  Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur
  Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur is an interactive fiction computer game written by Bob Bates and published by Infocom in 1989. Typically for an Infocom title, it was released for many popular computer platforms of the time, such as the Macintosh, PC, and the Apple II series...
  
  
• Ballyhoo
• Beyond Zork
  Beyond Zork
  Beyond Zork was an interactive fiction computer game written by Brian Moriarty and released by Infocom in 1987...
  
  
• Border Zone
• Bureaucracy
• Cutthroats
• Deadline
• Enchanter
• Hollywood Hijinx
  Hollywood Hijinx
  Hollywood Hijinx is an interactive fiction computer game written by "Hollywood" Dave Anderson and Liz Cyr-Jones and published by Infocom in 1986. Implemented using Infocom's Z-Machine, the game was released over a wide variety of platforms, including the Apple II, Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64...
  
  
• Infidel
• Journey
• Leather Goddesses of Phobos
  Leather Goddesses of Phobos
  Leather Goddesses of Phobos is an interactive fiction computer game written by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in 1986. Like many other Infocom titles, it was released for the IBM PC , Atari 8-bit, Amiga, Apple II, Apple Macintosh, Atari ST and Commodore 64 computers...
  
  
• The Lurking Horror
  The Lurking Horror
  The Lurking Horror is an interactive fiction computer game released by Infocom in 1987. The game was written by Dave Lebling and inspired by the horror writings of H. P. Lovecraft...
  
  
• A Mind Forever Voyaging
  A Mind Forever Voyaging
  A Mind Forever Voyaging is an interactive fiction game designed and implemented by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in 1985...
  
  
• Moonmist
  Moonmist
  Moonmist is an interactive fiction computer game implemented by Stu Galley and published by Infocom in 1986. By using Infocom's portable Z-machine, the game was released simultaneously for many popular platforms, including the IBM PC, Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST and Commodore 64...
  
  
• Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It
  Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It
  Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It is an interactive fiction computer game written by Jeff O'Neill and published by Infocom in 1987. It was released simultaneously for several popular computer platforms of the time, such as the PC and Commodore 64. Nord and Bert was unique among Infocom...
  
  
• Planetfall
  Planetfall
  Planetfall is a science fiction interactive fiction computer game written by Steve Meretzky, and the eighth title published by Infocom in 1983. Like most Infocom games, thanks to the portable Z-machine, it was released for several platforms simultaneously. The original release included versions...
  
  
• Plundered Hearts
  Plundered Hearts
  Plundered Hearts is an interactive fiction computer game created by Amy Briggs and published by Infocom in 1987. It was released simultaneously for several popular computer platforms of the time, such as the PC and Commodore 64. Plundered Hearts was Infocom's first game in the "romance" genre...
  
  
• Seastalker
  Seastalker
  Seastalker is an interactive fiction computer game designed by Stu Galley and Jim Lawrence and published by Infocom in 1984. Like most of Infocom's works, it was released simultaneously for several popular computer platforms of the time, such as the Commodore 64, Apple II, and IBM PC. The game was...
  
  
• Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels
  Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels
  Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels is an interactive fiction computer game designed by Bob Bates and published by Infocom in 1988. Like most titles Infocom produced, the use of ZIL made it possible to release the game simultaneously for many popular computer platforms, including the Apple II,...
  
  
• Sorcerer
• Spellbreaker
  Spellbreaker
  Spellbreaker is an interactive fiction computer game written by Dave Lebling and released by Infocom in 1985, the third and final game in the "Enchanter Trilogy". Like most of Infocom's games, it was released for many of the time's popular computer platforms, such as the Commodore 64, Atari ST and...
  
  
• Starcross
• Stationfall
  Stationfall
  Stationfall is an interactive fiction computer game written by Steve Meretzky and released by Infocom in 1987. Like the majority of Infocom's works, it was released simultaneously for several popular computer platforms of the time, such as the Commodore 64, Apple II, and PC. The game is a sequel to...
  
  
• Suspect
• Suspended
  Suspended
  Suspended: A Cryogenic Nightmare is an interactive fiction computer game written by Michael Berlyn and published by Infocom in 1983. Like most Infocom titles, it was available on most popular personal computers of the day, such as the Apple II, PC, Atari ST and Commodore 64...
  
  
• Trinity
• Wishbringer
  Wishbringer
  Wishbringer: The Magick Stone of Dreams is an interactive fiction computer game written by Brian Moriarty and published by Infocom in 1985. It was intended to be an easier game to solve than the typical Infocom release, and provide a good introduction to interactive fiction for inexperienced players...
  
  
• The Witness
• Zork I
  Zork I
  Zork: The Great Underground Empire - Part I, later known as Zork I, is an interactive fiction computer game written by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Bruce Daniels and Tim Anderson and published by Infocom in 1980. It was the first game in the popular Zork trilogy and was released for a wide range of...
  
  
• Zork II
  Zork II
  Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz is an interactive fiction computer game published by Infocom in 1981. It was written by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Bruce Daniels and Tim Anderson. It was the second game in the popular Zork trilogy and was released for a wide range of computer systems. It begins where...
  
  
• Zork III
  Zork III
  Zork III: The Dungeon Master is an interactive fiction computer game written by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Bruce Daniels and Tim Anderson and published by Infocom in 1982. It was the third game in the popular Zork trilogy and was released for a wide range of computer systems...
  
  
• Zork Zero
  Zork Zero
  Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz is an interactive fiction computer game, written by Steve Meretzky over nearly 18 months and published by Infocom in 1988, with an original retail price of $59.95...
  
  

The Interactive Fiction Competition winners included are:

• A Change in the Weather
  A Change in the Weather
  A Change in the Weather is a 1995 work of interactive fiction by Andrew Plotkin, in which the player-character is caught in a rainstorm while out in the countryside. It won the Inform category at the inaugural 1995 Interactive Fiction Competition...
  
  
• The Magic Toyshop
• The Mind Electric
• The One That Got Away
• Toonesia
• Uncle Zebulon's Will
  Uncle Zebulon's Will
  Uncle Zebulon's Will is a 1995 work of interactive fiction by Magnus Olsson, in which the player-character plays the nephew of a crackpot scientist, exploring his home and solving magic-based puzzles. It won the TADS category at the inaugural 1995 Interactive Fiction Competition...
  
  

The collection included all of the contents of the previous two Lost Treasures of Infocom collections except for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and James Clavell's Shōgun

James Clavell's Shogun

James Clavell's Shōgun is an interactive fiction computer game written by Dave Lebling and released by Infocom in 1989. Like most of Infocom's games, it was released for several popular computer platforms of the time, such as the Apple II and PC. As the title indicates, the game is based on the...

. Unlike the Lost Treasures collections, though, Masterpieces included the adult game Leather Goddesses of Phobos.