IFDB is a Wiki-style community project: members can add new game listings, write reviews, exchange game recommendations, and more.
IFDB has three main functions.
First, it's a comprehensive catalog of IF, past and present. IFDB is a collaborative, community project - it's a little like a Wiki for IF bibliography. Members can edit the game listings in the catalog, and even add new listings, so you never have to wait for the site's administrators to get around to adding the latest releases or fixing errors in existing listings. If something's missing, you can add it; if something's wrong, you can fix it.
Second, IFDB is a place to share recommendations. The site offers several tools for giving and getting personalized recommendations about games to play. The key word is personalized. IFDB isn't just a "Top 10" scoreboard that boils everything down to an average of what everyone likes (although it can do that, too). IFDB's recommendation tools are based on the idea that tastes vary, so the goal is to help you find games that match your individual style. One way we do this is by giving you lots of ways to sift through the database, and another is by helping you find other people with tastes in IF similar to your own.
Third, IFDB makes it easier to get started at playing these games. Modern IF games usually require "interpreter" programs, so it can be time consuming, and sometimes frustrating, for new players to track down everything they need. IFDB's "Play Online" button is designed to fix this. Just click the button and you can start playing right away in your web browser. No downloads required!
