Last updated on January 17th, 2026 at 01:27 am
Frotz – Entertainment Game Review
Frotz is a Entertainment/Adventure/Roleplaying game from Craig Smith, first launched in 12th February 2019.
It’s rated 9+ and currently has 253+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes Frotz Stand Out
[Warning Playing Frotz involves reading, thinking, and typing. If you just want to blow stuff up, this is not the app for you!]
Burned out on all the new-fangled graphics and dazzling eye candy on your shiny new iPhone or iPad? Nostalgic for a simpler time? Then take advantage of those crisp high-resolution fonts to relive the glory days of the Great Underground Empire, or play any of hundreds of great works from the Interactive Fiction archive.
Frotz lets you play hundreds of free works of Interactive Fiction (a.k.a. text adventure games) on your iPhone or iPad.
Frotz plays titles written in the Z-Machine format (which was invented by Infocom and was used to produce classic text adventures from the 80s such as the Zork Trilogy, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Trinity), as well as glulx and TADS formats.
In the past couple of decades, text adventures have experienced a renaissance of sorts due to the efforts of a diverse Internet community of talented interactive fiction writers and fans. Many of these games are written using the same engine that powered Infocom's titles, thanks to the Inform compiler and authoring system created by Graham Nelson.
NOTE! If you have suggestions for improving Frotz or encounter bugs, please go to the support link and report them.
Frotz for iOS – Interactive Fiction at Your Fingertips
This Entertainment game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, Frotz is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 24th September 2023
Recent improvements include:
- Fixed arrow key support for Bluetooth keyboards
New in 1.8.7: - Better support for Unicode/non-Latin alphabet stories.
- Updated to git glulx interpreter version 1.3.7 (conforming to Glulx VM standard 3.1.3.)
- New IFDB search options, updated search URLs and built-in bookmarks.
- Dropbox API update, sync improvements.
- Option to swap text/background colors in color picker.
- Improved handling of ZIP file downloads from IFDB: you can now select which stories to install.
- Enable 'iTunes File sharing: supported story files and saved games dragged into Frotz will be automatically installed.
- Restored keyboard long-press hide/lock functionality.
- Other bug fixes/minor UI tweaks.
Download & Availability
Frotz is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
This wonderful app is like a time capsule into the past 1980s when one's imagination played the role of graphics and even today imagination surpasses anything out there.
Brilliant app allows you to import Cutthroats, Infidel, A Mind Forever Voyaging, Bureaucracy and all the other INFOCOM games to your iPhone! All it needs now is a cool, little custom widget.
Perfect app for interactive fiction. 36 mb, runs like a dream, of course the dev only has one app; you can never go far in this world making products this free of bloat and malware.
The iOS version allows iCloud Drive support, while the MacOS only allows Dropbox support. Can you please add iCloud support to the Mac version? Thank you for a great app! <3.
Thanks for making Zork available on iPhone.
One of our all-time faves. Highly recommended.
We have been playing text adventures for over 18 years. When we first heard about this app from a really good friend of ours, we found it a little bit difficult to use. Nowadays, it's good that we have a text adventure app on our phone. We've been playing text adventures as we said for 18 or so years. We're an avid player of interactive fiction, and we love it. We even play interactive fiction that our friends and we make up on our own. Interactive fiction has so many twists and turns, and the puzzles are great to keep the brain going. Keep the updates coming.
There isnt enough padding on the left in portrait for iPad mini or iPhone but the developer said they might add an option. We just need one or two em of space. Also hoping for line height/spacing options. We dont know where the fonts come from. We didnt have any luck adding new fonts to iOS and getting them recognized in Frotz though.
This app allows you to play the richest, best games out there, which shockingly are mostly free. If you want to read amazing stories by great writers, solve puzzles, immerse yourself in first-class world building, and have thousands of gaming options at your fingertips, this is the way to go.
Great app. Love it for playing Zork. We love the Frotz team for giving us this.
Its hard to imagine a better platform for playing IF on our iPad.
All the good none of the bad. The in-game browser for the IFDB is great. And you can add to the story library directly from there. Or by downloading and adding .z3 right from the files app. Like the notes and autocomplete. Haven't seen how to scroll through previous commands? No matter, it's great,.
Ok… So… We just download the app and all we can say is this: HOW DO we DONATE!! This is AWESOME! We remember them, but not well enough to remember the details, so, we can enjoy them all over again! THANK YOU.. And PLEASE let us know how to donate $$ to you. We so appreciate your efforts.
This is an amazing effort by IFA to bring back a CLASSIC platform. The support is amazing from the Devs if you need help. We are now transported back to 1985 on our 128k Macintosh and hours of time with planetfall ahead. BRAVO ZULU to the DEVS.
What an amazing resource with new content all the time.
We love this app but we cant share it with our friends who use android devices. Currently going through Heros and Im loving it.
First off, let us say that Frotz has given us hours of enjoyment delving into so many different worlds created by the IF authors, and Im so grateful to be able to experience all the creativity through it. Theres only two minor things keeping us from giving it a full five stars, one of which is lately theres been a bug when we download a game it shows in our library, but with a stock image icon instead of the games own icon. This seems to happen when the game is in a zip file. The other thing is that Id like to have a way to sort through games in the library other than the search bar, preferably a folder system that you can drop games into (make them your own based on type, progress, etc.) Aside from that, this app is wonderful, and keep up the good work.
Is anybody know how to control the speed switch on childs play.
Didnt get to see much of what the app has to offer as it hurts our eyes too much.
Seems like a great emulator but the active line for typing is always just below the viewable screen on our iPad Pro. We need to scroll up to see it and then it goes away once released. Would give 5 stars but for this bug.
Its been a while since Ive played games like these as we have had issues with trying to start over to try again after making blunder after blunder.
If a story crashes, then the app captures the crash state and forces it to reload the crash every time you open the app. There is no way to force the story to exit so that you can continue using the app in any capacity besides repeated crashing.
Just the sort of app we were looking for.
Is this games response to everything.
Please add the original Adventure game to the included games.
Using the iPad is a great way to play Zork and other Infocom games. So glad that this app is out there.
Turns your cell phone into an apple IIe that plays the old infocom games from the 80s. Love it.
This game has tons of different storylines. We got it for zork, but all the other games are equally awesome. This has entertained us for hours and is now our favorite game.
This is a wonderful story telling game, we love it very much. Though some stories can be difficult without some sort of guide. Other than that we have a question. For the story, Varicella there is a command called penis. Us and our friend at every confused on what the purpose of this is, since it is one of the preset word. Ex being if we type x and space it will become examine. If we type pen, penis will show up. If you could perhaps give us the answer us and our friend are searching for, that would be great! Much love.
Great for all the reasons stated, but we were hoping that the PC BIOS font was available as an option. A lot of fans like this for the nostalgia and the old, primitive font would be a great aesthetic touch.
We can't describe how fantastic it is to be able to come back to this genre every once in a while. This style of game had an enormous influence on us as a kid- this app works very well and we hope it lives forever.
To the dev of this app. We love it, have used it for many years in ios and will continue to for as long as you support it. 2 suggestions: 1. Interface options. If you ever get the itch, providing more choices in readability would be appreciated. The use of color to highlight key words, the old ios infocom treasures app did some pretty nice formatting things that you could look at, for improving this app. Or not. We love this app as is, and would rather you keep it going as is, then develop it further, get burned out and stop supporting it at some point in the future. So its just a thought. 2. Add a pro version. Charge a few bucks for it, as an in app purchase, or whatever. Even if it offers no additional features. We will gladly toss some dollars your way, just as thanks for what you have already done.
Works and plays really well. The only thing we wouldve liked is an update to be able to play some stories that come with pictures/images. But thats just hopeful wishing at this point.
We love the app, that its free, and that it makes this kind of game available to us again. We remember these kinds of games from our early childhood we havent managed to get any new games installed. It would be cool if the app had an app-get interface for importing new, compatible games.
Update: After years of using this program Im happy to report that not only is it still alive, but its alive and continuing to be updated. Thanks to the dev(s) once again for having a big part of keeping IF relevant…. Usually you can tell labors of love. The quality and polish are evident. The dedication of keeping the product up to date, despite roadblocks constantly being thrown your way (we're looking At you apple). We think it's fitting that a game genre like IF, which has the most dedicated fan base we have seen, has such a great way to enjoy the games. A hearty 5 Star salute to the author. Your love of the game is evident. If you play IF growing up, you already have this. A call to the younger generation. Set your fps'er aside and TRY IF. You'll be surprised. Listen to your elders.
After reading about this we wanted to play it. The amazing thing about these are they are more skill than reflex. Love it.
Great game on the order of the old Zork series. Really enjoying it.
What a blast to revisit many of these epic games in text-based fashion. Just fantastic.
We are under the age of 20 meaning we wasnt even alive during the age of interactive fiction when Infocom was actually a company. Yet most video games today dont offer the player the random and sporadic thinking required to win, making those games boring and repetitive. We love reading as well and cant get enough of a good story. When we discovered interactive fiction it satisfied both of those desires. So many of these games are extremely challenging and hold a unique story that always has something unique. These games take a lot of time and effort however this is the best app in the App Store Ive ever had.
Runs great and many hours of enjoyment.
Playing the original Zork has given us an unnatural amount of pleasure. Being able to play many IFComp games is just icing on the cake! Hope they will add iCloud and support for other formats.
Frotz is really the best and frankly the only alternative to people who want to enjoy IF on the go. The app has been consistently improved over time and Im particularly happy with the integration of Dropbox for save games and the possibility of importing stories through the server. Im impressed.
Am we missing something? We cant download about 9 of every 10 stories we click on, either because the app doesnt support it or because there are no files? Or at least make the app itself able to filter stories/games that will work on the app.
We love this app and we like to explore text adventure games. However, we found that, in ZORK, the statue is missing ( we.e. Digging with the shovel in the sandy beach does nothing). Thats where it has been in previous versions of the game. We also encountered minor bugs, such as treasure vanishing from inventory after the thief is dead or when you pass through a curtain. We wound like to beat zork but am in able to because of the missing treasure issue.
We're not sure why but we keep getting a run-time error every time we try to enter the trap door in the living room no matter what we type.
Rather enjoyable, however playing Zork the directions dont seem to go to where they are suppose to. For instance, going north twice to the forest to retrieve the egg, the going south twice should put you right back at the west of the house l, but when we go south twice, puts us in the forest still. Seems odd.
It lacks the functionality for games that have interactive windows to click on commands making it miss out on some modern day IF games.
You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
This is a great mobile platform for interactive fiction. It has lots of great titles preloaded, and we like the ability to take notes in app game by game. Really well done.
YAY TADS!!! Thank you! Finally.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 1.8.8
- Size: 45.46 MB
- iOS: 11.0 or later
- Languages: EN
- Content Advisory: Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humor, Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence, Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes, Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes
- Developer: Craig Smith
Last updated: 24th September 2023 | Genre: Entertainment, Adventure | Developer: Craig Smith