Squiffy is an open source tool for creating multiple choice interactive fiction stories. These games focus on text and story. Players navigate through the game or story by clicking links.
This game genre is sometimes known as gamebooks or choose your own adventure books (CYOA).
Squiffy works in a web browser. There is also a graphical client available for Linux (OS X and Windows are supported too).
Alternatively, you can simply use any text editor to create the text and compile the games with Squiffy’s own command-line version.
Features include:
- Very easy to use.
- Creates HTML, CSS and JavaScript files.
- Format text using plain text, Markdown (a lightweight markup language with plain text formatting syntax), and HTML.
- Two types of text block:
- Sections – the main units of text.
- Passages – smaller units which exist within sections.
- Trigger a passage after the player has made a certain number of clicks within a section.
- Embed text from another section, or from a passage in the current section.
- Track the sections and passages a player has seen.
- Create labels which replace existing output when a link is clicked or when a section or passage is displayed.
- Squiffy Editor:
- Syntax highlighting.
- Configurable font size.
- Collapse sections and passages.
- Add section/passage buttons.
- Undo and redo.
- Searchable section/passage dropdowns.
- Supports Unicode.
- Development tools option.
Website: textadventures.co.uk/squiffy
Support: Documentation, GitHub (Compiler), GitHub (Squiffy Editor), Forum, Blog
Developer: Luis Felipe Morales Bendicho, Alex Warren
License: MIT License
Squiffy is written entirely in JavaScript – the compiler uses Node.js and the games it generates run in a web browser. Learn JavaScript with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
There are binaries of Squiffy editor for Linux and Windows. It uses the GTK+ cross-platform widget toolkit. At the time of writing, the latest version of Squiffy editor is 5.1.2.
The screenshot below shows the Squiffy editor with the DevTools option enabled.
Learn JavaScript with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Return to Write Interactive Fiction
| Popular series | |
|---|---|
 | The largest compilation of the best free and open source software in the universe. Each article is supplied with a legendary ratings chart helping you to make informed decisions. |
 | Hundreds of in-depth reviews offering our unbiased and expert opinion on software. We offer helpful and impartial information. |
 | The Big List of Active Linux Distros is a large compilation of actively developed Linux distributions. |
 | Replace proprietary software with open source alternatives: Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Autodesk, Oracle, Atlassian, Corel, Cisco, Intuit, and SAS. |
 | Awesome Free Linux Games Tools showcases a series of tools that making gaming on Linux a more pleasurable experience. This is a new series. |
 | Machine Learning explores practical applications of machine learning and deep learning from a Linux perspective. We've written reviews of more than 40 self-hosted apps. All are free and open source. |
 | New to Linux? Read our Linux for Starters series. We start right at the basics and teach you everything you need to know to get started with Linux. |
 | Alternatives to popular CLI tools showcases essential tools that are modern replacements for core Linux utilities. |
 | Essential Linux system tools focuses on small, indispensable utilities, useful for system administrators as well as regular users. |
 | Linux utilities to maximise your productivity. Small, indispensable tools, useful for anyone running a Linux machine. |
 | Surveys popular streaming services from a Linux perspective: Amazon Music Unlimited, Myuzi, Spotify, Deezer, Tidal. |
 | Saving Money with Linux looks at how you can reduce your energy bills running Linux. |
 | Home computers became commonplace in the 1980s. Emulate home computers including the Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, ZX81, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. |
 | Now and Then examines how promising open source software fared over the years. It can be a bumpy ride. |
 | Linux at Home looks at a range of home activities where Linux can play its part, making the most of our time at home, keeping active and engaged. |
 | Linux Candy reveals the lighter side of Linux. Have some fun and escape from the daily drudgery. |
 | Getting Started with Docker helps you master Docker, a set of platform as a service products that delivers software in packages called containers. |
 | Best Free Android Apps. We showcase free Android apps that are definitely worth downloading. There's a strict eligibility criteria for inclusion in this series. |
 | These best free books accelerate your learning of every programming language. Learn a new language today! |
 | These free tutorials offer the perfect tonic to our free programming books series. |
 | Linux Around The World showcases usergroups that are relevant to Linux enthusiasts. Great ways to meet up with fellow enthusiasts. |
 | Stars and Stripes is an occasional series looking at the impact of Linux in the USA. |