Why go through the troubles of making good games anyway?
AGAIN AGAIN!

Welcome to Return of the Really Bad IF, the third instalment of Really Bad IF series, the unranked interactive fiction jam where the goal is to simply make really bad IF games. 

Bring your terribly written, bug-riddled coded, nonsensical-story games along!

Rules:

• This is supposed to be a silly jam. So no ranking. 
  • You don't even have to leave rating or comments enabled on your page.
• I will seriously boot out games that are actually good. Don't submit you critically acclaimed games you think have flaws! They have to be bad, and bad on purpose!
  • Submit your good games instead to Interactive Fiction Showcase 2026 [TBL] !
• Any language used, however badly you want it to use.
• Add CW if relevant, esp for NSFW entries and if you have animated content (e.g. flashing)!!!
• No AI, no LLM, no Spam entries, no Hate content. Included in the game page/title card.

Unlike other IF events, I'm not adding entries to the IFDB. But feel free to create a page for your entry!
If I see enough entries, I'll create a Competition page to link them all.

FAQ:

Can I start my entry now?
Yes! Start as early (or as late) as you want. 

Can I submit something I've submitted somewhere else before the jam open?
I would rather you create something new (and maybe even worse) for this jam.
But if your entry was submitted to a different jam/comp happening 2026, you'll get a pass! Only one!

How many entries can I make?
However many as you want - though I'd recommend not more than 3. 

My entry is interactive and it has a story, why was it booted when it's obviously an interactive fiction?
I'm pretty generous in my definition of IF (interactive story, with a focus on text), especially with the jam playing around with its codes, but even I have limits. You can learn more about Interactive Fiction on the IFWiki.

I don't know how to make a bad game. Help!
Good and bad is really subjective, though there are consensus on what makes an IF game bad: bugs that makes it impossible to complete the game, an interface/colour palette that makes everything unreadable, unskipable slow typed text, too long timed text, obtuse or frustrating puzzles, purple prose without reason, etc... You can also thing of a beloved element in IF, and try to create the absolute worst version of it.
If you want concrete inspiration, check out the previous editions: 2024 , 2025

What happens after the Jam is over?
I play all the entries and make comments on a thread on the IntFiction Forum. Because some bad games are actually good, and some are so bad they end up being so good. And some a just plainly terrible.

Share the Jam!

Tumblr (TBL) - Mastodon (TBL) - Bluesky (TBL)

Or discuss the jam on the IntFiction Forum!