Spring Thing is an annual competition to highlight works of Interactive Fiction (text adventure games and other literary works).

Adam Cadre, author of several works of Interactive Fiction, including the well-known Photopia, , and Varicella, announced the Spring Thing in 2001, both to promote works that would be longer than those entered into the Interactive Fiction Competition, and to encourage authors to submit works to the general public during other times of the year. It was run in 2002 and 2003, but Cadre did not host it the following year. Greg Boettcher picked up the slack, and is hosting another Spring Thing in the spring of 2005.

As with the more well-known Interactive Fiction Competition, works submitted to the Spring Thing must be released as freeware or public domain. Unlike that competition's limit of two hours per work, judges may spend as much time as necessary with an entry in the Spring Thing.

List of winners to date

2002 -- Tinseltown Blues , by Chip Hayes (Requires Inform)

2003 -- Max Blaster and Doris de Lightning Against the Parrot Creatures of Venus , by Dan Shiovitz and Emily Short (Requires TADS) (game's home page)

2004 -- The Spring Thing was on hiatus this year

2005 -- TBA

External link

• Spring Thing Home Page