Comparison

Frotz vs Hosted Games

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Frotz

Experience classic text-based adventure games on your mobile device. Relive the golden age of interactive fiction with hundreds of free titles, supporting various game formats. Perfect for those who enjoy reading, thinking, and typing their way through immersive stories.

Highlights
  • Play hundreds of free interactive fiction games
  • Supports Z-Machine, glulx, and TADS formats
  • Relive classic text adventures
  • Modern interface with high-resolution fonts
  • Play on iPhone and iPad
Features
Read full description

[*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

About

Hosted Games

Explore a vast library of text-based interactive novels where your choices shape the narrative. Engage in diverse genres from horror and fantasy to romance and sci-fi, all powered by your imagination. Create your own stories using a simple scripting language.

Highlights
  • Vast library of interactive novels
  • Text-based storytelling
  • Choice-driven narratives
  • Multiple genres available
  • Create your own games
  • ChoiceScript programming language
Features
Read full description

The choice is yours! Joust for love and glory, solve an eldritch murder, find romance, or battle aliens with Magitek? "Hosted Games" is a magnificent library of interactive novels, written by authors like you. Hosted Games are entirely text-based—without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination. Try a few of these fan favorites: • Zombie Exodus — Fight your way out of a zombie-filled city in this interactive horror story! • Fallen Hero — Step into the shoes of a telepath turned villain and explore the dark side. • Wayhaven Chronicles — Something stalks the shadows, and it's up to you to find out what! • Sabres of Infinity — Step into the boots of a Royal Dragoon in this tale of war in a fantasy world. • Golden Rose — Explore a medieval Europe where history took a different turn! • Soul Stone War — Fight for the future—your own, and the world's! Your fate is yours. • I, the Forgotten One — Can you defeat the rebellion in your kingdom before your past consumes you? • An Unexpectedly Green Journey — From birth to death, craft your orc's legacy. Are you destined for glory? • Fields of Asphodel — Join the ranks of the Underworld's misfit gods and make it your home! • Tin Star — Ride out into the Old West as a U.S. marshal and craft a legend. Authors just like you have developed these games using ChoiceScript, a simple programming language for writing multiple-choice interactive novels. Writing games with ChoiceScript is easy and fun, even for authors with no programming experience. Learn more at https://hostedgames.org

Screenshots

Frotz3 screens
Hosted Games4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Frotz at none against Hosted Games's 35. Frotz also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (91% vs 77%). Hosted Games's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (956 vs 251). On price, rating and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Hosted Games sells 33 one-off in-app purchases. Frotz asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Frotz against 4.7 for Hosted Games. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 251 and 956 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Frotz's written reviews are positive against 77% of Hosted Games's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Frotz ships an update every 5 months, Hosted Games every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Frotz versus Hosted Games: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFrotzHosted Games
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (251 ratings) — better4.7 (956 ratings)
Positive reviews90.8% of reviews — better77.4% of reviews
Number of ratings251956 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB94 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperCraig SmithHosted Games LLC

Customer experience

Frotz

All ratings251 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews293 reviews
Positive90.8%
Neutral4.8%
Negative4.4%

Hosted Games

All ratings956 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral1.7%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews212 reviews
Positive77.4%
Neutral6.6%
Negative16.0%

Bugs and requests

Frotz

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes when trying to resume certain saved games
  • Inconsistent behavior when deleting or importing games

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for more modern interactive fiction formats
  • Implement cloud sync and cross-device save support
  • Improve game library management and discovery
  • Add more customization options for text display

Hosted Games

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Frotz

No in-app purchases

33 purchases

Hosted Games

One-time33
  • Dragon of Steelthorne$2.99
  • Side Stories 21-30$2.99
  • First Bull Run$2.99
Show 30 more
  • Tokyo Wizard$2.99
  • It Takes Three to Tango$3.99
  • Divine Ascension$4.99
  • Samurai of Hyuga$4.99
  • Keeper's Vigil$5.99
  • World War II Armored Recon$5.99
  • Life as a Lich$5.99
  • Velocity: The Race Begins$6.99
  • Keeper of the Sun and Moon$6.99
  • Samurai of Hyuga Book 6$6.99
  • Fallen Hero: Rebirth$6.99
  • Hero or Villain: Genesis$6.99
  • A Kiss from Death$6.99
  • Kitsune$6.99
  • Whiskey-Four$6.99
  • Wayhaven Chronicles: Book One$7.99
  • The Soul Stone War$7.99
  • Leas: City of the Sun$7.99
  • The People's House$7.99
  • Scales of Justice$7.99
  • Tale of Two Cranes$8.99
  • Breach: The Archangel Job$8.99
  • Wayhaven Chronicles: Book Two$8.99
  • Saturnine$8.99
  • The Golden Rose: Book One$11.99
  • Diaspora$11.99
  • Wayhaven Chronicles Three$11.99
  • Fallen Hero: Retribution$11.99
  • An Unexpectedly Green Journey$11.99
  • Fields of Asphodel$11.99

Questions

Is Frotz free?
Frotz is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hosted Games free?
Hosted Games is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Frotz or Hosted Games?
Frotz is rated higher. Frotz averages 4.8 out of 5 from 251 ratings, while Hosted Games averages 4.7 from 956 ratings.
Do Frotz or Hosted Games have ads?
Hosted Games shows ads; Frotz does not.
Which is updated more often, Frotz or Hosted Games?
Frotz ships an update every 5 months, and Hosted Games every 10 days. Most recently, Frotz was updated on September 24, 2026 and Hosted Games on September 26, 2026.

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