RPGFit check
Is Choice of Alexandria worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- Readers of interactive fiction who want choices to shape a historical setting
- Players interested in ancient Alexandria who want to guide a prince and protect a library
- Fans of speculative history who want to pursue inventions ahead of their time
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players looking for a visually presented game rather than a text-only novella
- Readers seeking a short session or compact story rather than a 90,000-word work
- Players who want action-focused gameplay rather than choices and reading
Our take on Choice of Alexandria
The experience is entirely text-based: its 90,000 words have no graphics or sound effects, leaving the story’s choices and prose to carry the game.
What is Choice of Alexandria?
Set in 245 BCE, this text-only interactive novella casts the player as a librarian tutoring Prince Ptolemy IV in Alexandria.
Choices shape the story, including whether to focus on the prince, protect the city and its library, or pursue inventions. With Archimedes and Euclid, the librarian can make discoveries such as the steam engine, germ theory, and robotic automata far ahead of their time. The story also includes decisions about the prince’s character, the fate of other cities’ libraries, and encounters with the pirate queen Nefertari. The novella has 90,000 words and no graphics or sound effects. Its premise draws on the life of Eratosthenes, the ancient mathematician associated with calculating the size of Earth.
How Choice of Alexandria plays
- 01Branching story choices
- Decisions can change the library’s fate, the city’s protection, and how Ptolemy develops.
- 02Early inventions
- Work with Archimedes and Euclid on discoveries including steam power, disease theory, and automata.
- 03Text-only format
- The 90,000-word story uses no graphics or sound effects.
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Choice of Alexandria: platforms & release
Is Choice of Alexandria worth it?
It is worth it if: readers of interactive fiction who want choices to shape a historical setting. Skip it if: players looking for a visually presented game rather than a text-only novella.
Where can I download Choice of Alexandria?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens Choice of Alexandria's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is Choice of Alexandria on?
Windows, macOS and Linux.
