Here we go again
Imagine someone came to you tomorrow and asked "I want to play adventure games, can you recommend 20 games to play". The purpose of this thread is to provide the answer.
It isn't meant to be a list of the 20 best games of all time. It isn't meant to be Adventure Game 101. It might end up being both those things, but first and foremost it is a list of games that you would recommend to someone else to play.
For that reason, you might not include something that is notoriously difficult to get to run, or which has clunky graphics by today's standard, or has no sound apart from a tinny midi soundtrack. You might not recommend a game that you found awesomely wonderful on the basis that no one else has your particularly strange sense of appreciation. You might not recommend every Myst clone you have ever played because even though they are your passion, a whole list of them might be, well, a little dull.
Or you might - many players have old game rigs and there are numerous programmes that help get old games to run on new machines, who said you need flashy graphics to tell a good story, and perhaps elaborate soundtracks simply cover up the flaws in a bad script. There might be someone out there just like you who doesn't know about your awesome game, and too many Myst games is actually never enough.
The point is its up to you - if you think a game you have played is worth recommending to someone else to play, you can put it on your list.
So long of course as its an adventure game. And we all know what they are. Quake isn't one, however beautifully scripted it might be, but Myst is. Somewhere in between is a grey area which doesn't matter between friends, which we all are.
There are some rules though:

1. You can recommend a maximum of 20 games. You can choose to recommend less.
2. You cannot recommend a series. If you want to recommend all the Tex Murphy games, that will take 5 seperate recommendations, one for each game.
3. The following episodic adventures will be counted as one game - Sam & Max Season 1, Sam & Max Season 2, Wallace & Grommit, Strong Bad, Casebook.
4. Myst and RealMyst will be counted as one game.
5. Uru and its add ons will be counted as one game.
6. BadMojo and the Redux version are one game.
7. Directors cuts will be counted as the same game.
8. Adventure games only please (Dark Side games and Casual games get their own lists).

If at all possible, please list in alphabetical order - it makes counting so much easier. In doing so, ignore "the" (so The Lost Crown would be under "L" for Lost)

The thread stays open for about 3 weeks, and I will post updates as we go. Also, avoid editiing your lists after posting because I count as we go, and may miss a change.
So who wants to be first?

I don't have my list yet but I hope that the members give us the names of adventure games they recommend.

I thank flotsam in doing this list annually. We look forward to it.

Have fun, everyone!

Yay, I am excited about this!

Flotsam, I have a question before I post my list. Does the new King's Quest Collection count as one recommendation, or will I have to recommend individual King's Quest games?

:Brussels sprouts:

I love the list!

Great, but I have to think it over for a couple of days before posting my list.

Ankh 1
Black Mirror
Broken Sword Circle of Blood
Day of the Tentacle
Discworld 1
Discworld 2
Fable
Gabriel Knight 2 The Beast Within
Grim Fandango
Legend of Kyrandia Book One
The Longest Journey
Monkey Island 1
Monkey Island 2
Monkey Island 3
Runaway 1
Secret Files 1 Tunguska
Simon the Sorcerer 1
Simon the Sorcerer 2
Tony Tough Night of the Roasted Moths
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders.

1-Anacapri
2-Black Mirror
3-Keepsake
4-Longest Journey
5-Longest Journey Dreamfall
6-Lost Crown
7-Myst
8-Myst 3 Exile
9-Mysterious Journey Schizm
10-Nibiru
11-Rhiannon
12-Riven
13-Sentinel Descendant in Time
14-Sherlock Holmes Nemesis (Arsene Lupin)
15-Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper
16-Still Life
17-Still life 2
18-Syberia
19-Syberia 2
20-Yoomurjak's Ring

Thanks Flotsam, I am ready for ya this year...

Black Dahlia
Blackstone Chronicles, The
Dark Side of the Moon
Lighthouse: The Dark Being
Lost Crown, The
Myst IV: Revelation
Myst V: End of Ages
Myst III: Exile
Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh
Phantasmagoria: Prey its Only a Nightmare
Rhem
Rhem 2
Rhem 3
Riven
Sherlock Holmes vs Arsene Lupin (aka Nemesis)
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
Shivers
Syberia
Syberia 2
Zork: Nemesis

Day of the Tentacle
Faust (Seven Games of the Soul)
Gabriel Knight 1: Sins of the Fathers
Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within
Grim Fandango
Morpheus
Myst/RealMyst
Myst III: Exile
Obsidian
Return to Mysterious Island
Riven
Sanitarium
Schizm II (Mysterious Journey II)
Sentinel (Realms of Illusion)
Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper
Secret of Monkey Island
Shivers
Uru
Zork Nemesis
Zork Grand Inquisitor

Hi, flotsam!

Here's my list:

Black Mirror
Gabriel Knight 1: Sins of the Father
Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within
Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned
Nancy Drew: Danger on Deception Island
Nancy Drew: Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake
Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy
Nancy Drew: Secret at Shadow Ranch
Nancy Drew: White Wolf of Icicle Creek
N*i*B*i*R*u
Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper
Shivers
Shivers 2: Harvest of Souls
Still Life
Syberia 1
Syberia 2
Tex Murphy: Under a Killing Moon
Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive
Tex Murphy: Overseer
Zork: Grand Inquisitor

Susan

Okay, I couldn't wait. Here is my list:

Culpa Innata
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
Gabriel Knight 1: The Sins of the Fathers
Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within
Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned
Grim Fandango
King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow
King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Longest Journey, The
Moment of Silence, The
Overclocked
Paradise (with patch )
Rhodan: Myth of the Illochim
Runaway: A Road Adventure
Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle
So Blonde
Still Life
Syberia
Syberia 2

Thanks, "Flotsam" for doing this every year... Much Appreciated

(1) Last half Of Darkness.."Spirits EyE"
(2) Lost Crown
(3) Sanitarium
(4) Limbo Of The Lost
(5) Vampyre
(6) Sherlock "The Awakened"
(7) Siberia 2
(8) Mystery Of The Druids
(9) Simon the Sorcerer 2
(10) Monkey Island 2
(11) Return to Mysterious Island
(12) -Nibiru
(13) Black Mirror
(14) Runaway 2
(15) Still Life
(16) Niopol; Secrets Of The Imortals
(17) Everlight
(18) Culpa Innata
(19) Art Of Murder "Hunt For The Puppeteer"
(20) Dead Reefs

Ok here it goes!

Art of Murder 1
Art of Murder 2
Belief and Betrayal
Beyond Atlantas
Chronicles of Mystery/The Scorpio Ritual
Culpa Innata
Darkness Within
Keepsake
Last Half of Darkness/Beyond the Spirits Eye
Limbo of the Lost
Lost Crown
Outcry
Overclocked
Myst
Mysterious Island
Riddle of the Sphinx
Riven
Scratches
So Blonde
Wanted a Wild Western

Lori

Thank you flotsam - you are special !!

Black Dahlia
Blade Runner
Broken Sword
Day of the Tentacle
Discworld
Flight of the Amazon Queen
Gabriel Knight : Sins of the Fathers
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Kings Quest VI
Legend of Kyrandia (The)
Lost Crown : A Ghost-hunting Adventure (The)
Lost files of Sherlock Holmes : Case of the Rose tattoo (The)
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Nostradamus
Phantasmagoria
Return to Zork
Secret of Monkey Island (The)
Sherlock Holmes : The Awakened
Simon the Sorcerer
Tex Murphy : Under a Killing Moon

Thank you flotsam. Here it is my personal list

1) Broken Sword
2) Broken Sword II
3) Gabriel Knight III
4) The Longest Journey
5) Black Mirror
6) Runaway
7) Runaway 2
8) The Mystery of the Druids
9) Syberia
10) Syberia II
11) Secret Files - Tunguska
12) Culpa Innata
13) The Abbey
14) The Moment of Silence
15) Martin Mystere
16) The Watchmaker
17) Blade Runner
18) Still Life
19) Art of Murder 1
20) Overclocked

1. Agatha Christie-Then There Were None
2. Agatha Christie: The Oriental Express
3. Agatha Christie: Under The Sun
4. Belief & Betrayal
5. Black Mirror
6. Dark Fall 1
7. Dark Fall 2
8. Darkness Within
9.Dead Reefs
10.Dracula Origin
11. Nancy Drew Blackmoor Manor
12. Nancy Drew in The Haunted Mansion
13.Outcry
14.Overclocked
15.Post Mortem
16.Sherlock Holmes in Awakened
17.Sherlock Holmes in The Mummy
18.Still Life
19.Syberia 1
20.Syberia 2

I probably would have added still 2 and Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper, but I'm not through playing them yet.

Here's my list.

1. 80 Days
2. Amerzone
3. Black Mirror
4. Culpa Innata
5. Dracula Origin
6. Dracula: Resurrection
7. Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
8. ECHO: Secrets of the Lost Cavern
9. Longest Journey
10. Moment of Silence
11. Return to Mysterious Island
12. Safecracker 2006
13. Secrets of Da Vinci
14. Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
15. Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Silver Earring
16. Sherlock Holmes vs Arsene Lupin (Nemesis)
17. Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper
18. Still Life 1
19. Syberia 1
20. Syberia 2

And my list of 2009 look like this:

Big Red Adventure, The
Blade Runner
Broken Sword 1: Shadow of the Templars
Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror
Discworld 1
Discworld 2: Mortality Bytes!
Gabriel Knight : Sins of the Fathers
Jack Keane
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Sanitarium
Secret Files: Tunguska
Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis
Secret of Monkey Island, The
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
So Blonde
Still Life
Tex Murphy: Under a Killing Moon
Toonstruck
Wanted a Wild Western
Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth

Thanks to all involved in compiling this list. Here's mine.

Amerzone
Barrow Hill
Darkness Within
Drowned God
The Last Half of Darkness: Beyond the Spirits Eye
The Last Half of Darkness: Shadows of the Servants
MYST
Myst V
Outcry
Post Mortem
Riven
Scratches
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper
Still Life
Syberia
Syberia II
URU

Amber Journeys Beyond
Anacapri
Barrow Hill
Cleopatra: Riddle of the Tomb
Conspiracies
Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon
Echo: Secret of the Lost Cavern
Longest Journey, The
Lost Crown, The
Nancy Drew: Secret of the Scarlet Hand
Nancy Drew: TheSecret of Shadow Ranch
Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy
Phantasmagoria
Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh
Quiet Weekend In Capri, A
Return to Mysterious Island
Syberia I
Syberia II
Voyage
Yoomurjaks Ring

Well, I had to bump one of my older favorites to be able to mention Outcry, one of the first newer games (2008) that made an impression on me. The next youngest game is Rhem 2 (2005). It should be mentioned that I haven't played Rhem 3 yet, and I when I do, I'll probably need to bump something else . The list gets harder each year.

Black Dahlia
Dark Fall 1
Gabriel Knight Beast Within
Gabriel Knight Blood of the Sacred Blood of the Dammed
Myst Exile
Neverhood
Obsidian
Outcry
RealMyst
Rhem
Rhem 2
Riddle of the Sphinx
Riven
Schizm (Mysterious Journey)
Shivers
Shivers 2
Tex Murphy Pandora Directive
Timelapse
Zork Grand Inquisitor
Zork Nemesis

Awesome

Agatha Christie: Murder on Oriental Expres
Belief and Betrayal
Ben Jordan Paranormal Investigator 6: Scourge Of The Sea People
Broken Sword: The Angel of Death
Broken Sword: The sleeping Dragon
CSI: Hard Evidence
CSI: New York
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (psp/ ps2)
Keepsake
Nelly Cootalot
Night Squale (AGS)
Overclocked
Post Mortem
Scratches
Secret Files: Tunguska
Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earing
Sherlock Holmes vs Arsene Lupin (Nemesis)
Still Life
Syberia
Syberia 2

-----------------
Wish I could put cirque de zale there too but maybe next time. And I wish I could put 'overclocked' on top of all the games

Many thanks for your hard work Flotsom. Here is my vote -
Barrow Hill
Black Mirror
Darkfall the journal
Darkness Within in pursuit of Loath Nolder
Dracula ; Origin
Gilbert Goodmate and the mushroom of Phengoria
Grim Fandango
Lost Crown the
Martin Mystere
Moment of Silence the
Mystery of the Druids
Post Mortom
Return to Mysterious Island
Runaway A road adventure
Scratches the directors cut
Secret files of Tungusks
Sherlock Holmes ; Nemesis
Simon the Sorcerer 4 Chaos happens
Syberia 1
Time Stand Still.

I got the list to only 20 by only including 1 game of a series.

Art of Murder 1
Art of Murder 2
Black Mirror
Carol Reed: Colour of Murder
Delaware St. John: The Seacliff Tragedy
Dig
Grim Fandango
Journeyman Project: Buried in Time
Journeyman Project: Legacy of Time
Last Half of Darkness: Beyond the Spirit's Eye
Lighthouse: The Dark Being
Moment of Silence
Myst
Nostradamus
Paradise
Riddle of the Tomb
Shivers
Still Life
Syberia 1
Syberia 2

List posters! If at all possible, please alphabetize your lists! It makes it much easier to count your votes.

Thank you, thank you.