External Links


wumpus.z5
Requires a Z-Code interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
IOCCC-1994-dodsond2.zip
entry in 1994 IOCCC
(Compressed with ZIP. Free Unzip tools are available for most systems at www.info-zip.org.)
wumpus.bas
compatible with GW-BASIC

Have you played this game?

You can rate this game, record that you've played it, or put it on your wish list after you log in.

Playlists and Wishlists

RSS Feeds

New member reviews
Updates to external links
All updates to this page

Hunt the Wumpus

by Gregory Yob, Magnus Olsson, and David Ahl

Fantasy
1972

(based on 16 ratings)
3 reviews

Game Details

Editorial Reviews

Baf's Guide


A faithful rendering of the earliest known IF game--even earlier than Colossal Cave--ported to Inform; it became famous when Ahl included it in his book of Basic programs. Essentially, you're wandering through a network of numbered caves, looking for the Wumpus; when it's nearby, you'll smell it, and you can try to kill it by shooting into one of the caves that's near you. If you wander into the same cave as the Wumpus, you die. Other hazards include bats--which pick you up and dump you somewhere else--and pits, which kill you. The interface is rather primitive--you can shoot, move, or quit at any given time--but what did you expect in 1972? The main innovation in this port is that you can choose the design of the cave--Moebius strip, dodecahedron, etc. Not much of a game, but good for a nostalgia trip. The port was inspired by Andrew Plotkin's Hunter, in Darkness, an altogether novel take on the original.

-- Duncan Stevens

Tags

- View the most common tags (What's a tag?)

(Log in to add your own tags)
Tags you added are shown below with checkmarks. To remove one of your tags, simply un-check it.

Enter new tags here (use commas to separate tags):

Member Reviews

5 star:
(0)
4 star:
(3)
3 star:
(9)
2 star:
(4)
1 star:
(0)
Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 3
Write a review


4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Good for an hour's amusement, April 11, 2012
by Dastari
Related reviews: IF History

A friend of mine recently convinced me to give IF a try, so I thought that I'd try at the beginning. The version of Hunt the Wumpus that I played is the port by Magnus Olsson. It allows you to choose from 5 different kinds of maps. The biggest challenge is the mapping. Once you have fully mapped the five possibilities then it is usually a trivial matter of avoiding the dangers and killing the Wumpus. While it is possible to lose based on some of the random elements of the game if you have the map then you will be able to win on the far majority of your playthroughs.

This game amused me for about an hour. After that it becomes repetitive and boring. For anyone interested in learning how IF works on a conceptual level this is a pretty good way of getting started, but I wouldn't recommend this game for any more than just a small diversion for someone who wants to work out a logic puzzle.

I gave the game 3 out of 5 stars based on my enjoyment. It did make me have to think out the puzzle, which I find enjoyable, and I did enjoy hunting the Wumpus a few times after I figured everything out but replayability is low and I can't imagine playing this game over and over again.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Fun little logic puzzle, March 18, 2021
by RadioactiveCrow (Irving, TX)

First of all, my thanks to Magnus Olsson for the z-code port of this game. So much easier to load up Filfre to play this rather than trying to get an ancient executable to work or what not.

I had never played this game until today, but had read about it many times. For the time in which it was created I'm sure it was a fun little game. Even in the modern era I enjoyed playing it for a bit and I'm sure I will introduce it to my kids one day as both a logic problem and computer history lesson. That said, it is just a puzzle/mapping game, no real story to it.

I recommend everyone play it for an hour or so to appreciate where IF started and where it is today. Still fun, if only for a bit.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
The Great-granddaddy of IF, November 13, 2008
by WriterBob (Richmond Hill, Ontario)

Here it is, restored in all its glory, "Hunt the Wumpus." Before Colossal Cave, there was Hunt the Wumpus. By today's standards it wouldn't even place in any IF competition. But, back in '72 it was the only piece of IF available, the first of its kind.

The interface is very limited. You can only shoot an arrow into an adjacent room, or move to an adjacent room.

The prose non-existent, consisting of the coordinates of the room you occupy and whether you sense a pit or a wumpus nearby.

Beyond the lethal pits and wumpus, there is only one other obstacle, the bat. The bat takes you and deposits you in a random location (which may contain either pit or wumpus.)

There is no exploration; there is no twist of plot; there are no revelations into the human condition. It is a simple game, one in which you either kill the wumpus or die. Still, as the great-granddady of IF, it deserves special consideration. All true adventurers should relish this piece of history.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

Hunt the Wumpus on IFDB

Recommended Lists

Hunt the Wumpus appears in the following Recommended Lists:

Abuses of the IF engine by mjhayes
Although various interpreters were written to facilitate play and creation of interactive stories, it should be obvious that some people would find ways to write computer games using the various aspects of the interpreters.




This is version 1 of this page, last edited on 29 September 2007 at 8:49pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page