External Links


zorkvms.zip *
This game requires an interpreter program - refer to the game's documentation for details.
Zork​_Trilogy.zip *
maps in GUEmap format
zork1.zip *
THL hint file
Sols3.zip *
solution
Sols2.zip *
solution
Sols1.zip *
solution
zorkI.step2
solution
jgunness.zip *
solution
ZorkI.inv
transcribed Invisiclues hint book
zorkI.step1
solution
zork1.txt
GUE History from the original Zork I docs
sample.from.zork
sample transcript from original documentation
zorkI.txt
solution
Zork I (Windows) *
MS-DOS Installer
Zork I (Mac)
Defaults - All Systems Application (Compressed with StuffIt. Free StuffIt Expanders are available for most systems at www.stuffit.com.)
Zork 1
Revision 119
Requires a Z-Code interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
Zork en Español
Traducido y programado por Mauricio Díaz
Requires a Z-Code interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
hugozork.hex
Requires a Hugo interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
* Compressed with ZIP. Free Unzip tools are available for most systems at www.info-zip.org.

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Zork I

by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling

Episode 1 of Zork
Zorkian, Cave crawl
1980

(based on 208 ratings)
20 reviews

About the Story

Many strange tales have been told of the fabulous treasure, exotic creatures, and diabolical puzzles in the Great Underground Empire. As an aspiring adventurer, you will undoubtedly want to locate these treasures and deposit them in your trophy case.
[--blurb from The Z-Files Catalogue]


Game Details

Language: English, Castilian (en, es)
Current Version: Release 1
License: Former commercial
Development System: ZIL
Forgiveness Rating: Cruel
Baf's Guide ID: 987
IFIDs:  ZCODE-88-840726
HUGO-25-49-53-02-06-99
ZCODE-88-840726-A129
ZCODE-52-871125
ZCODE-5-------
ZCODE-15-UG3AU5
TUID: 0dbnusxunq7fw5ro

Adapted from Zork, by Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling

Translated to Italian in ZORK I ITA, by Whovian (Bruno Bucciotti) [programming], Ragfox [translation]
Spoofs:
Followed by sequel Zork II, by Dave Lebling, Marc Blank
Followed by prequel Zork Zero, by Steve Meretzky
Remakes:
Not Found, by Unknown
Mini-Zork, by Dave Lebling, Marc Blank
Referenced in:
Go West, by Hulk Handsome
Life on Gue Street, by Chris Charla
Nothing But Mazes, by Greg Boettcher
Repeat the Ending, by Drew Cook

Awards

22nd Place - Interactive Fiction Top 50 of All Time (2011 edition)

41st Place - Interactive Fiction Top 50 of All Time (2015 edition)

36th Place - Interactive Fiction Top 50 of All Time (2019 edition)

28th Place - Interactive Fiction Top 50 of All Time (2023 edition)

Editorial Reviews

Baf's Guide


The first Zork to be published commercially, this game essentially consists of a large chunk of dungeon carved from the central area of the original Zork. A decent dungeon crawl, and many adventurers' first experience with IF. The Hugo port is of questionable legality, but considering that Activision made the entire Zork Trilogy available for free download a few years ago, I wouldn't be too worried.

-- Carl Muckenhoupt

Adventure Classic Gaming

I have replayed this game several times over in order to write this article, and I have found the gameplay to be as absorbing as it is the first time I have played many years ago. While on the whole it is very much a game of "find object and use object in the right place", it does not necessarily mean that it is a doodle. It is not at all! There are some quite tricky puzzles to be solved, and I have been stuck a few times even though that I am playing the game the second time around. Although the treasures in the game are easy to find, getting them back safely to the trophy case can be an entirely different matter. Certain puzzles must be be solved in order, but there is no clue as to what that order is�it is up to you to work it out. In some cases, timing is also important. The text descriptions can either be in "verbose" or "brief" mode. Even in the brief mode, there is still enough to keep pulling you further into the game. For me, the game defines the whole addictive syndrome of "must solve just one more piece of the puzzle" which other imitators never manage to capture.
-- Karen Tyers
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Gaming Enthusiast
Time for an absolute classic and the beginning of a highly popular series of games – Zork I [...] even after 30 years is still enjoyable to play.
-- Toddziak
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Mr. Bill's Adventureland
Zork creates a wondrous, magical realm that is a veritable feast for the imagination. You find that you have stumbled upon the ancient ruins of a vast empire lying far underground. Yes, you will find many more treasures for your trophy case. But to do so you will have to search far and wide, solve diabolical puzzles, and defend your treasures (and yourself!) from a few very nasty characters... and one monster, a vicious GRUE that lurks in the dark!
-- Mr. Bill & Lela
See the full review

SPAG
Zork I does work, in the end, though it's hard to pinpoint just why. Collect-the-treasures as a plot is a weary old device, and it doesn't only seem that way to IF players -- it had, after all, been the subject of innumerable fantasy novels and games before IF hit the scene. But its recurring presence points to some appeal that Zork I managed to tap into -- the allure of getting rich, and of obtaining things as diverse as the coffin of Ramses II, a songbird's bauble, and a dead adventurer's bag of coins, keeps the intrigue of finding the next treasure alive, somehow. Vital to the enterprise is, of course, the humor, even if the barrage of self-reference becomes wearying; responses like "Only Santa Claus climbs down chimneys" make the game feel more intelligent than a "You can't do that" response would have, and moments like the description of the vampire bat and the behavior of the thief break up the traipsing-from-room-to-room feel that sometimes plagued Colossal Cave.
-- Duncan Stevens
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>INVENTORY - Paul O'Brian writes about interactive fiction
In replaying this game and its successors, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are two fundamental things that make Zork special, and that are reliable sources of delight in subsequent Infocom games: moments of humor and moments of magic. Sometimes they are one and the same, or at least right alongside each other.
See the full review

Page 6
Zork I
Just two years ago, the American magazine "Computer Gaming World" published a chart of top selling software compiled from manufacturers' figures. Top of the list was K-Razy Shootout with 35,000 in sales. Second on the list was Zork I with 32,000 in sales. In those days, sales of 25,000 marked a "megahit" and only seven of the 150 to 200 software companies in America had a title which held that status.

Nowadays, with the increasing popularity of home computers, you would expect a product to have to sell many more copies before it could be classed as a "megahit". Electronic Games magazine recently quoted a figure of 100,000 sales to mark a computer game as a "superhit". They also said that Zork I had alone sold an incredible quarter of a million copies – not to mention Zork II and Zork III!

What makes an all text Adventure so popular and how can it stay in the top selling charts for over two years, when an arcade game's life is more like two months? I'm afraid I don't know. Maybe Zork is just more fun than any arcade game...
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Member Reviews

5 star:
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4 star:
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3 star:
(42)
2 star:
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1 star:
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Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 20
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Most Helpful Member Reviews


27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
A canonical puzzle-fest, January 10, 2008
by Michael Roberts (Seattle, Washington)

Some modern reviewers have said Zork I is dated, and to some extent it is, although not in the usual way that computer games become dated, which is to say technologically. The technology of IF has improved over the years, certainly, but only incrementally; Zork I is, after all, written on basically the same Z-Machine that a lot of authors are still using today. Sure, parsers have gained a few niceties over the years, but the fact is that even the most sophisticated current parser is still an unnatural computer interface that you have to learn to use; Zork's parser is maybe 10% harder to learn than the current standards. Try digging out a video game from last year, let alone one from Zork's era, and see if they hold up as well.

The thing that makes Zork I look dated isn't the technology; it's the genre. Zork is a story-less treasure hunt in a big cave full of wacky incongruities and anachronisms; it's an unapologetic puzzle-fest; it's a slightly unfair, one-sided contest between a smirking author and a frustrated player. This sort of game went of out style years ago (among IF enthusiasts, I mean - the whole of IF went out of style even earlier among the broader gaming population). Some IFers look at it and say, good riddance: this sort of thing went out of style because it was inferior to what IF has evolved into. I tend to disagree; I think this sort of game actually went out of style because it was done to death, in large part by imitators of this very game. Zork I isn't inferior to modern IF; it's just different from modern IF.

The appeal of Zork I is that of a crossword, or of one of those evil little entangled-wire-loop puzzles. And the thing is, Zork has a ton of that kind of appeal. Once you get into the game, it's really good at doling out just enough positive feedback to keep you going, while keeping the challenges numerous and difficult. Maybe you have to have the right personality type, but if you do, it can become an obsession to beat the thing, to get that last lousy point. The game is unfair, but just a little; its designers had a good feel for just how far they could push their luck before players would feel cheated. It's the kind of game you really want to solve on your own, without looking at hints or walkthroughs, because it always feels like the answers are just within reach.

If you're still convinced that modern IF is just objectively superior to the likes of Zork I, here's something to consider. Modern IF dogma ranks immersiveness as one of the great virtues a work can have. Some look at Zork I's sparse room descriptions and irrational map and scoff. But Zork suggests that there's more to immersion than pretty descriptions. For many IFers, Zork I and its ilk have created some of the most intense subjective feelings of immersion they've had from any sort of game, just because they spent so much time walking back and forth and back and forth across the map. The obsessive play, I think, makes up for the thin text, and then some.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
The canonical IF dungeon crawl, February 12, 2022
by dvs

It was the original mainframe Zork from the 1980's which showed me that text adventures could do more than just the two word commands of the Scott Adams adventures. The breadth of the dungeon was astounding and I loved the variety of puzzles. My eighth grade self loved the experience.

Zork I reduced the original Zork into bitesized puzzles. I helped my nephews through this dungeon crawl over the past few months, only giving advice when the puzzle just wasn't well clued and I wanted to save them from trying everything. There is a nice feeling of exploring caves but there is so much that just doesn't make sense. The puzzles surrounding the (Spoiler - click to show)egg were particularly well-made.

Although this is a classic game that deserves all of the praise for inspiring so many to write IF, it just isn't that much fun as a game in 2022. Enchanter & Planetfall do a much better job of giving motivation beyond just gathering treasures.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
A classic!, October 5, 2020
by RadioactiveCrow (Irving, TX)
Related reviews: 10+ hours

I really enjoyed playing through this game again this year (after having played, but not beaten it back in the 1980s). Yes, I understand how the phrase "Zork hates its player" came about, but at least because the tasks are compartmentalized and getting back to where you last were doesn't take more than a few minutes that it doesn't feel like a major setback to blow yourself up when you weren't expecting it. I had fun puzzling through everything (or at least most things, I had to cheat to figure out (Spoiler - click to show)the secrets of the egg) and even making the maps on my own, though I can see how those can become tedious as well.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed myself and look forward to picking up Zork 2 and 3 for the first time ever, soon.

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Zork I on IFDB

Recommended Lists

Zork I appears in the following Recommended Lists:

Best Infocom Games by Xervosh
The ones I personally enjoyed, and on that admittedly flawed basis, extrapolate you might enjoy the most as well. Presented in chronological order of release.

My List Of Most Fun Games Ever by Rotonoto
(in purely alphabetical order)

Best games ever by Grueslayer
Best games ever

See all lists mentioning this game

Polls

The following polls include votes for Zork I:

Best classic zork adventure by Aintelligence
What is the best classic zork adventure which includes all zork including classics and subdivisions.

Bugs that you can take advantage of by Fredrik
Bugs are an annoyance, usually, but in some rare cases, bugs can actually make the life of an adventurer easier. Some bugs can help you in certain situations, perhaps even to bypass puzzles, and they can sometimes provide positively...

Games where deliberately losing/dying/losing an item advances the plot by Andrew Schultz
The meaning of "deliberately" can be a bit broad, but I'm wondering about cases where an action clearly marked risky or fatal helps you see something or progress, and you would not have otherwise. I'm not thinking so much about where,...

See all polls with votes for this game




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