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Game Details
Language: English (en)
First Publication Date: September 30, 2007 Current Version: 2 License: Freeware Development System: Inform 6 Forgiveness Rating: Polite Baf's Guide ID: 3035
Referenced in Grunk and Cheese, by Admiral Jota |
Awards
1st Place overall; 1st Place, Miss Congeniality Awards - 13th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition (2007)
Winner, Best Game; Winner, Best Writing; Nominee, Best Setting; Nominee, Best Puzzles; Nominee, Best NPCs; Winner, Best Individual NPC; Winner, Best Individual PC; Nominee, Best Use of Medium - 2007 XYZZY Awards
2nd Place - Interactive Fiction Top 50 of All Time (2011 edition)
5th Place - Interactive Fiction Top 50 of All Time (2015 edition)
2nd Place - Interactive Fiction Top 50 of All Time (2019 edition)
Editorial Reviews
Gaming Enthusiast
There’s no better game if you want to take a breather from more serious and complex titles and simply to have a great time. Definitely a gem in the comedic genre.
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Jay Is Games
What's great is that Lost Pig is on the lighter side. I found myself laughing most of the time while I gleefully wandered around. Grunk narrates the game in caveman-like diction, but this element never became annoying to me. It really serves to absorb you into the amiable character. The game isn't very long but offers up a relatively good challenge, particularly if you are unfamiliar with the genre.
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Play This Thing!
It's got neat puzzles, it's got a good sense of humor, and it's insanely responsive. All kinds of odd, esoteric, or silly actions are catered for, and that keeps the game entertaining even when you're temporarily stuck for a solution.
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Onion A. V. Club
While the game is short, and a few of the puzzles rely on conveniently magical explanations, Lost Pig makes a hilarious case for why text still matters.
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PC Gamer
Grunk an orc, and not good at description; detailed expository introspections on combining inherently ludic nature of interactive fiction and unconventional prose style not Grunk’s thing. But Grunk’s story funny.
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PopMatters
By far, the most fascinating part of the game is to see these two characters interact, Grunk and the gnome. Grunk’s limited intelligence is pitted against Gnome’s infinite patience. The game will give you random suggestions on what you can ask, and these suggestions never seem to run out. I spent over an hour ignoring the rest of the game just to talk to this gnome.
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Wyrmis.com
Well crafted, not too long, requires pleasantly clever choices, and written strongly through to the end. Excellent IF title. Going up there as one of my favorites.
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Jörgs Wort[be]reich Rezension zum IF-Comp 2007 (German)
Du bist ein Ork auf der Suche nach einem Schwein, das deinem Chef gehört und stiften gegangen ist. Dies führt dich des nächtens in den Wald, und bald darauf findest du dich in der unterirdischen Behausung eines alchimistisch interessierten Gnoms wieder. Die Sau hast du damit aber noch nicht im Sack...
Der Erzählstil bedient sich des grammatikalischen Verständnisses unseres Hauptdarstellers -- Grunk. Das hört sich anstrengend an, wurde aber so liebevoll und geschickt umgesetzt, daß es tatsächlich schon den ersten Humorbonus dafür gibt. Sämtliche Standardantworten scheinen ebenfalls daraufhin angepaßt worden zu sein, was von großer Gründlichkeit seitens des Autors zeugt. ...
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Member Reviews
| Average Rating: ![]() Number of Reviews: 47 Write a review |
Most Helpful Member Reviews

I enjoyed how the game felt realistic, like it really was happening. The gnome dude was really cool and nice. It's not like you can talk to a gnome every day! I also enjoyed the fact that you had to be precise on your commands. I thought it was cool that you had to say exact directions... not like right,and left. More of N,NW,NS,E,SW,SE,S,AND WEST. It was an awesome game. I hope there are other games with Grunk included!!!!!!
Raquel & Liza
Age 10

The puzzles are nicely logical and the gnome NPC has a dry, educated wit that meshes perfectly with Grunk's rather more straightforward approach to life. There are a truly vast number of things you can ASK GNOME ABOUT, most of which have no bearing on the game itself, although some of course contain vital clues. It's a lot of fun to explore these topics, although this can result in the gnome seeming a bit like one of those information-dispenser sort of NPCs who are inexplicably willing to be grilled at length by over-curious PCs. But the gnome's sardonic wit and the fact that he's busily doing other things whilst satisfying Grunk's curiosity make him much more than a talking pedia.
The pig also has a lot of character, making this whole thing rather like one of those children's books that adults can also enjoy. I liked the author's attention to detail, which often brought out extra little elements of the characters (e.g. try taking your trousers off in front of the pig). I must admit that having apparently completed the game I was puzzled by how to gain the elusive last point and looked it up fully in the hints. I rather wished I hadn't, not only as it would have been more fun to work out by myself, but also because the behaviour required to get the last point is the sort of behaviour that I instinctively engage in when playing this sort of game anyway, but generally don't bother, because it seems not to matter. The fact that it mattered in this game says a great deal about it. This is a game with heart.

Aw, this is brilliant! Excellent attention to detail, and an awful lot of fun. It's well worth playing around and trying silly things that have no chance of advancing the game, just because the responses are so funny (e.g. try taking your pants off in company). Besides that, the implementation's solid, the puzzles make sense, Grunk and the pig both have a lot of character, and the ending is quite uplifting.
See All 47 Member Reviews
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Polls
The following polls include votes for Lost Pig:Kid-Appropriate Games by Princessthe1st
I'm looking for games for middle-schoolers, that are hard and fun but still appropriate.
The Modern Zorkalikes by Ghalev
My desire is straightforward, but proving difficult to satisfy. I want games that are like the Zork games might have been, given a more contemporary set of design ideals. It seems to be an abandoned playing field in some ways, as if the...
Canonicity and IF by juliaofbath
I'm interested in determining whether or not a clear canon has emerged within the world of IF/hypertext. Of course, there is a clear critical opinion regarding which works belong to this tentative canon, but I'm interested in what...
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