The first installment of Zork tends to use sparse room descriptions, and generally expects you to construct a map.
Above ground[edit]
First, get the egg. Move north twice, and climb the tree. Get the egg and climb down. Head back to the house by moving south.
Move to the east, and open the window. Enter the house by moving west, and west once more to reach the living room. You should see both a lamp and sword here - take both. Move the rug to reveal the trap door and open it.
The sword is the first weapon - it will glow if there is a nearby enemy, but it isn't good enough to serve as a light source. The lamp provides light as you travel underground, and if you die, it will be returned to the living room.
The trap door is the first entrance to the underground empire. However, it will close behind you until you find an alternate exit other than the chimney. In an emergency, you can head south, east and north from the cellar to reach the studio where you can climb back to the kitchen but without any treasures.
The objective is to store all treasures within the case in the living room.
The Thief[edit]
- Challenge the thief after you know he has the jeweled egg, or if he has the ivory torch.
From time you time, you will see a thief appear. While you can distract the thief by giving him a treasure (such as the jeweled egg), you will want to avoid the thief until you are ready to deal with him or if he steals a critical item. The main danger of the thief is stealing all your treasures and sword, which makes him dangerous if you have the torch but no lamp. If you see him in the room, leave immediatly.
First, you will need a weapon. The best weapon is found in the attic above the kitchen. Get the knife, and head to the maze. When you find the Cyclops room, move up, and attack the thief. When the thief is killed, all stolen treasures will be recovered, and you
You should wait either wait until the endgame before attacking the thief, or engage only if he stole a critical item.
The Maze[edit]
- You can start this section any time.
Enter the trap door and head north. Kill the troll with the sword, then head left into the maze. This is the infamous maze of twisty passages - while you can technically map them, it is a tedious process that involves dropping items as you explore.
From the first maze room, head west twice, then up. Get the coins - you can take the key if you want to unlock the grate, but it's not required. From the skeleton, head southwest, east, south and southeast to reach the cyclops room. When you reach the cyclops, you can open a passage by saying ODYSSEUS (discovered by reading a black book described later), or take the alternate solution by giving him food and lunch from the kitchen. Saying the word is more efficient, as it opens up a quick route to the living room.
The reservoir[edit]
- You can start this section any time.
From the trap door, head north. Kill the troll, if you haven't already, and walk east until you reach the loud room.
To get the bar, type echo (alternatively, get the bar when the reservoir is refilling). Bring the bar to the case, and return to the loud room.
From the loud room, head up, east and north to reach the dam lobby. Get the matchbook. Head north into the maintenance room to get the screwdriver and wrench. Press the yellow button, head south twice, and turn the bolt with the wrench. The wrench may now be dropped. Go west, and wait unto the reservoir empties before going north. Get the trunk of jewels. Return to the trophy case (s, sw, se, w, s, u), store the jewels, and return (d, n, e, n, ne, n). Move north again to get the air pump, and north to the Atlantis room to get the crystal trident.
The Temple[edit]
- You can start this section any time.
Get the rope - it is located in the attic above the kitchen.
Enter the trap door and head north. Kill the troll if you haven't already, and walk east until you reach the round room. Move south-east, then east. Tie the rope to the railing, and climb down. In this room, get the torch and turn off the lamp. Save your game in case the thief steals the torch.
Move one square south, and drop all items but the lamp and torch. Move east to enter the Egyptian room, and get the coffin. Open the coffin for the scepter. Move west then south to reach the altar. Pray to be transported to the forest, where you can reach the house (east, south, southeast, and west.) Drop the sceptre and coffin into the case, and retrace your steps to the temple to collect your items. Return to the
Across the river[edit]
- You must have the sceptre from the Temple, and Air Pump from Reservoir North.
Head to the dam base - from the living room, head down, east, north, north-east, east and down.
You should see a piece of plastic. Inflate it with the pump to turn it into a boat. If you damage the plastic, you can use the substance from the tube to repair it. Place all sharp items in the boat and enter it. For instructions on using the boat, you can read the label.
First, launch and wait until you see the buoy. Get the buoy and move east. Open the buoy to get the emerald.
Get the shovel, head north east to the sandy cave, and dig until you find a scarab. Take it.
Head southwest, collect your sharp items from the boat (dropping the buoy and shovel if necessary), and move south twice. At the Aragain Falls, wave the sceptre to create a rainbow bridge. Go west twice to cross it to see the Pot of Gold. Before you take it, you need to head to the living room (sw, u, u, nw, w, w, w) and drop off treasures. Return to the end of the rainbow (e, e, e, e, d, d, n) to get the pot of gold, then return it to the living room case.
Coal mine[edit]
- You must have the torch from the temple, and screwdriver from the dam area.
Open the sack in the kitchen and remove the garlic from the sack.
Enter the trap door. From the cellar, head north, east, east, south and south. Touch the mirror to be transported to the other half of the dungeon (although you can walk normally if you cleared the reservoir.)
From the second mirror room, head north, west, north, west and north. The bat should be immobilized because of the garlic you are carrying. Take the jade figurine, and go east to reach the shaft room.
In the shaft room, you can raise and lower items through the basket. Place the torch and screwdriver in the basket, and turn on your lamp. Leave the basket for not, and continue north, and down. Get the bracelet found on the round. Continue through the coal mine (e, ne, se, sw, d, d), move south and get the lump of coal. Backtrack to the shaft room (n, u, u, n, e, s, n, u, s) and put the coal in the basket. Lower the basket to the room below. Go through the coal mine again (n, d, e, ne, se, sw, d, d), move west and drop all items. Move west to enter the drafty room, and collect the torch, screwdriver and coal.
Move south to the machine room. Open the machine, put the lump of coal inside, and close the machine. Turn the switch with the screwdriver and open the machine to retreive the diamond. Return north, and put the diamond in the basket before raising it; the screwdrive can be discarded. Move east, collect your items (leave the broken timber), and return to the shaft room (e, u, u, n, e, s, n, u, s). Get the diamond and the torch.
Return to the cellar, by going west to the bat room, south, east, south, and down. Head up to the living room, and deposit treasures.
Finale[edit]
When all treasures are placed in the case (should be 350 points), a map will be created. Read the map, and head back to the starting area. The room description now shows a path to the southwest, which leads to a Stone Barrow. Home computer versions will continue the story in Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz