How to Play

Zork I is a parser game. Type short commands and press Enter. Most commands use a verb, sometimes followed by a noun.

Useful basics:

• look describes your current location again.
• Compass directions move around: north, south, east, west, up, and down. Short forms like n, s, e, w, u, and d usually work.
• inventory shows what you are carrying.
• examine lamp or look at lamp inspects an object.
• take lamp picks something up.
• drop lamp puts something down.
• open mailbox opens a container or door when possible.
• read leaflet reads an object when the game supports it.

Parser games reward careful observation. If a command fails, try a simpler verb or inspect the room and objects again.

Saving and restoring depend on the interpreter. In Parchment, use the story's own save and restore commands when you want to preserve progress.

Zork I Walkthrough

Full spoiler warning: this guide gives away puzzle solutions, routes, treasures, and the path to the ending. If you want gentler nudges, start with hints.md.

About this walkthrough

This walkthrough is for the Zork I version included in this TerpVault package, Release 119 / Serial 880429. The route below has been checked through to the Stone Barrow ending and reaches the full 350-point score.

Zork I still has a few wild teeth: combat can vary, the thief can interfere, and carrying too much can derail a plan. Save often, especially before fights, risky travel, and late-game treasure recovery.

Quick survival notes

Save often. The troll fight is random, the thief can steal treasures, and some puzzles can become awkward if you carry too much or leave crucial objects in unsafe places.

Keep the brass lantern for dark areas, but turn it off whenever you are safely outside or carrying another light source. The lamp battery is finite.

The living room trophy case is the scoring hub. Most treasures should eventually be returned there. The thief generally does not raid the living room, so it is also a good staging area.

Inventory limits matter. If a command fails with a load warning, return to the living room, store treasures in the case, or drop a no-longer-needed tool in a safe place.

Do not count on killing the thief early. Build score and collect tools first. The thief is dangerous, and he may already be carrying treasures you need later.

Before you begin

This walkthrough assumes a normal fresh game. Command wording is intentionally plain: short compass directions, simple object names, and direct verbs such as get, open, put, drop, turn on, and tie.

Where the route says to attack a foe repeatedly, repeat the command until the game clearly reports success. If you die or lose an important object to randomness, restore and try again.

Opening: The White House and Mailbox

You begin west of the white house. The mailbox and leaflet are optional for completion, but they set the tone and are worth reading on a first play.

A fast route into the house is:

s
e
open window
enter house

Inside, go west to the living room. Take the lamp, move the rug, and open the trap door. The sword is also here, but it is easiest to collect it after you have made the first painting run.

w
get lamp
move rug
open trap door
turn on lamp

Getting inside and making the first score

Go down into the cellar, then south and east to the gallery. Take the painting and climb back out through the studio chimney to the kitchen.

d
s
e
get painting
n
u
u

From the attic, take the rope. The knife is optional; it is not needed for this route, but picking it up and dropping it in the living room is harmless. Return to the living room, open the trophy case, and put the painting inside.

get rope
d
w
open case
put painting in case

Now take the sword, reopen the trap door, and go back down.

get sword
open trap door
d

The troll and the deeper cave

North of the cellar is the troll. You need the sword. Combat is random; repeat the attack until the troll dies. After the troll is gone, drop the sword to reduce your carried load.

n
kill troll with sword
kill troll with sword
kill troll with sword
kill troll with sword
kill troll with sword
drop sword

From the troll room, head through the round room toward the dome. Tie the rope to the railing and climb down to the torch room.

e
e
se
e
tie rope to railing
climb down rope

The torch is both useful and valuable. If you take it, you can conserve lamp power in several later areas, but watch your load.

Temple, coffin, and sceptre

From the torch room, go south to the temple and east to the Egyptian room. The coffin is heavy, so make sure you are not carrying the sword or extra treasures.

s
e
get coffin

Return west, go south to the altar, and pray. This moves you back outside near the forest. From there, navigate to the canyon route. The intended route uses the canyon descent to open the coffin and obtain the sceptre.

w
s
pray

The puzzle chain is: carry the coffin out of the underground, open it, take the sceptre, and use the sceptre at the rainbow area to make the pot of gold available.

Dam and reservoir

The dam controls whether parts of the reservoir are passable. The core tool sequence is:

1. From the underground, reach the dam lobby.
2. Take the matches.
3. Take the wrench and screwdriver from the maintenance area.
4. Press the yellow button.
5. Turn the bolt with the wrench.

A compact command sketch from the underground side is:

n
e
n
ne
e
n
get matches
n
get wrench
get screwdriver
push yellow button
s
s
turn bolt with wrench

After the water level changes, down from the dam reaches Dam Base and reveals the folded plastic boat. Keep the screwdriver for the coal machine. The wrench can usually be dropped after the bolt is turned.

Bell, book, candles, and the Land of the Dead

The altar area contains the bell, book, and candles used for the exorcism puzzle. The broad solution is:

1. Carry the bell, book, candles, and a way to make fire.
2. Enter the lower area from the altar.
3. Ring the bell.
4. Light a match.
5. Light the candles with the match.
6. Read the book.

Command sketch:

get bell
get book
get candles
go hole
d
ring bell
light match
light candles with match
read book

After the exorcism, the skull can be taken. The traditional bell/candles/book ritual is the route used in this walkthrough.

Coal mine and diamond

The coal mine and basket puzzle convert coal into the diamond. The important objects are the coal, basket, machine, screwdriver, and torch. The reference route uses the basket to move objects between levels, then uses the screwdriver on the machine switch.

High-level route:

1. Put the torch in the basket before entering the coal mine route.
2. Navigate through the mine to the coal.
3. Bring coal back to the basket area.
4. Lower the basket, retrieve the coal and tools below, and use the machine.
5. Put the coal into the machine, close the lid, and turn the switch with the screwdriver.
6. Open the lid and take the diamond.

Command sketch for the machine step:

open lid
put coal in machine
close lid
turn switch with screwdriver
open lid
get diamond

The mine route is easy to mistype. Save before entering the coal mine and again before working the machine.

River, boat, buoy, emerald, and scarab

Once the dam is opened and the reservoir route is available, collect the air pump, trunk, and trident as inventory allows. The inflatable boat gives access to the river sequence.

Core river actions:

inflate boat with pump
get in boat
launch

Wait until the buoy appears, take it, and land at the beach. The buoy contains the emerald. The scarab is found by digging at the sandy area; repeated digging can be dangerous, so save first.

wait
get buoy
get out
open buoy
get emerald
dig with shovel

Repeat dig with shovel only until the scarab appears. If the sand buries you, restore.

Maze, thief, cyclops, egg, and treasure room

The thief and maze are the least deterministic parts of the route. The thief can steal objects and move treasures, so use the living room case as often as possible.

The cyclops has a clean non-combat solution. In the cyclops room, say either:

ulysses

or:

odysseus

The game accepts both words. After the cyclops leaves, the route opens toward the thief's treasure room and a useful shortcut back to the living room.

The jeweled egg puzzle should be handled carefully. Do not break the egg yourself. The usual route is to let the thief open it, then recover the opened egg and its contents later.

Treasure collection checklist

The following objects are treasure-bearing or score-relevant. The final route should place treasures in the trophy case when practical:

• painting
• gold coffin
• sceptre
• pot of gold
• torch
• skull
• diamond
• jade figurine
• sapphire bracelet
• trunk of jewels
• trident
• emerald
• scarab
• bag of coins
• chalice
• jeweled egg and its contents, if preserved correctly
• platinum bar

The maximum score for this version is 350.

Verified full command route

The following route reaches the ending and full score for Release 119 / Serial 880429. The troll and thief fights may require fewer or more attacks in ordinary play; repeat the attack command until the fight is clearly over, and restore if randomness goes badly.

s
e
open window
w
w
get lamp
move rug
open trap door
turn on lamp
d
s
e
get painting
n
u
u
get knife and rope
d
w
open case
put painting in case
drop knife
get sword
open trap door
d
n
kill troll with sword
kill troll with sword
kill troll with sword
kill troll with sword
kill troll with sword
kill troll with sword
drop sword
e
e
se
e
tie rope to railing
climb down rope
s
e
get coffin
w
s
pray
turn off lamp
s
n
e
d
d
n
drop coffin
open coffin
get sceptre
wave sceptre
look
get gold
get coffin
sw
u
u
nw
w
w
open bag
get garlic
w
put coffin in case
put sceptre in case
put gold in case
score
open trap door
turn on lamp
d
n
e
n
ne
e
n
get matches
n
get wrench and screwdriver
push yellow button
s
s
turn bolt with wrench
drop wrench
s
sw
s
se
e
climb down rope
get torch
turn off lamp
s
get bell
s
get book
get candles
d
d
ring bell
get candles
light match
light candles with match
read book
drop book
s
get skull
n
u
n
put out candles
rub mirror
n
w
n
w
n
e
put torch in basket
turn on lamp
n
d
e
ne
se
sw
d
d
s
get coal
n
u
u
n
e
s
n
u
s
put coal in basket
put screwdriver in basket
lower basket
n
d
e
ne
se
sw
d
d
w
drop all
w
get coal
get torch
get screwdriver
s
open lid
put coal in machine
close lid
turn switch with screwdriver
open lid
get diamond
drop screwdriver
n
put torch in basket
put diamond in basket
e
get lamp
get garlic
e
u
u
n
e
s
n
get bracelet
u
s
raise basket
get torch
get diamond
turn off lamp
w
get jade
s
e
s
d
u
put diamond in case
put jade in case
put bracelet in case
put torch in case
drop garlic
score
turn on lamp
d
n
e
n
ne
n
get trunk
n
get pump
n
get trident
s
s
s
e
e
inflate boat with pump
drop pump
get in boat
launch
wait
wait
wait
wait
get buoy
e
get out
open buoy
get emerald
drop buoy
get shovel
ne
dig sand with shovel
dig sand with shovel
dig sand with shovel
dig sand with shovel
drop shovel
get scarab
sw
s
s
cross rainbow
turn off lamp
sw
u
u
nw
w
w
w
put scarab in case
put emerald in case
put trunk in case
put trident in case
e
e
n
n
climb tree
get egg
climb down
s
e
w
w
turn on lamp
d
n
w
s
e
u
get coins
get key
sw
e
s
se
ulysses
u
give egg to thief
d
e
e
put coins in case
get knife
w
w
u
kill thief with knife
kill thief with knife
kill thief with knife
kill thief with knife
kill thief with knife
kill thief with knife
get all
d
nw
s
w
u
d
ne
unlock grate
open grate
u
s
climb tree
wind up canary
climb down
get bauble
s
e
w
w
put chalice in case
put stiletto in case
put skull in case
remove canary from egg
put egg in case
put canary in case
put bauble in case
d
n
e
e
e
echo
get bar
w
w
w
s
u
put all except lamp in case
look in case
get map
e
e
s
w
sw
enter barrow
score

Completion notes

This route has been checked through the full game. It covers:

• white-house entry, painting pickup, and trophy-case deposit
• troll fight, dome rope setup, coffin, sceptre, rainbow, and pot of gold
• dam controls, reservoir lowering, and the route toward the boat
• bell/candles/book exorcism and skull recovery
• coal mine, basket, coal machine, diamond, jade, and bracelet
• boat launch, buoy, emerald, Sandy Cave digging, scarab, and rainbow return
• maze route, cyclops solution, thief/egg/chalice recovery, grating shortcut, canary/bauble, platinum bar, final map, and Stone Barrow ending

The checked route reached the final completion text and scored 350/350.