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

"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]

Play online

Information in this game listing is copyright Erik Temple, Emily Short, Paul O'Brian, is taken from IFDB, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Review ZorkLover12417

07 Sep 2025

This game is far too easy. It let me break the windows with the mailbox!! Zork also came to my house and gave me half of some dude's grandma to eat. Delicious! Zork is so easy, I beat it in 2 minutes and 44 seconds! #ilovezork #standagainstoverlyeasygames

Review ZorkHater71421

06 Aug 2025

This game is far too difficult. It would not even let me break the windows with the mailbox!! Zork also came to my house and ate my grandma. Zork is so difficult it made me break my own window with a mailbox! #ihatezork #standagainstoverlydifficultgames

Review XxERYK_love_MELxX

26 Apr 2023

this is horrible its to hard man i started shaking

Review ZorkHater123

21 Feb 2023

I'm confused so i'm going to take RiceBread219's children

Comment thegreenpan

29 Jun 2022

This is so much simpler to save than in the download vershion lol

Comment Charlie Scott

23 Oct 2021

This is a pathetic question -- but how do I download games so I can save them? There doesn't seem to be an option other than "Play Online".

Review RiceBread219

10 Mar 2021

I like the game, unlike the children in my basement.

Comment IFireblaster7

10 Feb 2021

i seem to not be able to get up from the cellar as the trapdoor always gets barred. how do i get back up?

Comment DarthDankSaber

13 Jan 2021

So, I loaded my save via putting in "Restore". The game returned "ok" and the game didn't remind me of where I was in any way...? The game also doesn't seem to remember my saves when I reload it, either.

Review 17zahmad

07 Jan 2021

very sophisticated game with Amazing features. maybe a variety of responses could be used to make your mistakes more interesting lol.

Review Savio

21 Jun 2020

Quite difficult. Love the Thief though.

Review Otakunami777

21 May 2019

It's Sheldon approved(TBBT) a great text adventure for all ages keeps you busy mentally

Review turntechgodhead4

31 Mar 2019

raaaaaaaaad

Comment Jude B

25 Mar 2019

https://textadventures.co.uk/games/view/th6ldnuao0w1deaqrposzw/zombies-at-school

Comment dac

14 Mar 2019

Having issues with saving the game, how do I save please?

Review thecanvasrose

22 Dec 2018

If you haven't played Zork, you haven't played IF... Okay, that's an exaggeration, but to me, the Zork games are what got me hooked on IF in the first place. It's perfect for anybody who likes D&D but is too antisocial or introverted to join in on a campaign as often as one might otherwise like to (guilty). Zork is iconic - it's too bad that it isn't as popular today as it ought to be. Besides that, it really is one of the most fun games (text-based or otherwise) that I've ever played all of the way through.

Comment rover13

18 Oct 2018

Cant get the coffin out in any direction.
Checked with the walkthrough of the original, doesnt compute, seems to vary a little.
SPOILER:
steps in reservoir south to narrow, same for the passage back to rocky ground, west (from egyption room) as written in the walkthrough doesnt exist.
I really like the game, would like to continue as well ;)
thanks for any help.

Review Tylordian

18 Sep 2018

Thanks for the port :)

Comment Mihoshika

28 Jun 2018

Can pick up the cliff, apparently. I'm super strong.

Comment aniztar

04 May 2018

Can we save the game? If so how to save and load?

Comment PArZivL

29 Mar 2018

Best text game I have played

Comment Cheralina

05 Mar 2018

Couldn't get past move four? It just stopped? I don't think its just my ipad but it might be...

Review archerqueen08

25 Feb 2018

Good classic game! Well made!

Review gamerknight007

13 Feb 2018

This is a very awesome game and I really like it, keep up the good work!

Review tomandthejack

23 Nov 2017

It's a great game, but for beginners, it will send them off the wall.

Review ChartsetGamemaker

13 Jul 2017

Considering the scattering of the objects, layout of the map, and general feel, I have to rate this game poorly. If you've played the original Zork at all, you know that the bank, carousel room, and riddle room are not in the first game. The game plays like someone smushed together Zork 1 and Zork 2 to make this. I would recommend to anyone who wants to play the Zork trilogy to download the files from the Infocom website, instead of playing it here.

Review Theguythatkyahs

23 Jun 2017

Very good! I tried to kill myself in the house instead of going upstairs!
:P

Review JRehfeldt

08 Jun 2017

Good, but not the same as the original game.

Comment IHATETHESEGAMES

04 May 2017

#ZORK

FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW FTW

Comment ILOVETHISWEBSITE

04 May 2017

#ZORKISBAD

Comment ILOVETHISWEBSITE

04 May 2017

@IHATETHESEGAMES 'what can i say!@

Comment IHATETHESEGAMES

04 May 2017

@IHATEZORK @ILOVETHESEWEBSITES I NEED TO COME TO UR HOUSES IN BLACK AND GIVE U A BIIIIIIG HUG

I WILL KILL U IN YOUR SLEEP BECAUSE I WONT

Comment ILOVETHISWEBSITE

04 May 2017

@StarmanX i wish you killed yourself in real life bruh

Comment ILOVETHISWEBSITE

04 May 2017

@IHATEZORK and @IHATETHESEGAMES you are making me really angry and i am going to call my lovely mummy to sort out this beef

Review IHATEZORK

04 May 2017

ZORK IS SO BAD it doesn't even work its that bad im rating it 5 stars because its soooooo good like best game ever= zork OMG some people don't even realise how bad zork is

Comment IHATETHESEGAMES

04 May 2017

@IHATEZORK U R ALSO G4YB0Y but this website is pretty sick

Comment ILOVETHISWEBSITE

04 May 2017

SHUT UP @IHATEZORK this is the best game ever created noob gamer!!!!!!

Comment IHATETHESEGAMES

04 May 2017

@ILOVETHISWEBSITE U R A G4YB0Y SO F*** OFF AND LEAVE U ARD C***

Comment ILOVETHISWEBSITE

04 May 2017

@ihatethesegames no one likes you not even your mother because you think you're propper 'ard and you think you are a BOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Comment IHATEZORK

04 May 2017

@ihatethesegames OMG you are so right zork is the worst but this website is SICK MANNNNN

Review ILOVETHISWEBSITE

04 May 2017

@ihatethesegames no one likes you because you thing you're propper 'ard and funny you lonely boy

Comment IHATETHESEGAMES

04 May 2017

#BESTGAME EVER M8

Comment StarmanX

09 Apr 2017

I typed "Kill me" to be funny.
Then you actually killed me.
I laughed so hard! This is also very good!

Comment Trumplycare

26 Mar 2017

BOSS A TRON

Comment XxX-Cool-Romain-Kid-XxX

21 Mar 2017

i eat the shharpest tool in the shed

Comment XxX-Cool-Romain-Kid-XxX

21 Mar 2017

im gay child with a smg

Comment XxX-Cool-Romain-Kid-XxX

21 Mar 2017

This game offended me i dont thinkl its verry nice. We shoul;d jusrt polay mw2 and noscope scrubs all day every nae or cod. ++

Comment Brad meeeo

21 Mar 2017

now me grada plaze little wee bom dey all bulli and now i wana kil im but he has smg n will goone me dowun

Comment DavyB

15 Mar 2017

...sorry, that should say " play the games offline"!

Comment DavyB

15 Mar 2017

MrBadTouch: Some of the games you see here are actually just links to external sites. You can find out more about the games if there is an "IFDB listing" link provided, which in some cases may include a way to download and play the games online.

Comment MrBadTouch

14 Mar 2017

Am I able to download this game?

Comment minecraftpsyco99

01 Mar 2017

AUGH Grues.

Review minecraftpsyco99

01 Mar 2017

I first learned about this game from the book Ready Player One (Best book ever, BTW), and I've played the original, and this is just F**** amazing!

Comment Mrs. Lewis

01 Mar 2017

Looks interesting! Is there a way to save this game into a favourites folder or something similar?

Comment Mastergum245

22 Feb 2017

i dont know to do

Comment DarkFantasy2017

26 Jan 2017

This game was a classic, and I remember playing various versions of it over the years. While a deep game, and a compelling story, this version suffers from the one flaw that every single version of this game that I have ever played does... the geometry in the world is non-Euclidean, apparently, because it is very possible to move in a direction, move in the opposite direction, and wind up somewhere that is NOT where you started. This can easily render the game unwinnable within moments of beginning the game, if you don't make exactly the right moves from the very beginning.

Comment DeadlyWizard

20 Jan 2017

Zork is seriously such an amazing experience :D Upload all the others!
I mentioned Zork in a blog post about ASCII art: https://delveinto.wordpress.com/2017/01/20/first-of-many-image-to-ascii/

Comment snazzy ray

19 Jan 2017

up or down

Comment KNIGHTOFDERP22

19 Jan 2017

i can't go up the stairs in the kitchen or down the stairs to the trap door in the living room. what command should i use?

Review coolswagman

11 Dec 2016

I love this game!

Comment Eris Discord

06 Dec 2016

southwest got me out of Dead End in Ancient Chasm

Comment Lewge

27 Nov 2016

What a curious game... I'ts like living a good book! But is a shame that I'am brazillian and did not understand some parts of the game

Comment jeffharms

13 Nov 2016

troll killed me right away. turned into a ghost. wandered back to bank/gallery area.
couldn't do anything, pick up anything. Couldn't pray or heal myself anywhere. Had to give up. starting over.

Was a I truly stuck? or was there some way to get back to life???????????????

Comment TR1CK5TER

07 Nov 2016

how do you get through the door in the first bit? instructions and commands are not made clear

Review FloatingDaemonHead

28 Oct 2016

Is amazing, found no loopholes or parts that didn't work. Would recommend to everyone!

Comment Infocom

10 Oct 2016

The game is very good.

Comment Infinicorn

12 Sep 2016

Got stuck in the forest and couldn't get out. Would not recommend.

Review RedstoneHUD

06 Sep 2016

yay is gut

Comment ethan_dicks

16 Aug 2016

This is not Zork I, it is the original "mainframe" Zork, first written in MDL, but ported to Inform (by me). The title for this page is accurate ("Zork") but the graphic ("Zork I") is not. To answer some of the comments below, walkthroughs for Zork I will not work exactly here because it's not the same game and some of the locations and puzzle solutions are different.. This game was broken into 3 parts (and some content added) to become Zork I, II, and III, but this is where it all started. As for east and west near the Bank, the original map has twists and turns. In more than one location, you can enter a room and not return to the previous room by going the opposite direction. This is not a bug, this is fiendish map design from the original Implementors. Later games played more fair with players, but this is essentially the second text adventure ever written (after Colossal Cave, or just "Adventure") and there weren't any rules to follow yet.

You get some in-game help with HELP, INFO and DOC.

Review 18evansf

11 Aug 2016

awesome game, someone needs to upload the second and third game

Review Sharicm

06 Aug 2016

Stupid game is hard and rubbish

Comment Sharicm

06 Aug 2016

I hate it a lot

Comment hobbitforlife

05 Aug 2016

Thrilling adventure

Comment Isychos

28 Jul 2016

I still have original B floppy's with box, artwork and hint booklet from the 80's. In kindergarten I was obsessed with "the thief" character and had an entire backstory for him. (As well as the maze skeleton - woeful tale of a fallen traveler!) Closest thing to real magic I ever felt as a child. The difference in wordings does give me pangs, though. Its the same game... but it is not. Here's not here.

Comment Myfaceiscool

21 Jul 2016

10000000592938383838383 out of 3 for this game

Comment Myfaceiscool

21 Jul 2016

Great game

Review Myfaceiscool

21 Jul 2016

It's just like minecraft

Comment sharkette

13 Jul 2016

this version of the game is stupid - i go east then can\t go west to get bank, somehow i've ended up in the bank??? i was trying to get to the cellar from the gallery?? go figure!

Comment sharkette

13 Jul 2016

if only I could find a walkthrough that matched this version of the game, i'm finding often that it tells me the totally wrong direction!

here http://www.eristic.net/games/infocom/zork1.html
and here http://www.gameboomers.com/wtcheats/pcZz/Zork1.htm
so far!

Comment KyuJones

08 Jul 2016

Directions are all over the place... creating a map for myself helped only a tad here and there. :/
Also save does NOT work online.

Seems very fun, though... I'll try to play a different way than here online.

Review rainbowunikittens

23 Jun 2016

This. Is. Amazing.

Comment mmack

22 Jun 2016

awesome game very confusing at times and i wish that when i say walk down stairs that it takes me down the trap-door and can you kill the troll?

Comment Sproggy

08 Jun 2016

i threw leaves at myself and died hahhaa

Comment wordartist1223

06 Jun 2016

A list of non-standard verbage would be great here. The standard ones don't seem to work most of the time (aside N,E,S,W,U,D,Examine).

Comment sarahsueisme

30 May 2016

i dont get it

Comment pilgrimww54

27 May 2016

>kill
What do you want to kill?

>me
What do you want to kill yourself with?

>me
Trying to kill yourself with yourself is suicidal.

Review BoogieNannii

24 May 2016

loved it then and I love it now

Comment 11/17/2006

17 May 2016

gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooodddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Comment Wordwordword

25 Apr 2016

shenshen,

The forest appears to have randomized directions.
Also, if you started north of house, you would go south to go in the house, not further north.
Unless the house is boarded up...

Review Draconocard

15 Apr 2016

Great game. Weird dead end in the Ancient Chasm. Be wary of that.

Comment BaileyBear

06 Apr 2016

In the kitchen, say "Up" or "U" because their is a attic..:)

Review Steampunk Realities

02 Apr 2016

A compass would definitely be helpful, but I enjoyed guessing where to go.

Comment menders

01 Apr 2016

There was never a brick in the attic.. or a bank entrance near the studio.. was there? Maybe I've only played earlier versions of this.

Comment DerpHaven

05 Mar 2016

i jumped and went to hell

Comment shenshen

27 Feb 2016

Can someone explain something to me about the directions?

Because when i leave the place "North of the House" in a NORTH direction, i end up in the "Forest". If i directly want to go south again, i suddenly end up in a "Clearing". How can this be? Im always mapping stuff down for textadventures. if it is North of the House (-> north) Forest, it would have to be: Forest (-> south) North of the House.
Whats wrong?

Comment rainbowunikittens

21 Feb 2016

Just got to shell, stuck

Comment rainbowunikittens

21 Feb 2016

This is so cool!! I love this game so much! I'm at the canyon bottom and I'm stuck, but this game is so awesome!!

Comment rainbowunikittens

20 Feb 2016

I got soo far!! I saved it and it didn't work!!!

Comment rainbowunikittens

20 Feb 2016

How do I get started?? I don't understand!!

Review epicgirl5

19 Feb 2016

It needs a compass

Comment >Unknown<

23 Jan 2016

what do you do when you get into the house

Comment riddle maker

23 Jan 2016

great game but I am really bad at it

Comment Aech778010

04 Jan 2016

please make downloadable

Comment dainojosa

28 Dec 2015

I can't seem to even open the trap door. I keep typing "open trap door" but it doesn't seem to even recognize the door is there. Help?

Comment akirajiang

09 Dec 2015

knife works better than sword

Review Leinad Why

14 Oct 2015

Hell is not the end! go Up and reach Heaven! (hahaha just kidding) but really go up and continue!

Review bilore

26 Sep 2015

i went to hell! Yay!!!

Review THEGEEKFACTOR

15 Sep 2015

Zork is one of, if not, the best Text Adventure game I have played! It's so interesting and actually really difficult if you can't open your mind. The game forces you to get creative and think critically. I love it!

Comment TakingFlyte

14 Sep 2015

Forest
This is a forest, with trees in all directions around you.

>look at trees
You can't see any such thing.

I'm confused.

Comment franco

04 Sep 2015

How do I can save the game?

Review NicholasVV

16 Aug 2015

Always loved getting my head get cut off by that axe wielding thing in the basement...
10/10

Review The Bro Cro

01 Aug 2015

Amazing game

Comment Paper Asssassin

29 Jul 2015

Um, how do I play? What are the verbs? The only verbs I found is North South East West and Look at

Review kjprice

29 Jul 2015

I love it! It would be really cool if someone created illustrations for each room/item/monster to go alongside the text descriptions. SO much fun!

Comment PeonFIN

16 Jul 2015

Directions don't work properly. I first went to the north side of house and then north to the forest. Then I went back south and wasn't back at the house but at some clearing instead. If you want to copy an existing game, at least do it right.

Review +Lilyanna+M+

11 Jul 2015

I went to hell by going into the grue

Review eviljake29

08 Jun 2015

I went to hell by killing myself with the elvish sword

Comment origamimaster

03 Jun 2015

I got this error message, what is it?

** Run-time error: Clearing (object number 107) has no property <number 0> to read **
Halt! Excavation in Progress!
Frobozz Magic Implementation Company

Comment Marzipan

17 May 2015

@MisterPibb316 and for anyone else with an interest in the TRUE classics, just so you know you can get Zork I, II, and III at the official infocom site: http://www.infocom-if.org though you'll likely need DOSBox to run it. Or for more modern ports try searching here: http://www.ifdb.tads.org

If you're just curious and want to have a quick look it's great that it's available online here, but with this kind of old school game you REALLY need to be able to save properly, and in fact I'd recommend keeping multiple saves handy at different points as you progress.

Review MisterPibb316

01 May 2015

If one was to rate this based on influence and role in the text adventuring world, it would be an easy 5-stars. Zork 1 has, by even modern standards for this genre, a lengthy and immersive open world, with challenging puzzles and the potential to go wandering far away from where you need to be to beat the game itself. It's true that it's in the eye of the beholder as to whether such mechanics are endearing, or are artifacts of a game development standard that has long since been abandoned. As for me, the hugeness excites me (please hold all goofy non G-rated jabs at me for that comment!)

It's 2015, as I am writing this. Based on immersion into Zork's fantasy world alone, I think this holds up as a darned good game, and one you should at least try. The vividness of some descriptions also assists its cause, though there are also too many generic comments about items/objects not being interesting or out of the ordinary. The main drawback is that, as an online-only game, you can't save the way you would if this game was available in the Quest engine, but c'est la vie.

Review xJujiiiix

26 Apr 2015

To hard and you can hardly do anything...
Quite boring.
The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy is better.

Review 93brandon

17 Apr 2015

Get that piece of paper out and get ready!

Review mickobrats

13 Apr 2015

Found difficult but loved the smart ass comments when you put in stupid commands, was lots of fun and a great laugh... yet to complete however haha

Comment KennedyM

03 Apr 2015

(spoiler) for the egg you may need some help opening it, perhaps somebody who would be good with such things?(/spoiler)

Comment CharlieBravo

17 Mar 2015

I couldn't open the egg

Review Jezebel

17 Mar 2015

Definitely best ttp game ! My favorite *

Comment Mauricio Diaz Garcia

09 Mar 2015

Well, yes :)

Comment Master of Adventure

08 Mar 2015

Does anyone know the answer to the riddle in this game?

Review Master of Adventure

08 Mar 2015

The best online text game known to man...

Comment Silver

10 Feb 2015

It isn't a Quest game so can only be played online. To play it offline you'll need to download it from IFDB and use an interpreter.
http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=0dbnusxunq7fw5ro

Comment KennedyM

10 Feb 2015

How can this game be downloaded? All i see is a "Play online" button.

Comment stantronic

16 Jul 2014

It's telling me that the URL is incorrect. suggestions?

Review Link6415

07 Apr 2014

A great classic game. I took inspiration from this game (and Ultima III) when making my first game. I love the map for this game too. Please make an updated version of 1 and 2. ;)