Zork I - FAQ

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FAQ TITLE:

The Optimized Straightforward Walkthru for Zork I: The Great Underground Empire

COPYRIGHT INFO:

This FAQ is copyright 2008-2009 by Stanley E. Dunigan (dunigase@wmconnect.com).

This FAQ may be posted and used anywhere by anyone as long as it's unaltered,
but always check one of the official websites listed below for the latest
version.

GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com)
SuperCheats (www.supercheats.com)
Neoseeker (www.neoseeker.com)

FAQ DESCRIPTION:

Like all of my optimized straightforward walkthrus, this FAQ is a complete
walkthru for the game that has been optimized and organized to make it as fast
and easy as possible to complete the game. I don't give any reference-style
information, like a list of all treasures, or encourage you to do unnecessary
things. In true walkthru fashion, I just tell you the answers without explaining
or rationalizing them. If you want non-spoiler-ish hints, see the Zork I hint
file on the Universal Hint System (UHS) website at: www.uhs-hints.com.

VERSION 1.01 (4/1/2009) NOTES AND CREDITS:

This is just a slightly spiffed up final release of this walkthru.

VERSION 1.0 (3/3/2008) NOTES AND CREDITS:

This is the original release of this FAQ, so I have no special notes or credits
to report yet.

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NOTE: This FAQ was written while playing the Zork I version that came with the
Lost Treasures of Infocom package that was released in 1991 by Activision. As
far as I know, everything will be the same for other game versions.


*** STEP 1: Find a way into the Great Underground Empire (GUE). ***

Right after starting a new game, go north twice and climb the tree. Take the
jewel-encrusted egg, then climb down and go south and east. To get into the
white house, open the window and then enter it.

Go west from the kitchen to get to the living room, then pick up the brass
lantern. Move the large oriental rug, then open the newly revealed trap door.
Drop the jewel-encrusted egg on the floor, then go down and light the lantern.
You're now in the GUE!


*** STEP 2: Get some easy points. ***

Go south and east, pick up the painting, then go north and up to return to the
kitchen. Turn the lantern off in order to save battery power, then go to the
living room.

Get the sword and jewel-encrusted egg, then open the trophy case and put the
painting into it. Return to the kitchen and go up to the dark attic. Turn the
lantern on, type GET ALL to get the rope and nasty knife, then turn the lantern
off and go back down to the kitchen.

Go back to the living room and open the trap door again. Go down and turn the
lantern on, then save your game before going north to the troll room. Attack the
troll with the sword until one of you is dead. If it's you, restore your save
and try again. If it's the troll, save your game again before moving on.

Drop the sword, then go east twice to get to the round room. Go southeast to the
engravings cave and east to the dome room. Tie your rope to the railing, then
climb down the rope in order to reach the torch room. 

Turn the lantern off and get the ivory torch, then go south and drop the lantern
in the temple area. Go east to the Egyptian room and take the coffin, then open
the coffin and take the sceptre from inside it.


*** STEP 3: Get rid of the thief. ***

Go back west to the temple area and save your game. Killing the thief now is
possible, but you'll usually get killed and have to restore your save. When
you're ready to try, type TEMPLE or TREASURE to magically teleport to the
thief's treasure room. (This presumably works because of the granite walls.)

First, give the jewel-encrusted egg, ivory torch, gold coffin, and sceptre to
the thief. Immediately type TEMPLE or TREASURE again to return to the temple.
Use the DIAGNOSE command to see if you've been badly injured. If so, wait until
you're mostly or fully healed before continuing.

Pick up the lantern and turn it on (since the treasure room sometimes
mysteriously goes dark), then save your game again. Return to the treasure room
and attack the thief with the nasty knife until he or you are dead. If it's you,
restore your save and try again. Hopefully, you'll be able to win in only a few
tries.


*** STEP 4: Loot the maze. ***

After saving your game, turn off the lantern and drop the nasty knife. Then get
the torch, chalice, egg, and sceptre. Go down to reach the cyclops room, then
type ODYSSEUS or ULYSSES to get rid of the cyclops. You can now go east twice
from the cyclops room to reach the living room.

Get the golden clockwork canary from the egg, then put the egg, canary, sceptre,
and chalice into the trophy case. Drop the lantern, reopen the trap door, then
go back west to the cyclops room.

From there, go northwest, south, west, and then down to reach the dead
adventurer's room. Get the bag of coins, then go north, west, south, and east to
get back to the troll room. From there, you can go south and then up to return
to the living room. Put the bag of coins in the trophy case.

Go back to the cyclops room, then up to the treasure room. Take the coffin if
you can. If not, wait until your injuries are healed, then take it. Return to
the living room and put the coffin into the trophy case.


*** STEP 5: Get more GUE treasures. ***

Go to the kitchen, open the bag, and take the garlic from it. Return to the
living room and go down to the cellar, then north to the troll room. Go east
three times to get to the loud room, where you'll need to type ECHO before
getting the platinum bar. (STILL one of the most dopey things I've ever seen in
a game!)

Go up and then east to reach Flood Control Dam #3. Go north to the lobby and
take the matchbook. Go north from it to reach the maintenance room, where you'll
need to pick up a wrench and a screwdriver. Press the yellow button to unlock
the dam control panel's bolt, then go south twice. Turn the bolt with the wrench
in order to open the dam's sluice gates.

Drop the wrench, then go south, southwest, and south to return to the round
room. Drop the screwdriver, platinum bar, and garlic, then go southeast and east
to get to the dome room. Climb down the rope again, then go south and take the
brass bell. Go south again and take the candles and black book.

Go down twice to get to the entrance to Hades. Relight the candles if a gust of
wind blew them out on your way here (LIGHT MATCH, then LIGHT CANDLES WITH
MATCH), then ring the bell. You'll now have to pick up the candles and relight
them. After doing so, read from the black book. That'll get rid of the evil
spirits, and you can drop the black book, candles, and matchbook.

Go south to the Land of the Dead and get the crystal skull, then go north, up
and north to reach a mirror room. Touch the mirror to be teleported to the other
mirror room, then go east and south. Get the crystal trident, then go south and
get the air pump. Go south once more and pick up the trunk full of jewels.

Go south, southwest, south, and south again to get back to the round room. Drop
the air pump, then go west, west, south, and up to reach the living room. Put
the crystal trident, trunk of jewels, and crystal skull in the trophy case.


*** STEP 6: Raid the coal mine. ***

Get the lantern, then return to the round room and pick up the clove of garlic
and the screwdriver. Go south twice to get to the southern mirror room, then
touch the mirror to get teleported to the other mirror room.

Go north, west, north, west, and north to get to the bat room. Drop the garlic
there to keep the vampire bat busy holding his nose for the rest of the game. Go
east to reach the shaft room. Put the torch and screwdriver in the basket, then
go north and turn the lantern on.

Go down to the gas room, then go east, northeast, southeast, southwest, and down
to reach the ladder top. Go down and then south to reach a room with a small
pile of coal in it. Take the coal, then return to the shaft room by going north,
up, up, north, east, south, north, up, and south.

Put the coal in the basket, then lower the basket. Go north, down, east,
northeast, southeast, southwest, and down to get back to the ladder top area. Go
down and west to reach the timber room, then drop the lantern and go west to
reach the drafty room, where your lowered basket is.

Get everything from the basket, then go south to the machine room. Open the
machine's lid, put the coal in the lid, close the lid, and flip the switch with
the screwdriver. Now you can open the lid and take a huge diamond!

Drop the screwdriver, then go north and put the diamond and torch into the
basket. Go east and get the lantern. Go east and up to reach the ladder top,
then go up, north, east, south, and north to get back to the gas room. Pick up
the sapphire bracelet, then go up and south to reach the shaft room.

Raise the basket and get everything from it, then drop the lantern. Go west and
get the jade figurine, then go south, east, south, east, and south to get back
to the mirror room. Touch the mirror, then go north twice to return to the round
room.

Get the platinum bar, then return to the living room and put the bar, figurine,
diamond, and bracelet into the trophy case. You're really building up the
treasure collection!


*** STEP 7: Get some outdoor treasures. ***

Get the canary and sceptre back, then go back to the round room and get the air
pump. Go east, up, east, and down to get to the dam base, where your uninflated
boat is. Inflate it with the command BLOW UP PLASTIC WITH PUMP, then drop the
pump.

Put the sceptre in the boat so it won't puncture the flimsy thing, then enter
the boat and type LAUNCH. Pick up the sceptre and keep entering the command LOOK
until you reach the area with the red buoy. Take the buoy, then go east to land
the boat on a sandy beach.

Get out of the boat, then open the buoy, get the emerald from it, and drop the
buoy. Pick up the nearby shovel, then go northeast to the sandy cave area. Dig
in the sand until you uncover a scarab, then take the scarab and drop the
shovel.

Go southwest to the sandy beach, then go south twice to reach Aragain Falls.
Wave the scepre in order to make the rainbow solid, then go west twice to cross
it. Take the pot of gold, then go southwest, up twice, northwest, west, north,
and north. Wind the clockwork canary to get a songbird to drop the final
treasure, a brass bauble, on your head. Don't forget to pick it up!


*** STEP 8: Get ready for Zork II. ***

Go south, east, and west twice to get back to the living room. Type PUT ALL IN
CASE to get all the treasures in the trophy case and your score up to 350. Look
at the case to see that there's a new ancient parchment map in it.

Take the map and look at it to find that there's a new path leading southwest
from the area where you started the game. To get back there, go east twice, then
north and west. You can now go southwest and enter the barrow in order to finish
this zorky old game.