I Was Zorked! Trivia Quiz

Answer: A white house and a small mailbox

Upon opening the mailbox, you find and read an introduction to the game. When you enter and explore the house you find several interesting items. It's up to you to decide which are worth taking with you as you explore "Zork's" underground maze - the Great Underground Empire.

Answer: Non-text Graphics

The "Zork" games were Interactive Text Adventures. The player typed commands onto the screen in response to the game's description of locations and events. A typical command might be "move east". The game might respond by telling you what you see when you arrive at the east. Or, if you weren't aware of your surroundings, it might tell you that you stepped off a ledge and died.

Answer: DEC Mainframe

Originally known as "The Colossal Cave Adventure," "Zork" was written in the late 70s by members of the MIT Dynamic Modelling Group. For publication by Inforcom the original game was split into three games - "Zork I", "Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz", and "Zork III: The Dungeon Master".

The "Zork" trilogy was eventually published in versions for virtually every personal computer and video game available through the mid-1980s.

Answer: Grues

Being eaten by a ferocious grue is a common way of ending a game of "Zork". Grues, however, fear light so it's best to keep a reliable light source with you when exploring the Great Underground Empire. When you enter a dark area, the game frequently warns, "You are likely to be eaten by a grue." The name "grue" was first used by author Jack Vance to describe a predator in his 'Dying Earth' series of books.

Answer: Bell, Book and Candle

"Bell, Book and Candle" starred Kim Novak as a witch and Jimmy Stewart as the object of her affection. In "Zork I" the player finds himself entering Hades. To escape a terrible fate, he must have collected the bell, book and candle artifacts so he can use them to exorcise the demons in Hades and move on with his quest.

There's another movie connection with the "Zork" trilogy. In the film "The Martian" Astronaut Mark Watney discovers a copy of "Zork II" on another astronaut's computer.

Answer: The Flatheads

There were 12 rulers in the Flathead Dynasty. The game references the book "The Lives of the Twelve Flatheads" and some of the game's treasures relate to the Flathead rulers.

Answer: The elvish sword

The sword is the only weapon one needs in "Zork II". It's also useful for cutting and chopping. The lantern provides light in dark places which keeps ferocious grues away.

Although the game's puzzles might drive one to drink, no wine is needed to complete "Zork II's" challenges. The jewel encrusted egg is an item that may be found in the game, but isn't with you as you begin. Zorkmids were the currency of the Great Underground Empire. You may find some as you proceed, but none are provided.

Answer: False

The Wizard of Frobozz is something of a wild card. He was the respected court sorcerer of Lord Dimwit Flathead but found himself exiled when he lost control of his enchantments. The player must learn to deal with the Wizard's capricious magic.

Answer: 30

"Zork I" offers 28 ways to die. In "Zork II" there are 50 ways to meet your demise and 30 ways in "Zork III".

Usually the first way a player discovers is by letting his light source go out which quickly leads to being eaten by a grue. You could also be killed by the thief or by a troll. Taking the cursed knife is a bad idea as is using a torch in the coal mine. Of the 108 ways to die, most "Zork" players discover a majority of them.

Answer: True

Infocom was surprised to see "Zork I's" sales increase from year to year through 1984. By 1986 "Zork I" had sold 378,987 copies, "Zork II" 173,204 and "Zork III" 129,232 copies. These were enormous sales figures for computer games in the 80s.

In 1996, the gaming magazine "Next Generation" placed the "Zork" series at number 38 in a ranking of their "Top 100 Games of All Time".