Zork I

You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door.
There is a small mailbox here.

Ah Zork I… I did play it a bit as a teen, but for some reason I had Zork II before Zork I and spent most of my time playing that. But I look forward to delving into Zork I again.

Clearing
You are in a clearing, with a forest surrounding you on all sides. A path leads south.
On the ground is a pile of leaves.

>count leaves
There are 69,105 leaves here.

Heh, I don’t know if I ever tried counting the leaves back in the day. But it’s neat to see those kinds of particulars implemented.

>turn off lamp
The brass lantern is now off.

Resource puzzles – not my (or really anyone’s?) favorite. I’m betting I’ll end up restarting this game a couple of times before I figure out a reasonable sequence to do things. I’m only 89 moves in and already feeling nervous about the battery in my lamp.

Someone carrying a large bag is casually leaning against one of the walls here. He does not speak, but it is clear from his aspect that the bag will be taken only over his dead body.

I remember trying hard to kill the thief and getting myself killed again and again. You have to have a different weapon to kill him as I remember.

>read book
Commandment #12592

Oh ye who go about saying unto each: “Hello sailor”:
Dost thou know the magnitude of thy sin before the gods?
Yea, verily, thou shalt be ground between two stones.
Shall the angry gods cast thy body into the whirlpool?
Surely, thy eye shall be put out with a sharp stick!
Even unto the ends of the earth shalt thou wander and
Unto the land of the dead shalt thou be sent at last.
Surely thou shalt repent of thy cunning.

I remember reading this as a teen and thinking it sounded funny. But I wasn’t very adept at looking for clues in this kind of thing. I know I totally missed the ODYSSEUS hint there. Heck, I didn’t know anything about the Odyssey then either, so I’m pretty sure I would have missed that as a clue anyway.

Cyclops Room

>u
You hear a scream of anguish as you violate the robber’s hideaway. Using passages unknown to you, he rushes to its defense.
The thief gestures mysteriously, and the treasures in the room suddenly vanish.

Treasure Room
This is a large room, whose east wall is solid granite. A number of discarded bags, which crumble at your touch, are scattered about on the floor. There is an exit down a staircase.
There is a suspicious-looking individual, holding a large bag, leaning against one wall. He is armed with a deadly stiletto.
There is a silver chalice, intricately engraved, here.
Your sword has begun to glow very brightly.
A quick thrust pinks your left arm, and blood starts to trickle down.

More memories. I still got a bit nervous when this scrolled onto the screen. Do I have the right weapon to kill the thief? I recall him being very hard to kill. I think the nasty knife was one that works – and it worked this time too.