Zork on Alexa: 8 Steps to get you into the Dungeon and Scoring Big Points!
Did you just score an Echo or Echo Dot for Christmas and are looking for something fun to ask Alexa? Well, our remake of Zork might be just what you’re looking for. If you remember the original game (aka are old enough to have played your first games on a Commodore 64 or original Nintendo), then you know what this adventure game is all about — discovering an underground dungeon and all of its secrets. It’s a mysterious land of trolls, mazes, artwork, and magic rainbows. Your goal is to find all of its treasures and store them in your trophy case. All the while scoring points to track your accomplishments.
We’ve put together a quick guide to get you started and into the heart of our Unofficial Zork. If you don’t like spoilers or hints, then read no further. There’s lots of goodies ahead 😉
8 Steps to get you into the Dungeon and Scoring Big Points!
Step 1 — Enable Zork
‘Alexa, enable Unofficial Zork’. Yes, an obvious first step, but must be done.
Step 2 — Start Zork
‘Alexa, play Unofficial Zork’. We know, basic stuff.
Step 3 — Entering the House
Let’s get you into the house, where all the real fun begins and you access the underground dungeon. Once the game has launched for the first time, you will be West of House and will need to get around to the East side of the house and open the window. Say ‘Go North’ — it gets you to the North side of the house. Then say ‘Go East’ to get find yourself on the East side of the house — here you’ll find a window is cracked just enough for you to gain entry in to the house. Say ‘Open Window’ to get the window open enough so you can climb in. Say ‘Enter House’ — now you’re in the Kitchen and just earned your first 10 points! Congrats!
Step 4 — Prepare for the Dungeon
Our last location above was the Kitchen and we need to get to the Living Room to access the Dungeon. So say ‘Go West’ — this will take you to the Living Room where you will find several items of interest. One of them is the Elvish Sword, which will come in handy soon enough — say ‘Get Sword’ to pick it up. Next up, we need the lamp cause the dungeon will be dark — say ‘Get Lamp’. If you listened to what Alexa told you after you grabbed the lamp, then you probably figured out you need to turn it on, so let’s do that — say ‘Turn Lamp On’. Besides the trophy case which we’ll get to later, the next big item is that rug. Time to move it out of the way and see what’s under it — say ‘Move Rug’. Ah, the trap door is revealed and this is our main access point to the Underground Dungeon, where all the action happens. Say ‘Open Trap Door’ to get to the staircase leading down into the dungeon.
Step 5 — Go Down in to the Dungeon
This is where the real fun begins and you meet some of Zork’s villains. If you skipped the lamp part, then you’re about to make the acquaintance of one character you can never defeat — a Grue! He will eat you real good if you move around in the dark. If you have the lamp and it’s on, then you have nothing to worry about. Say ‘Go Down’ to enter the Dungeon. You will arrive in the Cellar, and since it’s your first time there, you just earned another 25 points! You now have 35 points out of a possible 135 in our version of Zork.
Step 6 — Kill the Troll
Now that you’re in the Dungeon, let’s go meet a bad guy we can dispatch (hope you remembered to get the sword). Say ‘Go North’ to enter the Troll Room. Once there you can fight the troll and get him out of your way which gives you access to much more of the underground empire. You’ll have to say ‘Kill Troll’ a few times to finally get rid of the monster. Once he’s dead, you get another 5 points and now have a total of 40 points! Nice work!
Step 7 — Get the Painting
Though killing the Troll has opened up some more of the Dungeon to explore, we’re going to back track for this next part. Say ‘Go South’ to head back to the Cellar. Then ‘Go South’ again to get to East of Chasm. Say ‘Go East’ to arrive at the Gallery. From the description of the room, you probably know the next bit. Say ‘Get Painting’ to pick up the only thing left here of interest. You just scored another 4 points and are up to 44 points! We’re not quite done with the Painting, and this next part is an important part of how to score points.
Step 8 — The Trophy Case
Now that we have the Painting, it’s time to bring it back to the Trophy Case. Not only is this a great place to store your treasures, it’s also how you score more points. You’re in the Gallery, and although you can easily get back to the Cellar, if you listened when you first came down the stairs — the trap door has been barred shut by some unknown stranger (don’t worry about him, but it does mean you can’t get back up). Luckily, there’s an easy way to get back to the house. From the Gallery, say ‘Go North’ to get to the Studio. The chimney is where you need to go next, and though you can’t climb back down, climbing up takes you right to the Kitchen. Say ‘Go Up’. Now that you’re in the Kitchen, you’ll want to head to the Living Room to get to the Trophy Case. Say ‘Go West’. You’re back in the Living Room, where the Trophy Case is. Say ‘Open Trophy Case’. And finally, say ‘Put Painting in the Trophy Case’. You’ve scored 6 more points as Alexa will delightedly tell you. Follow her advice and say ‘Get Score’ to hear that you’ve accumulated a nice total of 50 points so far!
There you have it. Follow these 8 steps and you’re well on your way to finding all the marvels of the Zork world. But there are many more. There’s a torch, a gold coffin, a magical sceptre, and a pot of gold to name a few. You’ll have to get exploring to discover the entire world and its hidden treasures. If you’re stuck somewhere, let us know and we’ll be happy to point you in the right direction. We’ve also got big plans to build more into our Zork world as well as create all new Alexa Adventure games, so if you want to receive an occasional email, sign up for updates here (we promise they won’t be frequent, and will be full of fun).