Zork 1 (1982) Game Free Download & Install Guide

Author: Glenn Scrima

Zork 1 is one of the most famous titles from the text based adventure genre. This format may seem very antiquated at first glance but it really gives the game the feeling of an interactive novel. This game is good for people who are existing Zork fans or fans of text based and fantasy based adventures. Its even great for those looking to try something new.

(Please do not copy this guide. However anyone is free to link to this page.)


First Download The Free
Game Zork:

Choose from one of the following sites.

Free game download availableAbandonia : Download Game : Download Instructions


Free game download availableXTC Abandonware : Download Game : Download Instructions


Free game download unavailableMr Old Games : Download Game : Download Instructions


Free game download availableThe House of Games : Download Game : Download Instructions



Next Download & Install the Emulator Dosbox on Windows:

Go To: http://www.dosbox.com > Downloads Tab > Click the Windows version (Under the Dosbox category).
Dosbox homepage

Next: Run the downloaded installer file and install Dosbox on your hard drive in the directory C:\Games\Zork1. Simply entering this will create these folders for you.

Dosbox

Next: Open the Games folder then the Zork1 folder within it. Locate and then run Dosbox by double clicking on the Dosbox program icon.  

Dosbox program

Next: At the the command prompt in Dosbox type "config -writeconf dosbox.conf" and then press the "Enter" key.

Creating Zork 1 game config

Next: Type "exit" to exit Dosbox.


Now: Locate and right click on the Dosbox config file. Click "open with" and select notepad.

Zork 1 game config

Finally: Scroll to the bottom. We are going to place some text below [autoexec]:

Abandonia: For those who downloaded the game Zork 1 from Abandonia copy and paste the following text:

mount c c:\games\zork1
c:
cd zork1
zork1

XTC Abandonware: For those who downloaded the game Zork 1 from XTC Abandonware copy and paste the following text:

mount c c:\games\zork1
c:
_zork1

The House of Games: For those who downloaded the game Zork 1 from The House of Games copy and paste the following text:

mount c c:\games\zork1
c:
z1

Save and exit the config file when you are finished.


Now Lets Extract the Zork Free Game Download:

First: Right click on the Zork game file you downloaded to your hard drive and click on "Extract All".

Zork 1 game download

Then: Click the "Next" button when the extractor launches. You will be asked where you would like to extract the Zork 1 game files, select "C:\Games\Zork1" . When you're done click "Extract" and the Zork 1 files will begin to extract.

Zork 1 zip


The One That Started It All!:

Zork 1

Click on the Dosbox program in the Zork1 directory and the game Zork 1 will start, enjoy!

FAQ:
The config file is missing what do I do?
The game won't run on Windows Vista. What should I do?
The game runs sluggish. Is there a way to improve this?
How do I make the game launch in fullscreen mode?
How do I change the amount of RAM available?
How do I mount a hard drive or CD-ROM drive in Dosbox?
How do I change my machine type in Dosbox?
How do I capture a screenshot during gameplay?
I can't download from Abandonia. What should I do?
How do I close or exit Dosbox?

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info on how to run Zork. It just won't save.

Glenn Scrima said...

Are you using XP or Vista?

-Glenn

Brian said...

Me too, how do you save? Here is what I tried:

save

D:\games\PC\Zork\Zork1\SAVE\zork1.dat

and

D:games\PC\Zork\Zork1\SAVE\zork1.dat

and

D:save\zork1.dat

I have also tried all of them with a name after each one:

D:\save\zork1.dat Brian

Help on the syntax would be much appreciated. I am using Vista x64, running DOSBOX v6.5

Thanks, for your help.

If possible, e-mail me -> brian at akagame dot com <-

Thanks, again.

Glenn Scrima said...

Hi Brian, I just reinstalled Zork 1 and at the command prompt in the game typed

Save

The game asked me to "Insert save disk then enter file name". I typed

zork.dat (the hit enter)

That worked on my machine when I tried it. Let me know if that works for you.

-Glenn

Brian said...

Glenn,
SWEET! It worked. Thanks a lot!
I was looking forward to playing this, but it wouldn't let me save so I couldn't proceed.

If you are interested, here is the web site of a program that allows you to program keyboard commands into buttons - it's amazing for all kinds of uses when you have to type similar stuff over and over:
http://freewarehits.de/RemoteKeys.htm

You can have it run on timers, execute mouse clicks, swap applications, and all kinds of stuff.

Other programs are also at that site, but RemoteKeys is the best one.

Thanks, again, for your help.

Kind regards,
Brian

Brian said...

Erm, the link doesn't work, so just click my name or copy and paste it.

Glenn Scrima said...

Thanks I'll check it out.

Best,
Glenn

Anonymous said...

You don't need to use DosBox for Infocom text adventure games. They work fine on my XP PC without DosBox.

Glenn Scrima said...

XP is a better OS for old DOS games but Vista has no support really so Dosbox is even more useful on it. I agree though there are some games that XP will still run fine.

Best,
Glenn

Cathy said...

Dear Glenn,
I need a bit of help. Just rediscovered Zork1 and successfully loaded it, but I can't save. Deep frustration!!! I don't think my pc will read dat files. It is a Microsoft Windows XP. Maybe I have restrictions as it's a networked work pc.
Can you offer any advice? I'd be very grateful.
Many thanks
Cathy

B said...

Just want to say that I couldn't get the Zork games to run under Windows-7 64-bit until I followed the instructions here to get it running under DOSBox. Although, the package I download has me running zork1.bat and not _zork.

B said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
flaviomax2 said...

I can save it, but how do I load saved games?

Everytime I start it, it starts from the beginning, not from where I last saved...

Majora64 said...

Glen,

i am having the same exact trouble as flaviomax2. i configured the game just you have on your instructions, but i cant save the game and load where i saved. i tried entering zork.dat as the save file, but cant locate that either.

I am hoping you can help me and flaviomax2 as well

Anonymous said...

To load a saved game

Restore > filepath of your saved game (e.g. c:\zork.dat)

AFAIK you can only have one saved game at a time.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the help. Can you use the guide to run Zork 2 or 3? If not can you write a guide to run those games? thanks

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the help. Can you use the guide to run Zork 2 or 3? If not can you write a guide to run those games? thanks

Anonymous said...

grazie mille, veramente bello come gioco!