Zork: 5 Open Source Clones Compared
None of these projects offers a simple, ready-to-play version of Zork, each for a different reason. Portable Executable Zork is a general-purpose z-machine interpreter (not exclusive to Zork) that can run already-compiled game files, but its own development has halted. The three Zork I/II/III Source Code Collections are historical ZIL source archives rather than working games — there is no confirmed way to compile them with the original Infocom tools, though the third-party ZILF compiler can build them with minor issues. zorkClone is a from-scratch Java reimplementation that, per its own README, doesn't work yet and remains in early, halted development.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- None
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 10mo ago
- Stars
- 2,951
- Contributors
- 2
- License
- MIT
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- None
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 10mo ago
- Stars
- 916
- Contributors
- 2
- License
- MIT
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- None
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 10mo ago
- Stars
- 842
- Contributors
- 2
- License
- MIT
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 1y ago
- Stars
- 26
- Contributors
- 1
- License
- —
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoOriginal game assets not required; runs original z-machine files independently.
Availability
- Status
- Unplayable
- Platforms
- None
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 3y ago
- Stars
- 19
- Contributors
- 4
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
| Title | Zork I Source Code Collection | Zork III Source Code Collection | Zork II Source Code Collection | Portable Executable Zork | zorkClone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Playable | Playable | Playable | Unplayable |
| Platforms | None | None | None | Windows, Linux, OSX | None |
| Play in browser | No | No | No | No | No |
| Mobile | No | No | No | No | No |
| Project health | |||||
| Development status | Sporadic | Sporadic | Sporadic | Halted | Halted |
| Last updated | 10mo ago | 10mo ago | 10mo ago | 1y ago | 3y ago |
| Stars | 2,951 | 916 | 842 | 26 | 19 |
| Contributors | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| License | MIT | MIT | MIT | — | Apache-2.0 |
| Engine | — | — | — | SDL2 | — |
| Compatibility | |||||
| Requires original assets | — | — | — | NoOriginal game assets not required; runs original z-machine files independently. | — |
| Preview | |
Known limitations
- compilation: No known way to compile the source code into a final Z-machine Interpreter Program (ZIP) file using official Infocom compilers; third-party ZILF compiler can compile with minor issues.
- compilation: No known way to compile the source code into a final Z-machine Interpreter Program (ZIP) file; original compilation tools are lost.
- compilation: No known way to compile the source code into a final Z-machine Interpreter Program (ZIP) file; original compilation tools are lost.
- gameplay: Project is still in early development; nothing works yet and the software is very buggy.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Zork clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
What license do these Zork clones use?
Zork I Source Code Collection, Zork III Source Code Collection, and Zork II Source Code Collection (MIT); zorkClone (Apache-2.0).
Do I need to own the original Zork to play these clones?
Portable Executable Zork runs standalone, no original files needed.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Zork.