Talk:Jay Fenlason's Hack

A tarball of the source?

Is there a good way to make a .tgz of the source? If so, I would be willing to host it on my webserver.

209.151.236.12 18:57, 26 February 2015 (UTC)Elronnd

Here you are (temporarily hosting on Google Drive): https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B62bIXPmp62eRjZNTTRYanRhcDg/edit?usp=docslist_api -- 31.48.186.68 11:11, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

Assuming you meant the Huisjes-Wilde PDP-11 sources, that is. -- 80.42.25.36 21:51, 31 March 2015 (UTC)

The amulet of Frobozz

PDP-11 Hack has only the "amulet of Frobozz", which may be the forerunner of the Amulet of Yendor.

Interesting... the name "Frobozz" appears frequently in the Zork series, as in "Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz" (1981). Maybe that's where the Wizard of Yendor idea came from too? --Cadex 03:34, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

No Server?

I take it there is no server for this game? Slarty 16:51, July 7, 2010 (UTC)

Given that the nobody even has binaries available for download, I'd guess not. -Ion frigate 18:15, July 8, 2010 (UTC)

Revised Usenix date and source

Though the page claimed it might have been, Usenix 83 did not, apparently, contain Hack. (See here ; here ; and here.). Given that this page claims it could only be the '83 or '84 version, this just leaves the 84. Unfortunately, the only '84 tape I can find is the 84 tape 2 here, not the 84 tape 1, which is what would have had the original Hack, so I can't confirm that Hack even came on a Usenix tape, though it almost certainly did (Also checked the available 85, 87, 88, and 89 tapes for kicks, still no dice.).

Since a few people apparently really want to find this (at least, appear to, from my looking at the logs and such of this and related pages), the following might not be the best discussion board etiquette for a wiki, but if you want to search on your own, my suggestion would be to contact "Scott G. Taylor" (The person who hosts the mrynet link, apparently) and "Tim Shoppa" (The person who originated the Usenix '83 Shoppa_Tapes entry back in 2000, along with other Usenix tapes. Of course, this is no obviously not a guarantee. I also might have very well missed something, so feel free to recheck my links if you'd like. -98.219.244.212 02:53, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Supposed extant copy

http://gonnagan.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/hack-update/#comments - does anyone think that this is credible? Someone called Robert Grover is claiming to have a copy of Hack given to him by Fenlason himself on a floppy which he can no longer read, and that it starts in a shop (which would be like hack121). He also gives an email address. -- 92.20.249.116 18:25, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

Edit: by the way, I refer to the comments section. -- 92.20.249.116 20:06, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

PDP-11 version weirdness

I've built this version on 4.2 BSD without any issue, but as they say it is for the PDP-11. I've tried Unix v7, 2.9 BSD and 2.10 BSD which all seem to have the same C compiler as they all barf on:

I got hack.monst.c to compile, and I had to change some stuff in hack.h regarding structures with initial values. Now I'm facing the bane of every PDP-11:

# ./hack
./hack: Not enough core

Neozeed (talk) 03:04, 30 October 2014 (UTC)

Fenlason's Hack creation and distribution dates

I've been researching the original version of Fenlason using links on this wiki, interviews with the authors, and old archived documents, and the conclusion is that the game was started in 1981, and was distributed on the first USENIX tape in 1982.

On my website I explain it and link to all the sources, the only bad thing is that it is in Spanish, but I think it will be understood well with the automatic translation:

https://exploradorrpg.wordpress.com/juegos/hack/

— Preceding unsigned comment added by ExploradorRPG (talk • contribs)

Might be worthwhile. Can poke some admins and/or interested Spanish-speaking editors about it. --Umbire the Phantom (talk) 21:08, 5 June 2024 (UTC)

Page organization suggestion

Hi, given recently recovered source code and ongoing discussion around early Hack history, I wanted to check a possible structural change before editing the page.

I think this article could benefit from following a structure similar to *Andries’ Hack v1.0*. That page separates historical context, technical description, and later lineage in a way that makes early versions much easier to follow.

The goal wouldn’t be to reframe anything around Brouwer’s Hack, just to reuse a similar structure so that Fenlason’s original Hack, hack121, and early ports are more clearly separated and presented in sequence. Right now some of the material is solid but a bit compressed, which can make the distinctions harder to see.

If this sounds reasonable, I’m happy to draft a proposed reorganization for review rather than editing directly.

— Critlist (talk) 19:46, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

Sure, I wouldn't mind. Anyone else? --Umbire the Phantom (talk) 16:26, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply.

What I had in mind was mainly a structural reorganization so that the early development history of Hack is easier to follow chronologically. Right now several pieces of historical information are present on the page but somewhat compressed together, which makes the progression from Fenlason’s original work through later variants harder to see.

One model that might work well is the structure used on the Hack 1.0 page, which separates historical context from gameplay and content details. Applying a similar approach here could make the page easier to navigate without changing the underlying information.

A possible outline might look like:

• Background and development (1981–1982)
• Early variants and ports
• Relationship to later Hack versions
• Gameplay structure
• Monsters and objects

The goal wouldn’t be to introduce new claims initially, only to reorganize the existing material so the development timeline and gameplay descriptions are more clearly separated.

If this seems reasonable, I’d be happy to draft a sandbox version first so the reorganization can be reviewed before editing the live page.

Critlist (talk) 15:44, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

Yep, perfectly reasonable - probably what I'd do in your position. Draft away as much as you like! --Umbire the Phantom (talk) 21:21, 6 March 2026 (UTC)