Hunt the Wumpus

Also known as: Wumpus

Developer: Creative Computing Software

Hunt the Wumpus (sometimes simply called Wumpus) is one of the more remembered text-based strategy games from the early days of computers. If paging through old magazines from the early 80s, it's not uncommon to see Wumpus or Hunt the Wumpus mentioned. Unlike most other strategy games, though, Hunt the Wumpus is a game where it helps greatly if you've got a pen and a piece of paper handy while you play. Basically, in this game, you are in a labyrinth-like cave system with three exits in every section of the cave. Your goal is to go from section to section to Hunt the Wumpus. The reason I mention having a pen and pad of paper handy is that, unless you've got a great memory - I don't, it's pretty easy to forget where you've come from and/or where you're going. By drawing out a map as you advance through the caves, you're able to make note of traps and dangers, as well as make note of which part of the cave leads to other parts of the cave. Ultimately, though, as you may guess, the goal is to hunt and kill a wumpus, a deadly cave-dwelling creature, then escape from the cave. If you manage to lay a wumpus, however, you're not home free - aside from the deadly traps that could still bring an end to your game, you're informed that the mate of the wumpus you had slain is now upset and hunting you. It's a deceptively deep game that has that quality where you'll tell yourself, "Just one more game," and then ten more plays follow it. While they're not exactly video game experts, Time magazine had included Hunt the Wumpus in its Top 100 Video Games of All-Time list back in 2012. While I wouldn't, personally, have included it in a Top 100 Games list from that time period, or the present, for that matter, I do think that it was one of the better games for its time and one that you can still find yourself playing over and over again today, so long as you don't mind the text-based strategy gameplay, that is. If you happen to catch a whiff of that wumpus, you're taking in the smell of success.

Review added: 03/05/2025