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Zork III: The Dungeon Master Hints

How can I get past the Guardians of Zork?

  • 1 of 15: Take a look at their description.
  • 2 of 15: They're identical, except for the fact that they're mirror images of one another.
  • 3 of 15: And the box that you had to rotate to get to the Guardians has mirrors on both of its long sides.
  • 4 of 15: Perhaps you can use the mirrors to trick the Guardians.
  • 5 of 15: Just slide the box to the north to get past them.  Keep pushing it until you can't go any further.
  • 6 of 15: Of course, you have to present a *perfect* mirror image to get past them.
  • 7 of 15: So you can't let the box wobble.
  • 8 of 15: Having the box slide on just one pole probably isn't good enough.
  • 9 of 15: Lower the short pole and the box won't wobble.
  • 10 of 15: Also, if either of the mirrors is broken, your illusion won't work.  So if you did anything to break either mirror, you're probably in trouble.  You'll probably have to restore.
  • 11 of 15: Finally, you need to make sure that the Guardians don't realize that you've sneaked past them.
  • 12 of 15: You don't want to exit the box in their field of view.
  • 13 of 15: Once you've pushed the box all the way to the north, the Guardians will be to the south.
  • 14 of 15: So try exiting the box to the north.
  • 15 of 15: Rotate the box 180 degrees by pushing any of the four panels four times. Then push the pine panel, and the exit will be to the north.  You can now leave the box safely.