YMMV / Zork

• Alternative Character Interpretation: In Zork I: The thief (a.k.a. the pre-Nemesis Lucien Kaine): a Smug Snake who robs people of their treasures and kills them for a living, or a troubled young Cynicism Catalyst Anti-Hero who is desperate to gain a fortune and work hard in his attempt to resurrect The Lost Lenore, Alexandria Wolfe?
  • You call him a "thief" when you're playing — but how is what he's doing any different than what you're doing? He's come to an ancient ruin to loot it of treasure and hoard it in his lair, just like you're looting the ruins and hoarding it in the trophy case. In fact, given that he steals from you by pickpocketing and you steal from him by outright murdering him, you're worse than he is. It's not like there's anyone else around to steal from except the troll (who you also murder) and the cyclops (who has nothing to steal).
• Fridge Brilliance:
  • Of course the screwdriver you retrieve at the Flood Control Dam is a flathead type screwdriver!
  • A second bit of brilliance; you never seem to encounter the thief while in the temple or at the altar. Consider Lucien's background and it makes plenty of sense why he would avoid that area
  • If you inflate the raft and "get in" while you have a sharp object, it wrecks the raft, but if you PUT the object in the raft, you're fine. A bug? Maybe. The brilliance - PUT would mean you're carefully placing it in there and securing it in a place it won't cause damage. Just getting in means you aren't watching your inventory to make sure the pointy bits aren't sticking out.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: In Zork III, if you touch the table while its indicator shows "IV" in the Scenic Vista, you'll end up in a temple of some courtyard where the hairy bums perform some Human Sacrifice ritual on you by plunging a knife into your heart. This later becomes a plot point in Enchanter, in which case you need to have an OZMOO spell handy in order to cheat death by Human Sacrifice.
• Memetic Mutation: "It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."
  • Grues are a fad among Uncyclopedia.
  • "Want some rye?"
    • "Course you do!"
• Paranoia Fuel: If you live in the Zork World, if you step into any darkness you'll risk being eaten by a grue. Meaning every single waking (And sleeping) second of your entire life, you have to have some form of light nearby. No matter where you are, whether it's a basement, or a hotel room, no light? You're dead. If your candle burns away while you sleep, you're dead. If the power goes out during a storm, you're dead... etc...