Nethack is now 36 years old, still in development, runs on windows, Linux, Apple and a multitude of other systems. You can run it in a console, remotely, if you don’t have the ability to install or download to your computer. It’s complex, difficult, entertaining and will soak up any free time you have.
I’ve played it on and off for a decade now and never made it past half way and have always learnt something new.
Play in browser: https://alt.org/nethack/hterm/ Telnet: alt.org port 23 SSH: [email protected] Download: https://www.nethack.org/
Have you got the Amulet of Yendor? Any stupid deaths? Surprising finds?
Played it for about a year a long time ago, I think it was the PC version? I’d played it even earlier but it was “taking too long”. Plenty of food-related deaths.
So I read all the FAQs and spoilers, it was still hard! But now I could make progress and learn some real strategy, as well as understand which spoilers were actually relevant. So after a year I was finally able to ascend.
Since then I’ve really enjoyed rogue-likes and other turn-based games.
Been playing for over 10 years now. I love it, it’s incredible and I’m so glad it’s still around. Might have to make a go for the amulet again today, dust off the old files.
Man, I put so many hours into nethack, back in 1992. I was working nights as a computer operator on a VAX/VMS system in a hospital lab. About half of every night was just sitting around, and I had access to a compiler and a modem, so I downloaded and installed nethack. I worked there for 3 years, and probably played nethack 10 hours/week for most of those three years.
In 2007 I was working on a DEC VT-320 terminal (can you believe we were still using those?) And what I would have paid to have nethack running on those!
Did you make many ascension runs? I think I’ve got too short an attention span to do it - I do something like neglect engraving ELBERETH and then die yet another stupid death.
Honestly I don’t really remember many details. It was a long time ago and there have been many mild concussions since then!
