Mechanic · structure & scoring · interactive fiction

Treasure score

A score earned by finding treasures and bringing them back to one safe place.

stubAlso: treasure points, trophy case, deposit scoreUpdated 2026-10-22
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A treasure score pays for bringing treasures back to one place. Open Adventure’s port of Adventure 2.5 gives 2 points for finding a treasure and the rest while it lies in the building1. Zork I pays a treasure’s value on its first take, and a second value while it sits in the trophy case2.

  • Find, then depositColossal Cave Adventure (1976). 2 points for finding a treasure, the rest of its 12 to 16 while it lies in the building.1
  • Take, then displayZork I (1980). A treasure's value on the first take, its second value while in the trophy case; 350 in all.2

See also

Games

GameYearHowNote
Colossal Cave Adventure1976Find, then deposit2 points for finding a treasure, the rest of its 12 to 16 while it lies in the building
Zork I1980Take, then displaya treasure's value on the first take, its second value while in the trophy case; 350 in all
Every claim about this mechanic, by game (2)
Colossal Cave Adventure 1976Open Adventure's score routine (Adventure 2.5) tallies 430 points in its comment, 298 of them for treasures (computed: 60 + 14 + 224). Each treasure gives 2 points once found, and the rest of its worth (12 for treasures numbered before the chest, 14 for the chest, 16 for those after it) while it lies in the building in its found state, so a broken one doesn't pay.Code
Zork I 1980Zork I's ZIL source sets the maximum score at 350. An object or room with a VALUE pays it once, when first taken or entered, and the value is then cleared. A treasure's TVALUE counts while it lies in the trophy case: at the end of a turn in the living room in which the player takes anything or puts something in the case, the score is reset to the banked points plus the TVALUEs of what is in the case. Only objects directly in the case count, since the routine looks inside containers but discards what it finds there. Reaching 350 whispers “Look to your treasures for the final secret.”Code

References

  1. ^ abOpen Adventure's score routine (Adventure 2.5) tallies 430 points in its comment, 298 of them for treasures (computed: 60 + 14 + 224). Each treasure gives 2 points once found, and the rest of its worth (12 for treasures numbered before the chest, 14 for the chest, 16 for those after it) while it lies in the building in its found state, so a broken one doesn't pay.CodeOpen Adventure 1.22
    How we know
    33	 *                                       TOTAL:   430
    score.c lines 18–35 at e616052 · upstream ↗
    First tally up the treasures. Must be in building and not broken.
    score.c#L37-L38 · upstream ↗
    55			if (game.objects[i].place == LOC_BUILDING &&
56			    OBJECT_IS_FOUND(i)) {
57				score += k - 2;
    score.c lines 44–58 at e616052 · upstream ↗

    Checked against the evidence by its author, an AI model, 2026-10-22.

    Checked by a second AI model, 2026-10-22.

    In the claim ledger

  2. ^ abZork I's ZIL source sets the maximum score at 350. An object or room with a VALUE pays it once, when first taken or entered, and the value is then cleared. A treasure's TVALUE counts while it lies in the trophy case: at the end of a turn in the living room in which the player takes anything or puts something in the case, the score is reset to the banked points plus the TVALUEs of what is in the case. Only objects directly in the case count, since the routine looks inside containers but discards what it finds there. Reaching 350 whispers “Look to your treasures for the final secret.”CodeZork I ZIL source
    How we know
    7<GLOBAL SCORE-MAX 350>
    1dungeon.zil line 7 at 97b7b3d · upstream ↗
    1870		<PUTP .OBJ ,P?VALUE 0>)>>
    gverbs.zil lines 1867–1870 at 97b7b3d · upstream ↗
    1961			'<SCORE-OBJ ,PRSO>)
    gverbs.zil lines 1959–1961 at 97b7b3d · upstream ↗
    2122		<SCORE-OBJ .RM>
    gverbs.zil line 2122 at 97b7b3d · upstream ↗
    483		      <SETG SCORE <+ ,BASE-SCORE <OTVAL-FROB>>>
    1actions.zil lines 477–484 at 97b7b3d · upstream ↗
    501		 <COND (<FIRST? .F> <OTVAL-FROB .F>)>
    1actions.zil lines 496–502 at 97b7b3d · upstream ↗
    Look to your treasures for the final secret.
    gverbs.zil#L1851-L1862 · upstream ↗

    Checked against the evidence by its author, an AI model, 2026-10-22.

    Checked by a second AI model, 2026-10-22.

    In the claim ledger

Sources

Code