# Install wumpus with Homebrew, MacPorts, zypper Exact clone of the ancient BASIC Hunt the Wumpus game. Version 1.12 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:wumpus ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install wumpus ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install wumpus ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: games/wumpus/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install wumpus ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: wumpus from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:wumpus - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.12 - **Source summary:** Exact clone of the ancient BASIC Hunt the Wumpus game - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** BSD-2-Clause - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00 ## Executables - superhack (cli) - wumpus (cli) - superhack (alias) - wumpus (alias) ## Build dependencies - asciidoctor ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.12 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: http://www.catb.org/~esr/wumpus/ - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage The `wumpus` package is Eric S. Raymond's faithful command-line clone of Hunt the Wumpus, the early text adventure designed by Gregory Yob. ESR's project page calls it an exact clone of the ancient BASIC game, while the manual identifies the executable as the classic Hunt the Wumpus game and includes `superhack` as a structurally similar companion game. ### Project history Hunt the Wumpus was created by Gregory Yob in 1973 after he became tired of grid-based hide-and-seek cave games. Its distinctive design arranged rooms as the vertices of a dodecahedron, added hazards such as pits and bats, and made the player infer nearby dangers through textual clues before moving or firing crooked arrows. The game circulated through the People's Computer Company ecosystem and early hobbyist computing culture. Wikipedia's sourced history records mail-order distribution by Yob and PCC, a Creative Computing source-code publication in 1975, and republication in The Best of Creative Computing in 1976. The game then became one of the canonical BASIC listings that programmers ported, studied, and modified. ESR's package preserves that lineage as a retrocomputing artifact rather than a reinvention. The manual says the original was written by Gregory Yob and that ESR cloned this version from the original BASIC sources; the project page frames the point of the package as nostalgia and exactness, including the original interface. ### Adoption history Wumpus has unusual adoption history because its importance predates package managers. By 1975, variants already existed in multiple languages, and a C version by Ken Thompson appeared in early Unix game culture. Later BSD and Linux systems kept related Wumpus implementations alive through terminal-game collections, while ESR's standalone package makes the historical game available as a small installable Unix program. ### How it is used The package is used like a traditional Unix terminal game: run `wumpus` and play the turn-based cave hunt in text. The companion `superhack` keeps the same structural idea with a different premise. Its modern use is mostly recreational, historical, and educational rather than competitive gaming. ### Why package nerds care For package nerds, wumpus is a tiny artifact of several histories at once: BASIC type-in games, early adventure-game design, Unix games, and retrocomputing preservation. Its value is not feature velocity but continuity: it keeps a famous 1970s game installable with a normal package command and a man page. ### Timeline - 1973: Gregory Yob creates Hunt the Wumpus and demonstrates it in the People's Computer Company milieu. - 1975: Creative Computing publishes source for Hunt the Wumpus. - 1976: The Best of Creative Computing republishes the game. - 1974-1975: Early C and multi-language versions appear in Unix and hobbyist computing circles. - 2026-04-04: ESR's project page lists wumpus 1.12 and continues to point to the GitLab repository. ### Related projects - The package is related to bsdgames-style terminal game collections, other Hunt the Wumpus variants, and early text adventure and puzzle games. The manual also documents `superhack`, a related game shipped with ESR's package. ### Sources - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** wumpus - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - zypper - wumpus - 1.9-2.8: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: wumpus from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | Faithful transcription of the 1974 Atari Wumpus game | http://www.catb.org/~esr/wumpus/ - MacPorts - wumpus: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: games/wumpus/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Game and emulation packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/game-emulation-tools/) - Matched game or emulation metadata. - [Web development packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/web-dev-tools/) - Matched web development metadata. - [asciidoctor](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/asciidoctor/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [ninvaders](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ninvaders/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, terminal-game. - [ski](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ski/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, terminal-game. - [spaceinvaders-go](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/spaceinvaders-go/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, terminal-game. - [dmagnetic](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dmagnetic/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, interactive-fiction. - [dungeon](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dungeon/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, interactive-fiction. - [fizmo](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fizmo/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, interactive-fiction. - [frotz](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/frotz/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, interactive-fiction. - [git-if](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/git-if/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, games, interactive-fiction. - [open-adventure](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/open-adventure/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, fiction, game, games, interactive. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/wumpus.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/wumpus.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph