If the curse can't be lifted by Curse Day, the anniversary of Dimwit's death, the Empire will surely fall. The reigning monarch, Wurb Flathead, has sent out a call in desperation: anyone who can save the Empire will be given half its riches! Predictably, this results in an avalanche of crackpot treasure seekers, none of whom have any more luck than did the royal sorcerers. As the game begins in earnest, it is Mumberbur 14: Curse Day. The erstwhile curse-breakers have fled, along with everyone else in Flathead Castle. The player, a descendant of the servant from the prelude, awakes on the floor of the castle armed only with the scrap of parchment. The only other person around is the court's jester, who alternately helps and opposes the player in the quest to lift the curse. Two items belonging to each of the "accursed twelve" (that is, Dimwit Flathead and his eleven siblings) must be placed into the cauldron and the magic word must be spoken. The game revolves around gathering these twenty-four objects and discovering the magic word. To accomplish this, the player will play the legendary game of Double Fanucci, travel to every corner of the Empire, solve a collection of riddles and logic puzzles, and visit the enormous statue that started all this trouble. There are even visits to locations such as the top of the world, and under the world (from which the player can fall). Flamingos, magic, bottomless pits and a unique sense of humor all feature along the way. What happens when the curse is finally lifted is the game's final surprise. If you leave the castle and pass the perimeter wall, you arrive at the opening scene of Zork 1. Feelies Like most other Infocom games, Zork Zero comes with feelies: a printed calendar titled "The Flathead Calendar 883" with portraits and biographies of the Twelve Flatheads (also usable as a 1989 calendar, folded blueprints with a yellow Post-it note attached, and a scrap of parchment. Since completing the game requires information revealed only in these feelies, they serve to discourage unauthorized copying. Double FanucciZork Zero includes a mini-game to play Double Fanucci against the jester. Double Fanucci is a fictional card game mentioned throughout the Zork series. As the in-game Encyclopedia Frobozzica describes it, It is immensely complicated, parodying card games with complex rules in a manner similar to Fizzbin or Mornington