Controls, Hints
Intro Screen Controls
To enter the Wumpus Mountain Cave click that first button with the mountain and enter arrow.
To walk through instructions and hints, keep clicking the ?? Icon. You can also swipe left and right, which is especially useful for going backwards.
Settings, if enabled, are changed via the gear button. There aren't alot of settings in there, but you can change cave size, the number of pits and number of wumpus. I may be charging a nominal tip-amount for this feature.
Lastly, there's a simple side game embedded in Wumpus Cave. You can play Root Beer Quaff by heading to the pub using that last button with the root-beer mugs on it and the arrow.
Controls In the Wumpus Cave
Once in the main game, use the arrows to move about the twisty 3D cave system, or wait in place using the center button.
The center button shows a person (you) as the default. The center button will indicate that there is popcorn in the current room if there is any. If you send your grimble after a Wumpus, you will momentarily see a grimble icon here indicating the next direction chosen is sending your grimble, and not you, in that direction.
The gems indicate a tunnel is or is not available in that direction and the return-arrow indicates which direction you most recently came from.
Not shown in the image here, you will see a door icon in the direction of the door you came in, and eventually need to leave through. Feel free to try the handle by clicking the door icon when you see it.
The other Wumpus Cave game controls are along the bottom of the screen.
Popcorn 🍿: Drops popcorn and keeps track of how many pieces you have.
Hand 🫳: Picks up popcorn, treasure chests, keys, or opens the door.
Grimble 🐲: Pressing this button changes the icon in the middle of the compass rose. Now pressing a direction sends your grimble in that direction while you stay put that round.
Reset 🔁: Allows. you to restart the game, but counts as a starvation-loss.
Below the text box, there is a status bar. It indicates multiple pieces of status.
First, what things you have in your possession after the 👤 icon.
Possible things you may have with you:
🐲: Your pet grimble. You start the game with them. If you send him away, this icon goes away until it returns.
🧰: The treasure chest which is hidden in the cave at the start of the game
🗝️: The small key needed to open the treasure chest
There is no indicator for objects you will find in the chest. You know you have them if you see both: 🧰 🗝️
🕰️: Indicates the turn number. Not really relevant for anything other than for going for your personal best.
🎉: Indicates the number of wins. you have had
🪦: Indicates the number of losses.
Hints
Don't read the following hint pages until you have tried to work things out for yourself. It's more fun that way.
The 3D maze of rooms are connected by twisty passages. Just because you went east to get to a room doesn't mean west goes back. The compass indicates the direction you last came from
Mapping your path is useful in order to prevent walking in circles, but even more useful for finding your way back to the door to leave.
By some odd stroke of fate, you have a bag of popcorn. You can leave a popcorn trail using the popcorn bag button 🍿 to drop a piece, but a hungry wumpus might find it. You can use the 🫳 button to pick up popcorn.
To win, you will need to find the treasure chest and the small key to open it. Only then, return to the door with the large key found in the chest. Every cave is winnable, but sometimes you have no choice but to gamble on which path will avoid a pit... versus sending you to your death. Just make sure you have tried all routes before taking such a desparate measure.
Wumpus are perpetually-hungry fanged creatures that move about randomly in dark caves, navigating pits with ease. They have a poor sense of smell, except when it comes to their predator, the grimble. The grimble odor terrifies a wumpus, and they will avoid any room with a grimble, whether the grimble is with you or not.
Grimbles can navigate rooms with pits. When sending the grimble off, the center icon in the compass changes, indicating that the arrow keys now send off the grimble. Make sure the icon changes lest you run yourself in to a wumpus. Grimbles are loyal & go where you send them, but return as quickly as they can, ragardless of finding their quarry. If you move away from the grimble, it will chase you, even possibly finding any cutoffs to you.
If a wumpus finds you alone beyond the turn the grimble was sent off, a wumpus may enter your room. Let's just say, you don't want that to happen!
If you smell a wumpus but send your grimble the wrong way, you can wait in place for the grimble to return. However, during that time, the wumpus may discover you are alone and come get you. Best to follow your grimble. Well, unless you feel a breeze. You may be heading in to an almost-bottomless pit..
Wumpus don't smell or hunt out popcorn, but they will eat popcorn if it is in the room with them. They eat only one piece per turn.
Wumpus do not move every time you do, though the grimble will persist after you.
Sometimes more than one wumpus will occupy a room
Occasionally you will hear a wumpus scitter away from one direction and also one scitter in to another direction. That just might be the same wumpus.
You can change the number of rooms in the cave, and the ratio of rooms to wumpus or pits. Use the settings button on the intro screen, if enabled. As an example, 1 pit per each 10 rooms means a standard 20 room cave will have 2 pits. 1 pit per 15 rooms rounds down such that a 20 room cave will have 1 pit. And if you request one wumpus per each 25 rooms, a 20 room cave will have no wumpus.