rogue

Start a new game

$ rogue

$ rogue -r [save_file]

$ rogue -s

rogue [-r savefile] [-s_]

rogue is the original dungeon-crawling game that defined the roguelike genre. The player explores procedurally generated dungeon levels, fighting monsters, collecting treasure, and searching for the Amulet of Yendor on the 26th level.
The game displays the dungeon using ASCII characters: @ represents the player, letters represent monsters (stronger monsters use later alphabet letters), # shows corridors, . shows floor, + shows doors, and % shows stairs. Items include ! potions, ? scrolls, / wands, = rings, ] armor, and ) weapons.
Rogue features permanent death—when your character dies, the game ends permanently. There is no reloading saves to retry. This creates tension and makes each decision meaningful. The game requires a minimum 24x80 terminal.

-r FILE

Restore a previously saved game

Display the high score list

?

Display help and list of commands

Identify symbols on screen

Move left, down, up, right

Move diagonally

Rest one turn

Search for traps and secret doors

Go down stairs

Go up stairs

Display inventory

Eat food

Wield a weapon

Wear armor

Take off armor

Put on a ring

Remove a ring

Quaff a potion

Read a scroll

Zap a wand

Throw an object

Drop an object

Pick up object

Save game and exit

Quit (abandon game)

The game is intentionally difficult and unforgiving. Most items are unidentified until used or identified by scrolls. Cursed items cannot be removed without special scrolls. Food management is critical—starvation kills. The save file is deleted after restoring, preventing save-scumming.

Rogue was created by Michael Toy and Glenn Wichman at UC Santa Cruz in 1980, with later contributions from Ken Arnold. Originally written for Unix using the curses library, it popularized procedural generation and permadeath in games. The game spawned the entire "roguelike" genre, including NetHack, Angband, and modern games like Hades and Spelunky. The name comes from the Dungeons & Dragons character class, and the subtitle "Exploring the Dungeons of Doom" references early D&D modules.

nethack(6), angband(6), crawl(6), moria(6)