About MUME

What is MUME?

MUME is a free multiplayer roleplaying game based upon J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth that has been continuously enhanced since fall '91. MUME stands for Multi-Users in Middle Earth.

In MUME players can explore and live in this meticulously crafted world during its late Third Age, and possibly join the epic War between the forces of the Dark Lord and the armies of the West. The action takes place before The Hobbit and after the loss of the One Ring by Sauron. The key of Erebor was just found by Gandalf in Dol Guldur and all the epic tales narrated in The Lord of the Rings may take place.

You can play by connecting directly by telnet to mume.org (note: the hyperlink probably won't work with newer browsers).

If you are new to MUME or MUDs in general, you should consult our newbie page: it contains introductory texts for complete beginners, as well as information on MUME's unique features for those who have already played other MUDs.

A text game? In the post-2010s?

Yes, indeed.

As long there will be books to read there will be a place for text-based games. MUME is based upon Tolkien's writings and offers a richness of world detail and game play to players who put an emphasis on imagination to act in a role playing game, without the need to rely on flashy graphics...

Do not misunderstand us, modern graphical games are cool, but MUME offers a lot that those games do not offer. Extensive exploration, a feeling of danger, a true long-term play of your characters, heated fights and adrenaline - and in the end, your phantasy is even more powerful than the currently best flashy graphics!

Did we mention the game is free?

Yes, I think we did. Isn't this cool? Playing this vast game is completely free.

What language is MUME written in?

MUME is written in C, C++, and mudlle. The latter is a functional language that was developed in order to allow online extensions to the game. Yes, MUME has its own language.

MUME in numbers

On July 4, 2009:

150,606 lines of C/C++ code
357,127 lines of mudlle code
23,764 open rooms in 230 zones
1,319 types of objects
1,272 types of mobiles

2,869 player accounts
20,922 characters in player accounts

781 accounts have played the last month
493 accounts have played the last week
231 accounts have played the last day

Below is displayed a snapshot of the Middle Earth outdoors areas that are available on MUME. For instance, Moria would spans two squares on this grid, but consists of 14 zones (1382 accessible rooms).

Last updated on 16 Feb 2012.