About MUME

What is MUME?

MUME, Multi-Users in Middle-earth, is a free multiplayer roleplaying game based upon J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth that has been continuously running, expanded, and remastered since fall of 1991 to host an impressive number of features comparable to any modern MMORPG.

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 to Erebor has been found by Gandalf in Dol Guldur and all the epic tales narrated in The Lord of the Rings may take place.

MUME covers 26,000+ original rooms from the mighty Dwarven Halls beyond the Gulf of the Lhûn in the West to the Mountains of Mirkwood in the East, and from the ruins of Fornost Erain in the North to the fortress of Isengard in the South. Explore this meticulously crafted world where fantasy creatures come to life and where players may join the classic battle of good versus evil.

You should consult our newcomers page if you are new to MUME or MUDs. It contains introductory documentation and tutorials 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 2020s?

Yes, indeed.

As long as 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?

What programming language is MUME written in?

MUME is written in 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 November 26, 2017:

• 165,444 lines of C/C++ code
• 380,470 lines of mudlle code
• 26,921 open rooms in 256 zones
• 1,410 types of objects
• 1,401 types of mobiles

• 2,965 player accounts
• 23,185 characters in player accounts

• 333 accounts have played the last month
• 191 accounts have played the last week
• 100 accounts have played the last day

Map

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

For the record, here is how Arda looked like in 2001, 2006, and 2009.