[spelk]

I'm keen to introduce my nipper to MUD's to sort of show him how you can use your imagination to enjoy gaming as well gawping at the pretty graphics, I wondered if anyone knows of a child friendly MUD as such, my nipper is 10 years old. He's well versed in the usual fantasy themes.

Also I know many MUD's don't allow multiple accounts, how does that pan out if two PC's are on the same router? What are the acceptable rules for two people from the same family connecting?

[Angie]

You can give Midnight Sun a try. It has a friendly community, no explicit or overly brutal game content, and it's not a playerkilling mud, so griefing is minimal. It's a hack'n'slash mud with plenty of questing and social interaction, and unless you want to roleplay seriously (or PK), you should be able to enjoy the game in a way you like.

Multiplaying is not allowed (or rather, restricted until you reach a certain level with your main), but the staff is reasonable. If they see two people playing from the same IP, somebody will eventually drop by, but if you explain your situation, you won't have a problem.

Edit: Also, the playerbase is European for the larger part, so it's mostly busy during the hours you'd be on.

[TheSoftwire]

Don't mean to plug my own site but the Rings of Orbis is quite kid friendly. I do a lot of work with schools so we aim to keep it clean. There is no playerkilling element either. It has a science fiction theme and I do believe the site might be considered a PBBG, although I'm not really sure about that.

[Newworlds]

Originally Posted by spelk I'm keen to introduce my nipper to MUD's to sort of show him how you can use your imagination to enjoy gaming as well gawping at the pretty graphics, I wondered if anyone knows of a child friendly MUD as such, my nipper is 10 years old. He's well versed in the usual fantasy themes.

I would say MUDs in general are bad for underagers. Because of the book style theme, regardless of the type of MUD, they tend to draw into adult content much faster than their graphical counterparts. I'm not saying your child can't play a mud, but I would be very very careful about researching the game deeply first.

One of NW's staffers used to play a MUD with Smurfs. That might be a place to start.

[MudMann]

Originally Posted by spelk I'm keen to introduce my nipper to MUD's to sort of show him how you can use your imagination to enjoy gaming as well gawping at the pretty graphics, I wondered if anyone knows of a child friendly MUD as such, my nipper is 10 years old. He's well versed in the usual fantasy themes. Also I know many MUD's don't allow multiple accounts, how does that pan out if two PC's are on the same router? What are the acceptable rules for two people from the same family connecting?

As opposed to the murky depths of online gaming, why not fuel the imagination with some plain, offline, Interactive Fiction.

Text adventuring without those pesky real life players. There are some aimed at the younger player

From fantasy, to super heroes.. all tastes and genre. And once he gets the text gaming bug... in a few years, who knows!

A Beginner's Guide to Playing Interactive Fiction

[Disillusionist]

I'm a little surprised at some of the questions that weren't asked.

I'd be happy to look around to help you.
How old is your child? What reading grade level? What sort of mud experience have you the parent had?

I'd suggest looking first for a text-based PvE game (player versus environment) as a way to ease him/her into some of the content that can be found, even in 'kid-friendly' games.

Personally, I wouldn't let a child 12 or under play most muds, as much as to keep that content out of my kid's hands as for many players' personal preference not to play in muds that allow minors (or to play them anyway, and display covert hostilities). Nothing I'm aware of keeps adults from playing such games, and all that that implies.

Still, my kid is 6, so that may change, and I may be something of a dinosaur. I don't let him play video games for more than 60-90 minutes a week, and muds can be just as, or even moreso, addictive as graphical games. I guess you've given me a wake-up call to see what's out there for kids, because he's well aware that Daddy works on and plays text games, and he'll probably at least tool around with them.

[MudMann]

Originally Posted by Disillusionist I'm a little surprised at some of the questions that weren't asked. I'd be happy to look around to help you. How old is your child? What reading grade level? What sort of mud experience have you the parent had?

What reading grade are you :-D .. suggest you re-read the opening topic for answers you your own questions

[Valg]

Originally Posted by MudMann What reading grade are you :-D .. suggest you re-read the opening topic for answers you your own questions

The original poster mentioned that the child is 10 years old, but didn't comment on his relative reading proficiency, which is more important than biological age for this topic.

If you're going to be unhelpful, at least be accurate. :P

(Spelk: Carrion Fields should be off your list. Not at all appropriate for 10-year-olds.)

[Disillusionist]

Originally Posted by MudMann What reading grade are you :-D .. suggest you re-read the opening topic for answers you your own questions

My point was that some of the answerers didn't ask these questions, although I did miss the kid's age.
Thank you, Valg, for getting the point of my questions.

However, I did check my own post for typos, punctuation and grammar before posting.
A ten-year-old might be on his third trip through second grade, or reading at a high-school level.

Reading level, and all that.