How to Connect

The Long Way

The MARE runs over a telnet connection, and while it is playable over telnet a MUD client is recommended. If you want to go ahead and just take a look without downloading a client, click on the link to the MARE below, but I strongly recommend that you turn on local echo under your telnet preferences when you do this. Without local echo on you will not be able to see what you are typing. (Why local echo defaults to off is beyond me.) Here are the links for several of the clients that people use.

GMUD [Get the file: gmud3219b.zip] For Windows
Unzip it and run Gmud.exe

AL Client For Windows
Follow the instructions on the site to install.

Zmud For Windows
Follow the instructions on the site to install.

tinyfugue For Linux (or whatever other OS you can get it to compile on)
Follow the instructions on the site to install.

If none of those options appeals to you, Do a search on MUD clients. There are quite a number of them out there. Finding the 'perfect' one though is something akin to looking for the Holy Grail

Once you have the client set up and have looked at the docs enough to know how to connect, you can try connecting to SluggyMARE, the server is is winds.org and the port is 8000.

The Short Way

To skip all that nonsense and just drop in to SluggyMARE to check it out, click the link below. It will open a telnet window. Make sure you set local echo to 'ON' in the preferences if you want to see what you are typing.
SluggyMARE

The Short Way Via XP

The best way to do it is to open your start menu and look for a program in that window saying Run... It's usually in the right column. Click it and in the prompt type telnet. This should open up another window, similar to old DOS command prompts. At its prompt, type set localecho. It will tell you that it executed that command and give you a fresh prompt line. Type o winds.org 8000 (replace winds.org and 8000 with the host name and port of the MARE you wish to connect to). That will connect you to the MARE, and this is where it gets difficult. At the sign-in prompt hold down the control key and hit the square brace ( ] ) key and let both go at once. This should take you back to the DOS style command prompt. Don't worry, you're still connected to the MARE. Here, type set crlf then hit enter till you return to the sign-in prompt. You should have no problems signing in! If you can't find the run program, telnet in using the link above in the short way, do the control and ] combo then type set localecho then set crlf then the enter key till you return to the sign-in prompt.

Adapted from SluggyMARE#Getting_on_the_MARE by SluggyQBFreak - 23 Jul 2005