I admit that I looked at Sloth MUD because it was listed as the number 1 mud. What I had expected was to see a glamorous mud with 1,000 people online at once. What I saw instead was a reasonably popular mud with 40-50 people on at a time, but not one which is incredibly popular. So how then had it managed to attain its number 1 ranking?

My first impression, admittedly, was not the best. DikuMud? But that is so outdated, and surely ROM is a better system? The newbie rooms were hard to follow. Where do I train? Where do I practise? There were mobs to kill, yes, but what is the experience to level? And what significance does it have with the 4 classes I chose, and the order that they were in? What race am I?

But as I found, Sloth MUD III has that beautiful, poetic balance between a game that is unbelievably easy to play, and one which undoubtedly fulfills all of the requirements of a long term user. All of its areas are entirely unique. It has primary, secondary, tertiary and final classes - 4 total. It has skills and spells that are similar to others, but nonetheless unique. And a list of commands and abilities that are also quite new, and surprising.

I have played in muds where you had multi-classing. Naturally, its in many different ones. I've played in ones where at 'Avatar' level, you get to pick a second class. I've played ones with 'remort' or 'reclass' options. I've played ones with 'advanced classes' at level 30. And I've even played 'Godwars' muds where you get everything instantly. But Sloth MUD III seemed to have this down pat. On the surface, you can do what you like - pick any classes, and cover all of your bases. But at the same time, your secondary class takes twice as long to gain in. Your tertiary 3 times as long and your final 4 times as long. You can be level 5 in all of them, or be level 30 in just 1. It depends.

The temptation of course is to go with the standard 4 classes - Warrior/Cleric/Thief/Mage - and perhaps just change the order to suit. But then the temptation of the 4 extra classes - Necromancer/Bard/Druid/Monk - add just that little bit extra. Sloth MUD III doesn't fill it with 100 different classes and 50 races. They just keep it simple, and make it basically perfect. No worries about balancing. Just right.

You don't have to reroll 1000 times to get it right - its just decided for you. But you can add stats later on, and reroll. Its how a mud should be played - forced fairness. No more cheating and manipulation.

There's just so much to love about this mud. On one hand it is small and simple - a beginner mud with so much more to add later on. But on the other hand, the base of it is so powerful that you'll never forget it.

The perfect match where it is easy to start and has so much to go on with. What more could you ask?