I found Clok completely by happenstance when someone submitted it as a candidate for MUD of the month on Reddit's /r/MUD. The theme pitch was interesting to me, so I figured I would pop in and see how it was implemented. I have never been so surprised by the playability, range, and execution of a MUD in ten or more years of browsing them. This place is incredible. I have learned that it was created as a 'learn to code' project by one of the owners, and all I can say is 'wow.' If you are a fan of crafting, exploration, elements of survival, and all the endless, meticulously written details that make MUDding as fascinating a game genre as it is, Clok will be right up your alley. I'm floored daily by the little things I keep finding to play with, make, explore, and even wear. Buying a haircomb from a shop won't just add a dry line to your equipment, it gives you a unique hairstyle featuring the item. How cool is that?

The guilds are extremely interesting, as are their setups. Save for a couple hush-hush organizations, you can join and participate in them without waiting for somebody else to come and do it for you. I made a Mummer, for example, and I've earned one advancement already. How, you might ask? By literally traveling the world and wilds in search of inns, taverns, and other places where people gather to weave stories together via the 'storytelling' system, where you take five different themes out of several and turn them into a tale. The crowds in one place will like themes other places don't, requiring you to know and measure your audience for the biggest rewards. This has been a seriously awesome experience.

Their BBS forum updates on in-game channels, their Discord server is linked with the in-game question and chat channel, and their helpfiles are pulled directly from their wiki. I cannot overstate how modern this game's set-up is.

The command style is instinctive to anyone who has dabbled in LPMUDs. You have to be literal with things - no 'put item container', but 'put item in container' and such. This doesn't bother me. I think people coming from ROM-style games will probably experience some annoyance, but it's a pretty minor adaptation to make.

The Staff are insanely quick about getting back to you when you're struggling or encounter a bug, there are consistent code updates and quality of life changes going in almost weekly, and the community, while modest in size, has been welcoming and helpful to me. I'm not a big fan of a huge, impersonal playerbase, so for me Clok is just about perfect.

The roleplay is enforced, though styles and expectations tend to vary. There is a 'verbs' system that is effectively socials, though they can be used in some interesting ways that exceed the standard social set-up. I'm a pretty dedicated emoter, however, and I've found no shortage of people who share the same preference. There are definitely some who use the 'say and socials' style of roleplay (and that's okay!) but for the most part, so far, I've found primarily emotes. I'm personally super happy with this.

While I haven't experienced any so far (I've only been playing about a week), the effects of Staff-run events are visible across the entire game world. There is so much lore to run across in the wilderness and elsewhere that it would be impossible to see it all. Cities, hamlets, and all else might be there one day and via Staff RP event, gone the next, lost to the dreaded infested. Having a non-static grid adds to the 'Lost Lands' being what they are. Civilization is impermanent.

Highly recommended. Really cool game.