Places to Telnet

Overview

The text based internet can be exciting, informative, and fun. Using telnet, you can access a variety of these resources on the internet. Below you’ll find lists of telnet servers and interesting places to get you started.

If you have a suggested item to add, just send us an email:

• webmaster@telnet.org.

Various fun telnet servers

• india.colorado.edu 13
  Get the current time

• www.vintagecomputing.com 1984
  A GUI Mac demo over telnet (try it in your browser, GitHub for technical details)

  This is really cool, and even includes mouse support!

• mapscii.me
  A Telnet interface to a Braille/ASCII map renderer (code and info)

• horizons.jpl.nasa.gov 6775
  NASA JPL HORIZONS solar system data (website for more details)

• telehack.com 23
  Telehack. Also play via the website

• doom.w-graj.net 666
  Play Doom in the terminal (code and details)

• freechess.org 5000
  Free Internet Chess Server aka freechess.org

• diggr.name 20020
  A multiplayer game for telnet

• ticker.bitcointicker.co 10080
  The live price of bitcoin

• 1984.ws 23
  Edison Carter is…

• telnet.wiki.gd
  Telnet Live Wikipedia with AI assistant (more info, code)

• towel.blinkenlights.nl 23
  Star Wars asciimation over telnet, available only via IPv6 with telnet -6

• halite.md.vc
  A NyanCat alternative! Time to learn the proper telnet escape…

Notable, but no longer online :(

• towel.blinkenlights.nl 666
  The BOFH Excuse Server

  A real classic. I especially miss the BOFH server.

• rainmaker.wunderground.com 3000
  Weather via telnet!

  Rainmaker was pretty great, and it lasted at least until 2018. I don’t recall what happened to it.

• nyancat.dakko.us
  ANSI art animation of “poptart cat”, with support for many different terminals (cool screenshots!)

  The telnet server is offline, but the website is still up! For an alternative, try halite.md.vc above.

• mtrek.com:1701
  mtrek (a game based on Star Trek)

• xmltrek.com:1701
  xmltrek (a game based on Star Trek)

  Both mtrek and xmltrek are offline at the time of this update.

BBS, MUDs, talkers, and other systems

• cavebbs.homeip.net 23
  The Cave BBS

• cavemush.com 6116
  CaveMUSH, running since March 2000

• cavemush.com 6119
  ObjectMUD, an overhead, ZZT-like programmable telnet game with a mouse-based GUI

• bbs.iscabbs.com
  ISCABBS is the oldest continuously operating free online community on the internet

• bbs.archaicbinary.net
  Archaic Binary

• armageddonbbs.net 2300
  Armageddon BBS, online since 1993 (off and on). An old-school BBS with a very retro PC-ANSI style, running Hermes 4 software on a 2023 Apple M2 Max (support site, web portal)

• gcomm.com 23
  Galacticomm BBS

• ateraan.com 4002
  New Worlds - Ateraan

• avalon-rpg.com 23
  Avalon: The Legend Lives

• aardmud.org 4000
  Aardwolf MUD

• 52.88.68.92 1234
  Cuban Bar

• TextMMOde.com 23
  Sands of Time / Deep Space MMO

• lord.stabs.org 23
  Legend of the Red Dragon

• thehatshop.mudhosting.net 3000
  Hallowed Halls

• eclipse.cs.pdx.edu 7680
  New Moon

• batmud.bat.org 23
  BatMUD

• forgottenkingdoms.org 4000
  Forgotten Kingdoms

• mush.shelteringcolorado.com 2601
  Sheltering Sky: Colorado by Night

• igormud.org 1701
  Igor MUD

• zombiemud.org 23
  Zombie MUD

• achaea.com 23
  Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands

• hackerlinks.com 23
  A telnet chat

Directories

• https://bbs.modem.xyz/
  A cool directory of BBS with a banner gallery

• https://muds.modem.xyz/
  A cool directory of MUDs with a banner gallery

• http://telnetbbsguide.com
  A large active listing of Dial-Up and Telnet accessible Bulletin Board Systems on the Internet

• http://vintagebbs.org/bbsLookup.php
  A BBS directory with location based searching

• http://www.jumpjet.info/Offbeat-Internet/Public/TelNet/url.htm
  Jumpjet has a nice list of telnet locations organized by category

• http://synchro.net/sbbslist.html
  Synchronet is a nice list of BBS systems

• http://www.mudconnect.com/
  Mudconnect keeps a good list of MUDs and MOOs

• http://www.lights.ca/hytelnet/
  Hytelnet is an old (and now unmaintained) directory