Aelisus Mud Helper vs Midgaard by SmartMonsters
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Aelisus Mud Helper
This companion app enhances the experience of a retro, text-based fantasy multiplayer online game. It provides access to a rich world with numerous character options, areas, enemies, and items for players to explore and engage with.
- Fantasy world exploration
- Character creation options
- PvE and PvP gameplay
- Crafting and politics
- Text-based RPG experience
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Aelisus Mud Helper is the companion app for the retro mud Aelisus: Asunder. A mud, or multi-user dungeon, is an online multiplayer game. Aelisus is a fantasy-based mud similar to D&D, but remote. We have 22 classes, 25 races, 50 unique areas to explore, 10,000 enemies, roughly 50,000 items, and 275,000 unique character possibilities from creation. PvE, PvP, crafting, politics, and more are available for players to engage in. To find out more, head over to our Discord at https://discord.gg/sSAnZQr6SA or website at https://aelisus.com and hop in the world at play.aelisus.com:1848 with your mud client of choice. This mud is rom 2.4 based, from the diku mud family, and is based on the Aabahran the Forsakenlands mud codebase by Virigoth and Crypticant. It is a text based RPG game.
Midgaard by SmartMonsters
Experience a retro text-based MUD adventure with a focus on community and accessibility. Explore a magical world, manage your character, and interact with thousands of players globally in a friendly, blind-friendly environment.
- Retro text-based MUD emulation
- Graphical character state displays
- In-app game and account functions
- Blind-friendly accessibility
- Friendly and inclusive community
- Cross-world character movement
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Swords! Dragons! Castles! Magical fireballs! Inns with ale! Retro gaming at its most retro! Midgaard is our homage to the text MUDs of decades past. Running on the TriadCity platform, it's an emulation of the classic DikuMUD adventure tradition circa 1994. Midgaard is a labor of love for us. It's where many of us first encountered MUDs and were astonished by their engrossing play and extraordinary potential. It's full of clever ideas, many of which became standards as the tradition evolved. Most importantly, it's fun! It's completely FREE to play, is blind-friendly, and has more women players than men. Best of all, it's friendly! For twenty years SmartMonsters has been free of the flame wars, misogyny, and mean-spiritedness prominent in some other environments. Even our bulletin boards are safe! Visit us today - we can't wait to meet you! As a member of the SmartMonsters universe, Midgaard is one linked World among others. Your characters can move freely between Midgaard, TriadCity, Dungeon, and future Worlds all with quite different "laws of physics". Meet you there! * Simple, straightforward graphical interface with minimal controls. * All major game and account functions available in-app, without having to exit to the Web site. * Graphical displays of character state: health, energy, attributes, skills, etc. * Manage chat channels, natural language parsing, and other features. * Character maintenance: health, energy, experience, Skills. * Store login creds in the Keychain; share them among devices via iCloud. * Access the Players' Guide, FAQ, Message of the Day and other website resources directly within the app. * Create new characters. * Fully mobile: works happily over WiFi or cellular data. * Blind-friendly: thoroughly tested with Voice Over by volunteers from audiogames.net and elsewhere. * Female-friendly: we've had more women players than men for over 20 years. * Very friendly community - apparently all the mean people go to WoW 'cos we have none; even our bulletin-boards are safe! * Thousands of players from all over the world.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Aelisus Mud Helper at 5.0 against Midgaard by SmartMonsters's 3.5. Aelisus Mud Helper also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 16.6). Midgaard by SmartMonsters's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Aelisus Mud Helper holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 4 respectively.
Aelisus Mud Helper ships an update every 4 months, Midgaard by SmartMonsters every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Aelisus Mud Helper | Midgaard by SmartMonsters |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 3.5 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 123 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Joshua Isaacs | SmartMonsters, Inc. |
Customer experience
Aelisus Mud Helper
Midgaard by SmartMonsters
In-app purchases
Aelisus Mud Helper
No in-app purchases
Midgaard by SmartMonsters
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Aelisus Mud Helper free?
Is Midgaard by SmartMonsters free?
Which has better reviews, Aelisus Mud Helper or Midgaard by SmartMonsters?
Do Aelisus Mud Helper or Midgaard by SmartMonsters have ads?
Which is updated more often, Aelisus Mud Helper or Midgaard by SmartMonsters?
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