Valhalla
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Valhalla for blind and visually impaired players

Valhalla is a free, text-only multiplayer fantasy game that works with JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver. There are no graphics to miss and nothing that needs a mouse. Many of the players are blind or visually impaired, and so is Whistler, who has run the game since 1998 alongside Papi, who is sighted. If you have been told that online games are not for you, this one is.

Play with a screen readerJoin the Discord

A note from Whistler

I have been blind since an injury in the Air Force, and I have run Valhalla since 1998, the whole time with a screen reader. I do not play a special version of the game; there is not one. I play the same world as everyone else, with JAWS reading it to me. Log in, type help newbie, and if you get stuck, ask for me. I am Whistler.

Ken Perry has run Valhalla for 28 years. His day job is software engineering at the American Printing House for the Blind. On his own time, sometimes late at night, he tutors students who are learning to code, whether blind, visually impaired or sighted.

Why a text game works with a screen reader

A MUD is a world written in prose. Every room, creature, fight and conversation arrives as lines of text, and you act by typing commands. A screen reader reads it the way it reads a book or a chat window. The game was built this way in 1991, long before anyone spoke of accessible design, and it has never needed anything else.

What Valhalla does for screen-reader users

  • A screen-reader client. The screen reader web client keeps the game as one plain, linear log. New text is added at the end, your input stays in one place, and nothing moves on its own. It runs in any browser with nothing to install.
  • Settings that cut the noise. In the game, change brief stops the full room description repeating every time you walk through a room you know (type look to hear it again). change compact drops the blank line before each prompt. change exits switches the list of exits on or off after each move, and change prompt sets what the prompt tells you. Type help change for the full list.
  • No map needed. exits lists every obvious way out of the room and where it leads. The sighted web client draws a picture map in a few areas, but nothing on it is missing from the text. A handful of area descriptions include a map drawn in letters; skip past it, the words around it say the same thing.
  • Your own client, if you like. TinTin++ runs in a terminal, which keeps everything in one scrolling stream that screen readers follow well. Mudlet has screen-reader settings of its own. The Connect page has the exact settings for both.
  • People who have done this for decades. Staff and long-time players use JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver themselves. Ask on the newbie channel or on Discord and you will be answered by someone who plays the way you do.

Getting started with your screen reader

JAWS or NVDA on Windows

Open the screen reader client in Chrome, Edge or Firefox. Type your commands in the input field; the game's replies are read as they arrive and stay in the log above, so you can arrow back through anything you missed. For a desktop client, follow the TinTin++ or Mudlet steps on the Connect page.

VoiceOver on a Mac

The screen reader client works in Safari. If you prefer the Terminal, install TinTin++ with Homebrew and follow the TinTin++ steps on the Connect page; everything then arrives in one text stream.

iPhone and iPad

The browser client also opens in Safari on an iPhone or iPad. We are still gathering experience with VoiceOver on iOS; if you try it, tell us on Discord how it went so we can improve this page.

VIP Mud and MUSHclient

Both work with Valhalla. Connect to valhalla.com on port 4242 (port 4240 also works). Neither client can open an encrypted connection, so that link is plain telnet: choose a password you use nowhere else. The Connect page has the details.

Your first ten minutes

  1. Open the screen-reader client and create a character; the game asks a few questions.
  2. Type help newbie and read the newcomer guide, or skim it on our Help page first.
  3. Type look to hear the room, exits to hear the ways out, and a direction such as north to walk.
  4. Say hello on the newbie channel. Nobody minds questions, and someone is usually around.
  5. Once you know an area, change brief makes walking through it much quieter.

Blind, visually impaired and sighted, in the same world

There is one Valhalla. Blind, visually impaired and sighted players stand in the same rooms, fight the same trolls, join the same guilds and argue on the same channels, and have done since the nineties. The game is run the same way: Whistler is blind, Papi is sighted. Nothing is simplified for anyone. If you are sighted and have a blind or visually impaired friend who has never found a game you could play together, this is one.

Questions and answers

Can blind and visually impaired people play Valhalla?

Yes. Valhalla is a text-only game, so a screen reader reads all of it. Many of the players are blind or visually impaired. So is Whistler, one of the two administrators, who has run the game with a screen reader since 1998. Nothing in the game needs sight or a mouse.

Is Valhalla free?

Yes. Valhalla is free to play, with no purchases, subscriptions or advertising. It is run by volunteers; donations toward the server are welcome but never required, and nothing in the game is for sale. About donations

Which screen readers work with Valhalla?

JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver are the ones our players use most, but any screen reader that can read a web page or a terminal window works, because the game is plain text in both.

Do I need to install anything?

No. The screen-reader web client runs in your browser with nothing to install. If you prefer a desktop MUD client, TinTin++ and Mudlet both work with screen readers; the Connect page has the settings. How to connect

Does Valhalla have a screen reader mode?

Yes. There is a dedicated screen-reader web client that keeps the game as one plain, linear log, with new text added at the end and your input staying in one place. In the game itself, the change command turns off repeated room descriptions, blank lines and other noise.

Are there maps or graphics I will miss?

No. Valhalla needs no map. The exits command lists every obvious way out of a room as text, and the game tells you where each one leads. The visual web client draws a map for sighted players in a few areas, but it carries nothing you cannot read in the room text.

Do blind, visually impaired and sighted players play together?

Yes. There is one world and one set of commands. Blind, visually impaired and sighted players fight, quest, trade and talk in the same rooms, and have done so for decades. There is no separate server or simplified version.

How old is Valhalla?

Valhalla has been online since 1991, which makes it 35 years old. It is a direct descendant of the original DikuMUD written in Copenhagen and is the oldest DikuMUD still running. The history

Who runs Valhalla?

Two administrators run Valhalla together. Ken Perry, Whistler in the game, is blind, plays with JAWS, has run the game since 1998 and works as a software engineer in accessible technology. Michael Seifert, Papi in the game, is sighted, co-wrote the original DikuMUD, wrote the engine Valhalla runs on and still maintains it. The people

Is my password safe?

The browser client uses an encrypted connection, so your name and password cannot be read on the way to the game. Plain telnet on port 4242 is not encrypted, so if you connect that way, use a password you use nowhere else.

Where do I get help?

Type help in the game for the help index and help newbie for the newcomer guide. Ask on the newbie channel, where questions are welcome, or on the Discord server, where players and staff talk every day. The newcomer guide

Play with a screen readerOther ways to connect