Win 1 year VIP subscription by playing free internet games

A competition brought to you by Turner of Dynamo Danny

Get the client software and additional help HERE.

How it works

Just play Gizmo Dikumud during the competition period and raise your characters to at least level 26 (reduced from 30!) and you will be entered into the draw to win one of the VIP prizes. There are 3 first prizes from the draw and a further first prize for the player who gains the most levels in the competition period.

What is Gizmo Dikumud?

Dikumuds in general are Dungeons and Dragons style multiplayer games in which you explore, defeat foes and obtain equipment, levels and gold. Dikumuds were developed in the early 1990's and run over the internet using the telnet protocol (not through a web browser). There is some information about getting a client program and connecting to the game below. Gizmo Dikumud is my particular favourite Dikumud and has been 'alive' for over 11 years. The people that play are a great bunch and are usually willing to help out new players.

Why is Turner running this competition?

Basically because I'd like to introduce new people to Gizmo Dikumud as it becomes harder for new people to find out about Dikumuds since more and more graphical multiplayer games with big budgets grab the headlines. By running the competition, I hope to introduce a new generation of players to Gizmo and hopefully some of you will like it and stick around afterwards.

Will it cost me anything to take part?

No, Gizmo Dikumud is free to play and you can get client software to play it for free as well.

Will I have to sign up anywhere?

No, you wont even have to give your email address. All that you'll need to tell me is what your FreeKick club name is, and what your Gizmo Dikumud characters are, so I can enter you into the draw when you've got the required levels. You can send me this information in a FreeKick message.

Will I have to play this game for hundreds of hours to get in the draw?

No, experienced 'mudders' could complete the entry conditions in one night; if you're new to mudding it might take you up to 10 nights. If you know how to play things like World of Warcraft, then you'll already have the idea of what happens, so should save a bit of time there too. If you ask nicely in the game, more experienced Gizmo players will often show you around and help you to get experience and equipment.

When is the competition period?

November 3rd 2007 to January 3rd, 2008. The draw will take place as soon as possible in January 2008.

Will the draw be fair or will Danny just give the prizes to his mates?

It will be fair, all my mates on FreeKick already have VIP and don't need the money. Personally I don't mind who wins, just so long as people have fun playing!

Will Danny actually pay out the competition prizes?

Definitely, I paid out everyone who won last year and I will again this year!

Why is there a draw, why don't the prizes just go to the people with the most levels?

Some people are naturally ultra-competitive, they want to be the best and they don't mind spending their free time achieving this. The "most levels" prize is a guaranteed way to win VIP for these people. Most people don't have piles of free time to play computer games, so the draw is for them, just raise your characters to level 26 during the competition period and you have a shot at the other four prizes.

Will my Gizmo characters get deleted at the end of the competition?

No, everything you earn inside Gizmo is yours to keep after the competition period.

Is Gizmo available in multiple languages?

No, sorry, Gizmo Dikumud only comes in English.

What if there is a tie for "most levels"?

If levels are tied, then the tie breaker will be gold coins and fame. Fame points will count at the rate of 350,000 gold coins (a reasonable conversion rate in the game). In the VERY unlikely event of there still being a tie, there will be a fight-off to the death in the PvP arena to decide the winner.

I don't like your competition.

Fine, don't take part, but please dont spoil things for those who do want to take part by whinging or flaming.

It's too hard.

It's not really difficult to achieve entry to the draw, but if you're finding it extremely tough, then group together with someone else and work as a team.

Does Gizmo have its own rules.

Of course. You must stick by the rules whilst playing Gizmo, the administrators there may punish you as they see fit, if you cheat. I am personally a mid-level administrator in Gizmo, but I will leave punishments to other administrators to ensure that the competition is fair.

Can I play Gizmo 24/7?

Yes, unless there is computer downtime, you can access Gizmo 24 hours a day.

Can I enter the draw many times?

No, one entry per FreeKick team.

When you say 'characters', do you mean multiple?

Gizmo Dikumud is designed so that you can have 4 characters in your group and that you can control them as a group. You need to get all 4 characters to level 26 to enter the competition. Some people don't like group play, and they can choose a 'solo' flag. This means that they may only play one character at a time, but that character will get some bonuses so that they can compete with the groups. You can choose a 'solo' character for this competition if you like but you must select the 'solo' flag when you make the character. For the purposes of the competition : in the case of a tie break involving a 'solo' character, the gold and fame of a solo character will be multiplied by 2 to take account of the difference in collection rate and expenses you will get in the game.

Someone is cheating, help!

If someone is cheating in Gizmo Dikumud, report them to the administrators there, they will take appropritate actions.

Gizmo looks complicated, help!

Yes, a lot of games look complicated for a start, take some time to read the help files, use the gossip channel to ask for help and don't be afraid for your characters to die when you're low in level, you won't lose a lot in the way of experience and you can't lose your levels once you have them.

Where can I get the client program?

Either search the internet, or you can download a copy of my client from this page.

I don't want the client program - how can I connect?

You can connect directly to Gizmo Dikumud using the telnet application supplied with your computer's operating system. For windows, go to the start menu, select 'run' and type CMD as the command to run; this will give you a command line window and you can access the telnet program by typing telnet and hitting return. For Linux, just type telnet from your command prompt. For Macintosh, I'm sure its pretty much the same procedure, but I don't own a mac to test it. Once you're in the telnet program type "open 69.39.34.168 6969" to open a connection to Gizmo.

I'm having trouble connecting.

If you've got a firewall or some kind of parental controls on your computer, you may need to configure them to let you connect. Gizmo runs on a high-numbered 'port' which may be blocked by some software, the telnet program/protocol uses port 23 from your computer - you'll have to check your own computer, firewall and connection.

Have you got any advice for selecting characters?

Yes, it doens't matter much if you have male or female characters, but to make a 'balanced' group, it is reasonable to select 1 healer, 1 spellcaster, 1 offensive fighter and 1 defensive fighter. The classes that are appropriate are : Healer : Cleric > Paladin > Bard Spellcaster : Magic User > Anti Paladin > Commando > Paladin = Ninja > Bard Offensive fighter : Thief > Commando = Ninja = Paladin = Anti paladin Defensive fighter : Warrior > Nomad > Thief > Bard You can pick what groups you like of course, but remember that you cant transfer the levels and experience from one character to another. Everybody has their own idea about what makes a good group; what I've outlined is what I think makes a good group for new players.

Have you got any advice for playing the game?

Wow, I have loads, but it's better if you just dive into the game, read the help a bit and then ask the other players about the things you need help with.

What should I call myself in Gizmo?

Because Gizmo has been around for quite a while, a lot of common names are taken already, so try to think of something unusual. If your characters have sensible-ish names, the other players are more likely to help you out than if you call yourself Kfghwqeprzz. Once you've made up your first character and have got into the game, I suggest you use the 'whois' command to see if the other names you want are available or not.

Come on, you must be able to give me a bit of a start?

OK, with the client, I have included some basic directions to the areas and foes you might want to be visiting as a lower level character. You can use these whether you use the client or not.

Can Turner help me inside Gizmo?

When I play at gizmo, I regularly donate equipment that I don't need, you can find it in the donation room. In the interests of fairness, I won't be directly helping any of the competition players during the competition period. After the competition is finished, if you still want to play, then I'll happily show you some tricks!

What are Turner's characters called inside Gizmo?

I have quite a few characters, but I'm mainly either called Danica (mortal) or Shal (immortal).

Can other Gizmo players help me inside Gizmo?

Sure thing, the spirit of the game is about teaming up to defeat larger foes, so if you get in the spirit of forming groups with other adventurers, then you're doing great!