Pull up a chair.

Terminal Tavern is a place to hang out. Real-time chat, door games, a full MUD, and a community of enthusiasts and newcomers alike. It's a BBS - the way being online used to feel.

terminaltavern.com
Terminal Tavern ANSI welcome screen
The BBS

Remember when being online felt like going somewhere?

BBSes were places. You dialed in, said hello, played games, and got to know the regulars. The conversations were real because the people were real - and they stuck around.

Terminal Tavern is that kind of place, built on PhotonBBS - a modern BBS platform written from scratch. Not a museum piece, but a real system with the warmth of the ones we grew up on.

Terminal Tavern
Sysop: Anyone up for a round of Red Dragon?
Wanderer: Let me finish this MUD quest first.
Pixel: Just hit level 12. Feeling brave.
Sysop: That's the spirit. /games when ready.
 
Wanderer went to play Red Dragon
Chat Games

Play without leaving the conversation.

Trivia, hangman, bingo, liar's dice, and gunfighter duels - all playable right in the chat. Start a game with a slash command and everyone in the channel can jump in.

Or type /games to open the full games menu with 20+ door games, from classic RPGs to space trading to roguelike dungeon crawls.

teleconference - Main
Wanderer: /trivia
 
Trivia started! 10 questions, first to answer wins.
 
Q1: What year was the first BBS created?
Hint: It was in the late 1970s
Pixel: 1978
Correct! Pixel scores 1 point!
PhotonMUD

A world that builds itself.

PhotonMUD is a procedurally generated multi-user dungeon with D&D-style combat, character classes, spells, crafting, and a living economy. Every world is different.

Explore thousands of rooms, fight monsters, team up with other players, and carve your name into a world that grows with the community.

PhotonMUD
Country Road
A well-traveled road stretches across the land,
connecting distant towns and castles.
Obvious exits: N, S, E, W, NE, SE, SW, NW
 
[Lv:1 HP:6/12 G:50 XP:1680/2000] >

Plenty to do.

Over 20 games - classic BBS door games, multiplayer card games, a full MUD, and more. Play from the menu or start one right in the chat.

Red Dragon

Fantasy RPG. Fight monsters, visit the healer, challenge other players.

rpg

Star Trader

Buy low, sell high across the galaxy. Upgrade your ship, dodge pirates.

trading

The Crypt

Roguelike dungeon crawler. Permadeath, loot, and monsters that hunt you.

roguelike

MechWars

Pilot a mech through a hostile universe. Trade, fight, build bases.

strategy

Property Wars

Multiplayer property trading. Buy, develop, bankrupt your opponents.

multiplayer

1000 Miles

Classic racing card game. Safeties, hazards, and coups-fourres.

card game

Casino

Blackjack, poker, slots, and more. Test your luck.

casino

Sea Battle

Naval combat on the high seas. Outgun and outmaneuver.

combat

Drug Lord

Street empire simulation. Buy, sell, survive.

simulation

Pirate's Quest

Set sail for treasure. Trade cargo, fight rival pirates.

adventure

Murder Motel

Whodunit mystery. Investigate, interrogate, solve the case.

mystery

Star Trek

Explore the galaxy, fight Klingons, manage your ship's systems.

strategy

Atlantis

Underwater adventure. Dive deep, find artifacts, survive the depths.

adventure

Food Fight

Competitive cooking chaos. Outscore your rivals in the kitchen.

party

Big Catch

Fishing simulation. Find the best spots, land the big one.

simulation

Dice Shake

Multiplayer dice scoring game. Push your luck or play it safe.

multiplayer

PhotonMUD

Full multi-user dungeon. Classes, combat, crafting, exploration.

mud

Chat Games

Trivia, hangman, dice, bingo, and gunfighter - play without leaving chat.

teleconf

DOS Classics

LORD, Darkness, OOII, Barren Realms Elite, and more via DOSemu.

classic

How it works.

Simple software, good values.

Easy to get started

Connect via telnet or SSH, create a free account, and you're in. No email required, no hoops to jump through.

Your business is yours

No tracking, no analytics, no data collection. Your conversations stay on the board. We're not interested in your data - we're interested in good company.

Runs on anything with a terminal

Telnet or SSH from your Mac, Linux box, Windows, or phone. We recommend PhotonTERM for the best experience.

Open source, always

PhotonBBS is GPL-licensed and on GitHub. Run your own board, modify the code, or submit a pull request. Terminal Tavern itself is community-driven - if you want a feature, you can help build it.

Active development

New games, new features, and regular updates. Built and maintained by someone who uses it every day.

Growing community

A friendly mix of old-school BBS veterans and curious newcomers. Come help us build something worth hanging around for.

Come on in.

The door's always open. Grab a terminal and say hello.

Or from your terminal: telnet terminaltavern.com

SSH: ssh bbs@terminaltavern.com -p 2222

Get involved.