M.U.L.E. — stories left

In the game's original designs, land was sold by auction, but this caused a feedback loop in which the wealthiest player had the most land and thus made the most money; thus, the developers created the "land authority" that gives each player a free plot of land each turn.

Bunten stated that Ozark did not port the game to the Apple II because "M.U.L.E. can't be done for an Apple".

Praising the "human engineering" that created the Atari 8-bit version's user interface, the magazine called it "All in all, a superior game".

The magazine praised it as offering "valuable lessons" on economic topics, noting that "Most of them are learned the hard way", and concluded that "The game feels good" and "virtually flawless" because of the human-computer and human-human competition.

He wrote that it would have "incredible lasting power, just like the best of the board games" and stated "I learned more about the economics of the marketplace from M.U.L.E. than I ever did in college".

Leo Laporte of Hi-Res also said that he learned more economics from the game than during college.

It ought to make them rich anyway", praised its theme as "most captivating musical come-on I've ever heard", and concluded "If you ask me, M.U.L.E. is the perfect game.

Orson Scott Card in Compute! in 1983 gave M.U.L.E. and two other EA games, Archon: The Light and the Dark and Worms?, complimentary reviews, writing that "they are original; they do what they set out to do very, very well; they allow the player to take part in the creativity; they do things that only computers can do".

The magazine listed the game in May 1988 as one of "Our Favorite Games", stating that it "requires a sense of strategy as well as proficiency at joystick maneuvers".

The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984 gave the game an overall A rating, stating that it "combines some of the best features of Monopoly with economic simulation games like [Hammurabi]" while teaching "valuable lessons in economies in a fun way".

InfoWorld's Essential Guide to Atari Computers said the game "towers over the rest".

Two of Zzap!64s reviewers stated in 1985 that M.U.L.E. was "an excellent trading game" and "recommended for both novice and skilled", while the third complained that he "found little [excitement] ... nothing to keep me interested".

In 1984 M.U.L.E. was awarded "1984 Best Multi-Player Video Game/Computer Game" at the 5th annual Arkie Awards where judges described it as "a unique blend of boardgame strategy and computer-game pacing" and noted that "since its release, 'M.U.L.E.' has gained an intense cult following".

It was named #5 of the "Ten Greatest PC Games Ever" by PC World in 2009.

Chris Crawford said of the game that considering the platform the team had to deal with, M.U.L.E. was "the greatest game design ever done."

Computer Gaming World printed in April 1994 that EA "was working on a videogame version of the game, but the design was terminated because of creative differences between the publisher and the designer".

The magazine reported a rumor in May 1994 that a "Genesis version has been completed, but EA is debating over its release", and then in August 1994 that Bunten had decided against remaking the game because EA "wanted me to put in guns and bombs".

Published in 1983, M.U.L.E. was one of the first five games from Electronic Arts, alongside Axis Assassin, Archon: The Light and the Dark, Worms?, and Hard Hat Mack.

Ozark Softscape developed the game for Atari 8-bit computers first because of its policy of developing for the most advanced computers then porting them to other platforms, removing or altering features such as sprites as necessary.

M.U.L.E. only sold 30,000 copies but was lauded by reviewers.

Orson Scott Card in Compute! in 1983 gave M.U.L.E. and two other EA games, Archon: The Light and the Dark and Worms?, complimentary reviews, writing that "they are original; they do what they set out to do very, very well; they allow the player to take part in the creativity; they do things that only computers can do".

With a score of 7.44 out of 10, in 1988 M.U.L.E. was among the first members of the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame, honoring those games rated highly over time by readers.

In 1992 and 1994 surveys of science fiction games the magazine gave the title five of five stars, calling it "An all-time computer classic, this was one of the only games ever devised that was playable and entertaining for four humans.

The magazine praised it as offering "valuable lessons" on economic topics, noting that "Most of them are learned the hard way", and concluded that "The game feels good" and "virtually flawless" because of the human-computer and human-human competition.

It ought to make them rich anyway", praised its theme as "most captivating musical come-on I've ever heard", and concluded "If you ask me, M.U.L.E. is the perfect game.

In 1984 M.U.L.E. was awarded "1984 Best Multi-Player Video Game/Computer Game" at the 5th annual Arkie Awards where judges described it as "a unique blend of boardgame strategy and computer-game pacing" and noted that "since its release, 'M.U.L.E.' has gained an intense cult following".

M.U.L.E. only sold 30,000 copies but was lauded by reviewers.