Types of text-based MMORPGs

Most text-based MMORPGs are browser based, which means that they run on your web browser (like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Netscape) due to the fact that developing game and server clients take up a lot of time, effort, money and the fact that text-based MMORPGs do not generate as much revenue as their graphical counterpart.

There are currently two types of text-based MMORPGs, which are real-time and turn-based . Text-based MMORPGs that run in real-time are like graphical MMORPGs, where when you control your character to do something, they will immediately do so without delay. The text-based MMORPG Popomundo is an example of a real-time text based MMORPG.

Text-based MMORPGs that are turn-based however, are much difference in a sense where most of the player's actions can be done only after spending a set amount of time in the gaming world. For a turn-based MMORPG, the players would get a set amount of points every turn. The players can then do specific tasks once they have accumulated enough points. The frequencies of turns vary from every text-based MMORPGs. The player may have to wait for 10 minutes, or in some other cases, for over an hour to accumulate points.

Example of how a turn-based MMORPG works:
Player A gets 3 points an hour.
To attack Player B, Player A needs to use 10 points. Therefore Player A needs to wait at least 4 hours to attack Player B.

or

Player A gets 10 points every 5 minutes.
Player A needs 5 points to buy a knife. Therefore every 5 minutes Player A can buy two knives.

Some of the popular turn-based text-based MMORPGs are Metro Wars, Dark Throne, and Omerta

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn-based_MMORPG