Camelot is a multiplayer RPG game that runs on the PLATO network. Players control a knight of the round table in Arthurian times. King Arthur is sick and only the Holy Grail can save him. This is the players’ primary quest. The player can choose from different character types to play (human, dwarf, elf, hobbit, ogre, pixie), each has their own different stats which are mostly taken directly from DND (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Charisma, Armor Class), which allow for different play styles.
The game uses a first person perspective with a wire-frame view of the world, showing players where they can go. The player starts in the city but enters the dungeons beneath where most of the action takes place. Different actions such as killing monsters or stealing items from them awards score which is accumulated until the character dies or retires. The title screen of the game shows the leaderboard of the characters who reached the highest score.
Combat uses attack and defense stats which are modified by the player’s level and other stats. The player can make combat easier by trying to charm a monster they encounter. If the charm is successful the monster will join them as a companion until the effects wear off. During their quest players can also find various items and gold to help them on their way. Items can be bought and sold in a store in the city.
The game features four different difficulty modes.
A later addition of the game was auto-mapping, which allows a player to log in with a different account to a different program which shows a top-down map of the dungeon and the current location of one or more players. Any traps and secrets are not shown on the map.