Don't worry. Almost everyone has been stumped with MooClick at one point. Mostly because they didn't realise the difference between Player, Channel and User. This is for anyone making a multiplayer game for the first time.

The life cycle of an online game:

1) Set a username.
2) Connect.
3) Join a channel. (The server isn't a particularly lively beast - don't give it your life story.)

If you're the channel master:
4) Wait for people to join
5) Start the game when ready:
When there are enough players (e.g. Efftoo) or
immediately if you want unlimited players (such as Tanx 2)

Or an ordinary user:
Wait for the channel master to send you a message to tell you to start playing!

Then:
Send the data required for playing the game.

Finally...
If game conditions have been met (e.g. one player wins, there is a survivor etc.) end the game! This will vary depending on the game.
6) Sign off the channel.
7) Disconnect.


If you're making a game for the first time, I suggest it is turn-based. Games like Efftoo are simple to make and good for beginners. Andrew Mather has made an article about it on CafeNet (www.cafenet.cc) - it may be a good idea to read that for the inexperienced.

When you make your game with MooClick, don't forget to add an 'On Error' event. This is really important for debugging! It's preferable to use a listbox instead of a string at this stage, in case there are multiple error messages.

Common mistakes which are made TIME AND TIME again:

After you sign on to a channel, to send data to the channel you must use the Send Text/Blast Text command in the submenu Player>Channel. The command in Player will send data to the server - the other players expecting a channel message won't get it!

Commands relating to channels will produce an error if you're not signed on to one. The 'Channel: Is Master' condition and related expression will crash your game with alarming regularity unless you're on a channel.

The 'Select Channel' and 'Select User' type commands select by INDEX, not user ID.