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". "Softline" readers named the game the third most-popular Atari program of 1983. 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. Economics made fun! ... it still holds up well over all these years and, by itself, provides justification for holding onto the 8-bit Atari". In 1996, the magazine named "M.U.L.E." as #3 on its Best Games of All Time list. In 2004, "M.U.L.E." was inducted into GameSpot's list of the greatest games of all time. It was named #5 of the "Ten Greatest PC Games Ever" by "PC World" in 2009. "M.U.L.E." was listed as the 19th most important video game of all time by 1UP.com. 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."