Quick start

Get the game
To get started with QuakeWorld one can go to https://www.nquake.com which has installers for Windows, Linux and Mac available. nQuake is a QuakeWorld starter package suitable for beginners as well as veteran players and contains:
 * the shareware version of Quake
 * a modern QuakeWorld client called ezQuake
 * 24-bit textures (optional)
 * a decent default config
 * brightskins
 * bots for offline practice
 * etc...

The nQuake installer (Windows) and install scripts (Linux/Mac) should be self-explanatory through the instructions presented on screen during installation.

When the installation is finished you launch the game with the ezQuake executable located where you installed nQuake.

Server browser
The most obvious way of connecting to an online server is to use the integrated ezQuake serverbrowser that can be reached via the menu. Press the Escape key to pull up the menu if it's not presented automatically when launching the game.

The server browser is refreshed by hitting the Space key and connecting to a server is done using the Enter key twice (first time will only show more details for the highlighted server)

Web browser
Another way of connecting to servers and viewing what games are going on is via websites such as http://www.badplace.eu which displays servers with players on them and also has convenient join / observe links which will automatically launch ezQuake and bring you to the chosen server.

Finding people to play with
Apart from simply checking the server browser, as per instructions above, and join a server with a waiting player and see if he or she is up for a game, the following ways may be good alternatives to find fellow players.

Discord chat
The main QuakeWorld Discord server located on http://discord.quake.world is a great place to hang out to meet other players to see if they are up for a game or just chat about the game in general. If you're a new player then you can ask to be assigned a Rookie role so other players know that you're new and you can also easily distinguish other new players that may pose a suitable challenge.

Serveme bot announcements
In QuakeWorld there is a bot called serveme taking up a spectator slot on pretty much all online servers. This bot can be used to relay chat messages between QuakeWorld servers as well as to a dedicated channel on the Discord channel mentioned previously. This way one can broadcast a message saying that you are looking for a game and it will be shown in different places, increasing the chances of an opponent seeing the message and joining your server (IP is shown in addition to the chat message).

The command to be used is .qw  and shall be typed into the console (bring down console using the Tilde key located below the Escape key).

Sample usage:

.qw 1on1 game here, low skill