CTF 2187

Last updated
CTF 2187
Designers Duane Wilcoxson
PublishersAdvanced Gaming Enterprises, Harlequin Games
Years active1980s to 2000s
Genres Play-by-mail
LanguagesEnglish
Players3–9 per team
Playing timeMonths
Materials requiredInstructions, order sheets, turn results, paper, pencil

CTF 2187 (also known as CTF2187) is a closed-end, computer-moderated, play-by-mail (PBM) game that was published by Advanced Gaming Enterprises in the 1980s. It involved teams of robots, of varying size and capabilities, battling on a hex-grid arena with the purpose of defeating the opposing team or their command post. Players assumed the role of a battle robot pilot. The game was tactically-focused, with combat action beginning on the first turn. Games lasted 5–10 turns, or about six months. Players began at the rank of cadet but could spend experience points earned from a completed game to increase in rank (or statistics) for future games, up to the rank of General.

Contents

Various authors wrote works of fiction about the game in the 1980s to the 2000s in publications such as Paper Mayhem and Sabledrake magazine. CTF 2187 received generally positive reviews in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In Best Play-by-Mail Game results published in the PBM magazine Paper Mayhem , the game placed No. 4 in 1989 and No. 2 in 1996. The game placed 10th in Flagship magazine's best Wargame category in its 2002 Flagship PBM Ratings list.

Play-by-mail history

Some games have long been played by mail between two players, such as chess and Go. [1] PBM play of Diplomacy —a multiplayer game—began in 1963. [2] The emergence of the professional PBM industry occurred less than a decade later. Rick Loomis, "generally recognized as the founder of the PBM industry", [3] accomplished this by launching Flying Buffalo Inc. and his first PBM game, Nuclear Destruction , in 1970. [1] Professional game moderation started in 1971 at Flying Buffalo. [4] [lower-alpha 1] Chris Harvey started commercial PBM play afterward in the United Kingdom with a company called ICBM through an agreement with Loomis and Flying Buffalo. [5] ICBM, followed by KJC games and Mitregames, led the UK PBM industry. [6] For approximately five years, Flying Buffalo was the single dominant company in the US PBM industry until Schubel & Son entered the field in about 1976 with the human-moderated The Tribes of Crane . [4] Superior Simulations was the next significant PBM company to enter the US market. They did so in 1978 with the game Empyrean Challenge which one observer stated was "the most complex game system on Earth". [4] [lower-alpha 2]

The early 1980s saw additional growth for PBM. The player base grew and game moderators were plentiful. [7] The most popular games in 1980 were Starweb and Tribes of Crane. [8] The PBM industry in 1980 comprised two large companies and some small ones. [8] In 1981, some PBM players started another company, Adventures by Mail, with the "immensely popular" Beyond the Stellar Empire . [4] [lower-alpha 3]

The proliferation of PBM companies in the 1980s supported the publication of a number of newsletters from individual play-by-mail companies as well as independent publications which focused solely on the play-by-mail gaming industry such as the relatively short-lived The Nuts & Bolts of PBM and Gaming Universal . The PBM genre's two preeminent magazines of the period were Flagship and Paper Mayhem . [9] It was within this environment that CTF 2187 was launched.

Development

Gameplay image. Image of two futuristic robots battling in an arena with trees and landscape in the background.jpg
Gameplay image.

The game's original designer was Duane Wilcoxson, with development by Debbie Leonard. [10] The game was first copyrighted in 1987 by Advanced Gaming Enterprises of Sacramento, CA. [10] By 1994, the game was available in Australia, North America, and Europe, in multiple languages. [11] In the late 1990s, Harlequin Games also published the game. [12]

CTF 2187 was computer moderated, with programming by Duane Wilcoxson. [13] [10] The publisher, Adventures by Mail, also provided players The Command Post, a newsletter that provided game updates and commentary. [14]

Gameplay

At the outset, each player created a character—a pilot. [15] New players, or cadets, could distribute fifteen points among the following six characteristics: intelligence, intuition, precision, reflexes, constitution, and luck. [15] Secondary characteristics were also used, such as experience points, which could raise the six other characteristics. [15]

Pilots operated bots, which were armed robotic fighting vehicles of varying capabilities and three varieties: light, medium, and heavy. [15] [lower-alpha 4] Light bots weighed 30–50 tons, medium were 60–70 tons, and heavy bots 80–90 tons. [16] Bots were armed with various weapons including lasers, missiles, and cannons. [13] An example was the Devastator—a Heavy Battle Bot—which weighed 80 tons and was heavily armored and armed, making it challenging to face directly by other bots. [17] [lower-alpha 5] However, the Devastator had drawbacks, including challenges with speed and control. [17] This was typical of heavy bots—they were relatively slower and easier to hit. [15] By 1997, there were 26 bot types, twenty more than the six basic types in the rulebook. [18] Bot types were generally balanced, with no one type being superior to another. [16]

Reviewer Mark Weseman stated that CTF 2187 was "a test of skill and endurance between battle robots (bots), which are usually divided in an arena measuring between 20 x 20 hexes to 30 x 30 hexes". [15] Bots were organized into teams which maneuvered their bots to target opponents' bots or their command post. [19] One point was scored per bot hit and two per command post hit. [20] Weseman stated that CTF 2187 was a tactical game, with shooting from start to finish, requiring consideration of terrain and other tactical issues. [20] In the end, both players and teams could achieve victory. [13]

Advanced Gaming Enterprises described gameplay as follows:

You assume the role of a mercenary pilot in command of a huge robotic war machine know[n] as a Battle Bot. These machines weigh in at an average of 60 tons and feature the latest in hi-tech weapons, and gadetry including Battle Computers, Lasers, Sensors, Mini Missiles, Particle Beam Cannons and much, much more! The goal of each pilot is to achieve fame and glory. ... While each game is short (about five to 10 turns or about 6 months of play) but intense combat, your Pilot lives on from game to game gaining in experience and increasing his skills. [21]

Reviewer Robert Woodard stated that CTF 2187 was a "complex, chesslike game" with six factors that players needed to monitor while playing. [16] These factors were heat from moving or weapon firing, damage, engines, terrain (which could provide cover or block lines of fire), firing arc, and range/weapon selection. [16]

Multiple game options were available which affected player and team numbers, and arena types. [16] In a 2-team game, players competed in 2-sided arenas with between six and eight other teammates versus a similar team. [16] In a 4-team game, players competed in a 4-sided arena with between two and three other teammates versus three other teams. [16] A Free For All was another annual option where players acted individually versus other pilots. [16] Tactics and team coordination were key aspects of the game. [19]

Turns comprised five phases with one movement and attack per phase. [19] Players could choose from 20 movement and 7 attack orders. [20] Turn results were detailed with both text and graphics and were about four to six pages long. [13]

After completing an arena, players received a final report and could spend experience points (XP) to raise statistic points (50 XP) or rank (200 XP). [16] The highest possible stat score was 20 and the highest rank was General. [16]

Fiction

Various authors wrote fiction articles about CTF 2187 from the 1980s to the 2000s. These included articles in Paper Mayhem by Joe Holland, John C. Muir, and Shannon Muir, such as Joe Holland's "CTF2187: War as an Alternative to War" and John Muir's multiple part "Battle for Mars" series. Shannon Muir also wrote multiple fiction articles about the game. [22] For example, she authored multiple pieces in Sabledrake magazine from 2001–2004 including works such as "CTF 2187: Storms in the Soul" and "CTF 2187: End of an Era". [23]

Reception and legacy

Reviewer Mark Weseman stated in 1988 that a drawback was an apparent incentive to focus on attacking the enemy CP. [20] However, he concluded that he "would heartily recommend CTF 2187 to anyone interested in a tactical game of bot bashing", noting that the game was "fast-paced", moved quickly, and was mature and well-moderated. [24] In 1991, Craig G. Mills stated that CTF 2187 "effectively combines ease of learning with a subtle chess-like strategy." [25] In the November–December 1993 issue of Paper Mayhem, James Penrod stated that "If you like tactical combat with a five phase turn that simulates the fog of war, polite insults in the newsletter and not too many choices to make, you will like this game." [26] In the March–April 1997 issue of Paper Mayhem, Robert R. Woodard stated that "if you're after a game with intense action and skillful play from start to finish, CTF 2187 is it!", also noting that "You don't have to spend $200.00 and a year and a half to complete a single game." [27]

In 1990, Paper Mayhem rated CTF 2187 #4 in its list of the Best Play-By-Mail Games of 1989 as voted by its readers. [28] In the November–December 1996 issue of Paper Mayhem, the game placed #2 in the list of Best PBM Games of 1996. [29] In the December 2002 – January 2003 issue of Flagship , CTF 2187 placed 10th in its best PBM Wargame category of the Flagship PBM Ratings 2002 list. [30] [lower-alpha 6]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Flying Buffalo later added games such as Battleplan and Heroic Fantasy along with Starweb and others. By the late 1980s these games were all computer moderated. [4]
  2. ↑ According to reviewer Jim Townsend, some turn results could be 1,000 pages in length and due to the occasional extended turn results there was a significant investment in time to understand what happened on a turn as well as to fill out future turn orders. He said a player without a spreadsheet was "nearly doomed from the outset". [4]
  3. ↑ This section draws from portions of the History section of the Wikipedia Play-by-mail game article.
  4. ↑ The light bot types in 1988 were Hornet and Weaver, the mediums were Incinerator and Ravager, and the heavy types were Devastator and Titan. [15]
  5. ↑ The Devastator description stated that its main weapons were "a Particle Beam Cannon with excellent Fields of Fire in its Right Arm, a Heavy Machine Cannon and Heavy Laser in its Left Arm and a Mega-Missile L-Pack in its Right Front Torso".
  6. ↑ Flagship listed the publisher for CTF 2187 at this time as Harlequin Games.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Play-by-mail game</span> Games played through postal mail, email or other digital media

A play-by-mail game is a game played through postal mail, email or other digital media. Correspondence chess and Go were among the first PBM games. Diplomacy has been played by mail since 1963, introducing a multi-player aspect to PBM games. Flying Buffalo Inc. pioneered the first commercially available PBM game in 1970. A small number of PBM companies followed in the 1970s, with an explosion of hundreds of startup PBM companies in the 1980s at the peak of PBM gaming popularity, many of them small hobby companies—more than 90 percent of which eventually folded. A number of independent PBM magazines also started in the 1980s, including The Nuts & Bolts of PBM, Gaming Universal, Paper Mayhem and Flagship. These magazines eventually went out of print, replaced in the 21st century by the online PBM journal Suspense and Decision.

Starweb is a closed-end, space-based, play-by-mail (PBM) game. First published by Flying Buffalo Inc. in 1976, it was the company's second PBM game after Nuclear Destruction, the game that started the PBM industry in 1970. Players today can choose a postal mail or email format. Fifteen players per game assume one of six available roles and explore and conquer planets within a universe comprising 225 worlds. The object of the game is to attain a predetermined number of points which are generated by various actions during gameplay. Multiple game variants are available. Starweb is still available for play as of 2021 through the company Rick Loomis PBM Games.

<i>Flagship</i> (magazine) Play-by-mail magazine

Flagship is an independent magazine for gamers that was published from 1983 to 2010. Published bimonthly in the UK, it started in 1983 for play-by-mail game (PBM) players. The magazine also had a United States edition. In 2002, it expanded coverage to encompass other types of games such as boardgames, card games, computer games, and others. Nicky Palmer was the founding editor, with Carol Mulholland assuming editorial duties as of issue No. 70. The magazine ceased publication in 2010 after issue No. 130.

<i>Legends</i> (play-by-mail game)

Legends is a turn-based, fantasy role-playing game. It is a closed-ended, computer-moderated game with a medieval setting, currently published in English by Harlequin Games. Jim Landes, owner of Midnight Games, began developing the game in 1984, eventually publishing it in December 1989 as a play-by-mail (PBM) game after over a year of playtesting. The initial game comprised a module and game system built on the publisher's existing game, Epic, and was run briefly as Swords of Pelarn before publication as Legends. The first of numerous game modules was Crown of Avalon, which allowed up to 200 players per game. Demand by 1991 was "incredible". Games could be lengthy, initially between three and ten years of play, settling into an average of three years by 2002.

Middle-Earth Play-By-Mail, is a turn-based, strategy play by email and play-by-mail game set in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, including elements from ICE's Middle-earth Role Playing under licence from GSIL. The game is now run as Middle-earth Strategic Gaming by Middle-earth Games, Ltd.

<i>Heroic Fantasy</i> Play-by-mail fantasy game

Heroic Fantasy is a computer-moderated, dungeon crawl play-by-mail game. It has been active since 1982 when it was published by Flying Buffalo. The initial edition involved nine dungeon levels. Flying Buffalo published subsequent editions due to challenging gameplay initially, eventually limiting the game to four dungeon levels with a fifth outdoors level where players can assemble an army and capture one or more castles. The game is open-ended; gameplay continues until players decide to stop.

<i>Hyborian War</i> Fantasy role-playing game

Hyborian War is a play-by-mail game published by Reality Simulations, Inc. It takes place during the Hyborian Age in the world of Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. The game has been continuously available for worldwide play since its inception in 1985 and has changed little in its overall format. It uses a computer program to adjudicate player orders. Although it relies on postal mail or email and has turnaround times which are relatively long for the digital age of video games, Hyborian War has remained active into the 21st century.

Midgard is an open-end, medieval fantasy play-by-mail game. It was published in 1984 by Time Space Simulations. Through 1996, the game passed through more than four different publishers, including Midgard USA. As of 2022, Talisman Games is the publisher. At initial publication, Midgard was computer moderated with partial human moderation.

Paper Mayhem is an out-of-print play-by-mail (PBM) game magazine that was published in Ottawa, Illinois. The staff published the initial issue in July 1983 and the magazine ran until mid-1998. Its format was 40 pages published six times per year. The magazine was the most well-known of the play-by-mail periodicals of the period, providing articles and reviews of play-by-mail games, as well as reader-informed ratings of play-by-mail companies, game masters (GMs) and games, both intermittently and on an annual basis. The magazine, along with its long-time editor-in-chief, David Webber, was influential in the play-by-mail community, even echoing into 21st century play-by-mail activities. The publication ceased suddenly in mid-1998 following the unexpected death of Webber.

Beyond the Stellar Empire is a play-by-email (PBM) game. Originally published by Adventures By Mail, BSE was an open-ended "space opera" with a single available game that began in playtesting in 1981. According to Stephen Marte, during the mid-1980s, like "Tribes of Crane and Midgard, BSE [was] the stomping ground of many of PBM's best power gamers". The game had two variants, one monitored by Game Masters who imposed artificial constraints, and another without constraints. Gameplay took place on a vast space stage where mega-corporations formed the dominant organizing framework, alongside various other groups that players could join to pursue tasks to advance, collaborate with other players, and progress to more senior positions such as space colony governors. Beyond the Stellar Empire placed #5 and #11 for Best PBM Game of the Year in 1987 and 1988, respectively, in Paper Mayhem, a magazine for play-by-mail games. In subsequent years, the game did not score well in Paper Mayhem reader ratings for playability, use, and product understanding. Beyond the Stellar Empire: The New System won the Origins Award for Best New Play-By-Mail Game of 1989.

It's a Crime is a play-by-mail (PBM) game initially published by Adventures By Mail. On publication, it was an introductory PBM game that took place in New York City in the 1990s where players attempted to raise a gang leader to the position of Godfather. During its initial decade, gameplay was technically simple at the outset, but added additional possible turn orders if players progressed to higher levels such as "mob boss". The coordination and diplomacy among players added additional complexity to the game. The game won the Origins Award in 1986 for the Best New Play-By-Mail Game of 1986 and a second Origins Award for Best Play-by-Mail Game of 1989.

Lords of the Earth (LOTE) is a play-by-email game, first published by Thomas Harlan in 1983 during a growing era of PBM games. Initially played by postal mail, the game featured mixed moderation—it was computer moderated with some human assistance. By 2002, the publisher processed turns by email (PBeM). Lords of the Earth comprises multiple campaigns, each one a separate game. Campaign 1 is the oldest, set in the mid-1800s in the "Age of Air and Steam". The settings for other campaign starts range from 2000 BCE to 1400 CE on a global scale, although one featured an outer space setting.

<i>Battle Plan</i> Play-by-mail wargame

Battle Plan is a closed-end, military strategy, play-by-mail (PBM) wargame. It was first published by Flying Buffalo Inc. in 1972, as one of the company's game offerings after Nuclear Destruction, the game that started the PBM industry in 1970. In August 2021, Rick Loomis PBM Games began publishing the game.

Adventures by Mail is a company that published play-by-mail (PBM) games. The company was founded in 1981. It published various PBM games including Beyond the Stellar Empire, It's a Crime, and Monster Island.

<i>Galac-Tac</i> Play-by-mail space exploration game

Galac-Tac is a closed-end, science fiction, play-by-mail (PBM) wargame. It was first published by Phoenix Publications in 1982. By 1990, the publisher had changed its name to Delta Games, and then later to Talisman Games. In 2010, Talisman Games changed ownership and transitioned Galac-Tac to a web-based game. It is still available for play by postal mail or email for those with web access challenges. The game has been updated as well as reviewed multiple times in its 40 years of active play. Various reviews in the 1980s and 1990s provided both positive and negative comments as well as potential areas for the game to improve. The game has been featured numerous times in the modern PBM magazine, Suspense & Decision.

<i>Victory! The Battle for Europe</i> Play-by-mail wargame

Victory! The Battle for Europe is a closed-end, military strategy, play-by-mail (PBM) wargame. The game was first published by Rolling Thunder Games, Inc. in 1991 after a period of initial growth in the PBM industry. The game centers on Europe while including parts of North Africa, the Middle East, the United States, and Canada. Forty players start each game with equal resources among countries, although geography causes differences between starting positions. Games last for about three years each. The game received positive reviews and rankings in the PBM magazine Paper Mayhem in the 1990s, including tying for second place in its Best PBM Game of 1995 list.

<i>Quest</i> (game) Play-by-mail fantasy game

Quest is an open-end, fantasy, play-by-mail (PBM) role-playing game. Initially released in the United Kingdom in 1991, by Adventures by Mail, it later became available for play in the United States, Australia, and other countries in Europe. The game has a First and Second Age, initially comprising about twenty worlds of up to 1,000 parties controlled by players. After the year 2000, the worlds consolidated into four. The current publisher is KJC Games.

Atlantrix is a fantasy roleplaying, play-by-mail game. First published by Atlantrix in 1984, it was later published by Battle-Magic Gaming.

Terra II is a open-ended, play-by-mail (PBM) wargame published by Clemens & Associates.

References

  1. 1 2 McLain 1993
  2. ↑ Babcock 2013. p. 16.
  3. ↑ The Editors 1985. p. 35.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Townsend 1988. p. 20.
  5. ↑ Harvey 2003. p. 26; Palmer 2003. p. 4.
  6. ↑ Palmer 2003. p. 4.
  7. ↑ Harvey 1984. p. 21; The Space Gamer 1980. p. 13.
  8. 1 2 Popolizio, Leblanc, and Popolizio 1990. p. 8.
  9. ↑ Paduch 1993. p. RC21.
  10. 1 2 3 Advanced Gaming Enterprises 2004. p. 2.
  11. ↑ Rogers 1994. p. 89.
  12. ↑ Editors 1997. p. 4.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Advanced Gaming Enterprises 2004. p. 2.
  14. ↑ Muir 1994. p. 97.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Weseman 1988. p. 47.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Woodard 1997. p. 25.
  17. 1 2 Schlosser 1988. p. 21.
  18. ↑ Woodard 1997. pp. 24–25.
  19. 1 2 3 Weseman 1988. pp. 47–48.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Weseman 1988. p. 48.
  21. ↑ Advanced Gaming Enterprises 1990. p. 6.
  22. ↑ Advanced Gaming Enterprises 2002.
  23. ↑ Muir 2001. Muir 2004.
  24. ↑ Weseman 1988. p. 48.
  25. ↑ Mills 1991. p. 22.
  26. ↑ Penrod 1993. p. 19.
  27. ↑ Woodard 1997. p. 26.
  28. ↑ Paper Mayhem 1990. p. 2.
  29. ↑ Webber 1996. p. 2.
  30. ↑ Flagship 2002–2003. p. 10.

Bibliography

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.