 Publisher title | |
| Publishers | Palace Simulations |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1992 to unknown |
| Genres | science fiction, space opera, Role-playing |
| Languages | English |
| Playing time | fixed |
| Materials required | Instructions, order sheets, turn results, paper, pencil |
| Media type | Play-by-mail or email |
Cluster Lords is a closed-end, play-by-mail science fiction, space opera. Palace Simulations published the game which was available for play in 1992.
Cluster Lords was a closed-end PBM space opera published by Palace Simulations of Fairlawn, NJ. [1] The first game began in August 1992. [2] The game was mixed-moderated—primarily computer moderated, with some hand moderation for special actions. [3] [4] In the November–December 1993 issue of Flagship, the editors announced that the publisher was changing the name to Lords of Aphrodite with a game setting change to Venus. [5]
The game was set in the Rimworlds universe, but 25 million years earlier. [4] The game map comprised 56,000 sectors for exploration. [4] Players role-play mercenary spaceship captains. [4] Players could choose various races and one of four alien species, or "factions": the Fleerte, Nardaka, Martaane, or Groniim, each with varying advantages related to ship size, resources, and other factors. [4] Changing factions was possible every six months of play. [2] Exploration, combat, and trade were all elements of gameplay. [4]
Bob Bost reviewed the game in the January 1993 issue of Flagship. He stated, "My overall impression is that this is an excellent game that will give plenty of enjoyment. Lone rangers with little time for diplomacy can operate better than in most closed end games, though it's always wise to have a few allies for information exchange. There are opportunities for the military, explorer, and trader that should give everyone a taste of what they are looking for." [6] Nicky Palmer commented on the game in the same issue. He cautioned that the game required an investment in time for rewarding play and stating: "I've enjoyed it a good deal for its intriguing scenario, wide range of possible actions and delightful moderator." [7]
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.
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.
Legends is a turn-based, role-playing game with a medieval setting. It is currently published in English by Harlequin Games. Jim Landes—owner of Midnight Games, the game's first publisher—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 multiple game modules was Crown of Avalon, which allowed up to 200 players per game. Demand by 1991 was "incredible" according to Bruce R. Daniel in White Wolf. Games could be lengthy, initially between three and ten years of play, settling into an average of three years by 2002.
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.
World conquest was a play by mail wargame published for play in 1988 by Prime Time Simulations. It was an "operational level game of land, sea and air warfare".
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—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". Other campaigns begin from 2000 BCE to 1400 CE. Settings were global in scale, with one campaign featuring an outer space setting.
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.
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.
Feudal Lords is a closed-end, computer moderated, play-by-mail game set in medieval England. Starting as a game run through a magazine in 1977, it was first published by Graaf Simulations, later run by Flying Buffalo, Inc, and is today published by Rick Loomis PBM Games.
The Weapon is a closed-ended, science fiction, play-by-mail (PBM) game.
The Next Empire is a closed-end, computer moderated, space-based play-by-mail (PBM) wargame.
Blood Pit is a closed-end, computer-moderated, play-by-mail gladiatorial arena dueling game. Originally called Enter the Blood Pit, Emprise Game Systems purchased the game in the late 1980s and revised it, later transitioning it to play-by-email (PBeM). In 1993, White Wolf Publishing purchased the game.
Power is a closed-end, computer-moderated, play-by-mail space-based game of intrigue. It was published by Entertainment Concepts Inc. (ECI). By late 1985, an updated version of the game, Power+, had replaced Power. Gameplay involved 40 players vying for rulership of a space empire comprising 35 planets. Players could interact with hundreds of non-player forces including dozens of organization types and individuals. Each turn, players chose from a menu of available actions, many related to intrigue.
Starglobe is a space-based play-by-mail (PBM) role-playing game. It was open-ended and both computer and human moderated. Time Patterns began publishing the game in the United Kingdom in 1983. U.S. licensees included Superior Simulations and Dragonbyte. Time Patterns stopped publishing in 2000. The game's setting is a cluster of 2,000 stars. Gameplay begins at the player's homeworld called Monde. Expansion to other worlds and systems is central, led by the ambitious, morally questionable, Monde-based "Company". Players have a variety of roles they can play as starship captains. Lacking a rulebook or list of orders, players had significant leeway in gameplay and could obtain further game information through text modules obtained during gameplay. The game adhered closely to the theory of relativity, limiting the speed of travel and other aspects of gameplay.
Centurion is a space-based play-by-mail (PBM) game.
Spiral Arm is a closed-end, computer-moderated, space-based play-by-mail (PBM) game. Designed in 1983 and launched afterward by Kevin Flynn of Australian Wizard, the game was also offered for play by Graaf Simulations in the United States and Canada and Spellbinder Games in the United Kingdom. 50 positions, one run by computer, began in a spiral-shaped galaxy with up to 49 players per game vying for control of more than half of the galaxy's industrial wealth. Combat, economics, diplomacy, and technological advancement were elements of gameplay. The game received generally positive reviews in Flagship in the 1980s. Over time, publishers began running an improved Version II which outscored Version I in the 1989 Flagship Ratings.
Delenda est Carthago is an open-end, mixed-moderated, play-by-mail game. It was designed by Judith Proctor and published by her company, Waveney Games, in the United Kingdom beginning in 1986. By 1992, the game had spread to the United States. The game is set in the fantasy world of Linden in an age approximating earth's medieval age. Players role-play families with wide latitude in actions. The game received multiple positive reviews in gaming magazines in the 1980s and 1990s with reviewer Dirk Dahmann stating that it was ""unquestionably the best PBM game I have ever played". U.S. Flagship editor Bob Bost said that it was "the best role-playing game I have found".
Belter is a closed-end, play-by-mail science fiction, space opera. 100 players led space corporations attempting to profit from minerals in the asteroid belt in 2050. Three players who achieved victory conditions won each game. The game received positive reviews in gaming magazines in the early 1990s.