Related Research Articles
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.
Adventurers Guild was a closed-end, computer-moderated, role-playing play-by-mail (PBM) game. It was available as early as mid-1990 by the publisher, Entertainment Plus More, Inc. Multiple reviewers thought it similar to the PBM game Duelmasters, while reviewer Gordon Blair thought it better than similar games. The game received various reviews in gaming magazines in the 1990s, ranging from poor to positive.
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.
Duel II, formerly Duelmasters, is a play-by-mail game run by Reality Simulations, Inc. (RSI), where players, called managers, design and run up to five warriors per team against other managers. The game, originally titled Gladiators, and later changed to Duelmasters before settling on its current name of Duel II, has been running since at least 1985. It has been cited by Greg Lindahl's PBM page as one that is most talked about and has been a standard against which other gladiatorial PBM games have been measured. It is credited with inspiring at least one online gladiator game called Gladiator.
Reality Simulations Incorporated (RSI) is a game company in Tempe, Arizona, USA, that publishes and runs play-by-mail games.
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.
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".
Kings & Things was a computer moderated fantasy play-by-mail game published by Andon Games that was active in the 1980s and early 1990s. In the game, up to twenty players took the role of leader of a kingdom and recruited "things" or creatures to assist them in becoming the next emperor. Combat, diplomacy, and magic played significant roles in this fantasy role-playing game. Reception was generally positive, although there were comments about cumbersome turn results during the late 1980s. The game enjoyed peak reviews and ratings in the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning the Origins Award for best play-by-mail game in 1988.
CTF 2187 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 for future games, up to the rank of General.
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.
Adventurer Kings is a closed-end, computer-moderated, play-by-mail game. It was originally published by Ark Royal Games. Today it is published by Roland Danard.
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.
Sirius Command is a play-by-mail (PBM) game published by Inner Dimension Games.
Arena Combat is a closed-end, computer-moderated play-by-mail (PBM) gladiatorial combat game.
Realms of Fantasy is a closed-ended, play-by-mail (PBM) fantasy wargame. Designed in 1987 by Computer Campaigns of New Zealand, it was eventually published by Australian Wizard, Graaf Simulations in the United States, and Pagoda Games in the United Kingdom. 10 to 50 players per game roleplayed wizards vying for supremacy on a hex map that varied in size depending on the number of players. The game featured magic and combat, with diplomacy not a major factor. It received generally positive reviews in various gaming magazines in the early 1990s with reviewers highlighting its value and simplicity.
Stand and Deliver is a computer-moderated, open-ended, play-by-mail (PBM) western role-playing game. This low to medium complexity game was launched in early 1992 and set in the American West. Players had over sixty orders available for their three characters related to the western genre. Exploration, diplomacy, and combat were aspects of gameplay. It received positive reviews in various gaming magazines in the 1990s.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Watson 1993. p. 43.
- ↑ Larson 1994. p. 8.
- ↑ Wright 1994. p. 41.
- ↑ Larson 1994. p. 9.
- ↑ Editors 1994. pp. 44–45.