Publishers | Adventure Systems, Flying Buffalo |
---|---|
Years active | 1985 to mid-1990s |
Genres | Intrigue |
Languages | English |
Systems | Computer moderated |
Players | 24 |
Playing time | Open-ended |
Materials required | Instructions, order sheets, turn results, paper, pencil |
Media type | Play-by-mail |
Illuminati is a computer-moderated play-by-mail game published by Flying Buffalo Inc. It is based on the Illuminati card game by Steve Jackson Games. [1] It was originally owned by Adventure Systems but transitioned to Flying Buffalo Inc in 1986. The game's central focus is on conspiracy and intrigue and involved 24 players playing either by email or by mail in turns processed simultaneously by computer. Illuminati has won the Origins Award for Best Play-By-Mail Game seven times, once in 1985 and six times in the 1990s, and was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in 1997.
Illuminati was computer moderated. [2] It was originally owned by Adventure Systems [3] and transitioned to Flying Buffalo Inc in 1986. [4] Flying Buffalo initially ran the game so that turns were processed upon receipt, whereas play-by-mail games were normally processed on a specified date, simultaneously. This gave an advantage to play-by-email (PBEM) over play-by-mail (PBM) players, and after a break in game licensing, Flying Buffalo separated the player types into different games and processed turns simultaneously. [4]
Adventure Systems published in the Jan–Feb 1985 issue of Paper Mayhem that there had been winners in the first five games, providing details of the games themselves. The publisher stated that the first four games were for playtesting and began in February 1985. [5]
Draper Kauffman stated in 1985 that "The strange thing about this game is that it didn't start out as Illuminati", but rather that he "began with the basic concept of a PBM game of world conflict carried out by spies and secret agents, saboteurs and assassins, propagandists and opinion makers, hot money and smuggled arms, popular movements and secret conspiracies." [6]
"I am a teacher and most of the other guests at the party were other teachers, administrators, school psychologists, etc. When the phone call came, I stood in the corner talking about our failed infiltration of the International Cocaine Smugglers, our need to pick up a terrorist group, our power, influence, morale, etc. As I spoke, the room became deathly silent. When I hung up and turned back to the party, I was met with open mouthed stares of disbelief."
—Schoolteacher in Sierra Vista, AZ, on making Illuminati game coordinations at a 1990 work Christmas party. [7]
Illuminati was similar to the Steve Jackson card game of the same name in that players controlled one of various "Illuminated" groups and try to dominate the world. [8] The game's central focus was conspiracy and intrigue. [9]
24 players acted as secret organizations. [9] The game had four phases. The first phase was the "grab" phase where players attempted to control game resources. [1] Players began dropping from the game in this phase. The second phase was the consolidation phase where tensions escalated and diplomacy played a greater role. [1] The third warfare phase was followed by the fourth endgame phase. [1]
According to reviewer Jean Curley, the fundamentals were simple.
Each Illuminated group can control up to 4 other groups, who can (in turn) control from 0 - 4 other groups. The number of groups each can control is determined by the power, influence, and personnel of the group. Each turn, the player is given income money for his group and may spend it as he decides: in attack, defense, or in building up a group. Attacks may be made in an attempt to add a group to your power structure, to remove it from another players structure, or to eliminate it from the game entirely. [8]
Robert S. Cushman reviewed Illuminati PBM in Space Gamer No. 72, and stated that "For you card players, prepare to have your conspiracies expanded several-fold, and for you PBMers, get ready to enjoy a really novel game, with lots of amusing quirks." [10] Jean Kurley reviewed Illuminati in the Jan–Feb 1985 issue of Paper Mayhem . Kurley stated that, "Overall, the game plays very well," noting one drawback in "trying to crossreference some of the material in the Question-and-Answer section". [8] Curley added: "This is a game for thinkers and strategists, and for those who enjoy competition. If you like plotting, deception, and conspiracy, then I heartily endorse this game for you." [8]
Illuminati has won the Origins Award a number of times: in 1985, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995. [11] The game was added to the Origins Hall of Fame in 1997. [12] In the early 1990s, Illuminati placed between 55 and 65 percent in the Paper Mayhem play-by-mail game ratings in which readers ranked games based on playability, design, and product understanding. [lower-alpha 1]
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.
Illuminati is a card game made by Steve Jackson Games (SJG), inspired by the 1975 book, The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. The game has ominous secret societies competing with each other to control the world through various means, including legal, illegal, and even mystical. It was designed as a "tongue-in-cheek rather than serious" take on conspiracy theories. It contains groups named similarly to real world organizations, such as the Society for Creative Anachronism and the Symbionese Liberation Army. It can be played by two to eight players. Depending on the number of players, a game can take between one and six hours.
Flying Buffalo Inc. (FBI) is a game company with a line of role playing games, card games, and other gaming materials. The company's founder, Rick Loomis, began game publishing with Nuclear Destruction, a play-by-mail game which started the professional PBM industry in the United States. Loomis added games and players while introducing computer moderation and soon incorporated into the company Flying Buffalo Inc. The company published games in other genres, including card games such as Nuclear War and a role playing game called Tunnels & Trolls, a game similar to Dungeons & Dragons. Flying Buffalo acquired its 10,000th customer account number in 1980 and reached its largest size of 21 employees in 1983.
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.
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Rick Loomis was an American game designer, most notable as the founder of game publisher Flying Buffalo, which he managed until his death.
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Gaming Universal was a magazine dedicated to play-by-mail games. The magazine was published between 1983 and 1988, in two separate print runs with Bob McLain as editor of both editions. Its first print run was published by Imagascape Industries between November 1983 and 1985. The first issue was called PBM Universal, with a name change by the second issue. The second edition ran between 1987 and 1988, published by Aftershock Publishing. The magazine received average to positive reviews from other magazine editors and reviewers.
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.
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