Illuminati (play-by-mail game)

Last updated
Illuminati
PublishersAdventure Systems, Flying Buffalo
Years active1985 to mid-1990s
GenresIntrigue
LanguagesEnglish
SystemsComputer moderated
Players24
Playing timeOpen-ended
Materials requiredInstructions, 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.

Contents

Development

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]

Gameplay

"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]

Reception and legacy

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]

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. For example in the Nov/Dec 1990 issue of Paper Mayhem, Illuminati ranked 40 of 73 games, [13] in the May/June 1991 issue, it ranked 43 of 76, [13] in the Nov/Dec 1992 issue, it was 53 of 83, [14] in the May/June 1993 issue, it was 44 of 76, [15] and in the July/August 1994 issue, it was 44 of 72. [16]

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.

<i>Illuminati</i> (game) Card game

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying Buffalo</span> Role-playing game publisher

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.

<i>Legends</i> (play-by-mail game) Role-playing game with a medieval setting

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Loomis</span> American game designer (1946–2019)

Rick Loomis was an American game designer, most notable as the founder of game publisher Flying Buffalo, which he managed until his death.

<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>Gaming Universal</i> Play-by-mail game magazine

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.

<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.

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.

Monster Island is a play-by-mail (PBM) role-playing game. It was initially published by Adventures By Mail in Cohoes, New York. Jack Everitt, the game designer, came up with the idea for the game in 1985. The game, which was open-ended and computer moderated, was active by 1989, expanded rapidly in North America, and within a few years had spread to Great Britain and Germany. By 1997 it was one of the longest-running PBM games. The game is currently moderated by the UK-based KJC Games.

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 in September 1985. 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—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.

<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.

<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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Torkelson 1993. p. 26.
  2. Gray 1985.
  3. Adventure Systems 1986. Inside Front Cover.
  4. 1 2 Flying Buffalo Inc. 2020.
  5. Adventure Games 1985. p. 16.
  6. Kauffman 1985. p. 29.
  7. Putnam 1991. p. 4.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Kurley 1985. p. 30.
  9. 1 2 Torkelson 1993. pp. 26–27.
  10. Cushman 1985. p. 27–29.
  11. Flying Buffalo Inc. 2020.
  12. "Origins Award Winners (1997)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2008-01-30. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  13. 1 2 Paper Mayhem 1990. p. 48.
  14. Paper Mayhem 1992. pp. 52–53.
  15. Paper Mayhem 1993. pp. 44–45.
  16. Paper Mayhem 1994. p. 48.

Bibliography

Further reading