It's a Crime (play-by-mail game)

Last updated

It's a Crime
It's a Crime lede photo of gunman.jpg
PublishersAdventures By Mail
KJC Games (current)
Publication1985;39 years ago (1985)
Genres
Players110
Playing timeVaries
Website https://www.kjcgames.com/index.php

It's a Crime (also known as 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. [1] 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.

Contents

In the 21st century, the game is run by the UK-based KJC Games which also offers a play-by-email option. [2] The contemporary version is computer moderated and allows more than 100 players per game. [3] It is largely similar to the original version, taking place in 21st century New York City, and requiring players to progress from small-time gang leader to Godfather to achieve victory. [3]

Development

It's a Crime was published in September 1985 by Adventures by Mail. [4] It was designed, written, and programmed by Jack Everitt, Robert Cook, and Michael Popolizio. [4]

When initially published, the game was an introductory-level PBM. At the outset, there were only twelve possible orders a player could issue. [1] There were another "5 or 6 for gangs and 10 for mob bosses", which made the game technically simple. [1] For each turn, some simple math was required, as players could issue orders that would allocate up to 100 percent of their gang and its resources. [1] However, the diplomacy factor added significant complexity to the game. [1] According to reviewer John F. Jainley in 1988, the game required great flexibility, and to do well, players needed to "be willing to change plans turn by turn. The game situation, players' strengths, and even the players' goals themselves, [were] constantly changing." [1]

In 1988, the editors of The Games Machine asserted that It's a Crime was "the most popular PBM game in the world, with over 10,000 players". [5] In the February 1989 issue of GM, the editors stated that it was the "most successful" game in Europe—possibly globally. [6] KJC Games was also updating the game to a version called Gang vs. Gang, lessening the importance of mob bosses. [6] By 1990, Adventures by Mail reported that over 50,000 players had played It's a Crime with the company claiming that it was "by far the most-played game in Play-By-Mail". [7] in 1993, Adventures By Mail, Inc. reported "60,000 people" had played the game since publication. [8]

Gameplay

Example order sheet from the February 1986 edition published by Adventures by Mail, illustrating how a player would transmit orders to the gamemaster. Image of a text-based 1986 order sheet for the play-by-mail game It's a Crime.jpg
Example order sheet from the February 1986 edition published by Adventures by Mail, illustrating how a player would transmit orders to the gamemaster.

During the initial decade following publication, at the game's outset, players played a gang leader who led "a group of misguided youths"—one of 500 gangs in New York City. [1] Players chose their own gang names, which included colorful varieties such as "Death Leopards", "Killer Penguins", "Molly Maguires", and "Zaphod Beeblebrox". [9] [10]

According to Hainley, success as a gang leader could lead to the next level—mob boss status. [1] Hainley described his activities leading to mob boss status in a game of It's a Crime in Paper Mayhem , a magazine for play-by-mail gamers. For example, taking blocks of new turf was helpful in bringing in new " 'cruits." [1] Having a large total gang size with associated arsenal was also consequential, composed of pros, punks, and 'cruits, all with different quality ratings. [11] He also needed to monitor the morale of his gang members as low morale caused desertions. [1] He could raise the morale of his gang by throwing parties for them. [12] Raising money was done through various methods including selling drugs, as well as conducting firebombing, muggings, and robberies. [13] And combinations of various orders enabled him to raise his notoriety level as a gang leader. [13] In week 21, the most successful players were chosen as mob boss and sent separate paperwork. [14]

At a certain point in games, gangs were chosen to form crime families, transitioning the game to the "boss level". [15] At this level, gameplay changed and objectives were different, with gangs involved in tasks for their mob bosses or warring on behalf of them. [1] Players in the role of mob bosses had to try to entice additional gangs into their ranks. [1] One way to do this was to explain to them how their family would win because only the "Mob Boss" players received the additional boss rules in the mail. [15]

The final goal was Godfather. To achieve that status, a mob boss needed to quickly garner "approximately 20 loyal gangs". [1] Hainley's 1988 game example illustrated that activities in this stage of the game involved a significant amount of diplomacy to try to establish alliances, as well as "hits" on opposing crime families. [16] Hainley's activities also showed that a certain amount of backstabbing occurred in this phase as well, during attempts at alliance-making. [16] Once achieved, retaining the title of Godfather for three turns led to victory. [1] This allowed a player to play the next game free which was "the equivalent of 60-70 turn credits". [1] It also led to supporting gangs winning free credits. [1]

The 21st century game is computer moderated and allows a play-by-email option. [3] Gameplay is similar to the originally published version. Players lead one of 110 gangs in New York to build gang numbers, territory, wealth, and notoriety. [3] At the outset, players have a one-block territory with a tiny gang of the same pro's, punks, and 'cruits" from the early years of the game. [17] The player's stated task is "to become the meanest, biggest, toughest gang in the city". [17] The purpose of the game is still to become Godfather. In the contemporary version, attaining this status leads to victory. [3]

Reception and legacy

Reviewer John F. Hainley stated in 1988 that It's a Crime was "a challenging and interesting game, but it may not be suited to everyone's taste's". [18] He noted that although it appeared to be one of the least expensive PBM games available (at $1.50 per single turn in 1988), the phone coordination and diplomacy required meant that the "phone bills really went through the ceiling" during his experience in Game #12. [1] [18]

Stewart Wieck reviewed It's a Crime in White Wolf #10 (1988), rating it a 7 out of 10 and stated that "Despite [some gripes], I do suggest you try It's a Crime. Afterall, the first two turns are free." [19]

It's a Crime entered the play-by-mail field strongly, but settled to below-average player reviews in subsequent years. It won the Origins Award for Best Play-by-Mail Game of 1986. [20] In 1987, it won the HG Wells Award and the CRASH Magazine Readers Award for Best PBM Game. [5] In the November/December 1988 issue of Paper Mayhem, the game tied for #8 in the list of Best PBM Games of 1988. [21] The game won a second Origins Award as well—for Best Play-by-Mail Game of 1989. [22] In Paper Mayhem's July/August 1990 issue, in reader-generated ratings for playability, design, and product understanding, It's a Crime placed #61 out of 68 PBM games. [23] In the September/October 1992 issue, it placed #80 of 84 games, [24] and in the November/December 1994 issue it placed #71 of 72 games. [25] The game did not appear on the Paper Mayhem ratings list in the January/February 1995 issue. [26]

Reviews

See also

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 1975, 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.

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.

<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.

<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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

<i>Crasimoffs World</i> Play-by-mail game

Crasimoff's World is a play-by-mail (PBM) game that was first developed by Kevin Cropper in 1980. It is regarded as the first fantasy role-playing PBM game.

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>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.

Warlord is a closed-ended, computer moderated, play-by-mail (PBM) wargame.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Hainly July/August 1988. p. 6.
  2. "It's a Crime". KJC Games. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 KJC Games. "It's a Crime (Rule Page)". KJC Games. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "It's a Crime [Rulebook]" (1st ed.). Adventures by Mail. 1986. p. Inside front cover.{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  5. 1 2 Editors 1988. p. 107.
  6. 1 2 Editors (February 1989). "GM News: It's a Crime – Changes". GM . Vol. 1, no. 6. p. 8.
  7. "Adventures By Mail, Inc". The Journal of the PBM Gamer (4th ed.). Paper Mayhem. 1990. p. 9.
  8. "Adventures By Mail, Inc". The Journal of the PBM Gamer (7th ed.). Paper Mayhem. 1993. p. 9.
  9. Hainly July/August 1988. p. 8
  10. Hainly September/October 1988. p. 8.
  11. Hainly July/August 1988. pp. 6, 10.
  12. Hainly July/August 1988. pp. 6–7.
  13. 1 2 Hainly July/August 1988. p. 9.
  14. Hainly July/August 1988. p. 10.
  15. 1 2 Hainly September/October 1988. p. 7.
  16. 1 2 Hainly September/October 1988. pp. 8, 10.
  17. 1 2 KJC Games. "It's a Crime". KJC Games. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  18. 1 2 Hainly September/October 1988. p. 10.
  19. Wieck, Stewart (1988). "The PBM Reviews". White Wolf Magazine . No. 10. p. 56-57.
  20. The Game Manufacturer's Association 1986.
  21. Paper Mayhem 1988. p. 2.
  22. The Game Manufacturer's Association 1989.
  23. Paper Mayhem 1990. p. 64.
  24. Paper Mayhem 1992. p. 53.
  25. Paper Mayhem 1994. p. 45.
  26. Paper Mayhem 1995. p. 44–45.

Bibliography