Middle-Earth Play-By-Mail

Last updated

Middle-Earth Play-By-Mail (or Middle-earth PBM), is a turn-based, strategy play by email and play-by-mail game set in the world of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit , including elements from ICE's Middle-earth Role Playing under licence, [1] now run by GSI. [2]

Contents

History and development

Middle Earth Play-By-Mail (or MEPBM) was created by Game Systems Inc. (GSI) and inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's books The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. [3]

In 2001, the game had multiple variants including ones set in the year 1650 or 2950 "War of the Ring, or the Fourth Age". [3] There was also a "mini-module" called "Battle of the Five Armies". [3]

Gameplay

Simply put, to win this game, you work together with your teammates to take control of the lands of Middle-earth. There is no one way to achieve this aim; instead, victory is gained through a combination of martial strength, magical prowess, and economic power. Each nation has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the best teams utilise the strengths of each of its members whilst taking advantage of the weaknesses of their opponents.

Gameplay includes factors such as "character development, nation management, economics, diplomacy, and warfare". [3]

There are several scenarios with smaller maps, including The Battle of Five Armies - based on The Hobbit, The Untold War based on the battles from The Lord of the Rings not focused on in the novels, focusing on Dol Guldur and Lothlórien which are only covered in the appendices, and variations on the main game, including Kin-strife and Gunboat variations.

Reception

Middle-earth PBM has won a number of awards since inception. It won the Origins Award for Best New Play-by-Mail Game of 1991, [4] and won the Origins Award for Best Play-by-Mail Game of 1992, [5] 1995, [6] and 1996. [7] Middle Earth PBM won Paper Mayhem's Best PBM Game of 1993. [8] Middle-earth PBM Fourth Age, circa 1000 won the Origins Award for Best New Play-by-Mail Game of 1997, [9] and the Best Ongoing Play-by-Mail Game of 1998 [10] and 1999, [11] and Middle Earth FA 1000 won for "Best Play By Mail Game" in 2001. [12] In 1998, the game was inducted into the Origins Award Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame. [13]

The game continued winning awards in the 21st century as well. It won the Origins Award Gamer's Choice: Best Play-by-Mail of 2003. [14]

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.

<i>The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game</i> 2002-2006

The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, released by Decipher, Inc. in 2002, is a tabletop role-playing game set in the fictional world of Middle-earth created by J. R. R. Tolkien. The game is set in the years between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, but may be run at any time from the First to Fourth Age and contains many examples of how to do so. Sourcebooks cover the events of The Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson's film trilogy adaptation.

<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.

<i>The One Ring Roleplaying Game</i>

The One Ring Roleplaying Game is a tabletop role-playing game set in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, set at the time between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Designed by Francesco Nepitello and Marco Maggi, the game was initially published by Cubicle 7 in 2011 under the title The One Ring: Adventures over the Edge of the Wild. Cubicle 7 continued to publish the first edition of the game until 2019. Nepitello and Maggi developed the second edition, which is published by Free League Publishing under the same title, The One Ring Roleplaying Game.

<i>Adventures in Middle-earth</i> Tabletop role-playing game

Adventures in Middle-Earth is a tabletop role-playing game originally published by Cubicle 7 in 2016 that uses the milieu of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings.

<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.

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.

Forgotten Realms, subtitled "War of the Avatars", was a computer-moderated play-by-mail game (PBM) published by Reality Simulations that was set in the Savage Frontier of the Forgotten Realms.

Starship Command is a play-by-mail game that was published by Elite Simulations.

Fall of Rome is a play-by-mail strategy wargame that was published by Enlightened Age Entertainment. Set in the period after Roman times, it involved covert action and combat. The game won the Origins Award for Best Play-By-Mail Game of 2004.

<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.

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

DungeonWorld is a play-by-mail game published by Madhouse USA. It is an open-ended, computer moderated, play-by-mail (PBM) role-playing game. Originally published as Dungeon in 1998 after playtesting, the publisher changed the name to DungeonWorld in 1999 to reflect the non-dungeon aspects of the game. In 2001, Madhouse increased the scope of the game. Players start in the fictional world of Myriad in a marketplace in the city of Berney. Various dungeons are available for players to explore and combat monsters. Players have various characters available, such as magic users, rogues, and priests. Multiple positions are also available, such as Adventurer, Trader, Monster Tribe, and Estate. The game won the Origins Awards for "Best New Play-by-Mail Game of 1998" and placed No. 1 in Flagship's "Adventure" game category in 2002 and 2003.

References

  1. ↑ "Middle-earth Enterprise". Archived from the original on 2013-09-23.
  2. ↑ "Game Systems International website".
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dobberpuhl, Jeffery (November–December 2001). "Middle Earth PBM: An In-Depth Guide For Beginners". Flagship . No. 94. p. 10.
  4. ↑ "Origins Awards Award Listing - RPGnet RPG Game Index". index.rpg.net.
  5. ↑ "Origins Award Winners (1992)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2008-04-15. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  6. ↑ "1995 list of winners". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  7. ↑ "Origins Award Winners (1996)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21.
  8. ↑ Webber, David (January–February 1994). "Best PBM Games of 1993". Paper Mayhem. No. 64. p. 2.
  9. ↑ "Origins Award Winners (1997)". Archived from the original on 2008-03-31.
  10. ↑ "Origins Award Winners (1998)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  11. ↑ "Origins Award Winners (1999)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2007-12-09. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  12. ↑ "The 2001 Origins Awards". Archived from the original on 2012-12-16.
  13. ↑ "Origins Award Winners (1997)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2008-01-30. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  14. ↑ Origins Award Winners for 2003 and Hall of Fame Inductees Archived October 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.