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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 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.
Alamaze is a computer-moderated, fantasy, turn-based game. It was published in 1986 by Pegasus Productions as a play-by-mail game. Reality Simulations later took over game moderation. The game itself has been played with multiple versions. The initial design, released in 1986, was replaced by the "Second Cycle" in 1991, offering changes to the kingdoms and game's history. The 3rd Cycle—"The Choosing"—emerged in 2015, doubling the available kingdoms while providing modifications to them. The publisher made additional changes to the player–game interface by 2017. In February 2019, Alamaze.co published the 4th Cycle, the world of Maelstrom, after two years of development. The game is currently run by Alamaze.co as a closed-end, play-by-email (PBEM) game in a turn-based format.
Starmaster is a computer-moderated play-by-mail game that was published and administered by Schubel & Son.
Empyrean Challenge is a strategic science fiction play-by-mail (PBM) game. Published by Superior Simulations in 1978, its introduction was important to the nascent PBM industry. 150 players per game strove to dominate a cluster of star systems. Diplomacy, combat, economics, technological development, colonization, and other factors were important aspects of gameplay. Detailed work was required in all aspects of the game, requiring a significant investment in time for players. Reviewer Jim Townsend stated in 1988 that Empyrean Challenge was "the most complex game system on Earth".
Warp Force Empires is a play-by-mail game that was published by Emprise Game Systems. The game was previously called Warp Force One, but renamed in 1984 by its publisher.
Space Combat is a play-by-mail game that was published by Twin Engine Gaming. It was computer moderated.
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.
The Final Campaign is a play-by-mail space-based wargame that was published by Blue Panther Enterprises beginning in 1989.
Schubel & Son was a hobby and gaming company that published play-by-mail (PBM) games. The company began in 1974 and expanded to large-scale PBM games in August 1978. It also published the game The Tribes of Crane in 1978, followed by StarMaster in 1980 and Global Supremacy in 1982.
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.
Supernova II is a computer moderated, play-by-mail (PBM) game of space conflict.
The Next Empire is a closed-end, computer moderated, space-based play-by-mail (PBM) wargame.
Earthwood is a closed-ended, computer moderated, play-by-mail (PBM) fantasy wargame.
State of War is a closed-end, computer-moderated, play-by-mail (PBM) wargame. It was published by Game Systems, Inc.
Galactic Power is a closed-end, play-by-mail game. It was published by Vigard Simulations.
Galaxy: Alpha is a science fiction play-by-mail PBM game available for play by 1984. Bruce Lockhart of Intergalactic Games co-designed the game as an improvement on the PBM game Starmaster by Schubel & Son. A human-moderated, open-ended game of medium to high complexity, the game had a massive gameplay setting. Players focused on expansion by conquest with combat as a central feature. The game received various reviews in gaming magazines of the 1980s, receiving low marks for its poorly written rulebook with high marks for gamemaster support and generally for the game overall.
Belter is a closed-end, play-by-mail science fiction, space opera. 100 players led space corporations attempting to profit from minerals in the asteroid belt in 2050. Three players who achieved victory conditions won each game. The game received positive reviews in gaming magazines in the early 1990s.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Wieck 1988. p. 59.
- 1 2 3 4 Marte 1989. p. 36.
- 1 2 3 Marte 1989. p. 37.
- ↑ Wieck 1988. p. 61.
- ↑ Stone 1995. p. 6.