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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.
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.
Saturnalia is a play by mail (PBM) game with a fantasy setting that was first played by students at the University of Southampton before becoming a commercial enterprise in the United Kingdom.
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.
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.
Epic is a computer-moderated, fantasy play-by-mail (PBM) game.
Mobius I is a closed-end, space-based play-by-mail (PBM) wargame of space conquest. The game was first published in 1984 by Mobius Games and was subsequently published by Flying Buffalo, Inc. and Rick Loomis PBM Games.
State of War is a closed-end, computer-moderated, play-by-mail (PBM) wargame. It was published by Game Systems, Inc.
Venom is a closed-end, computer-moderated, play-by-mail (PBM) wargame. It was published by Game Systems, Inc. in 1989. Twenty players role-played demigods battling for supremacyby developing their position and winning a final battle. Demigod characters were highly customizable in the manner of spaceships for space-based PBM games. The game received generally poor reviews before the publisher revised the game in 1990 which improved the game according to one reviewer.
The Orion Nebula is an open-end, mixed-moderated, play-by-mail (PBM) space opera. It was published by the Orpheus Publishing Corporation in January 1990 after playtesting. The game was playable by postal mail, email, and CompuServe. The game was a space opera on a massive intergalactic scale. Exploration, economics and combat were elements of gameplay. Players could roleplay various positions including: Starships, Cities, Starbases, Ground Parties, and Black Markets. The game tied for 8th place in Paper Mayhem's Best PBM Game of 1989.
Starglobe is a space-based play-by-mail (PBM) role-playing game. It was open-ended and both computer and human moderated. Time Patterns began publishing the game in the United Kingdom in 1983. U.S. licensees included Superior Simulations and Dragonbyte. Time Patterns stopped publishing in 2000. The game's setting was a cluster of 2,000 stars. Gameplay began at the player's homeworld called Monde. Expansion to other worlds and systems was central, led by the ambitious, morally questionable, Monde-based "Company". Players had a variety of roles they can play as starship captains. Lacking a rulebook or list of orders, players had significant leeway in gameplay and could obtain further game information through text modules obtained during gameplay. The game adhered closely to the theory of relativity, limiting the speed of travel and other aspects of gameplay.
Spiral Arm is a closed-end, computer-moderated, space-based play-by-mail (PBM) game. Designed in 1983 and launched afterward by Kevin Flynn of Australian Wizard, the game was also offered for play by Graaf Simulations in the United States and Canada and Spellbinder Games in the United Kingdom. 50 positions, one run by computer, began in a spiral-shaped galaxy with up to 49 players per game vying for control of more than half of the galaxy's industrial wealth. Combat, economics, diplomacy, and technological advancement were elements of gameplay. The game received generally positive reviews in Flagship in the 1980s. Over time, publishers began running an improved Version II which outscored Version I in the 1989 Flagship Ratings.
Delenda est Carthago is an open-end, mixed-moderated, play-by-mail game. It was designed by Judith Proctor and published by her company, Waveney Games, in the United Kingdom beginning in 1986. By 1992, the game had spread to the United States. The game is set in the fantasy world of Linden in an age approximating earth's medieval age. Players role-play families with wide latitude in actions. The game received multiple positive reviews in gaming magazines in the 1980s and 1990s with reviewer Dirk Dahmann stating that it was ""unquestionably the best PBM game I have ever played". U.S. Flagship editor Bob Bost said that it was "the best role-playing game I have found".
Crack of Doom is an open-ended, mixed-moderated, play-by-mail game. It was designed and first published as Crack of Doom by Duane Wilcoxson and Debbie Leonard of Advanced Gaming Enterprises in 1986. They published Crack of Doom II in 1997 which ran alongside the first version. By 1997, Crack of Doom II was running under license in the United Kingdom, first under Phildee Enterprises and later under Harlequin Games. These were fantasy role-playing games, comparable in gameplay to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The games were reviewed in various gaming magazines in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, receiving generally positive reviews.
Star Saga is a open-ended, mixed-moderated, science fiction, play-by-mail (PBM) game. Infinite Odysseys published the game beginning in 1987, further improving the game over the next year. Star Saga was influenced by Traveller and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and was comparable to Starmaster. Players custom designed a home world with alien race. Players then had significant latitude to explore, colonize, wage war, and role-play in various ways in the game's sizable 3-dimensional map. The game received generally positive reviews in various gamer magazines in the 1980s and 1990s.
Cluster Lords is a closed-end, play-by-mail science fiction, space opera. Palace Simulations published the game which was available for play in 1992.
Survival Challenge is a computer-moderated, science fiction play-by-mail (PBM) game. It was published by Mindgate in 1987. Players role-played customizable characters attempting to escape an alien planet with 19 other players. Game turns encompassed a 24-hour period and players had to survive 15 days to escape the planet. The most important part of the game was determining at the outset what equipment to carry and approach to take during play. It received multiple reviews in gaming magazines in 1988, praising its premise and noting its simplicity. One reviewer thought it too simple for serious gamers.
References
- ↑ Weatherby 1988. p. 36.
- 1 2 Mindgate 1987. p. 24.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Weatherby 1988. p. 29.
- ↑ Weatherby 1988. p. 30.
- ↑ Mindgate 1988. p. 33.
- ↑ Weatherby 1988. p. 37.
- ↑ Editors 1993. pp. 44–45.