There were several entries on the Project Libertine blog back in June and July of this year, and then another gap until October 3rd, 2012. Work is currently being done on the Colony Market screen for the game.

The KJC Games forum has begun to have some new forum activity in it, this year, though activity on that particular forum site is still relatively sparse. Even still, this slight uptick is a plus.

From what I can tell, though, KJC Games' main hub of player interest remains its Phoenix: Beyond the Stellar Empire, or Phoenix: BSE, for short. Lots of postings in the Phoenix: BSE forum over the last month keep the game a hive of activity.

I attempted to register on the forums over at the Galactic Prisoners website, today, but registration currently remains disabled there.

Visiting the Galactic Prisoners Facebook page revealed some activity there in July and August of this year, including a few images that pertain to the game.

G'day everyone,

When my favourite GM got busy with real-world business recently, I went looking for something to fill the gap. I have found "Battle Academy", which is a WWII game that plays on a PC, laptop or iPad. Yes - a real wargame now on the iPad. It's a quality game that grew from a gaming concept that the BBC developed at one stage.

It has a similar look and feel to the old Squad Leader boardgame, so if you're interested in that theme, there's more details and a demo here: http://www.slitherine.com/games/bbc_ba_pc

or a youtube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixw3zuHBmZ4

But what's really interesting is the PBEM angle. Once you're familiar with the game through playing some of the (very good) campaigns, you can play other people through a Multiplayer option. Because this is a turn-based game, you submit your orders to the game server, your opponent responds and you go again. All via PBEM (well, actually it's internet upload/download but you get the idea). You can play anyone in the world, or you can issue a Private Challenge to a mate (using an agreed password) and you're away. No having to set aside time and space for a table top game - it's either on your PC, laptop or iPad.

I think it's brilliant and although I can't take home a paper map and chew over what-ifs and maybes, it's fulfilling the "tactical" itch whilst my GM gets on with his life.

Even though it's $20, I think a premium product deserves a premium price. Have a look and see what you think?

In the early days of PBM I joined a game at startup and was allotted a large state in Southern China. Two neighbouring states were much smaller so I began by conquering them. But I then felt remorse and declared the ruler "The Renunciate", retaining a modest cavalry army of personal devotees, I believe.

I don't know what happened or how long the game lasted but I wonder if this sparse description rings any bells among the older gamers? I don't remember anything more about this game, neither GM nor the game's name. I would greatly appreciate any help in locating info on this.

Today, I decided to give a "social game" a try. The game in question is one titled, "AMC The Walking Dead Social Game."

Primarily, my interest in giving the game a try was two-fold. First, I am a fan of the zombie genre of entertainment. Second, I am a fan of The Walking Dead television series by AMC.

Though tomorrow will mark my 8th month anniversary of using Facebook in conjunction with having broadband Internet access, I have only try a mere handful of Facebook games, thus far. My initial impression with these particular Facebook games that I have tried, prior to trying AMC The Walking Dead Social Game? The boredom factor tends to kick in pretty quickly. Bland novelty is how I would describe them.

Very shortly after I began playing AMC The Walking Dead Social Game, this morning, the game informed me that I had come across the remains of one of my real life cousins. That was a humorous find, to be certain, and one that was repeated a little later in the game, though this time with someone who was merely an acquaintance in real life, and not an actual family member. A little further in the game, and I encountered the remains of someone who is a fellow PBM gamer.

Unfortunately, the game also shares the bland novelty of the other Facebook games that I have tried. The zombie genre proves insufficient to save the game from becoming boring, fairly quickly. So, what does any of this have to do with play by mail gaming, you might ask?

Well, everything, of course. Everything!

Play by mail games are certainly no stranger to inducing boredom. However, AMC The Walking Dead Social Game's clicking-requirement swiftly left me yearning for the freedom that my imagination provided for many years, during my play in various PBM games. The human imagination is a vast playing field, one where no mouse clicks are required.

Over the last few years, as I have encountered and explored efforts by PBM game moderators of old to resurrect old PBM offerings, or to bring new PBM-like games to fruition, by and large, these undertakings leave me feeling as though they have co-opted the bland novelty aspect quite well, but I am far from persuaded that what they are pursuing will ultimately prove to be a success. Hopefully, I will prove to be wrong, in that regard, but it is how I feel at present, nonetheless.

The Facebook games that I have tried, thus far, seem to incorporate enticement fairly well, insofar as they make it both easy and timely to try and persuade the player to get their Facebook friends involved, where playing the game is concerned. It's one thing, for a game to entice prospective players on its own, and it's quite another thing for existing players to entice prospective players to play a given game in question.

The Walking Dead is a good analogy to play by mail gaming, I think, simply because many of the genre's adherents have felt that PBM gaming is a dead man walking for years on end, now. The postal genre of gaming seems to defy the bullet that so many doomsayers have been striving to put into its proverbial head, even as the stench and pallor of death accompanies PBM gaming in the current era. With a few exceptions, PBM gaming never seems to be far from death's door, at any given moment.

Much like the zombie virus, the search for a cure to what ails PBM may ultimately prove to be in vain. But, when one is faced with the prospect of the extinction or near-annihilation of the genre of PBM gaming, what is one to do?

Maybe the would-be saviors of play by mail are simply trying too hard. Perhaps they are missing the forest for the trees, and are unable to see the nose on their very own faces. Could it be that "the cure" is right where it has always been - right in front of us? Is it simply too obvious for any of us to notice?

To resurrect the walking dead that is play by mail, perhaps a new kind of gaming necromancy is required.

We've now got a new logo for the game's wiki; gazetteer.ilkor.com. See and read about it in our latest blog entry.

We've just finished developing our messaging system for Ilkor: Dark Rising. To read more about it and checkout the screenshots hop over to our latest blog and read all about it.

For the latest news about the development of Ilkor: Dark Rising go and checkout our blog.

If you want to checkout the signup and character creation process then you can go to our alpha website. Please ensure you let us know what you think.