Over the last few days, I have been fiddling with formats for a new play by mail game that I want to try my hand at running. My aim is for something very small, for a relative handful of players, one very simple in design, and hand-moderated, rather than computer moderated (aka automated).

My inclination, at the moment, is to utilize PDF format for the turn results. The game, itself, will be predominantly text-based, but with PDF format, at least I have a little more flexibility with font sizes for the output of turn results, compared to going with a straight forward ASC II text format.

Right now, I am trying to sort through the layout of the turn results, in order to determine which sub-set of information lies where, in relation to other sub-sets of information, in the overall sequence of things. It's not a crucial thing, I'm sure, but rather, largely an exercise in aesthetics.

I post this message, primarily to let site visitors learn that some progress is being made with this game. The game, itself, will likely end up being a learning exercise for myself, to try and teach myself how I can run a PBM game in the current day and age.

Hi,

This is a game example of the PBeM game Fate of a Nation. Fate of a Nation is a fantasy strategy game with a strong focus on interaction between players. For more information about the game please visit our website: www.fateofanation.net

The intention is to post one new turn each week, starting today, until the end of the example. The setup and first turn was published in Norberg bulletin #5. I hope you enjoy it!

I e-mailed a list of interview questions to Rich Van Ollefen, today. Rich, as you might recall, ran a play by mail company called Flying Dutchman Games, back in the day.

Be sure to check back with us here at PlayByMail.Net, so that you don't miss this forthcoming jewel of an interview.

Ancient Empires is a game I am currently working to join. I have only skimmed the rules a this point bit it appears to be a strategy resource game with leaders. The GM (Jason) is very responsive and the game looks good, I am hoping for a new game to start within 3 weeks.

www.jason-oates-games.com

Check it out, you may like it.

Beast

The forum software used on this site was upgraded from version 1.6.1 to version 1.6.2, today.

Building off my earlier break down of the core PBM characteristics, I'm interested in seeing how modern games fail to exhibit all these features.

I am particularly interested in browser (and turn) based games (BBGs), which intuitively seem to exhibit some of these features, but fail to hook me and result in my losing interest. There are literally hundreds of these types of games out there. MPGOD lists 811 text and turn based browser games, but if you include "tick-based" games that number doubles.

I've played only a handful of these, so I will discuss those below.

The sort of games I am talking about are these:
Travian (w) - Medieval - Strategy - Closed Ended
Planetarion (w) - Space - Strategy - Closed Ended
Cosmic Supremacy - Space - Strategy - Open Ended (not actually browser based as it uses a downloadable client)
Astro Empires - Space - Strategy - Open Ended

Like I said before, there are hundreds of these types of games out there, but I think most of them are very shallow, too fast paced, and very repetitive. I'm out of time now, but I'll reply later with a more detailed discussion on these games.

In the meantime, if you have any experience with these types of games, share your experiences. Did they hook you, if not why not? Why don't they compare to the PBMs of old.. what is that missing element?

Hey all,

The forum must have changed or something, because I had to remake my account, but no worries.

I'm a member of the generation that grew up with ubiquitous computer games: MUDs and eventually video games, so my PBEM experience is necessarily limited.

Diplomacy is how I was introduced to the genre, then soon after I dabbled with RTG's SN:ROTE for several months. Modern games tend to lack a depth and ability to hold my interest the PBM genre can, so I'm still on the lookout for the next great game.

Play-by-Air Gaming

In Love With History, Part Two

H'Trae, PBM games, Fatwas, and Powergaming

The Legends Corner

PBM Umpire

Fun & games on Kindle

History of Social Games

Virtual PBM

Tom Philo - My Interest In History

JagdPanther Publications: A Game Inventory

Daihatsu Graceland - Fun and Games

The Great Roleplaying Myths

Index to Game Reviews in Magazines

The Chronic Rift - Play-by-Mail Games Preview

Tech Talk: It's All About Games


The Flying Buffalo Club

Why Richard Was Almost Right

Crasimoff's Quest World Start-Up Turn Page

Peter Read's Dynamic Games

But PBM *could* die, or at least fade almost completely, if a few things happened. The hobby has a large number of ''leading figures'' and it is the loss of these people which does more damage to the hobby than anything else. Unfortunately, some are going to go, for one reason or another. Hopefully, new ones will rise to replace them, or the remaining ones will take up the slack. In my opinion, the biggest threat to PBM as we know it is the loss of our industry captains. A lot of these people leave because they listen too much to doom and gloom and don't look enough at the actual figures, which is a shame. Some of them just get tired, which can happen in any industry, even one you love.

- Steve Tierney (Madhouse UK) - September 11th, 1999
Source: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games...024e2f4fdb


So, what do you think? Was old Steve Tierney of Madhouse Games right? Is the loss of industry captains the biggest threat to PBM? Or was Steve Tierney simply wrong?

I certainly think that the loss of what Steve termed "industry captains" has had a noticeable impact on the postal genre of gaming. But, in hindsight looking back over the approximate eleven and one half years since Steve posted his remarks in the rec.games.pbm newsgroup, I find myself hard pressed to conclude that he was correct.

As far as "doom and gloom" are concerned, I seem to recall that doom and gloom has been a part of discussions pertaining to postal gaming, since at least my entry into the hobby of play by mail back around 1986. That was twenty-five years ago - a full quarter of a century!

The doom and gloom for PBM gaming, of course, started well before I ever began playing PBM games. So far, play by mail gaming has survived the loss of every industry captain that it has suffered, to date. The clock is still ticking, but if you pause and think about it, the clock is always ticking. The clock will always tick for PBM games, and for the play by mail industry as a whole. Ask not for whom the bell tolls. Likewise, ask not for whom the clock ticks.

PBM has survived the loss, not just of industry captains, but of publications devoted to covering the genre of play by mail. It has survived the loss of countless individual PBM games, and the loss of thousands upon perhaps tens of thousands of PBM players. It survives, even still.

Like a Timex, PBM takes a licking, but keeps on ticking.