New to PBEM, looking for some advice to get started

[Davin]

I don't really have a preference tbh. Free is cool but I would try a paid one out as well

I run Galac-Tac, a 4X space game which was mentioned earlier. It's not exactly free but I charge by the month (only $5) rather than by the turn (usually every 2-3 weeks), and you can play in as many games as you can stand during that month. I also have an offer still running that after your first $5 month you get a free year of bonus game play. With the solo game option you can play as much and fast as you want for practice and to try out various strategies before using them against humans. I'd be happy to tell you anything you'd like to know about it.

The version of Midgard you ran into is based on the new KnightGuild engine and as such has many underlying game differences from the original Midgard game from back in the 80s-90s. I still have the rights to the original version and I've been trying to find time to convert it to modern technology so we can bring up the original flavor, too. Unfortunately, I've been doing a very bad job at finding that conversion time so it'll still be quite a while before it's ready.

[Talisman]

As far as Midgard goes, is it even possible to join right now? I am interested in that one despite the fact that it is in beta, partially because it is being relaunched and it would be interesting to get in on the ground floor so to speak. I was having trouble getting anywhere on the website

Contact support@knightguild.com if you are having trouble with the web site.  It requires you to "Join" first and confirm your email.  You don't get charged for that, but it is not an immediate process.  Once you have joined, you will gain access to the forum on the site, downloads, etc.