06-26-2012, 07:37 PM
To those lurkers out there who are curious about PBM gaming (are there any out there?) -- here's another incident to shed light on a common occurrence -- missed turns!
I had a personal matter take me off of PBM for a few days -- at a most inopportune time. (No, wait. I *planned* it. I *wanted* to miss my turns, so I could write about it here! Yeah, that's the ticket!)
Renaissance's moderator sent me an alert, offering to hold up the turn for a few hours if I could get my orders in. He even suggested a few opening orders. Alas, I wasn't near email and didn't submit anything. He was a good sport and said he wouldn't charge for that turn. I now have some time before the next turn is due. I plan to get orders drafted WELL IN ADVANCE. I can always hold off mailing them, in case I want to change my mind about anything.
My position in this game seems pretty powerful, to me anyway. I have a family of 5 personae, each with a strong skill set, lots of money and local power, and a capable military array. I plan to start by mastering the local trade routes and perhaps building contacts with Near East and Central Asian families. I'll start a thread in the PBM Games section to blog about that game in detail. I will point out, though, that the game newsletter announced some half-dozen new players this turn. Not bad for a 31 year old game!
As for Victory!, the moderator said that the first turn can be back-dated almost up until the second turn is due. I assume that's because no hostilities are allowed until turn 3. So there's not much I can do on turn one that would impact anyone else. My beloved homeland of Bulgaria has a small but functioning economy and a skeleton army garrison to provide nominal protection. I have no air forces or naval fleets yet. That's what the first couple turns are for, I guess!
So while the pressure is still on, I have a few days to get my orders truly straightened out. I will blog about that game in its own thread as well. I should warn you that I want to learn my lesson from that Far Horizons game -- no sensitive information will be published! Just vague details to convey a sense of what's going on! However, I will keep a full running narrative for myself (and a select few others?) to be published when the game is finished.
I had a personal matter take me off of PBM for a few days -- at a most inopportune time. (No, wait. I *planned* it. I *wanted* to miss my turns, so I could write about it here! Yeah, that's the ticket!)
Renaissance's moderator sent me an alert, offering to hold up the turn for a few hours if I could get my orders in. He even suggested a few opening orders. Alas, I wasn't near email and didn't submit anything. He was a good sport and said he wouldn't charge for that turn. I now have some time before the next turn is due. I plan to get orders drafted WELL IN ADVANCE. I can always hold off mailing them, in case I want to change my mind about anything.
My position in this game seems pretty powerful, to me anyway. I have a family of 5 personae, each with a strong skill set, lots of money and local power, and a capable military array. I plan to start by mastering the local trade routes and perhaps building contacts with Near East and Central Asian families. I'll start a thread in the PBM Games section to blog about that game in detail. I will point out, though, that the game newsletter announced some half-dozen new players this turn. Not bad for a 31 year old game!
As for Victory!, the moderator said that the first turn can be back-dated almost up until the second turn is due. I assume that's because no hostilities are allowed until turn 3. So there's not much I can do on turn one that would impact anyone else. My beloved homeland of Bulgaria has a small but functioning economy and a skeleton army garrison to provide nominal protection. I have no air forces or naval fleets yet. That's what the first couple turns are for, I guess!
So while the pressure is still on, I have a few days to get my orders truly straightened out. I will blog about that game in its own thread as well. I should warn you that I want to learn my lesson from that Far Horizons game -- no sensitive information will be published! Just vague details to convey a sense of what's going on! However, I will keep a full running narrative for myself (and a select few others?) to be published when the game is finished.