PBM: Death awaits us all!

[GrimFinger]

Since you've brought up the lack of activity hereabouts, then perhaps a little shove might help...

A couple of months ago I made an open offer over on the Galac-Tac forum of plenty of free Galac-Tac play to all the forum denizens provided they signed up to play a game together and post there about their turns.  That offer is still open.  If we can get enough players willing to start up a game, I think that would help revitalize activity hereabouts.

Unfortunately, not very many people are going to see that offer hidden over there.  Is there any way we can post some kind of general announcement or blog on one of the main pages to get people's attention?

It's something that we can address in the coming days. I think that we'll be able to find a solution that you are amenable to, Davin.

[Greybeard]

I can't find this forum, the link does not work. In general I am not into space games, but I wish you luck in getting the players you seek, Davin.

There are many good games out there, I would contribute with an article in S-and-D on Drakensang Online.

I signed up with Harlequin for a Legends game, but playing around with the ones on offer I pulled out. My memory is no longer a good as it was. Isn't this part of the problem, that many of us are oldies?

Elder Scrolls Online is another game that looks interesting. There is plenty out there for any PBM gamer to get their teeth into.

[sun-e]

I played pbems a life long and run our portal www.pbem-spiele.de over 10 years. We host many games on ourself, or coperated with other GMs (they host the game but we start closed rounds). We have several hundred visitors per day. Mostly are players, but many comes from backlinks like wikipedia. But one thing I can give as hint: Dont give up! Its tricky to host games and some games wont get in much players. No problem, then we run smaller rounds. Lucky there are few players they want to play THIS game. Some other games running like hell (ork Starweb). Some good games will never start. I tried to get 5-6 player together for a closed round http://www.pbemgame.com/ for free. But chanceless, only 1-2 raised their hands. But the game is nice. Worry, but I dont give up.   I love this damn kind of games... 


Worry my english is to bad to set up pbem-spiele.de to multilanguage. But several games we host are in english, like Olympa: The age of Gods: http://www.pbem-spiele.de/tag/1/ Some games like Ork can play in german and english in the same game.

[Tregonsee]

I don't remember reading issue #11.  Where can I find it?

OK, I am stupid.  I found it.  I had thought the poll message was the only thing in the thread.

[Davin]

I can't find this forum, the link does not work. In general I am not into space games, but I wish you luck in getting the players you seek, Davin.

Thanks, Greybeard.  I wonder why the link doesn't work for you - it seems to be fine for me.  I wonder if anyone else is having trouble with it.  You (or they) should be able to see Galac-Tac as a sub-forum under Play By Mail Games, if needed.

[John M]

It all boils down to choice.
And the choice is.....
Mine!

Hail GrimFinger,
That's the spirit. I created a game system because I love the game and I want it live. The choice was mine.
That's the only real reason for us to keep going on... because we want to.

-- 
GM Team
All feedback is appreciated.
Join new games at: http://clashlegends.com/

[GrimFinger]

BUT...we are still here.  I await my latest turn of Xott, the fantasy hand run RPG that has been going for a couple decades now.

I've four teams in Duelmasters (Duel2).

I've five games of Hyborean War going.

It strikes me that those ten things provide more than ample opportunity for you to write something of interest about them for the magazine.

It greatly facilitates the process of making an issue of the magazine a reality, when other people actually submit material for it, whether articles or art or photographs or letters to the editor.

[GrimFinger]

I don't remember reading issue #11.  Where can I find it?

http://playbymail.net/SuspenseAndDecisio...gazine.pdf

[GrimFinger]

S&D recaptured the look and feel of the old PBM mags such as Paper Mayhem. 25 years later, maybe something different would be more effective. I thought a letters to the editor section would be good. From the first, I thought a monthly magazine was a grueling task that would result in editor burnout, as it apparently has.
I remember a game description from an early issue that caught my interest, but now I don't remember the name of the game or the issue number. A directory of active games with short descriptions would be useful.
I quit playing PBM after my last game of Nuclear Destruction ended, after I got married 11 years ago. There was, and is, too many other things that need done. I hope to resume when I retire in a couple years. I never did get into computer or console games, other than Chess. PBM offers long periods of planning and contemplation, not instant gratification.

A Letters to the Editor section would work best, if people actually submitted letters. That's the real key, where that concept is concerned.

Burnout isn't nearly so much an issue as missing deadlines and allowing one's self to get carried away by countless other distractions in life. People on the outside looking in conclude that it is due to burnout, that the magazine falls by the wayside. The view from the inside looking out is quite different, I assure you.

What was the game about,t hat the description in an early issue caught your interest? An early issue of Suspense & Decision, you mean, correct?

A directory of active games would be similar to the Galactic View that Flagship magazine used to include in each issue. Actually, the Active PBM Games section of the PBM Wiki was intended to fill a similar role. PBM game companies never took much of an interest in it, though. I'll consider doing something along the lines of what you suggest, though. On a side note, my observation is that there exists far more interest in a renewal of PBM game son the part of players than there exists on the part of the game companies, themselves.

[GrimFinger]

I'll take it under advisement. Frequency isn't really the stumbling block, though. If anything, increased frequency acts as a sort of motivating force.