call to action - PBM intro flyer

[ixnay]

I have a weekly game-night with some of my fellow neighborhood dads. Some of our number are quite rabid about collecting games like Catan, Twilight Imperium, Dominion, Puerto Rico, Race for the Galaxy, etc. They spend hundreds of dollars a year on this hobby. They post actively on BoardGameGeek. They watch instructional videos on youtube of how to play a new game, or to learn strategies. They install app versions of games they already own the boxes for, to hone their strategy in between game nights.

So I've been trying to interest them in some PBM stuff. Some of them are mildly curious. But I don't have a concise definition of all the goodness of PBM. So let's draft up a PBM flyer to hand out to our friends -- something that explains the concept, highlights the many benefits, and gives them a few ways to try it out or perhaps a landing page here on this forum. Anyone want to help?

For the benefits, particularly for these game-lovers who might cross over into our branch of the hobby, I have this:

- permanent record/archive of gameplay
- possibility for LARGE number of players in a given game
- social aspect
- encourages strategic thinking over twitch-play or throwaway gambits
- computer support can be a stat-lovers dream

We'd also need a few paragraphs describing PBM and PBM-likes. And perhaps some FREE games they can try, or some introductory offers by established commercial moderators...

[shimeril]

One of the things that was always publicised when I played PBM in Australia was to "play against people you wouldn't normally play against". The payoff being that you encounter new strategies, get pushed by people who approach the game differently and get tested by people outside your normal gaming group. That was the biggest drawcard of PBM to me.

Also you could put in whatever effort you wanted to. Want to roleplay your character when communicating with other in game? Go for it. When I got beautifully backstabbed in a game of Spiral Arm years ago I invented a "liquidation" company called Kiss My Ass Inc, devised a letterhead, and typed up a letter of negotiation of terms to my vanquishers. Didn't help me in the game since I was as good as dead, but made me slightly infamous amongst the players in that game and got me a bit of cred when playing against those guys in other games later on. Made me a couple of friends who I knew I could rely on in the heat of battle in future games too. But if you don't want to roleplay, then that is fine too.

Final point would be the advantage now of instant communication with fellow players via email. Playing Olympia G3, and now Steve Baillie's test game, running a DAILY turnaround if anyone is interested ( http://shadowlandgames.com/olympia/ ), the opportunity to organise group actions/alliances with players across the world with vastly different gaming experience behind them is a HUGE attractor for me to the game.

So summary time:
* play against new adversaries
* put as much, or as little, effort in as you want
* network with players globally for maximum enjoyment

[ixnay]

Good ideas. I am lucky to live among a number of local gamers, so our Friday nights are never lacking in opponents. But I do remember a high percentage of PBM gamers from back in the heyday hailed from less urban and perhaps less gamer-populated areas. I also remember Avalon Hill's attempts at fostering a play-by-mail community for their board games -- trying to match people up with opponents. That sort of exploded with Diplomacy (which they bought), so it kind of worked.

[shimeril]

I now live in a town of 400 people, 40km from the nearest town of any decent size. Getting opponents for a game means a long drive or the Internet nowadays. There were plenty of potential opponents when I grew up, but our gaming group consisted of less than a dozen people which shrank quickly once Uni, jobs, sport and girls took their toll. That's when I found out about PBM in Australia via an ad in the British GM magazine. We did have local coverage in a magazine called Breakout but the distribution of that was miniscule and without Kevin Flynn advertising in GM I would never have found PBM unless I went to games conventions - and it was PBM that got me interested in those anyway. I am, as of last week, mentoring an American player in TribeNet (run by Peter Rzechorzek in Melbourne now for many years) who literally posted this (I'm sure he won't mind):

"I am a long time gamer, but since moving to a new city seven years ago have not been able to find a regular group. I am hoping TribeNet gets me some of what I miss. Each major release of the Sid Meyer Civilization release keeps me entertained for a while, but of course it is years between releases."

PBeM to the rescue.

There is a definite future for turn based gaming via post or email. We just need to find out what is available out there, whether commercially run, like TribeNet, MiddleEarth and the offerings of Madhouse for example, or run by enthusiasts like Olympia, Atlantis and many others. Greg's list is awesome in scope but how many of them are still running? I have no idea whatsoever.