New PBM Magazine from PlayByMail.Net

For some time, now, I have given thought to creating a new PBM magazine, one whose primary focus is the postal genre of gaming. Would such an undertaking be worth whatever time, energy, and effort would be required to get it up and off the ground and published?

Honestly, I don't know. But, what I do know is that I would certainly like to try.

What would go in it, that I don't already post here on the PlayByMail.Net website? Again, I don't know. Maybe that's the challenge - perhaps the biggest challenge of all, for me, personally.

What I do know is that I don't want it to simply be a compilation of material already posted on the website here. Sure, now and again, we could inter-splice a few articles. But, by and large, what I hope to aim for would be original material, not just a rehash of existing material.

Both Carol Mulholland and David Webber, the former editors of former PBM magazines, Flagship and Paper Mayhem, respectively, have been on my mind, of late. I have been torn by the dilemma of which of the two of them that I would like to commemorate the first issue of this new PBM magazine in honor of.

Unfortunately, David passed away a few years back. Carol had a stroke, a while back, but she is still with us. Over the years, many individuals - countless individuals, perhaps - have played a pivotal role in the development and progression of the postal genre of gaming. Yet, because the focus of this particular undertaking is the creation of a new PBM magazine, I believe it to be especially appropriate for the maiden issue of this new publication to be figures closely associated with PBM magazines from the past.

Even that narrow category would properly have many names associated with it. Yet, even still, it is Paper Mayhem and Flagship that I, personally, have the longest first-hand association with.

The very first issue of any magazine holds special significance - for those who publish them, if no one else. Likewise, such holds true in the current instance, with the first issue of this new PBM magazine, as well.

And, for the very reason that the first issue holds special significance - extra special significance, if you will, all the more reason then, I think, for the first issue to be dedicated in honor of more than one person.

I could easily see either David or Carol as being properly deserving of having the first issue dedicated in their honor. That's not the part that troubles me. Rather, the thing that I have difficulty digesting is publishing a first issue of a new PBM magazine, and either of those two individuals not being paid tribute to.

So, rather than pick one or the other, I choose to pick both. This is one instance where we can have our cake and eat it, too.

That said, I really do not think that a proper first issue of a new PBM magazine is something that I can achieve alone, without assistance from others.

However much PBM gaming may have fallen by the way along the years, nonetheless, it remains indisputable that a great many warriors well indoctrinated in PBM lore remain among our number. Now, whether they - whether we - choose to share part of our PBM gaming selves with others in the form and format of a new PBM magazine, well, that remains to be seen.

I have not yet decided on a name for this new PBM magazine, and neither have I decided on a publication date.

What I have decided, however, is to give it a go.

For ease of dissemination, which might prove to be helpful to the PBM hobby a a whole, electronic format for this new magazine is imperative, I think.

However, for nostalgia's sake, as well as for advertising purposes, I believe that print on demand will suffice to facilitate placing an actual, physical copy of this new PBM magazine into people's actual, literal hands.

Others who might undertake such an undertaking as this, I fully realize might well do things an entirely different way. I understand that. I accept that. I respect that.

However, like the PBM magazines that came before, as each of them did things their way, this new PBM magazine will have to chart its own course. We'll have to find our own way.

I invite each and every last one of you, you Scions of PBM's Ever-Lasting Legacy - to join me on this journey into the future of PBM gaming.

Whether time proves this venture to be cursed, blessed, or neither, I nonetheless believe that the time is right to move forward with this project.

So as it is written, so let it be done!

In looking through old back issues of now-defunct PBM magazines from the past, I cannot help but to pause, and give the ads for various play by mail games that appeared therein a good looking over.

At times, the ads were more interesting that the articles in given issues of these old PBM magazines. The artwork wasn't always the best, but personally speaking, I think that that is one of their charms.

With regard to this new PBM magazine that I will be launching (no ifs, ands, or buts, anymore - I will make it happen, it will come to fruition), some model of advertising will accompany the publication, itself. Having never been a fan of the advertising models used by the PBM magazines that I have browsed over the years, I can't help but to think that, surely, there's got to be a better way.

I can't really envision publishing a new PBM magazine in this day and age that doesn't incorporate some model of advertising into its overall scheme of accomplishing what is to be accomplished. My take on advertising for this new PBM magazine is that it should properly be, first and foremost, a tool for promotion and advancement of the genre of PBM gaming, rather than as a tool of revenue generation.

Accordingly, a system which encompasses at least some form of free advertising for PBM games is something that I view to be imperative - imperative to the success of the overall mission, and imperative to helping any new PBM games that might come into existence going forward get a better-than-would-otherwise-be-the-case chance of succeeding, without free advertising being available to them, where this new PBM magazine in question is concerned.

Articles of some sort or other, rather than advertisements, themselves, should rightly be the the primary substance of the magazine. I think that ads and articles, both, make for a better visual blend, and that having both in a magazine of this sort will yield a more impactful publication, all things considered. Accordingly, a balance of sorts must be struck, or at least I think that such a balance should be struck, and as such, I will pursue both, with the overall aim being a more robust and healthy publication.

For PBM companies and PBM moderators wanting to advertise in a given issue of this new PBM magazine, I am leaning toward the equivalent of a half page to a full page of free advertising. In essence, they could each have one full page ad, or two half page ads, or four quarter page ads, or any combination thereof (such as one half page ad and two quarter page ads), for a given issue. Alternatively, I have considered limiting it to the equivalent of one half page of free advertising per issue, and reserving full page ads to either paid ad status, or simply at the discretion of the magazine's editor.

PBM stands for Play By Mail. It is about PBM gaming, games that are played by mail.

Modern variants on PBM games run the gamut from PBeM to MMOG. The acronym machine has run long and hard churning out a wide variety of acronyms, to try and put a better spin on the nut at the center of the gaming shell.

One thing that I want to try, using this new PBM magazine as a foundation, is a game played via a PBM magazine. In this particular instance, with what I have in mind, maybe the acronym of PBM will come to encompass Play By Magazine.

PBM magazines have historically and traditionally reported on various PBM games and carried articles about various PBM games. But, one thing that I have long wondered is whether a PBM magazine, itself, can be central to a PBM game.

Time will tell.

[attachment=85]A long time ago (let's say 1979 but I could be off by a year or so) I had just been introduced to PBM by my long time friend who, as I did, loved to play games. He had stumbled upon Starweb. It took him just a few minutes to get me hooked and soon we were playing multiple games. I also got a neighbor playing as well. Soon I had a "cult" of friends, even relatives that were playing Starweb and other games. I too would try a few outside the one game and often thought a place for gamers to go would be great. By place I meant a magazine.
Starweb, being the main thrust of my PBMing, cried out for a guide to it's only Player/Character covered by a copyright. Teh Berserker, based upon the Character from Fred Saberhagen's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserker_%28Saberhagen%29) book. I played that part many times and to this day am ranked as a Berserker.
Looking to expand upon the part I thought of starting a newsletter about the Berserker. It's name was based upon a play on words and robotics of the character.... The Nuts & Bolts of The Berserker. Just spreading the word to fellow "Webers" as we called ourselves led me to make it The Nuts & Bolts of Starweb (With Rick Loomis' permission)
The first issue was printed on the copier at my job, hand drawn and cut and pasted (for real -- typewriter to paper to cut & paste on stock) it was mailed out to its first few readers.
In a short period of time we went from:
The Nuts & Bolts of Starweb, to Nuts & Bolts of PBM to Nuts & Bolts of Gaming. There was a need for an indie Fan/magazine...
Attached is one of the later and far better covers... It is the triumphant return of NaBoG after a long wait....

No file was attached.

Wonder if that cover was talking about the old StarMaster game.

This sounds great Grimmy. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Hatch

I've spent a lot of time, the last day or so, thinking about how to approach the launching of a new PBM magazine. Since it costs no more to wish big than it does to wish small, I have decided to shoot for a monthly rate of publication.

I am well aware that both Flagship and Paper Mayhem magazines utilized a multi-month approach, either bi-monthly or quarterly as their publication goals. However, since I stand at the very beginning of the entire process, and since I want to stir the dust that has settled on the postal genre of gaming, I am going to go out on a limb and try to take a bold approach to the launch of this new PBM magazine.

How do I intend to meet this goal, month after month after month? By publishing the magazine without regard for each issue having either the same number of pages, or for each issue having a minimum number of pages.

The idea - and the thinking here - is to establish the publication from the get-go as something that its readership can associate with regularity. I want to build expectation. If they know that it's coming out, then I think that they will be more likely to gravitate towards it.

I will publish it in PDF format. Anyone that wants to make copies of it, whether in electronic format or in paper format, and share it with others will be free to do so. This, I think, is the best way to maximize exposure of the publication to the masses. In the process, I will lower the entry barrier for anyone anyone may have at least a passing interest in the subject matter discussed in this magazine. The grand object, of course, will be to grow the PBM player base by growing the magazine's readership, going forward.

Under no circumstances, whatsoever, will this undertaking become a money sinkhole. I simply won't allow it. If necessary, I will publish issues in pure text form, incorporating images and artwork as opportunity allows. Content will be king, and by and large, text will wear the crown.

With regard to publishing the magazine each month, I am less inclined to pick a specific date publish each new issue (such as the 1st or the 15th), and I am more inclined to designate specific dates on a month-by-month basis, simply because this approach will allow me to publish issues in honor of various individuals or occasions. I think that this approach will yield a publication that I, myself, will consider to be more special, and consequently, because I will consider each issue to be more special than would otherwise be the case using another publication date method, I think that it will bode well for longevity of the magazine, as time passes.

As I browse through back issues of Paper Mayhem magazine, one thing that really annoys me, all these years later, is the very small font used back then in many of the issues that I have a copy of. Accordingly, I will likely use either a 12 point or a 14 point font, when publishing most of the text contained in each issue. Granted, by publishing the magazine in PDF format, readers will be able to use the zoom feature, if needed. But, if I avoid using really small fonts to begin with, then perhaps it won't be necessary to zoom, at all.

I have decided to set a time frame of one year for the publishing of Volume 1 of the magazine. After the 12th issue has been published, I will consider anew things that I am considering now, such as frequency of publication amongst others. If the first year goes well, then maybe we can continue - or even improve upon things. If not, then we'll cross the bridge of reconsideration at that time, and if necessary, perhaps scale our ambitions back a bit.

I do need to decide on a name for the new magazine. It's really proving to be a difficult decision. Even if you don't end up liking whatever name that I choose for it, I hope that you will bear with me, and judge each issue on its own respective merits and demerits.

As we proceed forward, if you think that a given issue sucks, then by all means, step forward with gusto and lambast us for all that you are worth. If you want to praise a given issue, then that's fine, too - although the things that we get right likely won't be where any problems lie. That's why criticism plays such an important role - such an absolutely critical role - in helping to ensure a longer lifespan for the magazine.

I appreciate Ixnay's perspective that this site, PlayByMail.Net, is the reigning PBM Magazine. However, I can't upload a copy of this website or attach it to an e-mail, in order to share it with someone else. Sure, I can post a link for them to click on, but I'm wanting something with a little more meat on its bones than just a link.

I am still debating with myself whether the first issue of this new PBM magazine will launch in October or November. The first issue will likely take a little longer, since I am going to have to set up some templates to facilitate publishing each future issue in a timely and reliable manner. I'll have to choose fonts and determine page layout preferences. Once the first issue is published, though, I will have until the last day of the following month to then get the next issue out.

Right now, I have absolutely zero material ready for the first issue. So, as you can see, I clearly have my work cut out for me.

Let's see how it goes!

The magazine is going to need a name. Here's your opportunity to offer suggestions on what to name it.

Turn-Based Gaming Monthly
Imperial Informer
PBM Star
PBM Globe-Dispatch
Gaming for the Heavily Caffeinated
Dead Genre Gaming
Tribal Starfleet Trade Report
PBM Universal II
PBM Frigate
Special Action
Thinking Man Game Post

I could go on....

By the way, can I write an article? Some ideas:
- PBM is Dead, Long Live PBM (an elaboration on ideas already posted here)
- Expanding the Horizons of Turn Based Gaming (how to recruit friends)
- Cluster Wars: The Review

Also, there is a HIGHLY entertaining bit of PBM fiction that was printed probably 20 years ago in The Space Gamer, called "The Conquering Worm". I don't know how to go about getting permission to reprint it, but if there is a way this thing is one of the major hooks that got me revved up in PBM. There was also a great article in The Dragon way back when called The Fatal Flaws of Crane, which could possibly be reprinted along with a review of the current game.

Let me know how I can help!

By all means, keep on going with suggestions for the name for the magazine.

As far as writing an article goes, sure, all the better. As long as it relates to PBM gaming, you pick the topic. I haven't issued a formal call for article submissions, yet, but it's coming. I would prefer that it be original material, not a reprint from the past. We are marking forward into the future of PBM. To do that, new and original articles are a necessity.

Here are a few links that may prove useful to you, in tracking down that old Space Gamer article in question.

http://index.rpg.net/display-search.phtml?key=magazine&value=The+Space+Gamer&type=pictures

http://archive.org/details/space-gamer

http://www.sjgames.com/spacegamer/

PBM Panic
Grimfinger's Grimmoire
Grim Post

I actually have that Space Gamer in possession. I had thought about typing it out for a fun post here, but I should probably email Steve Jackson Games before doing anything like that.

I'll wait until you post a "formal call for article submissions" before I draft anything up...

If this is now getting going, re: your recent email? I (Harlequin Games and Middle Earth Game) will support this as much as we can with articles!

I vote for:

Turn-Based Gaming Monthly

Or some TBG based title. PBM is a term that new players do not understand and if you START by having to explain that, you increase the % chance of not converting them! But the title MUST contain the Essence of what we are about to pull in the NEW player and that has to be the PRIMARY aim of this endeavour. WE, 'the converted', will read this magazine whatever the title is.

Turn-Based Gaming Monthly

might appear boring to us but it does the Primary job!

Harlequin

[quote='Harlequin' pid='2503' dateline='1379070329']If this is now getting going, re: your recent email? I (Harlequin Games and Middle Earth Game) will support this as much as we can with articles![/quote]

The recent e-mail that I sent out from the site is just an e-mail. The magazine will be in PDF format.

Support with articles would be welcome, certainly. Go ahead and start writing one. I'll include it with issue # 1. We're aiming for original content, as in new articles, rather than stuff that's already been printed or already been posted online, somewhere.

[quote='Harlequin' pid='2503' dateline='1379070329']I vote for:

Turn-Based Gaming Monthly

Or some TBG based title. PBM is a term that new players do not understand and if you START by having to explain that, you increase the % chance of not converting them! But the title MUST contain the Essence of what we are about to pull in the NEW player and that has to be the PRIMARY aim of this endeavour. WE, 'the converted', will read this magazine whatever the title is.

Turn-Based Gaming Monthly

might appear boring to us but it does the Primary job!

Harlequin[/quote]

Understood. Of course, one question to ask is whether a boring title conveys a boring message?

It won't be a magazine displayed on a typical magazine stand or rack, so it may not even matter, since word of mouth is what will likely be the driving force behind dissemination of the magazine. If it is your friend or regular gaming associate who forwards a copy of the magazine to you, I think that the initial potential barrier posed by having a boring title will be rendered largely moot.

On the other hand, can a boring title connect with a potential recipient in a way that an interesting title can? Of course, what appeals to each individual can vary. So, how does one strike the right balance? Or does it even matter? This isn't directed at you, specifically, Dean, but rather, I'm just thinking aloud, here.

[quote='Harlequin' pid='2503' dateline='1379070329']But the title MUST contain the Essence of what we are about to pull in the NEW player and that has to be the PRIMARY aim of this endeavour.[/quote]

As I ponder this statement, I think that there is truth to it - although I also think that there may be more than one way to accomplish imbuing the new magazine title with the essence of what we are about.

What is the "essence" of what we "are about?"

Turn-based gaming, to be certain. But, is that the essence, or is there something more?

Fun? Entertainment? Camaraderie?

What about choosing sides? I mean, basically speaking, isn't the whole underlying purpose of going to the time, effort, and trouble of crafting a new magazine of this nature from scratch to invade the gaming world anew?

PBM is back. Right? Turn-based gaming takes many forms. Right?

What is the full measure of this essence of which you speak? For that matter, what is the bare core of the same?

The magazine is going to open the door of adventure to the reader. Right?

Or, is the essence simply - and only - turn-based gaming, the kind made famous by play by mail, but not limited thereto?

Obscure Games Quarterly (riff off a scene in 'Dodgeball')

Phoenix

Gamicron Delta

PostGame Dispatch

This likely is an incomplete list, but here's the names of some PBM magazine from the past, all of which are now no longer in active publication.

Nuts & Bolts
Paper Mayhem
PBM Universal
Gaming Universal
Flagship
American Flagship
Campaigner's Newsletter
American Gamer
The PBM Report
Simulacrum
PBM Worm

Issue # 1 of Flagship contains words from that magazine's first editor, Nicky Palmer, about why he was launching Flagship magazine. If anyone has a copy of issue # 1 of Paper Mayhem, or the first issue of any other PBM magazine, I would appreciate it if you would take time out in order to share what the stated reasons were for publishing those first issues.

For Flagship, here is the WHY behind why Nicky Palmer launched that PBM magazine all those many years ago (Winter of 1983, to be exact).

------------------------
WHY? FLAGSHIP has been launched because the Play-By-Mail hobby needs a reliable and entertaining guide through the multiplying forests of PBM games on the market. If any one of us tries to play them all we will end up spending a fortune, sometimes for an ill-conceived game which extracts money from its players for a few turns before expiring with a sigh, sometimes for more popular games which don't happen to suit our individual tastes. On the other hand, if we only play one or two games we may be missing something great! FLAGSHIP will sort out the sheep from the goats, and keep you in touch with the latest developments. We also want to bring together players from the professional and amateur wings of PBM, who today seem to have very little contact with each other.

SOURCE: Flagship - Issue # 1 - Report from the Bridge
------------------------

Yesterday, I started compiling a list of potential candidates for the name of this new magazine. While the actual list includes all suggestions posted in this forum thread to date, here are the names that I came up with, so far.

BEEYOND
Swarm of the Ancients
Godspacular
Swarming With Interest
Swarmtacular
PBM Titans
Titans of Twilight
Postal Titans
Titanic Swarm
New Guard
Hive
Ancients Scorned
Hordes
Cosmic Swarm
Stasis Vault
Pandemonium
Fundemonium
Stasis Zone
Rising Swarm
The Swarm Cometh
Minions of Mayhem
Postal Fury
Creative Violence
Postal Vengeance
Vengeful Voices
Twilight Swarm
The Swarm Cometh!
Destiny Revisited
Cosmic Spawn
PBM
TBT
Turn Based Titans
Legacy Unfolding
Postal Treasures
Turn-Based Fury
Extinction Level Event
Catastrophic Fun
Extinction Defiance
Armchair Armageddon
Geddon McFun
Beyond The Brink
Toxic Pleasures
Lotta Nerve
Nerve Center
Masters of Destiny
Destiny Ho!
Conquering Spirit
Conquerors of Extinction
American Bismarck
Worthy Souls
Game Train
Bridging The Future
Star Music
Railroad of the Gods
Chosen Friction
You Are Here!
Moon Legion
Time Heist
Groundbreakers
Funderdome
Children of Annihilation
Will Destiny
God's Will

Some of them, I simply like a given word or theme. Others have a deeper meaning, or some link or allusion to something else that I am considering exploring.

Boring has its place, in the overall scheme of things. But, is it what we want for the name of such a magazine?

A play on words and a play on themes - these are at play, pardon the pun, in my pursuit of a name for this magazine.

Sure, it's a magazine that we are creating - but, is that it? I mean, is that all that we are aiming for?

Beyond the name, itself, what is it that is the grand object of our crafting?

For contemporary commercial PBM companies, they may take a pragmatic view of it all. The postal genre of gaming is either dead or practically dead, so why belabor the point? Why beat a dead horse? If it looks like a duck, and if it walks like a duck, and if it quacks like a duck, then it's a duck - Right? Accordingly, should the emphasis be on PBM (play by MAIL) or upon the POSTAL genre, at all?

Everyone is pretty much free to create any new magazine on any subject that they want, as far as I, personally, am concerned. That said, it's not exactly as though there is an over-abundance of PBM magazines (or turn-based gaming magazines, if you prefer), of late. Or, maybe there is, and I am simply staggering blind in the dark on the subject.

For me, though, I find myself wondering how that I - me, myself, and I - can invest myself (my time, my effort, and my energy) into such a project, if it doesn't contain a part of my gaming genetic code? In other words, how vested will I become in this project, over the long term, if I feel that I have no personal connection to it - that it doesn't connect with my gaming history, that it doesn't resonate with my gaming preferences?

To be honest about it, I really don't think that it has a snowball's chance in Hell of succeeding, if I fail to sink a part of myself into this undertaking. That's not a reflection on anyone else, mind you. Granted, with sufficient participation on the part of others, a new magazine of this nature could easily thrive. But, any other magazine is not what lies posited firmly in front of me.

Rather, it's this particular magazine that confronts me.

It looms large before me. It beckons unto me. It calls my name. It cries out for me to embrace it.

For that to happen, though, there has to be what I will call "ties that bind." For one thing, it has to tie me to my gaming experience - and that entails a link, a connection if you will, to Play By Mail gaming. Thus, for me, personally, the postal genre lies at the very core of the attraction of such a project. Remove that from the equation, and I am ready to flip the off switch and move on to other things, and leave an undertaking of this nature to more capable souls.

PBM Titans
Postal Titans
Stasis Vault
Minions of Mayhem
Postal Fury
Creative Violence
Turn Based Titans
Turn-Based Fury
Extinction Level Event
Conquerors of Extinction
American Bismarck
Railroad of the Gods
Children of Annihilation

I like all of the above, particularly the bolded ones. To which I will add (for no particular reason):

- Screaming Toward Extinction
- Game Funk Railroad
- Valley of the Ancients

In regard to your last post, I must ask -- is this magazine intended to cover traditional PBM only? Postal turns, postal results? Is PBEM excluded? PBWeb?

[quote='ixnay' pid='2510' dateline='1379096486']In regard to your last post, I must ask -- is this magazine intended to cover traditional PBM only? Postal turns, postal results? Is PBEM excluded? PBWeb?[/quote]

The magazine must, for me (and me, alone, for the purpose of responding to your question), encompass play by mail. That is not to say that it must encompass only the postal genre. But, it can't shy away from it, and indeed, it should glory in it.

A couple of quick examples of ancestral descendants of postal genre games that come to mind for me are the Middle-earth and Alamaze variants that prevail, today, in the modern era. To me, these ancestral descendants enjoy a birthright, of sort, to inclusion in the pages of this new magazine. It would be tantamount to heresy to exclude them. They are cut from the same cloth. They present an equivalent experience.

My own focus in whatever I do going forward with this new magazine will, I feel, invariably return to my play by mail roots.

How to word it? The magazine will seek to bridge eras. The PBM Apocalypse is over, so to speak. Many were they that survived it. We live. We exist. We never surrendered.

We are at war. We will kick ass and take names. We will take prisoners. Some will likely get lost in a genre of gaming - in a fashion of gaming - that many no longer know even ever existed.

The Internet has remade the world. We have arrived to lay claim to it.

That's sort of how I look at it.

We are a stout breed - a hardy lot. The Warcrafts and other modern ilk of the gaming world don't threaten us. Rather, we are threatened by the quiet - by peace, itself.

We were bred for conflict. We were designed for war.

That's who we are. It's what we do.

Does that answer your question?

Not quite. I get the focus on traditional PBM. But does that exclude, say, Cluster Wars or Far Horizons, which use client software and email respectively to get turns sent back and forth? Some of these games use a web interface to the same effect. The concept is still the same -- turn-based, multiple player, hidden movement, diplomacy, game plays out over time (ie: not in one day), etc., but they are not strictly-speaking PBM.

If this is a magazine that will encompass all the "PBM-likes" out there, just with a special emphasis on traditional PBM, then that's one thing. If it is about Hyborian War and Cruent Dei and Alamaze and that handful of other old-school turn-sheet-and-print-out style of gaming, then that's another.

As per my many posts on this forum, I am highly optimistic about the future of the former, and not so much about the latter. I love it, and I still look over my turn sheets from 20 years ago with fondness. But it's not a realistic channel anymore, as far as newbies are concerned. I would love to contribute to the larger community of "PBM-likes", and would be somewhat less enthusiastic if the scope were limited to just the "PBMs". I love them, but I think an exclusive focus on them would doom any such projects to the present cloistered enclaves.

More practically, if I wrote a "PBM is dead, long live PBM" article that elaborated on (among other things) the PBM-likes, would it be in-scope for your zine?

[quote='ixnay' pid='2512' dateline='1379098761']
Not quite. I get the focus on traditional PBM. But does that exclude, say, Cluster Wars or Far Horizons, which use client software and email respectively to get turns sent back and forth? Some of these games use a web interface to the same effect. The concept is still the same -- turn-based, multiple player, hidden movement, diplomacy, game plays out over time (ie: not in one day), etc., but they are not strictly-speaking PBM.

If this is a magazine that will encompass all the "PBM-likes" out there, just with a special emphasis on traditional PBM, then that's one thing. If it is about Hyborian War and Cruent Dei and Alamaze and that handful of other old-school turn-sheet-and-print-out style of gaming, then that's another.

As per my many posts on this forum, I am highly optimistic about the future of the former, and not so much about the latter. I love it, and I still look over my turn sheets from 20 years ago with fondness. But it's not a realistic channel anymore, as far as newbies are concerned. I would love to contribute to the larger community of "PBM-likes", and would be somewhat less enthusiastic if the scope were limited to just the "PBMs". I love them, but I think an exclusive focus on them would doom any such projects to the present cloistered enclaves.[/quote]

Cluster Wars and Far Horizons are both ancestral descendants of that which came before. They are like-companions, they offer an equivalent experience.

My interest lies not in excluding contemporary games, per se, but rather, in focusing the bulk of my personal energies on the postal genre. I don't dislike technology. My interest in undertaking such a project, at all, originates with PBM gaming of the postal genre variety.

I am not opposed to others advocating for technological contemporaries.

[quote='ixnay' pid='2512' dateline='1379098761']More practically, if I wrote a "PBM is dead, long live PBM" article that elaborated on (among other things) the PBM-likes, would it be in-scope for your zine?
[/quote]

Sure. I don't take a narrow view. The point isn't to exclude, for purity's sake. If it were, then there would be no way to bridge eras.

[quote='ixnay' pid='2512' dateline='1379098761']
But it's not a realistic channel anymore, as far as newbies are concerned.
[/quote]

Tell that to players of Hyborian War, including the players new to the game.

[quote='GrimFinger' pid='2505' dateline='1379080078']

What is the "essence" of what we "are about?"

Turn-based gaming, to be certain. But, is that the essence, or is there something more?

Fun? Entertainment? Camaraderie?

What about choosing sides? I mean, basically speaking, isn't the whole underlying purpose of going to the time, effort, and trouble of crafting a new magazine of this nature from scratch to invade the gaming world anew?

PBM is back. Right? Turn-based gaming takes many forms. Right?

What is the full measure of this essence of which you speak? For that matter, what is the bare core of the same?

The magazine is going to open the door of adventure to the reader. Right?

Or, is the essence simply - and only - turn-based gaming, the kind made famous by play by mail, but not limited thereto?
[/quote]

Flagship was the The Flagship of Postal Gaming!

So maybe your magazine should be, The SOMETHING of TBG?

And yes, you have to make the reader want to open the door and come in so you can convert him/her into a PLAYER :-)

I merely outlined the PRIMARY aim, not all the fun details of how to achieve it.

As for the bare core of TBG, what it has to offer over other forms of gaming, I think that could be an article for issue 1.

Harlequin

"How to word it? The magazine will seek to bridge eras. The PBM Apocalypse is over, so to speak. Many were they that survived it. We live. We exist. We never surrendered.

We are at war. We will kick ass and take names. We will take prisoners. Some will likely get lost in a genre of gaming - in a fashion of gaming - that many no longer know even ever existed."

Hmm, surely "Ready To Explode" is the name you are questing for then?

I am torn over whether "PBM" or "TBG" is the better tag for this hobby. PBM has a long history, and while it's not an accurate description for what is now largely taking place via email, it might have more solidity and street cred among the wider "gaming in general" community. And it is, after all, the name of this esteemed web site.

Turn-based gaming seems more accurate, except there are lots of games that are turn-based. Monopoly, for instance. And it says nothing about the nature of communication and contact in this genre. It has merit, but it is as flawed as PBM.

I thought of "Distance Gaming", but that doesn't quite work either. It correctly presents the form as pitting opponents/teammates together from many various locations, but there are many forms of gaming that do the same thing today -- World of Warcraft would count as a "distance game".

"Turn-based Distance Gaming" would be pretty spot-on, but is horribly technical.

In view of such a deadlock, my advice would be to either stick with "PBM" or use some non-specific name that is otherwise vaguely inspired by the genre.

Hi Grim, Im certainly up for supporting the magazine with news and explaining what my games are about to new players, whatever the name of the tome may be.

What about "play by post"? That covers both snail mail and internet, in terms of lingo. And the concept is central in the term -- you "play" by posting your orders, and the moderator posts results to the players. It cuts out the likes of World of Warcraft, but still holds the tent flap open for play-by-web games, client-based, games, etc. PBP gaming.

Any thoughts?

(For humor's sake it could be "play via post", just to get PvP gamers riled up.)

'Play be post' is forum gaming. TBG can also refer to playing boardgames online, though for many games they are largely scaled up board games, so the terms is most accurate. Our games are not however normally designed for single players. I suppose we could go with multi-player turn based games - MPTBG or MTBG if you treat multi-player as a single word.

Anyway, I am happy with whatever if it works and have already submitted an article on Phoenix.

Greatly TBG slant!

Turn-based gaming CAN refer to board games online - and if you think about it - that's very much what PBM is too. The crossover is so close as to not matter and it widens your sphere of potential readers and contributors. Any game that is played incrementally, turn by turn, is turn-based gaming. That's the hobby's only real connection between disparate types of game from interactive fiction through postal chess to Quest and the like.

For a name suggestion I'd offer "Turnaround" - the magazine of turn-based gaming.

There's already a magazine called Turnaround in existence. There's one called Turn magazine, also.

Hmmmm...What about Turn Cycle?

Turn-Based International

Turn Based

Positive Turn

I still think Turn-Based Gaming can apply to face-to-face games, single-player computer games, etc, and as such is too broad. But the real trick is to latch on to whatever term the larger community uses most. Many of us (well, me at least) found this site while searching for "PBM Games", so as flawed as that term is, it is still useful. By the same token, if TBG is the emerging new standard, then go with it.

Grim -- I plan to pen a submission for your consideration this weekend. Any closer to choosing a name yet?

Some suggestions for the name the magazine mix...

PBM Gamer (admittedly a name I had planed to use for a PBM magazine a couple years ago, but still a good name)
PBM Review
PBM World
PBM Archive
PBM R Us
PBM Survey
PBM Files
PBM ...

Well you get the idea. :-)

As I'm late to the thread I didn't read every single post, but I did notice some that spoke of some style elements (font size, etc.). I'd be willing to help with a style guide if you like. It may seem a trivial point, but it's the details that set apart an armature newsletter from a magazine. While it's something that would evolve over time, it would be best to get at least a first pass at it before issue 1.

~Mark

[quote='Steve Tierney' pid='2568' dateline='1380883775']
Turn-based gaming CAN refer to board games online - and if you think about it - that's very much what PBM is too. The crossover is so close as to not matter and it widens your sphere of potential readers and contributors. Any game that is played incrementally, turn by turn, is turn-based gaming. That's the hobby's only real connection between disparate types of game from interactive fiction through postal chess to Quest and the like.
[/quote]
Might be worth starting a new thread as this is a very salient point. Anyone that has been to the Birmingham games expo can't have helped by notice the rising tide of board games. This I think is the origin of PBM more so than roleplaying games. As such I think that we need to renew our links with boardgames more so than online games. Storming boardgame geek is therefore a good first stop. Let's try to get a dedicated section on the home page, let's try and get reviews and updates on that site and finally, let's try and get some of their traffic into our games.

Now THAT is a good idea! BoardGameGeek is HUGE in the board game community, and board games are HUGE now. That would be the biggest potential source of new players by a longshot. I snoop around there occasionally, since I have a regular game night with the neighborhood dads. Beer is consumed. And there is a pretty fat streak of gamers out there hungry for more game-time but unable to sate their desires fully -- not enough opponents, not enough time, no time that works for everyone, etc.

PBM solves all that, and adds a lot more as we all know. If you manage to get a presence on BGG, you're getting some new eyeballs for sure.

So we can add 'virtual board game' to the mix of potential titles for our gaming niche.

Or how about Play by Correspondence?

[quote='KJC Games' pid='2584' dateline='1381321762']
[quote='Steve Tierney' pid='2568' dateline='1380883775']
Turn-based gaming CAN refer to board games online - and if you think about it - that's very much what PBM is too. The crossover is so close as to not matter and it widens your sphere of potential readers and contributors. Any game that is played incrementally, turn by turn, is turn-based gaming. That's the hobby's only real connection between disparate types of game from interactive fiction through postal chess to Quest and the like.
[/quote]
Might be worth starting a new thread as this is a very salient point. Anyone that has been to the Birmingham games expo can't have helped by notice the rising tide of board games. This I think is the origin of PBM more so than roleplaying games. As such I think that we need to renew our links with boardgames more so than online games. Storming boardgame geek is therefore a good first stop. Let's try to get a dedicated section on the home page, let's try and get reviews and updates on that site and finally, let's try and get some of their traffic into our games.
[/quote]

This is an idea that I support thoroughly. I emailed you on this KJC, do get back to me.

Harlequin

Turn-based gaming CAN refer to board games online - and if you think about it - that's very much what PBM is too.

Yes, 'turn-based gaming' can refer to a great many things, which is why I've long maintained that it's not a valid description of play by mail gaming. There is an intrinsic difference between an off the shelf game being played by mail, and a game specifically designed to be played by mail.

The fact that any board game can be played by mail if you put enough effort into it also serves to lessen the usefulness of 'turn-based gaming' as a meaningful descriptor of anything beyond the difference between a real-time strategy game and everything else.

It's not just about the method of play, I could play Monopoly by mail if I thought about it, it's also about the intent of the design.

Mark

So, no closer to choosing an unambiguous descriptor for the industry.

It needs to explain:
Turn Based/non-real time/self-paced/flexitime
The various submission and return mechanics - postal/email/forum/user interface (both online and offline)
Games commercially written purely for this medium
Text rather than graphic
Games play over months/years

It also needs to define what it is not - online poker, web monopoly as well as play by post (forum)

Further, whatever is decided on, we all have to adopt the term and plaster it all over our websites, bang it into wiki etc and use the same definition. This is very important because anyone stumbling onto one of our websites might not like our product but be interested in this concept so can search for it.

e.g.
Turn-based Correspondence (TBC) games are multi-player games written specifically to be played in non-real time. The game is maintained and processed by a company while the the players control assets within the game through correspondence. Correspondence, the submission of orders for their assets is through a medium such as sending a letter, email and/or user interface. The non-real time factor is the period between processing of orders. The can range from minutes through to weeks. This non-real time factor is a core design feature, allowing for organising large quantities of assets, in-depth strategies and communication with other players.
TBC is an umbrella term covering specific mediums of correspondence such as Play by Mail (PBM), Play by eMail (PBeM) and the online variants though differs from Online Casinos and interfaces for playing Monopoly over the web in so far as they are primarily text driven with an emphasis on depth of game play, often extending into role-play and longevity.
The games can be further sub-categorised as persistent universe, in that the assets remain active even if orders are not submitted for them; open-ended, indicating that the game has no end point or winning criteria and asynchronous in that there can be different non-real time factors for specific assets/players/situations.

I'm not on a mission to figure out for the industry what the preferable unambiguous descriptor is for the industry.

The industry has had its entire existence to figure such things out on its own. It's had the entire life span of the Internet, to date, to sort that out.