ORIGINS(TM) PBM Awards is a joke! From: Rich <ricmal@delphi.com> Date: Mon, 01 May 1995 00:00:00 +0000 I just got my ORIGINS(TM) Awards Final Ballot today, and what a joke the PBM section of it is. Of the ten games nominated for Best New and Best PBM games for the 1994 Calendar Year, three belong to Games Systems INC., three to Flying Buffalo INC. and two to Reality Simulations INC. The two remaining nominations went to Task Force Games (an award for a game it doesn't run?) and Eclipse Entertainment Inc. Which goes to show they are realy out of touch since Star Fleet Warlords is run by AGENTS OF GAMING not TASK FORCE GAMES! Yes I put some the INC's in capitals to make a point. The point being, who was on the nominations committee, or is the nominations committee really so far out of touch with reality that it has no clue as to what they are nominating for what, or a combo of both. Let's start with the Best New PBM games nominations. After each one is the Paper Mayhem (TM) "Readers Poll" position it held for the year (poll closed on 11/18/94) and its rating points based on the Paper Mayhem as well as its company ratings based on the same poll and a little commentary. LIZARDS! -- By Flying Bufffalo INC. Has never appeared on the Paper Mayhem (TM) Readers Poll. That means it couldn't even muster more than 10 responses to be included in the poll! FORGOTTEN REALMS -- Reality Simulations INC. Hit me with the silly stick, a game that was still in play-test during 1994 as a best new game? Licensed from TSR FORGOTTEN REALMS is NOT a new game, TSR's FORGOTTEN REALMS wasn't even a new game when it was released by them. It is a scenerio world for "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons," certainly NOT a new game! Not rated in the PAPER MAYHEM(TM), why because it is IN PLAYTEST, in other words not ready for public consumption! MIDDLE EARTH -- THIRD AGE circa 2950 -- Game Systems INC. This is NOT a new game, it uses the same rules as MIDDLE EARTH -- THIRD AGE circa 1650, it is a NEW SCENARIO for an OLD GAME. If by new one means something original then this fails that major test. PAPER MAYHEM doesn't differentiate between the two scenario's and rightly lumps them together as ONE GAME. Rated: 15 out of 77 with 7.398 rating. STAR FLEET WARLORDS -- AGENTS OF GAMING (not TASK FORCE GAMES as the ballot says) OUTSTANDING GAME! I never have heard a bad thing about it. It truely deserves to be nominated! And the only reason I will participate in this farce is to vote for it. Rated: 1 out of 77 with 8.418 rating TRAVELLER -- Eclipse Entertainment Inc. It qualifies as a new game, but one has to wonder when it didn't even get ten reader responses to be listed. Now lets take a look at the nominations for BEST PBM GAME 1994: DUELMASTERS -- Reality Simulations INC. I will give the game its due. It is a classic, but its long since had its day. Other gladiatorial combat games out perform it (DUEL OF A DIFFERENT COLOR, or GLADIATORS OF DEATH) and when held up to them it shows all its wrinkles and sags and the many facelift lines. Hardly deserving of being nominated. Rated: 65 out of 77 with 5.702 rating. ILLUMINATI -- Flying Buffalo INC. A classic, but it is showing its age. Rated: 53 of 77 with 6.189 rating. MIDDLE EARTH -- THIRD AGE circa 1650 -- Game Systems INC. With a rating of 15 out of 77 and 7.398 ratings points I will give in an grudgingly say this game deserves to be nominated. but there are others that deserve to be nominated much more than this tired old relic. STAR WEB -- Flying Buffalo INC. Rated 22 of 77 with 7.234 rating. Not even top 20 need I say more? STATE OF WAR -- Game Systems INC. Rated even lower than DUELMASTERS! at 69 of 77 with 5.394 rating. Given these choices I'm writing in ADVENTURERS GUILD by Entertainment Plus More, Inc. It consistently shows in the top 3 and I have never heard a bad thing about it, unlike some of the above. Now a quick peek at the company ratings which is easy since there are so few of them. Reality Simulations INC. Rated 44 of 46 with 4.504 rating. Flying Buffalo INC. Rated 13 of 46 with a 7.468 rating. Game Systems INC. Rated 31of 46 with a 6.868 rating. Agents of Gaming Rated 4 of 46 with a 8.412 rating Eclipse Entertainment INC. Not Rated. Referenced By Up