Re: want to learn

From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)

Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1993 01:50:40 +0000

suicide@will.apana.org.au (Paul):
>I see that there's alot of new players posting, and being one of them would
>like someone to tell us a little about PBM's. I would like to play something
>relativly easy to learn, and fun.  Could someone please tell me about such a

First, just to be clear, most of the PBMs discussed here are commercial
PBM games, which means that you pay anywhere from $3 to $30 per turn,
depending what game you're playing.  We think it's worth it...

There are various types of PBM games, ranging from role-playing games
(fantasy or sf) to strategic games to tactical games, with numberous
variations.  There are games for a dozen players each trying to build
an initial power base and ultimately rule the world and there are games
for a thousand players trying to role play their characters while learning
their way around their world.

If you want to try a PBM game, just to get your feet wet, here are three
suggestions that don't cost that much and don't put beginners at a great
disadvantage:

1. SPACE COMBAT is a purely tactical game, and brilliantly designed.
   You start out a space monster, and every turn you use the available
   stores of DNA to produce your choice of lesser space beasts and
   to direct them in their attacks on other players.  For more
   information, contact Twin Engine Gaming, 3254 Maple Leaf Ct,
   San Jose, CA 95121.  They've currently got a special on:  Try
   Space Combat and pay $20 for the entire game (about fifteen turns).
   Normally it's $3.50 per turn.  You have to have a rulebook ($1)
   before you start playing, so you'll know what you're getting into.
   One bonus is that they accept turns by email.  (I don't have their
   email address handy.)

2. KINGS AND THINGS is a silly but interesting game played by twenty
   "minor nobles" who attempt to recruit 'things' to their cause and
   use them to gain control of their island.  Each position starts with
   a different special advantage.  I don't remember who was initially
   offering this game, but I know that Graaf Simulations, PO Box 96,
   St. Clair Shores, MI 48080 (313-772-9595) offers it, and will send
   you a rulebook if you send them $1.  If you decide you want to play,
   it's $15 to get started, and I think that includes the first couple
   of turns.  Adapted from the silly-but-interesting board game.

3. MONSTER ISLAND (it really is coincidence that the games I'm listing
   all have silly premises) is a role-playing discovery game.  You
   begin as a monster (you have a choice of races, some tougher, some
   sneakier, etc.) washed onto the shore of a new and mysterious
   continent, and as you make your way inland you contact other players,
   discover the continents lost ruins and secrets, gain magical abilities,
   and build up your character.  Unlike the other two, this one's open
   ended -- it doesn't end when someone achieves a particular goal.  It's
   offered by Adventures By Mail.  I don't have address and price information
   for them, but it was probably in the recently posted PBM list.

Note that none of these is among the highest-rated PBM games on the market,
but they're all good games and reasonable ways to discover whether the
notion appeals to you.  You can play Space Combat without talking to any
of the other players (though allies can help), but the other two will entail
diplomacy, by mail or by phone.

I've tried to list games which don't give experienced players too much
advantage.  In games of that type, it's important to contact other players
and, at least initially, work with more experienced ones.

-----
Dani Zweig
dani@netcom.com

'T is with our judgements as our watches, none
   Go alike, yet each believes his own
		--Alexander Pope

References

want to learn
suicide@will.apana.org.au (Paul)
Thu, 02 Dec 1993 19:50:54 +0000