====================================================================== @@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@ @@ @@``````````@@ @@``````````@@ @@`````````````` @@@@ @@@@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@``@@ @@ @@`` @@@@@@@@@@@@ `` @@@@@@@@@@@@ `` @@@@@@@@@@@@ @@`` @@ ``@@`` @@```````````` @@``````````@@ @@```````````` @@`` `` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@@@@@@@@@@@ `` @@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@`` @@`` `` ```````````` `````````````` `` `` ====================================================================== A Fanzine for Free Computer-Moderated Play-By-Electronic-Mail Games ====================================================================== volume 97, number 1 february 22, 1997 ====================================================================== Greg Lindahl, Editor lindahl@pbm.com ====================================================================== World Wide Web: http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/pbm.html ====================================================================== Table of Contents: Opening Stuff o The Editor's Corner Articles o Playability and Game Design Regular Features o Game Descriptions & Information o Archives and subscriptions by email ====================================================================== The Editor's Corner ====================================================================== I haven't published an issue of PBEM since March 13, 1995, some 21 (er, 22) months ago. Of the 8 specific games listed in my 'zine back then, 2 (C++ Robots and Star Empires) are no longer available. But a few dozen games have sprung up to take their place. As of this writing, there are 16 free computer-moderated non-sports games, 9 free computer-moderated sports games, and of course Richard Rognlie's abstract games server has expanded from 4 games to a couple of dozen different games. Moderation of the Avalon Hill boardgame "Diplomacy" by programs known as Judges has expanded from 270 games in progress to 430 games in progress. All of these games are computer-moderated, which for the most part means that they can handle a fairly large number of players and are fairly reliable in their operation. There are also a lot of human-moderated games out there, mostly role-playing campaigns, but I don't cover those in this fanzine. During these 21 months, the genre of PC-based games pioneered by the game VGA Planets has also exploaded in popularity. New games such as Stars! and Xspace have arisen, and VGA Planets claims to have over 47,000 registered copies. Many 2-player PC strategy games now include a play-by-email mode. Unfortunately, this explosion of play-by-email interest makes it somewhat difficult for me to provide a good summary of all the games in the fanzine; I used to hand-craft separate summaries (all 8 of them), but now I am going to just use the generic PBEM list entries for each game. Please pay attention to the "Status:" of each game; some are not accepting new players, and many of the sports games have long waiting lists. I hope you enjoy this issue's article; if you have any ideas for something you'd like to write about concerning play-by-mail games in general, or computer-moderated play-by-email games in specific, please drop me a note. -- greg ====================================================================== Playability and Game Design Bill Jordan ====================================================================== I have recently submitted 2 new free games to the PBM list. I have had many years experience with games of all types and I have played a few PBM games (and moderated one) in the 1980s. In the drive for more complexity, designers sometimes cannot see the woods for the trees. I would like to share what I felt were some drawbacks of some PBMs (which are likely to be common with some existing games) and some ideas for game design. Sooner or later some players will not be able to submit turn orders in time. In one game, missing a turn ruined your chances and was even worse than not moving at all, as default orders caused absolute havoc. Game designs should have reasonable default orders or incur only a slight disadvantage for missing a turn. A good game should allow players to quickly make a move (e.g. in 15 minutes or less) if they are pressed for time. It might be desirable for a game to be complex enough to allow hours of pondering for a turn, but players should have an option to play a quick turn. Ideally turn orders shouldn't exceed a fixed size (e.g. 1 sheet of paper or the electronic equivalent.) A game should encourage player interaction. Players should not be so far apart that a player has to venture 3 or more turns in the same direction to reach another player, especially if it is a space game. In a strategy game, a player who sits back and does not get involved should not benefit while others fight it out. As well as gaining resources, one suggestion is that a player's units increase in strength with experience. Ideally, a game could be played with or without diplomacy. Some players cannot afford long distance calls, and some players may have less time for wading through huge amounts of email, but diplomacy should be there for those who want it. Rules should not be a struggle to learn. Ideally, players could jump straight into the rules immediately. This is possible even if the game is complex, if all needed player information and all his possible choices are provided at each point. The game should NOT be able to be decided by knowledge of a small technical point. It should not be essential for players to view previous turn info; players can lose turn sheets or it can be a drag searching through old turns. Games tend to grow larger as they continue, potentially becoming cumbersome. A good design can avoid sprawling turn reports and order sheets. One example: A player might start with units representing 10 warriors each; later in the game the same player might be using units representing 1000 warriors each, so the total number of units might not increase all that much. Tasks which may be necessary early in the game might be replaced by others later in the game. Ideally, turn orders should be roughly the same length, regardless of the player's position or point in game (unless they are doing very badly or very well.) Games with a winner might be best with a fixed length, say a year. Open ended games should not make it too difficult for players coming in late. It is possible for a simple game to be enjoyable. The game Diplomacy is a good example, and chess is very good. There seems to be huge numbers of space and fantasy strategy games and not a lot else. Given that there are lots of new people coming onto the net who may not have played PBM games before, I have opted for the simple approach in my 2 games. ====================================================================== Game Descriptions and Information ====================================================================== Note: This information grows old. If you are looking at this issue from an archive, please consult the web page or the file "PBM.list.gz" in the ftp archives for more up-to-date information. ====================================================================== World Wide Web: http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/pbm_list.html These two ftp sites are mirror copies of each other. Please use the closest one. FTP Site: ftp.pbm.com username: anonymous Directory: pub/pbm FTP Site: ftp.funet.fi username: anonymous Directory: pub/doc/games/play-by-mail ====================================================================== Name: Age of Discovery Type: strategic, economic/military, 19th century setting Email: doug@dgreenin.hlth.gov.bc.ca URL: http://www.islandnet.com/~dgreenin/emg-game.htm Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, wargame, economic, historical Last-Update: 1996Sep11 Description: Age of Discovery uses the same basic rules as Global Diplomacy. The main differences are: (1) there is a new map for each game, (2) all players start the game with equal size forces and (3) players do not know the layout of the entire map, but must explore to discover it. Name: Atlantis 1.9 Type: strategic economic/military, fantasy setting Duration: open ended Frequency: once per week GM: computer moderated Costs: free Email: atlantis@amber.hb.north.de Language: german Status: running; accepting new players Keywords: free, german, open-ended, email, computer, wargame, fantasy Last-Update: 1996Nov04 Description: This is another clone of Russell Wallace' original Atlantis. It's completely in german and contains several improvements over the original game. As of November '96, we have 35+ players, with a strong upward trend. Name: Core Wars (King of the Hill Tournament / KotH) Type: battling computer programs Email: pizza@ecst.csuchico.edu (subject of "koth help" or "koth faq") Cost: free URL: http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~pizza/koth/ URL: http://www.koth.org/ URL: ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/corewar URL: news:rec.games.corewar Keywords: free, open-ended, email, computer, abstract Last-Update: 1996Sep15 Description: The Pizza Server gives you access to the ``King of the Hill'' ongoing Core Wars tournament. Core Wars was invented in 1984 by D. G. Jones and A. K. Dewdney. A May 1984 article in Scientific American discusses it, as does a lovely article in my PBEM fanzine. Name: Electro-United Soccer League (EUSL) Type: sports simulation, soccer Cost: free Email: tucker@nando.net (Tucker McKinney) URL: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Field/1913/EUSLHOME.htm Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, sports, modern Last-Update: 1996Oct15 Description: Electro-United Soccer League is a PBeM soccer league game based very closely on Jeremy Billones' UEFL. You create a team of football (soccer) players, each with a position and skill level. Each turn, you pit your lineups against those of your opponents, with relative strengths and random chance determining the final score (same as UEFL). If you win, you get more resources for improving your team. You can trade players and other resources, and press wars abound. Honor and glory for the regular-season champion and the winner of the post-season Cup. In a few minor variations from the original game, I'm considering holding a few short (only 1 or 2 weekends long) tournaments mid-season to give teams an extra source of revenue, however, these tournaments, if not planned for well, may take a strain on some players. Those who sign up soon, that is, if sign-up is slow, will get to play a few pre-season games, do note that some rules (injury, suspensions) will not be in full effect for such games. EUSL, as mentioned before, is very much based on the highly popular UEFL rules. The 48 teams are divided into 4 divisions, novice, intermediate, challenge, and ultra. Managers will setup their teams for the weekend on Thursday or Wenesday, just to give me a time to receive and organize the incoming mail. 2 seasons per year (1 in Fall, 1 in Spring, possibly a summer season (who plays soccer in Summer? We do, of course). Ready to begin. Still a slight modification on the original, still a modification from the simplest. Do note: As the league is just beginning, and we NEED people to play, so as of Oct. 15, 1996, there is NO waiting list. Name: Electronic Knock Out (EKO) Type: Boxing Simulation Duration: open ended Cost: free GM: computer Email: eko-info@eko.vivi.com URL: http://www.vivi.com/ Keywords: free, open-ended, email, www, computer, sports, modern Last-Update: 1996Sep15 Description: EKO is a boxing management game. Each player manages a fighter, rated for abilities such as "strength", "speed", "height", etc. Every week the manager submits the tactics the fighter will use in each round of the fight. The tactics and the fighter's abilities are used to simulate the bout and a blow-by-blow description of the bout is generated. EKO can be played by email or through a WWW-interface. Opinion: This game is GREAT!!! If you like boxing join! -- Wesley Gabehart (1996Sep25) I like this game. Very interactive, commentaries and a detailed interface, a great game ! -- mdipres@total.net Name: Experimental Electronic Football League (EEFL) Type: sports simulation, soccer Duration: about 13 turns per season. Frequency: roughly one turn per 2 weeks GM: mixture of computer/human Email: prune@teleport.com (Bill 'Prune' Wickart) URL: http://www.drsj.com/eefl/ Keywords: free, open-ended, email, computer, sports, modern Status: full at 128 players and 55 on the waiting list Last_Update: 1996Apr08 Description: Spin-off of the UEFL for playing with rule changes. More detailed control of player positions, wider variety of team resources, matches run by software (you get a nice match chronology; simple-minded, better than a box score). About 11 days per turn, time off around winter holidays, 2 seasons per year. Name: Far Horizons Duration: open-ended Type: strageic role-playing galactic exploration/conquest URL: ftp://ftp.eskimo.com/u/r/ram/pbem/FHRules.Z Email: ram@eskimo.com Cost: none Keywords: free, open-ended, email, computer, wargame, space Last-Update: 1996Sep17 Description: My goal has been to design a realistic, open-ended simulation that let's a player play the role of a space-faring species as enjoyably as possible. Compared to similar games, Far Horizons is somewhat modest in its scope, since its goal is realistic role-playing, rather than Monty-Hall-esque space opera. Each ship, even the smallest, has a name, and your fleets are likely to be rather small. To make matters worse, ships get old and eventually have to be replaced or retrofitted. In Far Horizons, you can build normal colonies, environmentally disruptive mining colonies, or lucrative resort colonies. You can also wage war. In playing Far Horizons, you can use any text editor on any computer to read your status reports and prepare your orders - no special software is needed. You will also need a calculator, but the calculations are simple and there are not many of them. We will also have access to a custom-designed list server at eskimo.com that will forward messages to individual species or broadcast messages to all species, anonoymously or non-anonymously. Thus, if you wish, you can keep your real identity and email address secret. You are also free, of course, to communicate with other players directly. The game is free. I am retired, and Far Horizons is one of my hobbies. Name: Food Chain Type: evolving, competing organisms Duration: open-ended Freqency: either 1 or 4 per day Email: fchain@pbm.com (one turn per day) (say HELP) Email: fchain-6@pbm.com (4 turns per day) Email: fchain-e@pbm.com (experimental jungle) Email: fchain-n@pbm.com (novice jungle) URL: http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/fchain.html Email: lindahl@pbm.com (Greg Lindahl, game master) Keywords: free, open-ended, email, computer, abstract Status: 4 jungles with around 45 active players; plety of room... Last_Update: 1996Sep23 Description: This is a game of evolution: players design organisms, which eat and are eaten, and mutate. To get a copy of the rules, send a message to one of the email servers above with the word "rules" in the body of the message. The subject of your message will be ignored. Authors: Steve Andrewartha , Martin Gregory Name: Galactic Conqueror Type: strategic, economic/military, space opera setting Duration: typically 25-30 turns Frequency: typically 1 per week Email: hz@zardoz.ping.de (Harry Zimmermann) Cost: free Status: new games announce on occasion on de.alt.games.pbem Keywords: german, free, closed-ended, email, gui, computer, wargame, space Last-Update: 1997Feb03 Description: Galactic Conqueror is strategic SF-PBeM-Game for up to 50 players. Each player starts the game with a small fleet of starships and is the owner of one of several hundred planets. The winner is determined by an point system which gives points for specific actions each turn. The first player who reaches a pre-set winning score will be the winner of the game. Since there are almost no trade options in the game, player interaction mostly concerns negotiations about borders and coordination of attacks or defense. Players can: o invest in science o build industrial facilities and strongholds on planets o build ships (26 different classes) o attack enemy or neutral planets o engage in espionage or corruption o and much more... At the start of the game, each player can see only 4-10 planets, whose coordinates are given relative to his own starting-planet. Every time a new planet is conquered, all planets up to a given distance from this new one are revealed. The rules and graphical clients for PC Clones, Unix/X11, and the Atari ST can be ftped from the ftp sites. The clients are graphical point-and-click interfaces to the game. You could play without a client, but this is not recommended. The rules are available in German and English, and the turn results can be presented in either language. Whether or not you can negotiate with the other players is your problem... Name: Galaxy Type: strategic, economic/military, space opera setting Duration: typically 50-80 turns Frequency: typically 1 or 2 per week Email: rnovak@indyramp.com (Rob Novak, master waiting list keeper) Email: bampton@cs.utk.edu (Howard Bampton, blind galaxy only) Email: arma@mit.edu (Roger Dingledine, blind galaxy only) Email: rwallace@vax1.tcd.ie (Russell Wallace) Email: rko@industry.net (blind galaxy) URL: http://www.indyramp.com/galaxy/ URL: http://www.cs.utk.edu/~bampton/blind.html (blind galaxy) URL: http://www.lochnet.com/49845/rec/games/pbm/galaxyg.htm (more blind galaxy) Cost: free, mostly. There are also commercial providers(?) Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, wargame, space Description: The game typically takes place on a 100x100 2D map, with a few hundred planets and 20 to 50 players. Players compete to capture planets, which can be used for economic expansion. You can purchase technology in several different areas, allowing your ships to fight harder and move faster. Galaxy turns range in size from 10kbytes early in the game to 100-200kbytes late in the game. The rules and source code are available for ftp. Several tools exist for reading turn reports and making maps; see the web pages or traditional pbm ftp sites or for details. Howard Bampton has a variant called "blind" galaxy. It features a wraparound map, a double-blind mail-forwarding system, and you received only limited information about other players other than what you can observe at systems where you have ships. Blind turn reports are generally larger (often over 500k), and present their information in a format that is incompatible with most standard Galaxy report reading tools. Name: Global Diplomacy Type: strategic, economic/military, 19th century setting Email: doug@dgreenin.hlth.gov.bc.ca URL: http://www.islandnet.com/~dgreenin/emg-game.htm Cost: free Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, wargame, historical Last-Update: 1996Sep11 Description: In Global Diplomacy each player guides the destiny of one of the Great Powers of the late nineteenth century (Austria, China, England France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Ottoman Empire, Russia, Spain and the USA). Players must use thier politcal skill and cunning as well as their military might (armies, corps, fleets and squadrons) to become the dominant global power. This is a low complexity, introductory game usually requiring 30 minutes to do a turn. Opinion: Great game!!!! Easy to learn, but difficult to master. There is about 15+ games running at one time, and the GM is VERY reliable. The game is similar to Diplomacy, but on a world map. Player start with different number of armies/fleets, and victory is dependent on % growth. You can play a small country like Austria-Hungary, with limited are of influence and few potiential allies/enemies. Or you can play England, who has possesions all over the world. The game end when one player has achived 300% - 500% growth, or the game has lasted 10-40 turns. This is voted on by the players in turn 1, and not known. You get points for 1st - 4th place, so alliance often last to the end of the game. -- Oyvind Bjartveit (1996Sep24) Name: Imperium (canadian) Type: strategic, economic/military, 19th century setting Email: doug@dgreenin.hlth.gov.bc.ca URL: http://www.islandnet.com/~dgreenin/emg-game.htm Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, wargame, historical Description: The Galactic Emperor has just died and as one of the ruling Major Houses, you are seeking to become the new Emperor. Use your starships, armies, leaders and undercover agents to increase the standing of your House in the Imperium. Employ your forces, diplomacy, treachery and guile to expand your House's standing so you are choisen as the next Emperor. This is a moderately complex game and takes about 1-4 hours to do a turn. Name: International Test Cricket League Type: Sports Simulation, Cricket Duration: 18 weeks Frequency : 1 per week Status: Starting up, players wanted GM: Computer generated results Email: dant@probe.co.uk Email: daniel@tortyfoo.demon.co.uk URL: http://www.totalweb.co.uk/tortyfoo/itc/pbem.html Last-update: 1996Sep23 Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, sports, modern Description: Managers take charge of one of the 9 test playing countries or a Rest of World squad. Each squad has 16 players. For each Test players nominate a team, batting order, opening bowlers, wicket keeper, individual batting & bowling tactics and team batting & bowling tactics. Season lasts 18 weeks. Players can get injured. Masses of statistics generated plus unique performance points rating to judge current form of all players. Whilst real player names are used each manager starts with the same number of skill points to allocate to his team so all sides are theoretically equal. Player skill levels can be adjusted slightly each turn (uninjured players only). The game is based upon a cricket simulation (International Test Cricket) for PCs I have written that is available as Shareware. ITC is not needed to play but may help managers decide tactics. ITC has its own web page at http://www.totalweb.co.uk/tortyfoo/itc/index.html Name: Mega Hyper Galactic Conquest (MHGC) Type: Space Conquest Duration: close ended Frequency: once per week, unless players request faster turn around GM: computer moderated Costs: free URL: http://world.std.com/~ddickie URL: http://host46.mrl.psu.edu/~skwan/MHGC_forum/MHGC_index.html Email: ddickie@host46.mrl.psu Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, wargame, space, economic Last-Update: 1996Oct18 Description: MHGC is your typical expand / grow / kill everyone else space conquest game. In the game, players attempt to balance expansion, capital investment, technology investment, and military conquest in order to be crowned "Grand Poohba of the Universe." MHGC runs over Email, and includes ASCII turn results and a ASCII based map To join a currently running game, send the following mail: To: ddickie@host46.mrl.psu.edu Subj: [whatever] REGISTER_OLD MHGC [a "short name" for you] [your Email address] or, if you only want to join the next game: REGISTER_NEW MHGC [a "short name" for you] [your Email address] Note that the short name can contain NO WHITE SPACE. Examples: REGISTER_OLD MHGC Rave Dave ddickie@aol.com WRONG... Rave Dave has white space REGISTER OLD MHGC Rave_Dave ddickie@aol.com WRONG... space between REGISTER and OLD REGISTER_OLD MHGC Rave_Dave ddickie@aol.com RIGHT... Opinion: MHGC is a well constructed game. It does take a long time to progress from beginning to mid to end game. You enter mid-game around turn 30. We are on turn 43 and players are just starting to get knocked out (myself one of them). The game is heavily economic and falling behind the curve is sure death. Ships have a heavy maintenance burden so large fleets are reserved for those who intend to use them, and soon. Combat is well done. The only thing I have against it is that if you get behind there is little chance of a comeback. It is very hard to get an alliance together to beat up the big guy on the block. The incentives are just not there even if you could identify the leader (a difficult proposition in itself). It boils down to a race with the weaker or unluckier positions getting gobbled up. Game turns can take from 1/2 hour minimum to 2 hours or more. Definately worth the price (free) for those willing to take a year to play the game (1 turn per week for about 60 weeks, I'm guessing). -- Michael Kelly 1997Jan20 Name: Richard Rognlie's Abstract Games Server Type: 2 or more player abstract games Email: pbmserv@eiss.erols.com (with "help" in subject) Email: rrognlie@eiss.erols.com (Richard Rognlie, the moderator) Status: continually accepting new players URL: http://eiss.erols.com/pbmserv/ Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, abstract Last-Update: 1996Nov01 Description: This generic Play-By-eMail currently supports a variety of games. The games currently supported are: Abalone Andantino Ataxx and Hexxagon Backgammon Chess, QuickChess, Capablanca and GrandChess Connect4 Connect4x4 Connexxions Dots and Boxes Entropy Gomoku Hex Jungle Lines-of-Action Neutron Oddthello Othello, Reversi and Reverse-Othello Pente and Keryo-Pente Philosopher's Football Plotto Quadrature Qubic Renju Rings Score4 Spangles Survival Susan Tanbo, Tanbo3D and Hexbo Terrace Trax, 8x8Trax and LoopTrax Tug-of-War TwixT To get more information send mail to pbmserv@eiss.erols.com with 'help' as the subject line, or look at the web page. Games Currently Supported Abalone On a hexagonal board (radius 5) two to six players have armies of marbles. Players take turns "pushing" 1, 2 or 3 linearly connected marbles, attempting to push their opponents' marbles off the board. Related Help Subjects: abalone abalone.rules abalone.tips Computer Opponents: AI-Aba General Abalone Interest: Dan's Abalone Page Andantino (Copyright (c) 1995 David Smith) The players take turns attaching pieces of their color to two or more other pieces (in a hex-like lattice) in an attempt to form a line of 5 or more pieces of their color in a straight line, or to fully enclose a group of one or more opponents pieces. Related Help Subjects: andantino andantino.rules Ataxx and Hexxagon On a 7x7 board, the two players of ataxx fight to controll a majority of the board via growth and jumps that flip opponents pieces to their color. Hexxagon is Ataxx played on a hexagonal board of radius 5. Related Help Subjects: ataxx ataxx.rules hexxagon hexxagon.rules Backgammon A classic. Backgammon via eMail. Related Help Subjects: backgammon backgammon.rules Chess, QuickChess, Capablanca and GrandChess Chess is the classic game. QuickChess is a variant played on a 5x6 board. Capablanca and GrandChess are variants with 2 extra pieces on 8x10 and 10x10 boards respectively. Related Help Subjects: chess quickchess capablanca grandchess chess.rules Connect4 On a 7x6 board, two players alternate dropping their pieces from the top of the board, down a column, attempting to form four in a row. Related Help Subjects: connect4 connect4.rules Connect4x4 On an 8x8 board, two players alternate inserting their pieces from the edges of the board, across a row or up/down a column, attempting to form four in a row. Related Help Subjects: connect4x4 connect4x4.rules Connexxions (Copyright? David Gale) On a 13x13 board, players take turns connecting posts of their color in an attempt to connect their sides of the board the board while preventing your opponent from doing the same. Related Help Subjects: connexxions connexxions.rules Dots and Boxes On a 7x7 board, players take turns connecting the dots to form boxes. Related Help Subjects: dots Entropy (Copyright (c)1994 Dansball Inc.) Entropy is played on a 5x5 grid. Each player starts with 7 pawns and tries to scatter them about. A player wins if all 7 of his or her pawns are uncharged and unisolated, unless the 7 opposing pawns are also uncharged and unisolated, in which case the game is a draw. If neither player can move and no one has won, the game is a draw. Related Help Subjects: entropy entropy.rules Gomoku On a 15x15 board, the two players of gomoku try to be the first to create a line of 5 or more stones in a row of their color. Related Help Subjects: gomoku gomoku.rules Hex On a 11x11 diamond board, players take turns placing stones of their color on the board. The object is to connect your sides of the board while preventing your opponent from doing the same. Related Help Subjects: hex hex.faq Jungle Jungle is sort of a cross between Chinese chess and Stratego. It's popular in China as a children's "stepping-stone" to Chinese chess. It's also an interesting game in its own right. Related Help Subjects: Jungle Jungle.rules Lines-of-Action (LoA) The object of the game is to move all your pieces into a configuration where they are in a single group connected horizontal, vertically, or diagonally. Pieces may move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, but they must move exactly the number of spaces as there are pieces on the row they are moving in. You may not jump over opponent's pieces, nor may you land on your own piece. If you land on an opponent's piece, it is captured and removed from the game. Related Help Subjects: loa loa.rules Other LOA Pages: loa home page Neutron (Copyright (c) 1978 Charles Wetherell) On a 5x5 board, the two players of neutron fight to either move the neutron to their back row or trap it so the opponent cannot move it. The winner is the player who is able to trap the neutron or gets the neutron to his or her own back row. It does not matter if it is your opponent who moves the neutron to your back row -- you still win. Related Help Subjects: neutron neutron.rules Oddthello On a dynamic hexagonal lattice, two players play othello without a fixed board. And with 6 directions for tile flipping. Related Help Subjects: oddthello oddthello.rules Othello (Copyright (c) 1973,1990 Pressman Toy Co.), Reversi and Reverse-Othello On a 8x8 board, the two players of othello fight to control the majority of the board by outflanking and flipping their opponents pieces. Reversi is the same as othello, but allows for an alternate opening set up. Reverse-Othello (ROthello) uses the same command structure and move movement notation as othello, but the object to to control the fewest points on the board. Related Help Subjects: othello othello.rules reversi reversi.rules Pente On a 19x19 board, the two players of pente try to be the first to create a line of 5 or more stones in a row of their color *or* try to capture 5 pairs of their opponents stones. You capture a pair of stones any time you sandwich the stones between a pair of your stones. Related Help Subjects: pente pente.rules Keryo-Pente On a 19x19 board, the two players of keryo-pente try to be the first to create a line of 5 or more stones in a row of their color *or* try to capture 15 of their opponents' stones. You may capture 2 or 3 opponents' stones any time you sandwich the stones between a pair of your stones. Related Help Subjects: k-pente k-pente.rules Philosopher's Football On a 19x15 board, players take turns either adding men to the field, or moving the football. The football moves by jumping lines of adjacent men (and removing them from the board). The object is to move the football to (or past) your goal line. Related Help Subjects: phutball phutball.rules Plotto (Copyright (c) 1995 David Smith) The players take turns placing one hex shaped piece in turn onto an open space (no board). Pieces are numbered either 1, 2, 3 or 4 and you may play a piece of any number at each turn. The object is to place a pair of pieces with your number in a straight line with two pieces in between. Related Help Subjects: plotto plotto.rules Quadrature (Copyright (c) 1995 Mark Steere) Starting on opposite sides of an 11 by 11 board, players take turns moving their checkers a single space forward, diagonally forward or sideways. Quadrature employs a unique aggressive maneuver called "squaring". To "square" your opponent, you move to form a rectangle on the board with four checkers: three of your own checkers and one enemy checker. Upon doing this you "convert" the enemy checker to one of your own, by removing it from the board and replacing it with one of your surplus off-board checkers. Related Help Subjects: quadrature quadrature.rules Qubic On a 4x4x4 grid, two players alternate placing their pieces, attempting to form four in a row in any direction. Related Help Subjects: qubic qubic.rules Renju On a 15x15 board, the two players of renju try to be the first to create a line of 5 stones in a row of their color. Related Help Subjects: renju renju.rules Rings (Copyright (c) 1995 Stephen Linhart) On an unusual hexagonal board, the players of Rings, place pieces on the board in an attempt to convert other pieces to their color and to control the more rings than any other player. Related Help Subjects: rings rings.rules Score4 On a 4x4 grid of pegs, two players alternate dropping their pieces from the top of a peg, down a column, attempting to form four in a row in any direction. Related Help Subjects: score4 score4.rules Spangles (Copyright (c) 1995 David Smith) The two players of Spangles take turns adding triangular pieces of their color to the board in an attempt to create a 4 piece triangle with their pieces as the three corner pieces. Related Help Subjects: spangles spangles.rules Survival (Copyright (c) 1995 David Smith) Survival is played on a hexagonal board made up of 19 numbered hexagons. Two players take turns placing pieces on the board with the "arrow" of the piece dictating the direction in which the next piece played by that player must be played. The first player who can not move loses the game. Related Help Subjects: survival survival.rules Susan (Copyright (c) 1994 Stephen Linhart) On a hexagonal board (radius 5) two players take turns placing or moving a marble in an attempt to completely surround a opponent's marble with a combination of marbles. Related Help Subjects: susan susan.rules Tanbo, Tanbo3d (Copyright (c) 1995 Mark Steere) and Hexbo (Copyright (c) 1996 Rognlie/Steere) Played on a 19x19 Go board, Tanbo crudely models a system of plant roots. Roots which are growing, competing for space, and dying. In beginner play, the roots grow much as the roots in a garden. Over time, the roots become shrewd and calculating. To win, a player must eliminate all eight of his opponent's roots. One player will always win. It's impossible to repeat a board configuration in Tanbo. Therefore a game cannot result in a draw. Tanbo3d extends the game of Tanbo into three dimensions. Hexbo is Tanbo played on a hexagonal board. Related Help Subjects: tanbo tanbo.faq tanbo.rules Terrace (Copyright (c) 1995 by Siler/Siler Ventures. All Rights Reserved) Terrace is played on an 8x8 board consisting of 16 'L' shaped terraces. Two corners of the board are "High" and the other corners are "Low". Each player has pieces of 4 sizes ('A', 'B', 'C' and 'D'). 'A' pieces are the smallest, 'D' pieces are the largest. 'T' pieces are the same size as 'A' pieces and are each player's "key" piece. The object of the game is to capture your opponent's "T" or move your "T" to the lowest square on your opponent's side of the board. Related Help Subjects: terrace terrace.rules General Terrace Interest: The Official Terrace Strategy Game Homepage Trax, 8x8Trax (Copyright (c) 1983 David Smith) and LoopTrax(experimental) Trax is a game played with square tiles. Each tile is identical to all other tiles, one side has a white line connecting opposite edges and a black line connecting the other edges, and the other side has a white line connecting 2 adjacent edges and a black line connecting the other edges. The object of the game is to create a loop of your color while preventing your opponent from doing the same. An alternate winning condition is to create a line extending from one edge of the board to the opposite edge of the board when the board is at least 8 tiles wide (or tall). 8x8Trax limits the board to 8x8. LoopTrax is simply Trax with no line wins. Only a loop wins. Related Help Subjects: trax trax.faq Tug-of-War (ToW) Up to four players take turns placing "bids". High bidder gets 1 goal point from each other player. First player to take an average of 5 points from each other player wins. Related Help Subjects: ToW TwixT (Copyright (c) Avalon Hill) On a 24x24 board, players take turns placing pegs of their color on the board. Any time a peg is placed a "knight's move" from another peg of the same color, a strut is placed, connecting them. A strut can not cross over (through) another strut. The object is to connect your sides of the board while preventing your opponent from doing the same. Related Help Subjects: twixt twixt.rules Example TwixT Games: Notation, Game 1 (text version), Game 2 (text version) TwixT Puzzles: Puzzles (text version / solutions) Name: Simple Type: Fantasy Wargame GM: computer moderated Frequency: once per week Status: 4 games running Costs: free Duration: 20-40 turns Language: English or German Email: Michael.Stibane@t-online.de (Michael_Stibane) Email: 101653.3000@compuserve.com URL: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/Homepages/Michael_Stibane/simple.htm Keywords: german, free, closed-ended, computer, fantasy, wargame, email Last-Update: 1996Nov14 Description: SIMPLE is a fast and rather aggressive fantasy wargame for 8 players. As the name expresses, the rules are easy to understand. The challenge isn't through the complexity of the rules but through the interaction of the players. Units in SIMPLE include such as guards, horsemen, dwarves, elves, farmers, boars, tigers, elefants, dragons, unicorns, werewolves, giants and - last not least: magicians, who are able to use one spell per game turn. There are thrilling possibilities to enhance the combat strength of a unit by making use of weapon-, landscape- and enemy bonus. Winners of SIMPLE aquire a rank in an eternal Hall of Fame. The output files are Winword-Docs, but if a someone doesn't own software to load Winword-Docs, upload the FREE software WORDVIEW.EXE and join the game. Visit SIMPLEs Homepage for more details. Opinions: Having played the game Simple by Michael Stibane for a while, I have to say that the game is *very* addictive and enjoyable. Rules are really fairly simple, but different gamestyles are allowed, so in the end is quite a challanging game. -- Massimo 1996dec13 Name: Simulations Online Hockey League Type: Sports Duration: open ended Frequency: Instructions Due Weekly GM: computer moderated Costs: Free URL: http://www.interlog.com/~gardiner/sportsim/league.html Email: gardiner@interlog.com Keywords: free, open-ended, email, computer, sports, modern Last-Update: 1997Feb18 Description: This hockey league involves many of the aspects that real owners and general managers face in the day to day operation of a hockey club. Finances, trading, signing free agents, staying within the salary cap, cutting players, training camps and more. Coaching options include setting line ups, and offensive and defensive tactics. Name: Singularity Type: science fiction card game Duration: open-ended Frequency: run once a weekday Email: srt@pbm.com (Scott Turner) URL: http://www.pbm.com/singularity/ URL: ftp://ftp.pbm.com/pub/singularity/ Keywords: free, open-ended, email, computer, abstract, space Last-Update: 1996Apr07 Description: Singularity is a card-game-like PBEM in which galactic cultures compete to be the first to reach "the technological singularity". Turns happen once each week day and game play is very simple. This free game is written and run by Scott Turner, and is sponsored by Shadow Island Games, a commercial PBEM game company. Company: Shadow Island Games P.O. Box 6435 Somerset, NJ 08875-6435 (908) 469-1992 info@pbm.com Name: Strategic Postal Australian Rules Football (SPARF) Type: sports simulation GM: computer moderated Email: munch@csua.berkeley.edu (say "rules" in the subject) Cost: free Keywords: free, open-ended, email, computer, sports, modern Last-Update: 1996Sep17 Description: SPARF is a strategically based game based on Australian Rules football. The pariticipant takes on the role of General Manager, and handles the details of drawing up training regimens, lineups, and negotiating trades for his team. The primary focus of the manager is on developing season-long plans (and longer) to build a team with a good allocation of the right kinds of skill in the right positions, and on adapting those plans to account for injuries. munch@csua.berkeley.edu is an automated mail deamon for the game. Send it mail with the subject "help" for a list of commands. The subject "rules" will get you the rules to SPARF. The Gm may be contacted at mel@csua.berkeley.edu. Name: Ultimate Rugby Email: cairnswm@mwp.eskom.co.za Type: Sport Simulation Cost: Free Duration: Open-Ended, approximitly 25 weeks per season. Frequency: Once a Week GM: Computer Moderated URL: http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/public/me/fo942033/UR1.html Last-Update: 1996Sep16 Status: Currently busy with season 2 with 72 teams, new teams are being accepted for mid season start. Keywords: free, open-ended, email, computer, sports, modern Description: In Ultimate Rugby you are the manager of a Rugby Team, your job is to try and win the League competition and the Ultimate Rugby Cup. You are responsible for team selection, telling the captain how to guide the team, as well as training. The game is designed to be a long term "investment" as the team will get better the longer it is managed. To obtain a copy of the rules use the mail address above with "Rugby Rules" as the message subject. If you would like to be added to the Ultimate Rugby mailing list please use the mail address above with "Rugby Subscribe" as the subject. Opinion: I have been playing for a few months now. Apart from my team I am manager of England, and I haven't and more fun in a PBM. It's great doing the orders, and a program can even do them for you now..... Every game you get a report, and it's very full. It takes ages to read, if you wish, or you can see highlights which is helpfull! You get to play other players, and have a league position. It's all great fun. I suggest you play NOW, even if you are unsure. It really is great. It's well worth reading the rules. There is a seperate 'player press', a mail listing where competitions for the best try and general gossip all goes on. -- "The Prism" 1997feb21 Company: WillCO Games Name: Ultra Cricket Type: Sports Simulation Duration: 15 turns/season, seasons start at close of previous season. Frequency: 1/week Cost: free Status: In season 10, 312 teams playing GM: computer Email: ta@ecs.soton.ac.uk URL: http://diana.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~ta/uc_home.html URL: ftp://ftp.ecs.soton.ac.uk/pub/uc Last-Update: 1996Sep23 Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, sports, modern Description: This game simulates Tests and one day Cricket Games. Cricket is very common game in those countries of the former British Empire and has almost come to replace religion in some nations. Each person takes on the role of Selector/Manager/Captain. You have a squad of up to 30 players from which you must choose a team for each game, train the players and decide the batting and bowling order and other team tactics. You also have some say in the pitch conditions. Each week you will be asked to select an XI to play in the upcoming matches. This will be called the team. You also decide whether on winning the toss you want them to bat or bowl first, along with the batting and bowling order. This is all fed into the Main programme which plays the match ball by ball. A ball by ball record is made and a scorecard at the end of each innings compiled. Statistics are generated and Man of the Match decided. Those players not in the first XI return to their "clubs" and play for them. Here you get a brief run down on their performance and any injuries suffered by the players during the week. A season lasts for approximately 4 months. The 10th season has seen me split the competition in two. I hope to get them out of phase and so the waiting time to start playing will be cut to at worst 2 months. Opinion: Never knew a more dedicated GM. The reports are on time, everytime, and the Classic Bat Company give 40% discounts to players! It's great fun, you get reports, play games and have test and one day international leagues, with cup and more. Read the rules and make your team NOW! There is even 'weekly wickets', a mail listing with loads of great info. -- "The Prism" 1997feb21 Name: United Electronic Football League (UEFL) Type: sports simulation, soccer Email: billones@primenet.com (Jeremy Billones) Cost: free URL: http://www.primenet.net/~billones/UEFL.html Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, sports, modern Last-Update: 1996Sep12 Description: United Electronic Football -- this is a USer, PBeM version of Alan Parr's game. You create a team of football (soccer) players, each with a position and skill level. Each turn, you pit your lineups against those of your opponents, with relative strengths and random chance determining the final score. If you win, you get more resources for improving your team. You can trade players and other resources, and press wars abound. Honor and glory for the regular- season champion and the winner of the post-season Cup. UEFL is the original league in the States, 30 teams divided among Upper, Lower, and Rookie divisions. About 2 turns per week, time off for academic breaks, 1 season per year. Currently in season 8. Still the original, still the simplest, still the league that got me addicted in the first place. Warning: The waiting list is currently 6+ months long. Name: Water Wars 3.0 Type: abstract strategic economic/military Cost: free Duration: 14 weeks Frequency: one per week Email: a.earl@cad.canterbury.ac.nz URL: http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/cad/ww.htm Status: takeing new players until Nov 21 Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, wargame, abstract Last-Update: 1996Nov07 Description: Water Wars is a multi-player play-by-mail hex-based game where players are in control of minor kingdoms in a virtual computer world. Through clever use of your water resources, players build up their kingdoms in an attempt at global water monopoly or world domination. Elements include changing the height of hexes to alter water flow; building villages, nets, missiles and crops; shooting other players with the missiles. Turns are currently sent out compressed with PKZIP (alternatively, LHA or tar -cx compression is also available) and UUencoded. If your computer can't handle this, then you won't be able to play. To filter out non-serious players, there is a multichoice quiz on the rules that must be answered to play. The rules are available from the web site. Name: World Fantasy Soccer League Type: fantasy soccer game E-Mail: ru0647@bf.orebro.se Duration: About 10 turns Frequency: three times per month GM: computer moderated URL: http://www.angelfire.com/ak/wfsl Last-Update: 1997Feb03 Status: 30 managers playing, more wanted Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, sports, modern Description: A free fantasy soccer game always looking for players. You don't have to wait so long as in other soccer games on the net. You will receive a team with 18 fantasy players. The rules are getting more complicated every week and the game are getting more real every time I update the rules. Today I have about 30 managers in the league, but we are growing every week. Name: World at War Type: strategic, economic/military, WWII style setting Email: emg@dgreenin.hlth.gov.bc.ca URL: http://www.islandnet.com/~dgreenin/emg-game.htm Cost: free Keywords: free, closed-ended, email, computer, wargame, historical Last-Update: 1996Sep11 Description: World at War assumes that a global war is about to break out on the planet (similar to WWII on Earth) and each player is in charge of one of the countries. This is a strategic level game, with the map consisting of irregular shaped areas, turns being 3 months, land units being mostly divisions, air units are squadrons and naval units are groups of ships. Some of the items in the game include: o different types of resources (food, fuel, hmetal, lmetal, credits a production) required to build units. o air units have to fly out of airbases to do a mission and return to base after the mission o 9 types of land units (Arm Mech Inf Par Mar Stc AT Art AA o 5 type of air units (Ftr LB TB Bmbr ATrn) o 6 type of naval units (CFlt HFlt LFlt Sub NATr NTrn) o technology gains can be made in each type of unit o units use up supply to do a mission o limited intelligence ====================================================================== Archives and subscriptions by email ====================================================================== PBEM is archived at the ftp and WWW sites mentioned earlier. If you would like to obtain new issues via email, please write majordomo@pbm.com and say: subscribe pbem-fanzine ====================================================================== PBEM is published irregularly. Please redistribute it far and wide, but do not modify or delete any articles. Write me if you want to redistribute it in other forms; such permission is easy to obtain. For example, some old articles are being translated into German. PLEASE CONTRIBUTE! Our focus is primarily on free wargames, but we're interested in articles about anything relevant to play-by-email.