Editing Play-by-mail game (section)

==Description==
PBM games can include Combat, Diplomacy, Politics, Exploration, Economics, and Role-Playing, with combat a usual feature and open-ended games typically the most comprehensive.<ref>[[#Kai83|Kaiser 1983]]. p. 25.</ref> Jim Townsend identifies the two key figures in PBM games as the players and the moderators, the latter of which are companies that charge "turn fees" to players—the cost for each game turn.<ref name=Townsend91h/> In 1993, ''[[Paper Mayhem]]''—a magazine for play-by-mail gamers—described play-by-mail games thusly: <blockquote>PBM Games vary in the size of the games, turn around time, length of time a game lasts, and prices. An average PBM game has 10–20 players in it, but there are also games that have hundreds of players. Turn around time is the length of time it takes to get your turn back from a company. ... Some games never end. They can go on virtually forever or until you decide to drop. Many games have victory conditions that can be achieved within a year or two. Prices vary for the different PBM games, but the average price per turn is about $5.00.<ref name=MayhemFeb93>[[#Fro93|Paper Mayhem Jan/Feb 1993]]. p. 1.</ref></blockquote>

The earliest PBM games were played using the postal services of the respective countries. In 1990, the average turn-around time for a turn was 2–3 weeks.<ref name=Townsend91h/> However, in the 1990s, email was introduced to PBM games.<ref>[[#Pad93|Paduch 1993]]. p. 2.</ref> This was known as play-by-email (PBEM). Some games used email solely, while others, such as ''[[Hyborian War]]'', used email as options for a portion of turn transmittal, with postal service for the remainder.<ref>[[#RSI21|Reality Simulations, Inc.]]</ref> Other games use digital media or web applications to allow players to make turns at speeds faster than postal mail. Given these changes, the term "turn-based games" is now being used by some commentators.<ref name="Mosteller 2014. p. 76"/>

===Mechanics===
[[File:Example_email_Battle_Orders_for_Invasion_in_Xachotl_Province_in_the_game_Hyborian_War.gif|thumb|right|Example player orders in email format for a portion of a turn in the game ''[[Hyborian War]]''.]]
After the initial setup of a PBM game, players begin submitting turn orders. In general, players fill out an order sheet for a game and return it to the gaming company.<ref name=MayhemFeb93/> The company processes the orders and sends back turn results to the players so they can make subsequent moves.<ref name=MayhemFeb93/>

R. Danard further separates a typical PBM turn into four parts. First, the company informs players on the results of the last turn. Next players conduct diplomatic activities, if desired. Then, they send their next turns to the [[gamemaster]] (GM). Finally, the turns are processed and the cycle is repeated. This continues until the game or a player is done.<ref>[[#Dan20|danard.net 2020]].</ref>

===Complexity===
Jim Townsend stated in a 1990 issue of ''White Wolf Magazine'' that the complexity of PBM games is much higher than other types on the average.<ref>[[#Tow90|Townsend 1990]]. p. 18.</ref> He noted that PBM games at the extreme high end can have a thousand or more players as well as thousands of units to manage, while turn printouts can range from a simple one-page result to hundreds of pages (with three to seven as the average).<ref name=Tow1990y>[[#Tow90|Townsend 1990]] pp. 18–19.</ref>{{efn|The PBM game ''Eressea'' had over 1,800 players in 2001.<ref>[[#Lin22|Lindahl 2022]].</ref>}} According to John Kevin Loth, "Novices should appreciate that some games are best played by veterans."<ref name=Loth42/> In 1986, he highlighted the complexity of ''Midgard'' with its 100-page instruction manual and 255 possible orders.<ref name=Loth42/><ref name="Townsend1988a"/> A.D. Young stated in 1982 that computers could assist PBM gamers in various ways including accounting for records, player interactions, and movements, as well as computation or analysis specific to individual games.<ref>[[#You82|Young 1982]]. p. 36.</ref>

Reviewer Jim Townsend asserted that ''[[Empyrean Challenge]]'' was "the most complex game system on Earth".<ref name="Townsend1988a"/>{{efn|Vern Holford, owner of Superior Simulations, developed ''[[Empyrean Challenge]]'', a PBM game that reviewer Jim Townsend described in 1988 as "the most complex game system on Earth" with some turn results for large positions at 1,000 pages in length.<ref name=Townsend1988a>[[#Tow88|Townsend 1988]]. p. 20.</ref> According to Townsend, in those cases there was a significant investment in time to understand what happened on a turn as well as to fill out future turn orders.<ref name="Townsend1988a"/> He said a player without a spreadsheet was "nearly doomed from the outset".<ref name=Townsend1988a/>}} Other games, like ''[[Galactic Prisoners]]'' began simply and gradually increased in complexity.<ref name=Loth42/> As of August 2021, [[Rick Loomis PBM Games]]' had four difficulty levels: easy, moderate, hard, and difficult, with games such as ''Nuclear Destruction'' and ''[[Heroic Fantasy]]'' on the easy end and ''Battleplan''—a military strategy game—rated as difficult.<ref>[[#Ric21|Rick Loomis PBM Games 2021]].</ref>

===Diplomacy===
According to ''Paper Mayhem'' assistant editor Jim Townsend, "The most important aspect of PBM games is the diplomacy. If you don't communicate with the other players you will be labeled a 'loner', 'mute', or just plain 'dead meat'. You must talk with the others to survive".<ref>[[#Tow87|Townsend 1987]]. p. 29.</ref> The editors of ''Paper Mayhem'' add that "The interaction with other players is what makes PBM enjoyable."<ref>[[#Pap90e|Paper Mayhem 1990]]. p. 3.</ref>

Commentator Rob Chapman in a 1983 ''Flagship'' article echoed this advice, recommending that players get to know their opponents.<ref name=chapman83>[[#Cha83|Chapman 1983]]. p. 12.</ref> He also recommended asking direct questions of opponents on their future intentions, as their responses, true or false, provide useful information.<ref name=chapman83/> However, he advises players to be truthful in PBM diplomacy, as a reputation for honesty is useful in the long-term.<ref name=chapman83/> Chapman notes that "everything is negotiable" and advises players to "Keep your plans flexible, your options open – don't commit yourself, or your forces, to any long term strategy".<ref name=chapman83/>

Eric Stehle, owner and operator of Empire Games in 1997, stated that some games cannot be won alone and require diplomacy.<ref name=Stehle97>[[#Ste97|Stehle 1997]]. p. 7.</ref> He suggested considering the following diplomatic points during gameplay: (1) "Know Your Neighbors", (2) "Make Sure Potential Allies Share Your Goals", (3) "Be A Good Ally", (4) "Coordinate Carefully With Your Allies", (5) "Be A Vicious Enemy", and (6) "Fight One Enemy At A Time".<ref name=Stehle97/>

===Game types and player roles===
[[File:Lizard_monster_with_battle-axe.jpg|thumb|right|Example character from the game ''[[Monster Island (play-by-mail game)|Monster Island]]'']]
Jim Townsend noted in 1990 that hundreds of PBM games were available, ranging from "all science fiction and fantasy themes to such exotics as war simulations (generally more complex world war games than those which wargamers play), duelling games, humorous games, sports simulations, etc".<ref name=Townsend91h>[[#Tow90|Townsend 1990]] p. 19.</ref> In 1993, Steve Pritchard described PBM game types as ancient wargames, diplomacy games, fantasy wargames, power games, roleplaying games, and sports games.<ref>[[#Pri93|Pritchard 1993]]. p. 31.</ref> Some PBM games defy easy categorization, such as ''Firebreather'', which Joey Browning, the editor of the U.S. ''Flagship'' described as a "Fantasy Exploration" game.<ref>[[#Bro93|Browning 1993]]. p. 13.</ref>{{efn|Browning likened ''Firebreather'' to games like ''Monster Island'', [[Quest (game)|''Quest'']], and ''Lost Knowledge''.}}

Play-by-mail games also provide a wide array of possible [[Role-playing game|roles to play]]. These include "trader, fighter, explorer, [and] diplomat".<ref>[[#Fre90|Freitas 1990]]. p. 47.</ref> Roles range from pirates to space characters to "previously unknown creatures".<ref name=Loth42>[[#Lot86|John Kevin Loth III 1986]]. p. 42.</ref> In the game ''[[Monster Island (play-by-mail game)|Monster Island]]'', players assume the role of a monster which explores a massive island (see image).<ref>[[#Hel93|Helzer 1993]]. p. 12.</ref> And the title of the PBM game ''You're An Amoeba, GO!'' indicates an unusual role as players struggle "in a 3D pool of primordial ooze [directing] the evolution of a legion of micro-organisms".<ref>[[#Pap94|Paper Mayhem 1994]]. p. 42.</ref>{{efn|Games with unusual player types have mixed success in PBM, with ''Dinowars'' (as dinosaurs), ''Mall Maniacs'' (as a consumer), ''Subterranea'' (as an ant), and ''[[Warboid World]]'' (as a computer) proving unsuccessful, while ''Lizards'' and ''You're An Amoeba, GO!'' enjoyed more favorable results.<ref>[[#Edi11|Editors 1995]]. p. 9.</ref>}} Loth advises that closer identification with a role increases enjoyment, but prioritizing this aspect requires more time searching for the right PBM game.<ref name=Loth42/>

===Closed versus open ended===
According to John Kevin Loth III, open-ended games do not end and there is no final objective or way to win the game.<ref name=Loth42/> Jim Townsend adds that, "players come and go, powers grow and diminish, alliances form and dissolve and so forth".<ref name=Townsend91h/> Since surviving, rather than winning, is primary, this type of game tends to attract players more interested in role-playing,<ref>[[#Cro85|Croft 1985]]. p. 42.</ref> and Townsend echoes that open-ended games are similar to long-term RPG campaigns.<ref name=Townsend91h/> A drawback of this type is that mature games have powerful groups that can pose an unmanageable problem for the beginner{{snd}}although some may see this situation as a challenge of sorts.<ref name=Loth42/>  Examples of open ended games are ''Heroic Fantasy'',<ref>[[#Tow87a|Townsend 1987]]. p. 24.</ref> ''Monster Island'',<ref>[[#DuB97|DuBois 1997]]. p. 4.</ref> and ''SuperNova: Rise of the Empire''.<ref>[[#Sus19|Suspense & Decision 2019]]. pp. 35–40.</ref> Townsend noted in 1990 that some open-ended games had been in play for up to a decade.<ref name=Townsend91h/>

Townsend states that "closed-ended games are like [[Risk (game)|Risk]] or [[Monopoly (game)|Monopoly]]{{snd}}once they're over, they're over".<ref name=Townsend91h/> Loth notes that most players in closed end games start equally and the games are "faster paced, usually more intense... presenting frequent player confrontation; [and] the game terminates when a player or alliance of players has achieved specific conditions or eliminated all opposition".<ref name=Loth42/> Townsend stated in 1990 that closed-end games can have as few as ten and as many as eighty turns.<ref name=Townsend91h/> Examples of closed-end games are ''Hyborian War'', ''[[It's a Crime (play-by-mail game)|It's a Crime]]'', and ''Starweb''.<ref>[[#Lin20|Lindahl 2020]]</ref>

Companies in the early 1990s also offered games with both open- and closed-ended versions.<ref>[[#Pap93f|Paper Mayhem 1993]]. p. 5.</ref> Additionally, games could have elements of both versions; for example, in ''Kingdom'', an open-ended PBM game published by Graaf Simulations, a player could win by accumulating 50,000 points.<ref>[[#Pap93g|Paper Mayhem 1993]]. p. 21.</ref>

===Computer versus human moderated===
In the 1980s, PBM companies began using computers to moderate games. This was in part for economic reasons, as computers allowed the processing of more turns than humans, but with less of a human touch in the prose of a turn result. According to John Kevin Loth III, one hundred percent computer-moderated games would also kill a player's character or empire emotionlessly, regardless of the effort invested.<ref name=Loth42/> Alternatively, Loth noted that those preferring exquisite pages of prose would gravitate toward one hundred percent human moderation.<ref name=Loth42/> Loth provided ''Beyond the Quadra Zone'' and ''Earthwood'' as popular computer-moderated examples in 1986 and ''Silverdawn'' and ''Sword Lords'' as one hundred percent human-moderated examples of the period.<ref name=Loth42/> ''Borderlands of Khataj'' is an example of a game where the company transitioned from human- to computer-moderated to mitigate issues related to a growing player base.<ref>[[#Bro94|Browning 1994]]. p. 6.</ref>

In 1984, there was a shift toward mixed moderation—human moderated games with computer-moderated aspects such as combat.<ref>[[#Arm84|Armintrout 1984]]. p. 43.</ref> Examples included ''[[Delenda est Carthago]]'', ''[[Star Empires (play-by-mail game)|Star Empires]]'', and ''[[Starglobe]]''.<ref name=Mulholland89>[[#Mul89|Mulholland 1989]]. pp. 8–9.</ref> In 1990, the editors of ''Paper Mayhem'' noted that there were games with a mix of computer and hand moderation, where games "would have the numbers run by the computer and special actions in the game would receive attention from the game master".<ref name="ReferenceA"/>