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Play-by-mail game

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File:Image of play-by-mail game Starweb.jpg
Four-time Origins Award-winning play-by-mail game Starweb

A play-by-mail game (also known as a PBM game, PBEM game, turn-based game, turn based distance game, or an interactive strategy game.Template:Efn) is a game played through postal mail, email, or other digital media. Correspondence chess and Go were among the first PBM games. Diplomacy has been played by mail since 1963, introducing a multi-player aspect to PBM games. Flying Buffalo Inc. pioneered the first commercially available PBM game in 1970. A small number of PBM companies followed in the 1970s, with an explosion of hundreds of startup PBM companies in the 1980s at the peak of PBM gaming popularity, many of them small hobby companies—more than 90 percent of which eventually folded. A number of independent PBM magazines also started in the 1980s, including The Nuts & Bolts of PBM, Gaming Universal, Paper Mayhem and Flagship. These magazines eventually went out of print, replaced in the 21st century by the online PBM journal Suspense and Decision.

Play-by-mail games (which became known as "turn-based games" in the digital age) have a number of advantages and disadvantages compared to other kinds of gaming. PBM games have wide ranges for turn lengths. Some games allow turnaround times of a day or less—even hourly. Other games structure multiple days or weeks for players to consider moves or turns and players never run out of opponents to face. If desired, some PBM games can be played for years. Additionally, the complexity of PBM games can be far beyond that allowed by a board game in an afternoon, and pit players against live opponents in these conditions—a challenge some players enjoy. PBM games allow the number of opponents or teams in the dozens—with some previous examples over a thousand players. PBM games also allow gamers to interact with others globally. Games with low turn costs compare well with expensive board or video games. Drawbacks include the price for some PBM games with high setup and/or turn costs, and the lack of the ability for face-to-face roleplaying. Additionally, for some players, certain games can be overly complex, and delays in turn processing can be a negative.

Play-by-mail games are multifaceted. In their earliest form they involved two players mailing each other directly by postal mail, such as in correspondence chess. Multi-player games, such as Diplomacy or more complex games available today, involve a game master who receives and processes orders and adjudicates turn results for players. These games also introduced the element of diplomacy in which participants can discuss gameplay with each other, strategize, and form alliances. In the 1970s and 1980s, some games involved turn results adjudicated completely by humans. Over time, partial or complete turn adjudication by computer became the norm. Games also involve open- and closed-end variants. Open-ended games do not normally end and players can develop their positions to the fullest extent possible; in closed-end games, players pursue victory conditions until a game conclusion. PBM games enable players to explore a diverse array of roles, such as characters in fantasy or medieval settings, space opera, inner city gangs, or more unusual ones such as assuming the role of a microorganism or a monster.

HistoryEdit

File:Postcard-for-correspondence-chess (trimmed image).png
Postcard for international correspondence chess

The earliest play-by-mail games developed as a way for geographically separated gamers to compete with each other using postal mail. Chess and Go are among the oldest examples of this.<ref name=McLain93>McLain 1993</ref> In these two-player games, players sent moves directly to each other. Multi-player games emerged later: Diplomacy is an early example of this type, emerging in 1963, in which a central game master manages the game, receiving moves and publishing adjudications.<ref name=Babcock13>Babcock 2013. p. 16.</ref> According to Shannon Appelcline, there was some PBM play in the 1960s, but not much.<ref name=Appelcline14>Appelcline 2014. loc. 2353.</ref> For example, some wargamers began playing Stalingrad by mail in this period.<ref name=Appelcline14/>

In the early 1970s, in the United States, Rick Loomis, of Flying Buffalo Inc., began a number of multi-player play-by-mail games;<ref>Loomis 2013. p. 38.</ref> these included games such as Nuclear Destruction, which launched in 1970.<ref>Rick Loomis PBM.</ref> This began the professional PBM industry in the United States.<ref>McLain 1993.</ref> Professional game moderation started in 1971 at Flying Buffalo which added games such as Battleplan, Heroic Fantasy, Starweb, and others, which by the late 1980s were all computer moderated.<ref name="Townsend1988a">Townsend 1988. p. 20.</ref>Template:Efn

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For approximately five years, Flying Buffalo was the single dominant company in the US PBM industry until Schubel & Son entered the field in roughly 1976 with the human-moderated Tribes of Crane.<ref name="Townsend1988a"/>Template:Efn Schubel & Son introduced fee structure innovations which allowed players to pay for additional options or special actions outside of the rules. For players with larger bankrolls, this provided advantages and the ability to game the system.<ref name="Townsend1988a"/>Template:Efn The next big entrant was Superior Simulations with its game Empyrean Challenge in 1978.<ref name="Townsend1988a"/> Reviewer Jim Townsend asserted that it was "the most complex game system on Earth" with some large position turn results 1,000 pages in length.<ref name="Townsend1988a"/>

File:Empyrean Challenge 1000-page (double-sided) Simulated Game Turn.jpg
Turn results for Empyrean Challenge could be 1,000 pages in length.<ref name="Townsend1988a"/>

Chris Harvey started the commercial PBM industry in the United Kingdom with a company called ICBM.<ref name=Harvey2003>Harvey 2003. p. 26.</ref><ref name=Palmer2003>Palmer 2003. p. 4.</ref> After Harvey played Flying Buffalo's Nuclear Destruction game in the United States in approximately 1971, Rick Loomis suggested that he run the game in the UK with Flying Buffalo providing the computer moderation.<ref name=Harvey2003/> ICBM Games led the industry in the UK as a result of this proxy method of publishing Flying Buffalo's PBM games, along with KJC games and Mitregames.<ref name=Palmer2003/>

In the early 1980s, the field of PBM players was growing.<ref>Harvey 1984. p. 21.</ref> Individual PBM game moderators were plentiful in 1980.<ref name=TSG1980>The Space Gamer 1980. p. 13.</ref>Template:Efn However, the PBM industry in 1980 was still nascent: there were still only two sizable commercial PBM companies, and only a few small ones.<ref name=Popo90>Popolizio, Leblanc, and Popolizio 1990. p. 8.</ref> The most popular PBM games of 1980 were Starweb and Tribes of Crane.<ref name=Popo90/>Template:Efn

Some players, unhappy with their experiences with Schubel & Son and Superior Simulations, launched their own company—Adventures by Mail—with the game, Beyond the Stellar Empire, which became "immensely popular".<ref name="Townsend1988a"/> In the same way, many people launched PBM companies, trying their hand at finding the right mix of action and strategy for the gaming audience of the period. According to Jim Townsend:

In the late 70's and all of the 80's, many small PBM firms have opened their doors and better than 90% of them have failed. Although PBM is an easy industry to get into, staying in business is another thing entirely. Literally hundreds of PBM companies have come and gone, most of them taking the money of would-be-customers with them.<ref name="Townsend1988a"/>

Townsend emphasized the risks for the PBM industry in that "The new PBM company has such a small chance of surviving that no insurance company would write a policy to cover them. Skydivers are a better risk."<ref>Townsend 1989. p. 55.</ref> W.G. Armintrout wrote a 1982 article in The Space Gamer magazine warning those thinking of entering the professional PBM field of the importance of playtesting games to mitigate the risk of failure.<ref>Armintrout 1982. pp. 31–32.</ref> By the late 1980s, of the more than one hundred play-by-mail companies operating, the majority were hobbies, not run as businesses to make money.<ref name=Townsend12>Townsend 1988. p. 19.</ref> Townsend estimated that, in 1988, there were about a dozen profitable PBM companies in the United States—with an additional few in the United Kingdom and the same in Australia.<ref name=Townsend12/> Sam Roads of Harlequin Games similarly assessed the state of the PBM industry in its early daysTemplate:Efn while also noting the existence of few non-English companies.<ref name=Roads2003/>

By the 1980s, interest in PBM gaming in Europe increased. The first UK PBM convention was in 1986.<ref name=Mulholland>Mulholland 1989. p. 1.</ref> In 1993, the founder of Flagship magazine, Nick Palmer, stated that "recently there has been a rapid diffusion throughout continental Europe where now there are now thousands of players".<ref>Palmer 1993.</ref> In 1992, Jon Tindall stated that the number of Australian players was growing, but limited by a relatively small market base.<ref>Tindall 1992. p. 12.</ref>Template:Efn In a 2002 listing of 182 primarily European PBM game publishers and Zines, Flagship listed ten non-UK entries, to include one each from Austria and France, six from Germany, one from Greece, and one from the Netherlands.<ref>Flagship Editors 2020. pp. 50–51.</ref>Template:Efn

File:List of Game Ratings from Nov-Dec 1993 Issue of Paper Mayhem Magazine.jpg
List of PBM Game Ratings from the November–December 1993 issue of Paper Mayhem magazine

PBM games up to the 1980s came from multiple sources: some were adapted from existing games and others were designed solely for postal play. In 1985, Pete Tamlyn stated that most popular games had already been attempted in postal play, noting that none had succeeded as well as Diplomacy.<ref name=Tamlyn85>Tamlyn 19853. p. 33.</ref> Tamlyn added that there was significant experimentation in adapting games to postal play at the time and that most games could be played by mail.<ref name=Tamlyn85/> These adapted games were typically run by a gamemaster using a fanzine to publish turn results.<ref name=Tamlyn85/> The 1980s were also noteworthy in that PBM games designed and published in this decade were written specifically for the genre versus adapted from other existing games.<ref name=Croft85>Croft 1985. p. 41.</ref> Thus they tended to be more complicated and gravitated toward requiring computer assistance.<ref name=Croft85/>

The proliferation of PBM companies in the 1980s supported the publication of a number of newsletters from individual play-by-mail companies as well as independent publications which focused solely on the play-by-mail gaming industry. As of 1983, The Nuts & Bolts of PBM was the primary magazine in this market.<ref name=McLain85/> In July 1983, the first issue of Paper Mayhem was published. The first issue was a newsletter with a print run of 100.<ref>Webber 1987. p. 2.</ref> Flagship began publication in the United Kingdom in October 1983, the month before Gaming Universal's first issue was published in the United States.<ref name=McLain85/> In the mid-1980s, general gaming magazines also began carrying articles on PBM and ran PBM advertisements.<ref name="Loomis35"/>Template:Efn PBM games were featured in magazines like Games and Analog in 1984.<ref name=McLain85>McClain 1985. p. 38.</ref> In the early 1990s, Martin Popp also began publishing a quarterly PBM magazine in Sulzberg, Germany called Postspielbote.<ref>Flagship Editors 1992. p. 14.</ref>Template:Efn The PBM genre's two preeminent magazines of the period were Flagship and Paper Mayhem.<ref>Paduch 1993. p. RC21.</ref>

In 1984, the PBM industry created a Play-by-Mail Association.<ref name=Gray38>Gray 1985. p. 38.</ref> This organization had multiple charter members by early 1985 and was holding elections for key positions.<ref name=Gray38/> One of its proposed functions was to reimburse players who lost money after a PBM business failed.<ref name=Gray38/>

Paul Brown, the president of Reality Simulations, Inc., estimated in 1988 that there were about 20,000 steady play-by-mail gamers, with potentially another 10–20,000 who tried PBM gaming but did not stay.<ref>Dias 1988. p. 33.</ref> Flying Buffalo Inc. conducted a survey of 167 of its players in 1984. It indicated that 96% of its players were male with most in their 20s and 30s. Nearly half were white collar workers, 28% were students, and the remainder engineers and military.<ref>Loomis 1984. p. 4.</ref>

The 1990s brought changes to the PBM world. In the early 1990s, trending PBM games increased in complexity.<ref>Paduch 1993 p. 2.</ref> In this period, email also became an option to transmit turn orders and results.<ref>Mills 1994 p. 4.</ref> These are called play-by-email (PBEM) games.<ref>Palmer 1984. p. 23.</ref> Flagship reported in 1992 that they knew of 40 PBM gamemasters on Compuserve.<ref>Proctor 1992. p. 23.</ref> One publisher in 2002 called PBM games "Interactive Strategy Games".<ref name=Editors02>Editors 2002.</ref> Turn around time ranges for modern PBM games are wide enough that PBM magazine editors now use the term "turn-based games".<ref name="Mosteller 2014. p. 76">Mosteller 2014. p. 76.</ref><ref>Mulholland 2010. p. 43.</ref> Flagship stated in 2005 that "play-by-mail games are often called turn-based games now that most of them are played via the internet".<ref name="Flagship 2005. p. 5">Flagship 2005. p. 5.</ref> In the 2023 issues of Suspense & Decision, the publisher used the term "Turn Based Distance Gaming".<ref name="Capps">Capps 2023. Cover.</ref>

In the early 1990s, the PBM industry still maintained some of the player momentum from the 1980s. For example, in 1993, Flagship listed 185 active play-by-mail games.<ref>Procter 1993. p. 51.</ref> Patrick M. Rodgers also stated in Shadis magazine that the United States had over 300 PBM games.<ref>Rodgers 1994. p. 91.</ref> And in 1993, the Journal of the PBM Gamer stated that "For the past several years, PBM gaming has increased in popularity."<ref name="ReferenceA">Paper Mayhem 1993. p. 4.</ref> That year, there were a few hundred PBM games available for play globally.<ref name=Rogers40>Rogers 1993. p. 40.</ref>Template:Efn However, in 1994, David Webber, Paper Mayhem's editor in chief expressed concern about disappointing growth in the PBM community and a reduction in play by established gamers.<ref>Webber 1994 p. 2</ref> At the same time, he noted that his analysis indicated that more PBM gamers were playing less, giving the example of an average drop from 5–6 games per player to 2–3 games, suggesting it could be due to financial reasons.<ref>Webber 1994. p. 2.</ref> In early 1997, David Webber stated that multiple PBM game moderators had noted a drop in players over the previous year.<ref>Webber 1997. p. 4.</ref>

By the end of the 1990s, the number of PBM publications had also declined. Gaming Universal's final publication run ended in 1988.<ref>Webber 1988. p. 2</ref> Paper Mayhem ceased publication unexpectedly in 1998 after Webber's death.<ref>Muir 2013. p. 14</ref> Flagship also later ceased publication.<ref name="Mosteller 2014. p. 29">Mosteller 2014. p. 29.</ref>Template:Efn

The Internet affected the PBM world in various ways. Rick Loomis stated in 1999 that, "With the growth of the Internet, [PBM] seems to have shrunk and a lot of companies dropped out of the business in the last 4 or 5 years."<ref>Loomis 1999. p. 5.</ref> Shannon Appelcline agreed, noting in 2014 that, "The advent of the Internet knocked most PBM publishers out of business."<ref>Appelcline 2014. loc. 2706.</ref> The Internet also enabled PBM to globalize between the 1990s and 2000s. Early PBM professional gaming typically occurred within single countries.<ref name=Roads2003/> In the 1990s, the largest PBM games were licensed globally, with "each country having its own licensee".<ref name=Roads2003/> By the 2000s, a few major PBM firms began operating globally, bringing about "The Globalisation of PBM" according to Sam Roads of Harlequin Games.<ref name=Roads2003>Roads 2003. p. 40.</ref>

By 2014 the PBM community had shrunk compared to previous decades.<ref>Mosteller 2014. p. 33</ref> A single PBM magazine exists—Suspense and Decision—which began publication in November 2013. The PBM genre has also morphed from its original postal mail format with the onset of the digital age. In 2010, Carol Mulholland—the editor of Flagship—stated that "most turn-based games are now available by email and online".<ref>Mulholland 2010. p. 42.</ref> The online Suspense & Decision Games Index, as of June 2021, listed 72 active PBM, PBEM, and turn-based games.<ref>Zachary 2021.</ref> In a multiple-article examination of various online turn-based games in 2004 titled "Turning Digital", Colin Forbes concluded that "the number and diversity of these games has been enough to convince me that turn-based gaming is far from dead".<ref>Forbes 2004. pp. 14–15.</ref>

Advantages and disadvantages of PBM gamingEdit

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Judith Proctor noted that play-by-mail games have a number of advantages. These include (1) plenty of time—potentially days—to plan a move, (2) never lacking players to face who have "new tactics and ideas", (3) the ability to play an "incredibly complex" game against live opponents, (4) meeting diverse gamers from far-away locations, and (5) relatively low costs.<ref name="Procter 1993. p. 51">Procter 1993. p. 51.</ref> In 2019, Rick McDowell, designer of Alamaze, compared PBM costs favorably with the high cost of board games at Barnes & Noble, with many of the latter going for about $70, and a top-rated game, Nemesis, costing $189.<ref>McDowell 2019. p. 42.</ref> Andrew Greenberg pointed to the high number of players possible in a PBM game, comparing it to his past failure at attempting once to host a live eleven-player Dungeons & Dragons Game.<ref name=Green93>Greenberg 1993. p. 8–9.</ref>Template:Efn Flagship noted in 2005 that "It's normal to play these ... games with international firms and a global player base. Games have been designed that can involve large numbers of players – much larger than can gather for face-to-face gaming."<ref name="Flagship 2005. p. 5"/> Finally, some PBM games can be played for years, if desired.<ref name="Procter 1993. p. 51"/>

Greenberg identified a number of drawbacks for play-by-mail games. He stated that the clearest was the cost, because most games require a setup cost and a fee per turn, and some games can become expensive.<ref name=Green93/> Another drawback is the lack of face-to-face interaction inherent in play-by-mail games.<ref name=Green93/> Finally, game complexity in some cases and occasional turn processing delays can be negatives in the genre.<ref name=Green93/>

DescriptionEdit

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>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:

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>Paper Mayhem Jan/Feb 1993. p. 1.</ref>

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>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>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"/>

MechanicsEdit

File:Example email Battle Orders for Invasion in Xachotl Province in the game Hyborian War.gif
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>danard.net 2020.</ref>

ComplexityEdit

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>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>Townsend 1990 pp. 18–19.</ref>Template:Efn 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>Young 1982. p. 36.</ref>

Reviewer Jim Townsend asserted that Empyrean Challenge was "the most complex game system on Earth".<ref name="Townsend1988a"/>Template:Efn 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>Rick Loomis PBM Games 2021.</ref>

DiplomacyEdit

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>Townsend 1987. p. 29.</ref> The editors of Paper Mayhem add that "The interaction with other players is what makes PBM enjoyable."<ref>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>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>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 rolesEdit

File:Lizard monster with battle-axe.jpg
Example character from the 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>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>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>Browning 1993. p. 13.</ref>Template:Efn

Play-by-mail games also provide a wide array of possible roles to play. These include "trader, fighter, explorer, [and] diplomat".<ref>Freitas 1990. p. 47.</ref> Roles range from pirates to space characters to "previously unknown creatures".<ref name=Loth42>John Kevin Loth III 1986. p. 42.</ref> In the game Monster Island, players assume the role of a monster which explores a massive island (see image).<ref>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>Paper Mayhem 1994. p. 42.</ref>Template:Efn 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 endedEdit

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>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 beginnerTemplate:Sndalthough some may see this situation as a challenge of sorts.<ref name=Loth42/> Examples of open ended games are Heroic Fantasy,<ref>Townsend 1987. p. 24.</ref> Monster Island,<ref>DuBois 1997. p. 4.</ref> and SuperNova: Rise of the Empire.<ref>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 or MonopolyTemplate:Sndonce 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, and Starweb.<ref>Lindahl 2020</ref>

Companies in the early 1990s also offered games with both open- and closed-ended versions.<ref>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>Paper Mayhem 1993. p. 21.</ref>

Computer versus human moderatedEdit

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>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>Armintrout 1984. p. 43.</ref> Examples included Delenda est Carthago, Star Empires, and Starglobe.<ref name=Mulholland89>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"/>

Cost and turn processing timeEdit

Loth noted that, in 1986, $3–5 per turn was the most prevalent cost.<ref name=Loth43>John Kevin Loth III 1986. p. 43.</ref> At the time, some games were free, while others cost as much as $100 per turn.<ref name=Loth43/>

PBM magazine Paper Mayhem stated that the average turn processing time in 1987 was two weeks, and Loth noted that this was also the most common.<ref>Paper Mayhem Sep/Oct 1987. p. 1.</ref><ref name=Loth43/> Some companies offered longer turnaround times for overseas players or other reasons. In 1985, the publisher for Angrelmar: The Court of Kings scheduled three month turn processing times after a break in operations.<ref>Editors 1985 p. 47.</ref>

In 1986, play-by-email was a nascent service only being offered by the largest PBM companies.<ref name=Loth43/> By the 1990s, players had more options for online play-by-mail games. For example, in 1995, World Conquest was available to play with hourly turns.<ref>Browning 1995 p. 6.</ref> In the 21st century, many games of this genre are called turn-based games and are played via the Internet.<ref>Flagship 2005 p. 5.</ref>

Game turns can be processed simultaneously or serially.<ref>McDowell 2014. p. 5.</ref> In simultaneously processed games, the publisher processes turns from all players together according to an established sequence. In serial-processed games, turns are processed when received within the determined turn processing window.<ref>McDowell 2014. pp. 4–5.</ref>

Information sourcesEdit

File:Paper Mayhem Magazine cover logo.jpg
Logo of play-by-mail magazine Paper Mayhem

Rick Loomis of Flying Buffalo Games stated in 1985 that the Nuts & Bolts of PBM (first called Nuts & Bolts of Starweb) was the first PBM magazine not published by a PBM company.<ref name=Loomis36>Loomis 1985. p. 36.</ref> The name changed to Nuts & Bolts of Gaming and it eventually went out of print.<ref name=Loomis36/> In 1983, the U.S. PBM magazines Paper Mayhem and Gaming Universal began publication as well as Flagship in the UK. Also in 1983, PBM games were featured in magazines like Games and Analog in 1984<ref name=McLain85>McClain 1985. p. 38.</ref> as well as Australia's gaming magazine Breakout in 1992.<ref>Thomas 1992. p. 21.</ref>

By 1985, Nuts & Bolts of Gaming and Gaming Universal in the U.S. were out of print. John Kevin Loth identified that, in 1986, the "three major information sources in PBM" were Paper Mayhem, Flagship, and the Play By Mail Association.<ref name=Loth43/> These sources were solely focused on play-by-mail gaming. Additional PBM information sources included company-specific publications, although Rick Loomis stated that interest was limited to individual companies".<ref name=Loomis36/> Finally, play-by-mail gamers could also draw from "alliances, associations, and senior players" for information.<ref name=Loth43/>

In the mid-1980s, other gaming magazines also began venturing into PBM.<ref name=Loomis35>Loomis 1985. p. 35.</ref> For example, White Wolf Magazine began a regular PBM column beginning in issue #11 as well as publishing an annual PBM issue beginning with issue #16.<ref>White Wolf 1988. p. 2.</ref><ref>White Wolf 1989. p. 1.</ref> The Space Gamer also carried PBM articles and reviews.<ref name=Loomis35/> Additional minor information sources included gaming magazines such as "Different Worlds ... Game New, Imagine, and White Dwarf".<ref name=Loth43/> Dragon Publishing's Ares, Dragon, and Strategy and Tactics magazines provided PBM coverage along with Flying Buffalo's Sorcerer's Apprentice.<ref>Gray 1983. p. 30.</ref> Gaming magazine Micro Adventurer, which closed in 1985, also featured PBM games.<ref>Flagship Editors 1985. p. 44.</ref> Other PBM magazines in the late 1980s in the UK included Thrust, and Warped Sense of Humour.<ref>Woods 1989. p. 63.</ref>

In the early 1990s, Martin Popp also began publishing a quarterly PBM magazine in Sulzberg, Germany called Postspielbote.<ref>Flagship Editors 1992. p. 14.</ref>Template:Efn In 1995, Post & Play Unlimited stated that it was the only German-language PBM magazine.<ref>Post & Play Unlimited 1995. p. 29.</ref> In its March 1992 issue, Flagship stated that it checked Simcoarum Bimonthly for PBM news.<ref>Bost 1992. p. 9.</ref>Template:Efn Shadis magazine stated in 1994 that it had begun carrying a 16-page PBM section.<ref>Shadis 1994. p. 47.</ref> This section, called "Post Marque", was discontinued after the March/April 1995 issue (#18), after which PBM coverage was integrated into other magazine sections.<ref>Rodgers 1995. p. 93.</ref>Template:Efn In its January–February 1995 issue, Flagship's editor noted that their "main European competitor" PBM Scroll had gone out of print.<ref name="Browning95_7">Browning 1995. p. 7.</ref>

Flagship ran into the 21st century, but ceased publication in 2010. In November 2013, online PBM journal Suspense & Decision, began publication.<ref>Suspense & Decision 2013.</ref>

FictionEdit

Besides articles and reviews on PBM games, authors have also published PBM fiction articles according to Shannon Muir.<ref>Muir 1994. pp. 29–30.</ref> An early example called "Scapegoat" by Mike Horn appeared in the May–June 1984 issue of Paper Mayhem magazine.<ref>Horn 1984. pp. 13–14.</ref> Examples include "A Loaf of Bread" by Suzanna Y. Snow about the game A Duel of a Different Color,<ref>Snow 1995. p. 56.</ref> "Dark Beginnings" by Dave Bennett about Darkness of Silverfall,<ref>Bennett 1995. pp. 57–58.</ref> and Chris Harvey's "It Was the Only Thing He Could Do...", about a conglomeration of PBM games.<ref>Harvey 1984. p. 26.</ref> Simon Williams, the gamemaster of the PBM game Chaos Trail in 2004, also wrote an article in Flagship about the possibility of writing a PBM fiction novel.<ref>Williams 2004. p. 39.</ref>

The main character of John Darnielle's 2014 novel Wolf in White Van runs a play-by-mail role-playing game.

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