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Space Battle (play-by-mail Game)
''Space Battle'' is a play-by-mail game that was published by Flying Buffalo beginning in 1980. Gameplay ''Space Battle'' was a game that involved two teams of ten players each in which one team member is the commander of a base ship and three battleships, and the other players each have one cruiser and three scouts, and one team wins when they destroy the base ship of their opposing team. The game lacked economic and exploring aspects. Reception Sam Moorer reviewed ''Space Battle'' in '' The Space Gamer'' No. 50. Moorer commented that "''Space Battle'' is a disappointment to Flying Buffalo's customers, who enjoyed their classic games. This one lacks the balance and fascination of ''StarWeb'' or ''Battle Plan''. It might be interesting to a wargaming club. They could get together to discuss strategy and tactics, coordinating their movement. But the average PBMer won't find the trip worth the fare." A reviewer in a 1983 issue of ''PBM Universal'', suggested it needed more wo ...
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Play-by-mail Game
A play-by-mail game (also known as a PBM game, PBEM game, or a turn-based game) is a game played through postal mail, email or other digital media. Correspondence chess and Go (game), Go were among the first PBM games. ''Diplomacy (board game), 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 (magazine), Flagship''. These magazines eventually went out of print, replaced in the 21st century by the online PBM journal ''Suspense and Decision''. Play-by-mail ga ...
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Flying Buffalo
Flying Buffalo Inc. (FBI) is a game company with a line of role playing games, card games, and other gaming materials. The company's founder, Rick Loomis, began game publishing with ''Nuclear Destruction'', a play-by-mail game which started the professional PBM industry in the United States. Loomis added games and players while introducing computer moderation and soon incorporated into the company Flying Buffalo Inc. The company published games in other genres, including card games such as ''Nuclear War'' and a role playing game called ''Tunnels & Trolls'', a game similar to ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Flying Buffalo acquired its 10,000th customer account number in 1980 and reached its largest size of 21 employees in 1983. In July 2021, Webbed Sphere bought Flying Buffalo with plans to incorporate Flying Buffalo's products. The PBM games were not included in the sale and were continued by a separate company called Rick Loomis PBM Games. History Flying Buffalo Inc. was founded in J ...
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The Space Gamer
''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s. The magazine is no longer published, but the rights holders maintain a web presence using its final title ''Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer''. History ''The Space Gamer'' (''TSG'') started out as a digest quarterly publication of the brand new Metagaming Concepts company in March 1975. Howard M. Thompson, the owner of Metagaming and the first editor of the magazine, stated "The magazine had been planned for after our third or fourth game but circumstances demand we do it now" (after their first game, ''Stellar Conquest''). Initial issues were in a plain-paper digest format. By issue 17, it had grown to a full size bimonthly magazine, printed on slick paper. When Steve Jackson departed Metagaming to found his ...
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Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the creation of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', SJ Games created several role-playing and strategy games with science fiction themes. SJ Games' early titles were microgames initially sold in 4×7 inch ziploc bags, and later in the similarly sized Pocket Box. Games such as ''Ogre'', '' Car Wars'', and ''G.E.V'' (an ''Ogre'' spin-off) were popular during SJ Games' early years. Game designers such as Loren Wiseman and Jonathan Leistiko have worked for Steve Jackson Games. Today SJ Games publishes a variety of games, such as card games, board games, strategy games, and in different genres, such as fantasy, sci-fi, and gothic horror. They also published the book '' Principia Discordia'', the sacred text of the Discordian religion. Raid by the ...
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Starweb
''Starweb'' (or ''StarWeb'') is a closed-end, space-based, play-by-mail (PBM) game. First published by Flying Buffalo Inc. in 1976, it was the company's second PBM game after ''Nuclear Destruction'', the game that started the PBM industry in 1970. Players today can choose a postal mail or email format. Fifteen players per game assume one of six available roles and explore and conquer planets within a universe comprising 225 worlds. The object of the game is to attain a predetermined number of points which are generated by various actions during gameplay. Multiple game variants are available. ''Starweb'' is still available for play as of 2021 through the company Rick Loomis PBM Games. ''Starweb'' has received numerous reviews from the 1970s to the 21st century with positive and negative comments. Reviewer and game designer Timothy B. Brown stated in 1990 that "''StarWeb'' is arguably the best-loved, most widely known play-by-mail game in history," Brown 1990. p. 76. and the edit ...
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Battle Plan
''Battle Plan'' (or ''Battleplan'') is a closed-end, military strategy, play-by-mail (PBM) wargame. It was first published by Flying Buffalo Inc. in 1972, as one of the company's game offerings after ''Nuclear Destruction ''Nuclear Destruction'' is a play-by-mail (PBM) game. It was published by Rick Loomis of Flying Buffalo Inc. in 1970. As the first professional PBM game, it started the commercial PBM industry. Offered by postal mail initially, the game is ava ...'', the game that started the PBM industry in 1970. In August 2021, Rick Loomis PBM Games began publishing the game. To win the game, players must conquer 29 countries in Europe through the use of five types of military units or eliminate the other players. Four to eight players play the game which involves significant player interaction. Players today can play by email or postal mail. Another variant of the game is the complex ''World Wide Battle Plan'' with the same rules but encompassing a world map and up to ...
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Gaming Universal
''Gaming Universal'' (or ''PBM Universal'') was a magazine dedicated to play-by-mail games. The magazine was published between 1983 and 1988, in two separate print runs with Bob McLain as editor of both editions. Its first print run was published by Imagascape Industries between November 1983 and 1985. The first issue was called ''PBM Universal'', with a name change by the second issue. The second edition ran between 1987 and 1988, published by Aftershock Publishing. The magazine received average to positive reviews from other magazine editors and reviewers. Contents ''Gaming Universal'' was a professionally produced magazine devoted to the play-by-mail game field. An "epic poem" by L. Sprague de Camp appeared in the second issue, which was panned by readers due to its non-PBM theme. Initial publication The magazine was first published in November 1983 by Imagascape Industries. Rick Loomis, of Flying Buffalo, Inc., noted that this was because Bob McLain had identified the lack ...
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List Of Play-by-mail Games
This is a list of play-by-mail (PBM) games. It includes games played only by postal mail, those played by mail with a play-by-email (PBEM) option, and games played in a turn-based format only by email or other digital format. It is unclear what the earliest play-by mail game is between chess and Go. ''Diplomacy'' was first played by mail in 1963. In the early 1970s, in the United States, Rick Loomis of Flying Buffalo Inc, began a number of play-by-mail games; this included games such as ''Nuclear Destruction'' (1970). This marked the beginning of the professional PBM industry. Other publishers followed suit, with significant expansion across the industry in the 1980s. This supported the publication of a number of newsletters from individual play-by-mail companies as well as independent publications such as ''Gaming Universal'', ''Paper Mayhem'', and ''Flagship'' which focused solely on the play-by-mail gaming industry. The sourcing of play-by-mail games in this list largely come ...
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Flying Buffalo Games
Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ''Flying'' (UFO album), 1971 * ''Flying'', by Bae Seul-ki * ''Flying'', by Chas & Dave * ''Flying'', by The Hometown Band Songs * "Flying" (Beatles song), 1967 * "Flying" (Bryan Adams song), 2004 * "Flying" (Cast song), 1996 * "Flying" (Chas & Dave song), 1982 * "Flying", by Anathema from ''A Natural Disaster'' * "Flying", by Badfinger from ''Straight Up'' * "Flying", by Cory Marks from the 2022 extended play ''I Rise'' * "Flying", by James Newton Howard from the film ''Peter Pan'' * "Flying", by Living Colour from ''Collideøscope'' * "Flyin'", by Prism from ''See Forever Eyes'' Other uses * ''Flying'' (magazine), a monthly publication * ''Flying'' (film), a 1986 drama film * "Flying" (''The Good Place''), an episode of the American comedy television series * ''Fl ...
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Multiplayer Games
A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such as jigsaw puzzles or games involving an artistic layout such as Mahjong, solitaire, or some video games). Games are sometimes played purely for enjoyment, sometimes for achievement or reward as well. They can be played alone, in teams, or online; by amateurs or by professionals. The players may have an audience of non-players, such as when people are entertained by watching a chess championship. On the other hand, players in a game may constitute their own audience as they take their turn to play. Often, part of the entertainment for children playing a game is deciding who is part of their audience and who is a player. A toy and a game are not the same. Toys generally allow for unrestricted play whereas games come with present rules. ...
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Play-by-mail Games
A play-by-mail game (also known as a PBM game, PBEM game, or a turn-based game) is a game played through postal mail, email or other digital media. Correspondence chess and Go (game), Go were among the first PBM games. ''Diplomacy (board game), 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 (magazine), Flagship''. These magazines eventually went out of print, replaced in the 21st century by the online PBM journal ''Suspense and Decision''. Play-by-mail ga ...
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Science Fiction Games
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for scientific reasoning is tens of thousands of years old. The earliest written records in the history of science come from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in around 3000 to 1200 BCE. Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, knowledge of Greek conceptions of the world deteriorated in Western Europe during the early centuries (400 to 1000 CE) of the Middle Ages, but was preserved in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age and later by the efforts of Byzantine Greek scholars who brought Greek ...
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