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Starlord (play-by-mail Game)
''Starlord'' is an open-ended, computer moderated, space-based play-by-mail game. Designed and moderated by Mike Singleton, gameplay began initially in the United Kingdom, with Flying Buffalo launching a version in the United States in 1983. Gameplay was limited to 50 players roleplaying as Starlords with the goal of becoming emperor by conquering the Throne Star. ''Starlord'' was reviewed multiple times in magazines such as ''Dragon'' and The Space Gamer in the early 1980s, receiving generally positive reviews, with one reviewer noting the possibility of the game lasting for years. Publication history Mike Singleton designed ''Starlord''. The game was computer moderated. Carrier 1985. p. 13. Singleton moderated the game using his Commodore PET. Editors 2018. Singleton started gameplay in the United Kingdom, but as of 1983, Flying Buffalo began running the game in the United States as well. ''Starlord'' was based on a 1977 board game of the same name invented by Gary Bedrosia ...
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Flying Buffalo Inc
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 Ja ...
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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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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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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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The Nuts & Bolts Of PBM
''The Nuts & Bolts of PBM'' (also known as ''Nuts & Bolts of Starweb'', ''Nuts & Bolts of Gaming'', or ''NABOG'') was a magazine dedicated to play-by-mail games, first published in June 1980 as ''Nuts and Bolts of Starweb'', and edited by Richard J. Buda. The magazine incorporated in 1983 to Bolt Publications. 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. Loomis 1985. p. 36. He stated that "It was a fun magazine, but somewhat ahead of its time, and it had no financial backing." Afterward, the name changed to ''Nuts & Bolts of Gaming''. Evolution The editors of ''Flagship'' magazine stated that the ''Nuts & Bolts of Gaming'' was "the oldest PBM magazine". The magazine started in mid-1980 in Chicago, IL, as the ''Nuts & Bolts of Starweb''. Spencer 2022. According to Rick Buda, the initial issues were a fanzine for ''Starweb'' and were made of ...
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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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TSR (company)
TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had been unable to find a publisher for ''D&D'', a new type of game he and Dave Arneson were co-developing, so founded the new company with Kaye to self-publish their products. Needing financing to bring their new game to market, Gygax and Kaye brought in Brian Blume in December as an equal partner. ''Dungeons & Dragons'' is generally considered the first tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG), and established the genre. When Kaye died suddenly in 1975, the Tactical Studies Rules partnership restructured into TSR Hobbies, Inc. and accepted investment from Blume's father Melvin. With the popular ''D&D'' as its main product, TSR Hobbies became a major force in the games industry by the late 1970s. Melvin Blume eventually transferred his shares to h ...
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Paper Mayhem
''Paper Mayhem'' is an out-of-print play-by-mail (PBM) game magazine that was published in Ottawa, Illinois. The staff published the initial issue in July 1983 and the magazine ran until mid-1998. Its format was 40 pages published six times per year.#Moo88, Moore 1988. p. 4. The magazine was the most well-known of the play-by-mail periodicals of the period, providing articles and reviews of play-by-mail games, as well as reader-informed ratings of play-by-mail companies, game masters (GMs) and games, both intermittently and on an annual basis. The magazine, along with its long-time editor-in-chief, David Webber, was influential in the play-by-mail community, even echoing into 21st century play-by-mail activities. The publication ceased suddenly in mid-1998 following the unexpected death of Webber. History Rick Loomis of the game company Flying Buffalo, Inc. stated that, after the early 1970s, the play-by-mail community had sufficient interest to support only two magazines: ''Pape ...
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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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Vorcon Wars
''Vorcon Wars'' is an closed-ended, computer moderated, space-based play-by-mail game. It was published by Vorcon Games and running as early as 1981. 16 players vie for control of the planet Vorcon. Gameplay occurred on a hex map with over 1,000 hexes of varying types and resources. Players strived for expansion through combat and other means. By 1986, the publisher launched an additional version for play called ''Super Vorcon Wars''. In 1989, ''Vorcon Wars'' placed second in the non-fantasy wargames section of ''Flagship's'' Spring 1989 Award Winners. Publication history The game was running as early as 1981. Coulshed 1985. p. 38. It was published by Vorcon Games. Flagship Editors 1985. p. 47. John Nicholson of Vorcon Games created the game. Kavanaugh 1986. The game shares some similarities with ''Starlord'', but with added options. The game was computer moderated. Raymond 1985. p. 16. Super Vorcon Wars By 1986, Vorcon Games published an updated version called Super Vorcon Wa ...
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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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