Top Ten Classic PBM Games Of All Time
Kerry Harrison (Madhouse USA)
Time? The games don't have to be currently running anymore.
I think I'd have Feudal Lords, Spiral Arm, Starweb, Illuminati, Beyond the
Stellar Empire, and Tribes of Crane in my list for sure, but am undecided on
what others.
Kerry
Joey Browning
so I'm sure to leave out many venerable UK games...
In no particular order: Starmaster*, Tribes of Crane, Starweb, Empyrean
Challenge*, Midgard, Beyond the Stellar Empire, Victory!, Supernova (I or
II), Adventurer Kings*, and Feudal Lords. The ones with the * I actually
have played - the others I know by strong reputation, and have seen rules
and turn results for all of them. Of that list, the most complicated was,
doubtless, Empyrean Challenge. I'd have to say that some were ultimately
heartbreakers, usually through failings of the GM: Starmaster, Tribes of
Crane, Midgard, and BSE (though the latter is doing much better I hear under
the wing of Rolling Thunder Games). Most elegant, I think, was AK.
My 2 cents, anyhow.
Joey Browning, long time PBMer and former US Editor of Flagship
jbro...@stc.net
Kerry Harrison (Madhouse USA) wrote in message
<7onnba$mbl$1...@hiram.io.com>...
Munk
Tha game has been around since 1983, it is by far the most popular PBM of
it's type (Adventurer's Guild isn't a full Arena simulation) and has
possibly the most loyal fan following of any PBM game. Also remarkable
since the per turn price hasn't changed in over 10 years (though some may
argue that the game was always overprices to begin with.)
Chris
In article <7onnba$mbl$1...@hiram.io.com>, ke...@madhouseusa.com says...
H. Barker
Man, the $64,000 question !
I'd have to say The Hunting, one of the most atmospheric and deep RPGs of
all time.
Quest, simply because it was the first of its kind like that, and brought
a LOT of people into the hobby.
Hmm. I guess if you say Quest you have to really say Its a Crime. Gulp.
Scarey thought.
Night of the Things. One of the most enjoyable and fun games I ever
played, and I know a lot of PBMers who then went on to other RPGs after
playing that (bring it back Steve, you tease !!).
Chronicles of the Knights of the Avalon, another of those landmark
computer-moderated tribal games, in my opinion.
Saturnalia: any game run on that kind of scale that's STILL going deserves
some kind of recognition; and some of the finest GMs I've ever had the
pleasure to meet.
Another milestone game for me would have to be Age of Heroes, but it's
barely known outside the circle of players invited to take part. Great
atmosphere, very realistic, superb quality prose.
Holy War: Very well put together, well laid-out rules, good depth, some
amazing GM enthusiasm, and a good balance between hand and computer
moderation.
Lizards: Such a simple basis for a clan based wargame, but so many
different levels of tact. I know a lot of PBMers were brought into the
hobby through this game as well.
Can't think of many others that really stand-out in my mind. I missed out
on some of the classics that Kerry mentioned, but from what I hear Starweb
and Tribes of Crane should be in there.
H
On Mon, 9 Aug 1999, Kerry Harrison (Madhouse USA) wrote:
> I'm curious, what you folks consider the Top Ten Classic PBM Games Of All
> Time? The games don't have to be currently running anymore.
>
> I think I'd have Feudal Lords, Spiral Arm, Starweb, Illuminati, Beyond the
> Stellar Empire, and Tribes of Crane in my list for sure, but am undecided on
> what others.
>
> Kerry
H
Harvey Barker
hb...@cam.ac.uk
University of Cambridge
David Callan
AUSTERLITZ! - certainly long standing, long playing . . .
Midgard! A great game!
Legends - the definitive computer moderated RPG
Star Empires II - though a recent game, there is nothing to touch it on
the market.
Capitol - a great team game! Miss this one!
Regards
David
Carlsson, Anders
> I'm curious, what you folks consider the Top Ten Classic PBM Games Of All
> Time? The games don't have to be currently running anymore.
As the *EFL freak I am, maybe Alan Parr's "United", invited in the
70-ties and still seems to be the father of today's football PB(e)Ms
should be on this list?
--
Anders Carlsson
Shadowjack
>I'm curious, what you folks consider the Top Ten Classic PBM Games Of All
>Time? The games don't have to be currently running anymore.
Oh, boy. This one's gonna be interesting...
>I think I'd have Feudal Lords, Spiral Arm, Starweb, Illuminati, Beyond the
>Stellar Empire, and Tribes of Crane in my list for sure, but am undecided on
>what others.
OK. Purely a personal opinion, here.
Earthwood
Not 'cos it was great, but because it brought a whole load of people
into the hobby.
The Weapon
Because it could never be _played_ the same way twice, never mind won!
Starweb
Because it was one of the best of the collector games.
Delenda Est Carthago
Because, as an RPG, it convinced so many people for so long to part with
so much money for turns.
Starglobe
Because it finally forced me to understand polar co-ordinates and
mapping.
Keys of Medokh
Because it had ( has!) the potential to be one of the best games ever if
only... <BG>
Tribes of Crane
Because it got Judith Proctor interested in PBM ( see Delenda above!)
Vorcon Wars
Despite the fact I never played it, too many people have told me how
good it was.
VGA Planets
The first of the cross-over computer/ PBM games ( although whether it
should be considered a box game on a disk is arguable)
Chess
'Cos it probably got there first!
Diplomacy
'Cos it arguably started PBM as we know it.
and number eleven:
A.N.Other sports game ( United?!) or even Fantasy Football
I don't play them, but a heck of a lot do...
Shall we start arguing now?! <G>
--
'Twas long ago and far away, and besides the wench is dead
The MK Mouse
The Ghost from the Coast
aka Mere, Naive, Ignorant Provincial
mlwilliams
I chose my top 5 I wouldn't be able to exercise any selection. Still, I
can rank the ones I've played! :)
Calvana: Dead and buried now but a truly fine rule-free RPG from Steve
Carsey. I played 50 turns and damn good fun they were.
Saturnalia: I may GM it now but I played it too so I can say that it is
(or at least was) pretty good. When you put as many players together in
a game as they did in the old days of Sat you can't help but generate
enjoyment.
Crisis: Incredibly simple but good clean nuclear devestational fun
efficiently run.
Lizards: An order of magnitude more complex than crisis but still
simple enough to play quickly. Great potential - my own playing
experience was soured but I maintain it to be a fine game.
Spiral Arm: I liked this one - good solid game.
Kings of Steel: Rusty old classic. I'd play it for the same reason I
installed a Spectrum emulator on my PIII 450.
The Hunting: I only ever played a couple of turns of this now-defunct
giant. It never clicked for me - which just goes to show how subjective
our snap-shots of these games are as players.
Mark
--
Saturnalia
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/5676/sat.html
I'm sorry, I can't argue unless you've paid.
Chuck
provide a list after a while for people to review and vote on, if they like.
Chuck
--
The GOING POSTAL! Zone - http://users.aol.com/casbahcarl/
The PBM Report - http://www.pbmreport.com/pbmreport/
Paul Walker
Kerry Harrison (Madhouse USA) <ke...@madhouseusa.com> wrote in message
> I think I'd have Feudal Lords, Spiral Arm, Starweb, Illuminati, Beyond the
> Stellar Empire, and Tribes of Crane in my list for sure, but am undecided on
> what others.
Dodging the question for the minute (basically 'cause I'm lazy, and
trying to work out my favourite 10 would take effort <G>), I really
enjoyed Illuminati - and then it closed. Anyone know of it being
elsewhere? Doesn't have to be free, in fact a pay game is really
preferred. Be a shame if it passed on with Nigel. :/
Ta,
Paul
--
To email me, change nospam to black-sun.
"Wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that
happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So now I take great comfort
in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe."
-- Marcus Cole, Babylon 5
Kerry Harrison (Madhouse USA)
>Dodging the question for the minute (basically 'cause I'm lazy, and
>trying to work out my favourite 10 would take effort <G>), I really
>enjoyed Illuminati - and then it closed. Anyone know of it being
>elsewhere? Doesn't have to be free, in fact a pay game is really
>preferred. Be a shame if it passed on with Nigel. :/
Paul, unless I'm mistaken Flying Buffalo still runs it - see their website
at http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/.
Kerry
Kerry Harrison (Madhouse USA)
Kerry Harrison (Madhouse USA)
Kerry Harrison (Madhouse USA)
Kerry Harrison (Madhouse USA)
>Capitol - a great team game! Miss this one!
Actually it looks like ABM is offering Capital again.
Kerry
Paul Walker
<ke...@madhouseusa.com> wrote:
>>trying to work out my favourite 10 would take effort <G>), I really
>>enjoyed Illuminati - and then it closed. Anyone know of it being
>Paul, unless I'm mistaken Flying Buffalo still runs it - see their website
>at http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/.
Aha. Bingo, although I need to read their page first. :-)
Thanks!
Paul Clay
Feudal Lords. The best design I found was Suzerainty, they just had bad
problems as company.
Cam
Serim Ral is still going strong after many years.
Cameron Macaskill
Chuck
Do you know who runs the game?
Kerry Harrison (Madhouse USA)
>> Serim Ral is still going strong after many years.
>
>Do you know who runs the game?
Incubus Design
Mindless Games
Harlequin Games
Cam
http://www.dagon.co.uk/incubus/
And have tried Mindless too. Both goo service.
http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~turing/mindless/
Cameron Macaskill
Kerry Harrison (Madhouse USA) wrote in message
<7ouji6$76j$1...@hiram.io.com>...
Rob Harper
Cam <298...@tay.ac.uk> wrote in message <37b2e...@silver.tay.ac.uk>...
>I play with Incubus
>http://www.dagon.co.uk/incubus/
>And have tried Mindless too. Both goo service.
>http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~turing/mindless/
>
And Harlequin Games (also running Serim Ral) are at
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/harlequin.games
luv&hugs,
Rob.
KMGraphiks
state my top 10 pgm games....cool.
In no order: Suzerainty, World Conquest, Monster Island, Quest, Stand &
Deliver, Cosmic Crusaders, Centurion, Lords of Destiny, Smugglers Run, VGA
Planets.
Ahhh, a nice trip down memory lane....now back to Ultima Online.
Ken Mitchell