Do you like cheering for the underdog? Do you like classic and retro
gaming? Then you’ll love this book. Just like the young student
decades ago who had to be cut off because he was using his lunch money
for play-by-mail (PBM) games, some people are obsessed with them—and
still are. In this book, you’ll learn why.
Think strange material only happens in PBM games? Think again. The PBM
genre has seen pub brawls, murders, bribery, blackmail, mail fraud,
and other crimes *outside* of the games. It’s also seen fanatical
players and religious concerns amid the “moral panic,” of the 1980s.
Of course, in-game material is even more fantastic, ranging from RPG
dungeon crawlers, space operas, wargames, gladiatorial arena combat,
fantasy wargames, battling robots or lizards, to “adult only” settings
and others. It’s all in these pages.
In this history of the genre, you can read about the extremes of PBM
gaming including the longest, most expensive, and strangest game, and
more. Learn about the most players you can get into a single game. (A
lot!) Discover the games still available today. And, of course, read
about the history and future of the genre.
Time. Every two weeks you’d scribble your orders on a piece of paper, mail the paper to a gamemaster for human or computer adjudication, and then wait anxiously by your mailbox for the results. Two weeks. But for tens of thousands of people, it was the only multi-player gaming experience in town.
Keep cheering for underdogs. And if you like classic and retro gaming,
there’s something in here for you.
