PBM stands for Play By Mail. (PBEM stands for Play By Electronic or E-Mail) These are games, which you play against other real life players all over the world. The games have come along way since it was first started by sending chess moves from one player to another. Nowadays games are more complex and defiantly more exciting than the top computer games. Games range from managing your own f1 racing team to commanding your own army of goblins in fantasy war games, to being a commander of a fleet of destructive space marines. The choice of games is now endless and lasts for anywhere from 6 months to 2 years to play. Even when you play a game for a second time the results are always different due to the fact that there are several other players like your self with the same aim, to win!! The depth of PBM games is now huge and only the best survive in a very competitive market. Every 1-2 weeks (on average) you will receive pages and pages of reports, information and results of exactly how you and your competitors are doing (called a turn). Then from all the information you then have to decide on what tactics, strategies and course of action to take.
How does it work?
Easy after receiving your initial turn and rule book you then sit down and work out your plan this might mean giving another player a call so you can work as a team and put your brains together to come up with a battle plan. After deciding on your course of action you then have to fill in your turn sheet. A turn sheet is where you will write down all your orders and tactics for the next turn. You then post this off to the company that is running the game and wait. When the company receives your turn sheet along with all the other players in the game. (Remember these are real human being just like you!) The GM (GM stands for Games Master or Modulator this is GOD what he or she says stands ) then places all your orders into a computer which has the game program in the computer then processes the turns and prints the results. The company will then mail them back to you. As you sit on the doorstep waiting for the post person to arrive then anticipation level grows. You open then mail read through your turn and then a smile creeps across your face as you realise it worked every thing went right. All that you wanted to happen happened (I wish) most of the time you get your results back and things don't quite work out as you planned. Oh the pain! So again you sit down see where you went wrong and in what areas you were successful and write down your new set of orders for the following turn trying either to increase your slight lead or to make up for lost time. To find out what its really like to play these type of games look at the feedback section in this website or look at other PBM companies web sites and see what their players have to say. How do you start up! The Best way is to contact one of the many companies in the directory give them a call or email them they will then send you any information that you and they require.
Warning play by mail games are addictive and will seriously improve your health.