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Does Anyone Still Play-by-Mail?

manganese4 asks: "With the ever increasing complexity of games and the desire to buy the bleeding edge of hardware, does anyone still participate in games in the old-time 'Play by (e)Mail' format? Remember the anticipation of wondering if the snow storm was going to delay the post and prevent you from executing a crushing blow with your rook or pacing your emails to give your opponent time to become distracted by something else on the Usenet groups!"

9 of 114 comments (clear)

  1. No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, no one does anymore. And I would have had the first post had the damn snowstorm not delayed my message.

  2. Tic-Tac-Toe by MyLongNickName · · Score: 4, Funny

    I like tic-tac-toe by e-mail. With the extra time between moves, I only lose 1/3 of my games now. Downside: I think my opponent is using a computer.

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    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
  3. KJC Games by Xaviar21 · · Score: 4, Informative

    KJC Games
    All their games are PBM. I particularly like Phoenix.

  4. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  5. Laser squad nemesis? by Zutroy+Of+Earth · · Score: 5, Interesting

    www.lasersquadnemesis.com

    It just has to be one of the most addictive games out there :) It's by the creators of XCOM and is basically XCOM with internet play (only much better). Sadly enough, it was so addictive I had to cancel my subscribtion. I wasn't strong enough not to look at my emails every half hour or so :)

    I never paced my emails though. I always found it frustating when the other players stopped for a day or for the weekend. When that happened, I just started other games and concentrated on those. I'd rather win or lose against an opponent that is giving me his/her 100% :)

  6. You betcha by emiddlec · · Score: 5, Informative
    You betcha. One place to play is itsyourturn.com, which will send you an email when it's your turn to move, etc. They currently have the following games (and variations) available:

    • Backgammon, Pro Backgammon (BP), Anti-Backgammon (BA), Nackgammon (BN), and Backgammon Race (BR)
    • Battleboats, Battleboats Plus, Dark Battleboats Plus (TD)
    • Checkers: American (aka British Draughts (KX)), Pro Checkers (KP), Anti-Checkers (KA), Sparse Checkers (KS), and Crowded Checkers (KC).
    • Checkers: International (aka International Draughts), Italian Checkers (KT), Polish Checkers (KL), and Russian Checkers (KR).
    • Chess, King's Corner (CK), King's Fortress (CF), Horde (CH), Extinction (CE), Anti (CA), Dark (CD), Screen (CS), and Crazy Screen (CZ).
    • Chinese Chess (Xiangqi)
    • Go - 19x19 size board, 9x9 (G9) and 13x13 (G3)
    • Go-Moku and Pente, Keryo-Pente (MK), Pro Go-Moku (MM), and Pro-Pente (MQ).
    • Halma (Chinese Checkers) - 8x8 board, and 10x10
    • Jamble
    • Reversi, Reversi 10x10 (R1), Blackhole Reversi (RH), Anti-Reversi (RA), Blackhole Reversi 10x10 (RI), Anti-Reversi 10x10 (RB), Reversi 6x6 (R6), and Anti-Reversi 6x6 (RC)
    • Sabotage (aka Stratego(TM)), Mini Sabotage (SM), Sabotage Rush (SR), and Sabotage Open Rush (SO). (Stratego(TM) is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc.)
    • Stack4, Connectris (4C), Stack 4X4 (44), and Anti-Stack4 (4A)
  7. There is a new game, the whole world is playing... by Alpha27 · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's called '419', the Nigerian Email Scam.

    It's easy to play.

    You just pay upfront and wait for the money to come in. If you've heard of other players complaining that the game takes too long to play, it's part of the game to see if you have what it takes to last the longest.

    Go ahead, give it a try. ;=)

  8. Half Life 2 by DavidLeblond · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm currently playing Half Life 2 via email. I've take 5 steps so far, this game rocks!

    I've been playing Quake via snail mail for a few years now, I think I just killed my first monster...

  9. Many people do this, even celebrities... by rubberbando · · Score: 5, Funny

    Average Joe Somebody sends playfull letter to Hot Actress and she responds by playfully sending him a restraining order.
    It's plenty of fun, you should try it sometime. :-P

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