This is a list of

play-by-mail 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 were among the first PBM games. ''Diplomacy'' has been played 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 Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

and Go. ''Diplomacy'' was first played by mail in 1963. In the early 1970s, in the United States,

Rick Loomis Rick Loomis (August 24, 1946 – August 23, 2019) was an American game designer, most notable as the founder of game publisher Flying Buffalo, which he managed until his death. Career Early years Richard F. Loomis was born and raised in Scotts ...

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 p ...

, began a number of play-by-mail games; this included games such as ''

Nuclear Destruction ''Nuclear Destruction'' is a play-by-mail (PBM) game. It was published by Rick Loomis of Flying Buffalo Inc. in 1970. As the first professional PBM game, it started the commercial PBM industry. Offered by postal mail initially, the game is avail ...

'' (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 ''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 y ...

'', and ''

Flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

'' which focused solely on the play-by-mail gaming industry. The sourcing of play-by-mail games in this list largely comes from these magazines, whether from reviews or advertisements, as well as additional magazines such as '' Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer'', ''

Dragon Magazine Dragon Magazine may refer to: * ''Dragon'' (magazine), an American magazine for ''Dungeons & Dragons'' players * ''Dragon Magazine'' (Fujimi Shobo), a Japanese light novel magazine {{disambig ...

'', and other publications that serviced the gaming community broadly, resuming with the contemporary online magazine '' Suspense and Decision'', which supports the small but active play-by-mail gaming community today. In some cases, more than one publisher can be found for the same game on the list. This is because the rights to play-by-mail games were occasionally sold among publishers. In other cases, a publishing company might license a game to another company—which could even translate and moderate the game in a different country. Many more play-by-mail games existed in nascent, playtest form than there are on this list. Only games which completed playtesting and were released for play are included here as a "published" game. This list includes games which are no longer available for play as well as games that are still active. Game durations range from those which were only briefly available for play, such as ''Quest of Gorr'', to those which have been played for decades or longer, such as ''

Alamaze ''Alamaze'' is a computer-moderated, fantasy, turn-based game. It was published in 1986 by Pegasus Productions as a play-by-mail game. Reality Simulations later took over game moderation. The game itself has been played with multiple versions. Th ...

'', ''Diplomacy'', ''

Hyborian War ''Hyborian War'' is a play-by-mail game published by Reality Simulations, Inc. It takes place during the Hyborian Age in the world of Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. The game has been continuously available for worldwide play ...

'', and

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

Active play-by-mail games

Inactive U.S. play-by-mail games

Inactive international play-by-mail games

Notes

References

Selected sources

* ''1st Class: The Play By Mail Games Magazine'' * ''American Gamer'' magazine (July–August 1990). No. 1. * * ''

Computer Gamer ''Computer Gamer'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom by Argus Specialist Publications, covering home gaming from April 1985 to June 1987. It was a colourful relaunch of the failing magazine '' Games Computing'', a mor ...

'' magazine. Various issues. * ''Computer Games International'' * ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

'' magazine. Various issues. * ''D2 Report''. Various issues. * ''

Different Worlds ''Different Worlds'' was an American role-playing games magazine published from 1979 to 1987. Scope ''Different Worlds'' published support articles, scenarios, and variants for various role-playing games including ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Ru ...

'' magazine * ''Dragon'' magazine. * ''

'' magazine. Various issues. * ''

Games International ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 19 ...

'' * '' Gaming Universal'' magazine. Various issues. * ''Journal of the PBM Gamer''. Various editions. * ''

'' magazine. Various issues. * ''PBMZine''. Various issues. * ''

Shadis ''Shadis'' is an independent gaming magazine that was published in 1990–1998 by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). It initially focused on role-playing games. Publication history Shadis was conceived and started by Jolly Blackburn as an indepen ...

'' magazine. Various issues. * '' Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer'' magazine. Various issues. * ''Suspense & Decision'' magazine. Various issues. * ''

The Games Machine ''The Games Machine'' is a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published ''CRASH'', ''Zzap!64'', ''Amtix!'' and other magazines. History The magazine ran head to head with ...

'' * ''

White Wolf A white wolf or Arctic wolf is a mammal of the ''Canidae'' family and a subspecies of the gray wolf. It may also refer to: Organizations * White Wolf (band), a Canadian heavy metal band * White Wolf (band), white power oi band from the USA * Whi ...

'' magazine. Various issues.

External links

* A list of 362 PBM companies, past and present, many of which are now out of business. * A compilation of PBM games by publisher in list form as of 2011. * A comprehensive, searchable compilation of PBM games. * A list of active PBM games as of July 2021. {{Play-by-mail games List

Play-by-mail 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 were among the first PBM games. ''Diplomacy'' has been played by mail ...