''The Weapon'' is a
closed-ended, science fiction,
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 m ...
(PBM) game.
History and development
Dan Ealy designed the game to run on the
Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
.
[ Ealy 1984. p. 41.] Memory limitations restricted game design.
Ealy aimed for game complexity between ''
Starweb
''Starweb'' (or ''StarWeb'') is a closed-end, space-based, play-by-mail (PBM) game. First published by Flying Buffalo Inc. in 1976, it was the company's second PBM game after '' Nuclear Destruction'', the game that started the PBM industry in 1 ...
'' and ''
Empyrean Challenge
''Empyrean Challenge'' is a strategic science fiction play-by-mail (PBM) game. Published by Superior Simulations in 1978, its introduction was important to the nascent PBM industry. 150 players per game strived to dominate a cluster of star syst ...
''.
The game had medium complexity.
Mark Brown programmed the game for ten months prior to playtest beginning in September 1982, taking more than six times longer than initially estimated.
Playtesting began in August 1983 with 15 players from Indiana, and Ealy offered the game for play in May 1984.
The game was initially published by 4Sight.
[ McLain 1984. p. 3.] By 1988 it was published by Fantastic Simulations.
[ Sullivan 1988. p. 30.]
Gameplay
''The Weapon'' was a science fiction PBM game of space conquest.
It was
closed-ended and
computer moderated.
The game allowed 15 players.
Players customized their homeworlds using variables such as economics and military.
[ Crooks 1984. p. 30.] Players could create fleets of ships and other devices such as "warp gates" for faster travel across the game's 20×20 hex map.
[ Players scored points by gaining and holding worlds and destroying the ships of opponents.][ Walton 1984. p. 39.]
Reception
Bob McLain, editor of ''Gaming Universal'' stated in 1984 that this was "one of the few games I can recommend without
hesitation ... as a gamer you'll be treated to a top notch space adventure".[ Editors 1984. p. 65.] He rated it at 4.5 stars out of 5, or "exceptional".[ Walton 1984. p. 40.] Flagship editor Nicky Palmer provided a positive review for The Weapon, stating "if you're the wargamer/planner type, you should try The Weapon".[ Palmer 1994. pp. 35–36.]
See also
* List of play-by-mail games
This is a list of play-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 ...
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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{{Play-by-mail games
American games
Multiplayer games
Play-by-mail games
Science fiction games
Science fiction role-playing games
Space conquest games
Space opera role-playing games
Strategy games
Tabletop games
Wargames
Wargames introduced in the 1980s
Grand strategy wargames