This sounds like an interesting way to play games, but I haven't a clue how or where to begin. Any suggestions? Thanks

Well, that's a broad question.....

And there are lots of variations of online gaming.

In the main I would say there are two completely separate themes (but I could be wrong and I'm sure someone would correct me)

Firstly there are those variations of the Play By Mail (PBM) variety where use of the internet has replaced, or even just supplemented, snail-mail. These tend to be of the submit turn, wait for central processing, receive results variety. Supernova and Victory, which RTG run, are of this variety. Results appear every two weeks and new orders have to be back about 12 days later. Others, which are normally much less complicated (we often need 10 days to actually do our turns because Supernova is 'wonderfully' complicated) use the internet to be able to do turns every few days, which can be much more exciting for fast paced games. Anyway, there are many varieties of PBM/PBeM from sports to role-play to pure wargames. Get yourself a copy of the Flagship magazine from somewhere and have fun seeing if that's your thing.

The second variety are those games that actually only run online in real-time. You connect and play there and then. Some of these are like complete worlds and universes of their own. I don't know much about these, having never played - but I'm sure someone can tell you all about them. There's also the simpler, log on for a 'fight', just like you can do with games consoles these days......

Have Fun

Mx

I have played them. I think Ur Lord has done a good job of describing the universe. It depends on what you are looking for. If you are interested in the first area, then I would suggest looking at the rule book for Supernova to see if this level of complexity interests you. If it does but you are more interested in WW2 then Victory is a good choice.

Check out our company site as well at

Rolling Thunder Games

in particular see the "What's PBM" page as it offers a good overview of the style of gaming we do here. If it all sounds interesting - check out the company info & policy section as well as the specific areas for SuperNova: Rise of the Empire and Victory! The Battle for Europe. That will give you an idea of what the games are as well as answer some basic mechanics questions about how PBM works. Email me if you have any questions that I can answer.

The forums here are a great source of information as well, particulary if you start communicating with some of the folks that play in our games and come here. They are a great source of information if you are new to PBM - they are avid gamers and most of them have been involved with this style of gaming for years (as well as just about every other style of gaming) and know the pros and cons pretty well

Russ

Or check out the Flagship website at:

http://www.flagshipmagazine.com/

Thanks for the link Sultan. I finally got to read Ur-Lords glowing review.