Play by Mail (PBM) Games Homepage

A large variety of games can be played by either postal mail or electronic mail. The Usenet newsgroup rec.games.pbm discusses these games. If you have any additions or corrections to this page, please send email to the address at the bottom of the page.

rec.games.pbm Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) List: A quick overview of Play by Mail, both email and snail mail.
PBM List: A list of all known play-by-mail games, both electronic and postal, including free email games.
Play-by-Email Fanzine: A fanzine covering free play-by-email wargames.
ftp.erg.sri.com: A ftp site in the USA with a lot of PBM-related information.
ftp.funet.fi: A ftp site in Europe with identical files. Please use the closer ftp site.

Some games have their own Web home pages:

Free games
- Abstract games (Trax, Twixt, Hex, Abalone)
- Atlantis (strategic fantasy)
- Battle (tactial combat)
- Core Wars (battling program game from SciAm)
- C++ Robots (like CoreWars, only C++)
- Diplomacy (moderation of Avalon Hill's boardgame)
- Electronic Soccer Leagues (soccer sports simulations)
- Empires in Arms (Napoleonic boardgame by mail)
- En Garde! (moderation of GDW's rpg/strategy game)
- Formula 1 Pick 6 (auto racing guessing game)
- Galaxy (strategic space opera)
- Nomic (like quarters, only with no beer)
- `Pro' Wrestling (no comment)
- Robot Auto Racing Simulation (programmable race cars)
- Ultra Cricket (cricket sports simulation)
Commercial play-by-email (PBEM) games
- Olympia (fantasy role-playing/strategy game)
- Phoenix (space opera strategy game)
- Rhyde to the Cup (fantasy golf)
- VGA Planets (shareware conquer-the-galaxy game)
Commercial PBM magazines
- Flagship
Commercial play-by-snail-mail (PBM) games
- BSE --- European version (space opera)
- Duelmasters (fantasy arena combat)
- The Last Empire (science fiction strategy)
- Legends (strategic fantasy)
- Middle Earth PBM (strategic game in Tolkein's world)
- Monster Island (exploration game)
- Quest (fantasy adventuring)

Other items of possible interest to PBM gamers include:

If you have any updates or corrections or problems with this page, please send me email.

Greg Lindahl (gl8f@virginia.edu)