Q: What are the best PBEMs going?

[UnOrthOdOx]

Best game I'm in is the Mass Diplomatic Game over on MZO. It's got a full compliment of 8 players and going at very nice a turn/weekday clip, ENFORCED. Players are skipped if they don't make their scheduled play time. And I say this having 0 chance to win at all, having been struck with disease 3 times before my first settler. Damn floodplain.

The SUAP game I replaced Krill in shows promise just for being good moving and a differing concept of not being allowed to talk to each other out of game at all.

IDG Blue has promise, but is moves slow at times.

Newb PBEM on MZO is a nice moving game with 3 players on tiny map.

Most others have died or move so slow I regularly forget what the hell I am planning.

I say, for me, speed is the most important component to staying interested in a game. I deal with bad luck and inferior starting positions in stride, but have a hard time with slow movers.

[Rhothaerill]

Originally posted by UnOrthOdOx
I say, for me, speed is the most important component to staying interested in a game. I deal with bad luck and inferior starting positions in stride, but have a hard time with slow movers.

Yeah me too. Early on when I started with C3C PBEMs I had several die (including one with Dom), but then I started trying to get into PBEMs with only the hardcore PBEMers (Paddy, Beta, etc.). Some of my games have died (several of the ones conmcb25 was in) and several have were dead for a while before being picked back up by a replacement player (again several of the ones conmcb25 was in), but I've had several games finish up and most of my others tend to move right along except when someone is gone for a few days (with Beta's mini-vacation this weekend all of my PBEMs but one will stop )

[UnOrthOdOx]

Yeah, ghengis and con killed most of the ones I was in too.

Replacements are difficult to find unfortunately.

[punkbass2000]

Arnelos killed one of mine where I had replaced con

[McMeadows]

It has been mentioned by several, the things that make PBEM-games enjoyable to me:

1. Diplomacy/ having human opponents
Trading is a totally different concept all together in PBEM's. Furthermore a crapy start does not necesarily doom your chances. Nor will a great start ensure victory, as big alliances cab arise.

2. Speed of the game
Although I'm already happy when a game is just moving, speed adds to the pleasure

3. Community
Getting to know the people in games makes the game even more personal. And like I once told beta:'I speak more to you than to my mother (here's your 3rd save today from me)'

4. 1 turn
Disabling the 1 more turn(s) compared to a SP game is not always fun, but it sure is a blessing. When the saves are played I just go to bed, instead of noticing that that 1 more turn took several hours.


The games
C3CDG: Eve of Destruction 3100 BC 9.5 h/team
PTW classics 270 AD 10.0 h/player
Expanding Game 1600 BC 12.2 h/player
Europe in flames 450 BC 12.6 h/player
Rapid fire 3550 BC 15.8 h/player
Random-Random PBEM 510 BC 16.9 h/player
European C3C PBEM 690 BC 17.3 h/player
In The Mood 1275 BC 19.5 h/player
Zulu Dawn 3050 BC 20.4 h/player
Clash of Titans 3350 BC 23.4 h/player
Silent PBEM: Gunboat Diplo 1790 BC 23.7 h/player
The five continents of Eden 1650 BC 25.6 h/player

Games that have been going for a while are most interesting. For that reason games with a starter pack get going the fastest. Larger maps are not very adequate for PBEM's, they need even more times to get going.