Agema Publications

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Agema Publications

A forum for the disscussion of the Play by Mail games from Agema Publications


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    Post by revvaughan Thu Jun 16, 2016 4:58 pm

    Just a thought and a topic to throw out there... I know that I am involved in at least three AGEMA games and would love to be in more, but I just don't have the time necessary to put toward any others. In the past years I have had a few local people that read turns with me and offer some advice on the turns and in some cases they have written letters as other officials in the government. I did this in hopes that I would bring them into the game and they would get their own account. In one case it did happen, but in most cases it did not.

    I was curious as to whether anyone else had thought about this method of playing and if it was something that was done on a regular basis? I certainly benefited from it and didn't think it was an issue because it didn't hurt Richard's bottom line and it was done in hopes of improving that.

    Thoughts?
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    Post by Kingmaker Thu Jun 16, 2016 7:32 pm

    very good idea Team Play... 3497527849
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    Post by Rozwi_Game10 Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:37 pm

    I once mentioned that I played PBM games during a break from toy soldier gaming at a local wargaming club. The looks of utter confusion, on the toy soldier player's faces, on hearing my words made me of wished I'd never said anything. When I explained how PBM gaming worked the general attitude they had was "sounds boring and far too time consuming." I never bothered to say anything after that.

    But toy soldier gaming is a bit of a dying hobby, as no new blood is coming into it as teenagers mostly now play computer games. From what I've read over the Internet, PBMs sound like they could be going the same way - Possibly more so, since a PBM game requires a GM to run the game, whereas toy soldier games can be refereed by the opposing players.

    But, getting back to the original point, it sounds a good way to try and interest new prospective players. And getting different peoples points of view on your game positions would probably be a really useful idea, as they'll no doubt spot something otherwise missed or have a solution or idea that beats those already available to the player.

    I just don't have anybody I could ask to play with ... Unless I asked the dog? I don't think he'd be much help, though Laughing
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    Post by Deacon Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:46 pm


    I have several friends who have expressed mild interest, but are too cost sensitive to make a go of it.

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    Post by Deacon Thu Jun 16, 2016 10:22 pm


    I did get my spouse to join for a while, but we hit a rough patch, and I dropped all my positions except one permitted indulgence including james in game 7. Still wonder what would have happened if I'd kept the position.

    Haven't been able to persuade her to rejoin.

    I wish there as a more RP/fantasy kind of game with this level of hand moderation left, because I know I could get her to join me for that.

    But I think all those games are gone these days, unless someone here knows something.

    She loves Roman history, so I might be able to persuade her to join me in the Roman one when it launches...
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    Post by revvaughan Thu Jun 16, 2016 10:29 pm

    I had even thought about offering others that were in the game I was playing the chance to way in on certain turns. In a few instances this has been useful and done as well.
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    Post by Kingmaker Fri Jun 17, 2016 10:32 am

    yes the hobby is not what it once was which is a shame
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    Post by jamesbond007 Fri Jun 17, 2016 1:21 pm

    A friend of mine once expressed an interest and looked into it. But he felt the games was too expensive and slow.
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    Post by Nexus06 Fri Jun 17, 2016 3:10 pm

    I have asked a mentor and obtained one (Thanks man) and this has helped me a lot in the game. Concerning TGOK back twenty years ago, when i was playing the pope in game 3, i was introduced by the grand duke of Tuscany, we introduced other three players. At the moment i'm trying to involve other players from italy, but with few success
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    Post by revvaughan Fri Jun 17, 2016 5:05 pm

    Our world is certainly an acquired taste. There are those out there that are quite interested in it, but seem to always have time issues or $ issues. I have the time issue, but I have always been willing to pay to support my habit!
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    Post by Kingmaker Fri Jun 17, 2016 6:59 pm

    true money then time for most ppl, in a world of on demand services PBM is not at the top, hence all these phone app games, but you end up paying for extras any way
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    Post by Rozwi_Game10 Sat Jun 18, 2016 11:36 am

    Starting to play Swashbuckler has opened my eyes to the possibility of the RP -type games. I couldn't take part in another game the size and workload of TGOK, but games structured around the size or workload, and price, of Swashbuckler is something that I would look further into.

    I reckon a pure RP only game, such as a Swashbuckler without the TGOK element slowing down and making the game more complex, and playing a £5 turn every two weeks might be a draw in regard pulling in new players. I'm not saying Agema to do this, merely offering my suggestion.

    Players control a character and the game revolves around, say, the city of London during a certain time period. If the game was limited to London, and only the exploits of the player controlled characters and whatever a GM did with non-player-controlled characters, then that could possibly keep such a game going with a bi-weekly turn around and newer players wouldn't get bogged down with too much information or distractions.

    Possibly the issue of an open-ended game may put off new players? That's one of the reasons why I set myself a 24 turn task in my Swashbuckler game, and I'm hoping to meet that time frame. I now know that I'm playing Swashbuckler for 2 years, give or take a couple of months - and the option to then carry on is there for me, and Agema. I can work out my finances to take into consideration playing this game and know that the workload is quite small (factoring in the research needed for historical possibilities).

    I know one thing that I'd love to know more about is the workload of the GM, and how difficult it is for them to run the game. We all can appreciate how the games work from a player's viewpoint, but the world of the GMs is a bit of a closed book. I have found some information on the Internet, written about some GMs experiences running and creating games and I found it very interesting. I find it of use to know what issues a GM faces, when running games, and then I'm more forgiving or understanding in what I should do as a player.

    That was another issue that my old toy soldier opponents didn't like the sound of, when I told them about PBMs. Them not being in control over every aspect of the game, and being in the command of the GM. They wanted the God-like certainty of knowing how and why something happened in the game, and a PBM gave them too many unknowable quantities for them to work with. Random issues of friction was not to their liking, they wanted a game with given rules and game limits that they could work inside and find methods to exploit to their advantages - something that is probably impossible with PBMs such as Agema's, as the GM is the balancing hand in ultimate command.
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    Post by J Flower Sun Jun 19, 2016 11:34 am

    It may also well be that we are quite an isolated group, The fact that tabletop war gaming in general is not in a healthy state may have something to do with it, there was a least a pool of interest that maybe now & again spilled over into PBM, Even sitting down & writing letters seems to be old fashioned, with modern technology compressing messages into small sound bytes.

    Have tried to get others involved, It lasted during a 6 month tour of Kosovo, but when we returned they all folded.Maybe the isolation was a factor that gave them something to do.

    Occasionally in all the years I have been playing I have come across people who are intent above all else to drive others from the game, which seems a little foolish, especially when our numbers are so few, maybe we should be more considerate to one another within the game. It may not encourage too much new blood but it may stop us loosing more of that which we have.


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    Post by Kingmaker Sun Jun 19, 2016 2:04 pm

    Its finding like minded ppl to play with, always the problem. Shame some would like to plat but are afraid of what their mates may say....

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