Play by Email games

[n0wak]

I was talking with a friend about strategy games and X-Com came up. He was a big fan back in the day, but I never really played much of it (was always more of a console guy duuurrr). However, I did mention to him that the X-Com guys do make new, similar games still and pointed him towards Laser Squad Nemesis which, for the most part, is a play by email game.

So we're thinking of trying it out, but I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this game or with "play by email" type game in general?

I know that Civ IV has a play by email option (I think in the expansion) and I've always wondered how that worked. Would a game of Civ IV, by email, take eight months to finish?

Are there any other such strategy games -- at such a slower, unrushed pace -- out there? Maybe for free, even.

[BooJaka]

I've never even heard of them but I'm pretty intrigued as to how they work. Do you just send in orders for other people to do or what?

[DanJW]

Not quite on topic, but X-com (UFO Enemy Unknown) was one of the finest games ever made. None of the recent sequals have even approached it (Terror From the Deep came close, but was ridiculously hard).

The new one, UFO: Afterlight, looks pretty good though. I might give it a go.

On topic: Can't really help you, the only email games I played were the paper-scissors-stone fighting games (battlemail?), they were fun but purely a distraction.

[Marek]

Also offtopic:

ShackNews - Irrational Games Developing X-COM Title?

[Oath]

I've never even heard of them but I'm pretty intrigued as to how they work. Do you just send in orders for other people to do or what?

It's basically turn-based gameplay with really, really long turns. You don't send in orders for other people to do though, as that's automated.

[Roderick]

The indie episode of Consolevania raved about a game called 'Naked War', which was playable by e-mail apparently. If I'm not mistaken. And it's supposedly quite good.

[SpiderMonkey]

I've wondered about this stuff too. Do they take 8 months or does it just descend into you both sat there doing nothing except playing, just with a handy built-in pause feature.

[Kolzig]

Also offtopic:

ShackNews - Irrational Games Developing X-COM Title?

Yeah... ot, but still very damn awesome.

[Wrestlevania]

The indie episode of Consolevania raved about a game called 'Naked War', which was playable by e-mail apparently. If I'm not mistaken. And it's supposedly quite good.

Eurogamer's review makes for compelling reading. I've been after something like this for aaages.

Also offtopic:

ShackNews - Irrational Games Developing X-COM Title?

I think I've just cum...

[brkl]

The new one, UFO: Afterlight, looks pretty good though. I might give it a go.

You should probably note that this is not a sequel of UFO Enemy Unknown, but a game done by fans of the X-COM series, and that the last one was quite sucky.

[DanJW]

You should probably note that this is not a sequel of UFO Enemy Unknown, but a game done by fans of the X-COM series, and that the last one was quite sucky.

Yeah I know those things. I gathered that the current UFO series were "spiritual sequals". This one looks like a significant improvement on its predecessors, but yes I'm still going to want a demo before I get the full game.