Need some tips for organizing PBEM games

[Monkey]

Hi SMAC players,

I will be organizing a PBEM game for CTP for the first time and I will greatly appreciate any tips you have for me.

I've had a look at the PBEM threads(I presume) and I see that people just post the current turn and the person that they sent the turn to on a thread so that the game can be easily kept tracked of... Someone suggested we have only one turn per day... what are your opinions on multiple turns per day? Any tips on organizing PBEM games will be greatly appreciated...

Thanking you all....Monkey



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Monkey I am proud to be!
Trim the sails and roam the sea!
Trim the sails and roam the sea!

...Stefu

[cousLee]

getting one turn per day is hard enough. if the players can get a second one in, all the better, but i don't think you are gonna see that as the norm.

the best advise I can give you, is limit the game to 4 human players. any more than than, and the game really seems to bog down (lucky to get 1 turn per week). with 4 payers, the avg seems to be 3 turns per week.

good luck.

[Monkey]

Thanks for your response CousLee

I don't know how successful this first PBEM game will be but at least I will know that I have tried.

I made up a rule that says that players must have a minimum of one turn a day. That means that anyone that only checks their e-mail once every two or three days are unable to play. Do you think this is a wise rule?

Also I considered getting the GMT of all players in their local time zones so I could make the turns ordered according to time zones and when people usually check their e-mails.

Again more feedback from people is appreciated.

Even with 4 people you only get average 3 turns per week? Ouch.. I'd hate to see what is to become of my 8 player PBEM game.... and I was thinking of making a 32 player one!!!!

[cousLee]

well, a one turn per day is a good rule, but hard to enforce. not all players have to time to check their email several times a day to comply. It is best that all players commit to "try" play and send the turn as soon as they get it.

orginizing by GMT does not work that well either, as the determining factor is not GMT, but the hour(s) at which they are online. instead of organizing by gmt, it's better to get each player's online time preference. I am in gmt-7, but tend to be online mostly in very early am, when most ppl in my time zone are asleep.

it has been my experience, that towards the start of the game, players are "excited' about the game and turns move faster, but after a month or so, turns tend to slow down. that is why I averaged it down to 3 or 4 turns per week.

also, vacations and the like have obvious impact on turn-around time, even if there is a temporary player available (CMN or other).

PBEM is great fun. You just have to keep in mind the diffrence between early game expectations and actual turn-around time. I have found the players with the highest hopes for turn around time, tend to be the ones that lag the game when they get depressed cause they didn't receive the turn when they thought they should. it can be hard to stay interested in a game that is moving slow. hopefully, this will not be the case in your game, but the possibility exists.