How to Find and Join a Play By E-Mail (PBEM) Role Playing Online Game

What is a Play By E-Mail game? This is a group of people who are writers and storytellers using creative writing as their method of role play. Collectively within a group, a story is written, given a few premises for a starting plot and some twists are put out to help it keep going. Each player sends out their character actions, thoughts and verbalizations to all the group, with tags for the other players’ characters to respond where appropriate. Most are free with little to download, unlike other many online games with video graphics.

A good PBEM can help you to improve your writing and language skills and encourage your ability to focus and concentrate in your storytelling. If you are curious about finding a decent free PBEM game, if you are an aspiring writer, someone who wants the interaction with others, or you need a creative outlet, here is how to find and join a PBEM role playing game.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A Working desktop or laptop computer
• Internet access with that computer
• Some sort of Email program, whether online or on your hard drive
• Your brain
• Some basic acquaintance with a keyboard and typing
• The ability to read and write
• An hour to check your email each day or evening

1. Look around at the search engines online such as Google for your favorite genre or check with any of the role playing site that list them. Some good examples of these listing sites are http://www.rpggateway.com/ratings or http://pbemtop100.extra.hu/ Some listing sites will also include what type of role playing game it is and if it is a PBEM or not.

2. Click on the link to the site of the genre of your choice as it appears on the listing site. When you get to the role playing site you chose, see look around it carefully and read whatever they have on the site. See if there are rosters showing the characters of the ships or group(s) and look for the compiles of the stories that have been written previously.

3. Ask yourself the following questions as you look around the site.
   *Does the site look well maintained?
   * Is there a lot of information on it?
   * Do they appear to be active on a regular basis?
   * Are the stories posted interesting to you?
   * Is there a way to apply or sign up easily?
   * Is there an Academy or teaching course for newcomers?
   * Does the site have a forum board or somewhere to interact on it out of game play, for you to personally ask questions?

4. If you are dissatisfied with what you see on that site, then keep on looking for other PBEM sites to find one where you will feel more comfortable and a better fit for you.

5. Once you find a site you would like to try joining, read up on anything they have about character creation. Make up the character you would like to play according to any guidelines of parameters they have set up on the site of your choice.

6. Submit or send in your character you created to the site. Be sure to include your own real name, and correct email address.

7. Wait patiently and check your email daily to hear back from those in charge. Be sure to read your email from them carefully and do exactly what they say to the letter. If you do not hear from them within a week, then go to the forum boards or contact email address posted on the site to ask what is going on with your character you submitted.

8. Either you will be assigned to an instructor with a teaching scenario, or to a group at large to begin to role play in the collective story.

Tips & Warnings

• You can look up a specific genre such as Star Trek role play games or Fantasy role play games in the search engines to find specific referral sites.
• The best and most successful Play By E-Mail game sites will show some sort of teaching course or Academy for people new to this type of role playing.
• There is generally no dice rolling involved in a PBEM game.
• Shopping around pays off especially if you can ask questions and get answers on some sort of forum board.
• Generally the Play By E-Mail sites are free and there is little to download.
• Gmail is the best online email program out there for role playing games since it has features conducive for this type of role play, and it is also free, without any spyware or adware.

[Speedy-Max]

on 3/15/2008 very informative, thanks