A new PBM news and information website was launched this week and can be found at PBM Gamer. This new site is dedicated to the support of the PBM gaming hobby in general, and not any specific gaming company or individual. The site will report news, reviews, editorials, with a forum for user generated content and company support sub-forums, with a PBM gaming wiki on the way.

Both Wy'East Games and PBM Gamer remain my projects, but I felt it best to separate the content specific to Wy'East Games as a PBM company, and the more general content of a news magazine website that is now found at PBM Gamer. As such the content related to former new magazine publication efforts of Wy'East Games, namely Mail Call and A Game With A View, has been removed from this site.

Please continue to check back here for updates on the pending play test of the revised Galactic Empires, and other PBM gaming projects I may see fit to develop. And be sure to visit PBM Gamer regularly for news and information related to the PBM gaming world.

~Mark

I know a few Flagship readers have monitored this site in the past, so maybe someone with some knowlege will chime in.

It seems the Flagship website been offline for an extended period of time now. I had heard it went offline a few weeks back, but had assumed just a technical glitch that would be quickly resolved. The longer this goes on the more serious it appears. I've sent an email to the last address I had for Carol, the main driving force behind Flagship, but I have yet to hear a reply. I'll update my post as I learn more.

A related side note, as some of you know I had been looking into starting a new PBM magazine, but for various reasons opted to go with a web option instead with some ideas about going print down the road. I've been working on a new site for some time now and with only a few more tweaks I think I may be ready for some user feedback. So if you're interested in seeing a new web based PBM news resounce let me know. Tell me why I shouldn't do it, or what you'd like to see changed.

As taken from the unofficial promotional material (Wikipedia) "Origins Game Fair is one of North America's most prominent annual gaming conventions, second in size only to Gen Con. Origins takes place each year in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, in late June or early July."

One of the activities each year is to pass out various awards, including an award for the "best" Play by Mail/Post game of the year. While most categories have some criteria related to when a game is published to be considered for an award for that year, PBM gaming is different in that the same game(s) can be nominated, and win, repeatedly. As I understand it this is because the award is not purely for the game, but for the game moderator/company and the gaming experience that a player has while playing the game. Are turns processed in a timely manner, are they correct, and problems resolved quickly and correctly,, etc, etc. Over the years we've used different criteria, sometimes it works well, sometimes not so much.

Recently I received my annual invitation to participate in the selection  process for the Play By Mail/Post Origins award. For this process five jurors and one alternate play each of the game, sometimes up to 15 different games, to select the top five that will be presented at Origins as the nominees for the award. This year Rick Loomis has put out a request for replacement jurors.

Rick wrote: "The jury consists of 6 pbm experts - 5 members and an alternate. Unfortunately three of those folks have said they can't do it this year. So I need three volunteers. Do you know anyone who would like to do this? The only qualification is that they know something about pbm, and they are willing to play in 10 or 15 pbm games for the next year in order to rank them, and they are willing and able to answer emails about the awards! I could ask my customer list, but that would end up getting people biased in favor of my games. I just want someone conscientious enough to do a thorough job and talk with the other jury members about the games. If you'd like to try it, email me and let me know. If you know someone else who might be a good choice, please ask them to contact me. Ask them to put "Origins Award" in the subject line. (And no, I am not on the jury.)"

I do not want to give out Rick's email without his permission, so I will ask that if you're interested you email me instead if you're interested and I will pass your request on to Rick.