Gaming Universal (or PBM Universal ) was a magazine dedicated to play-by-mail games . The magazine was published between 1983 and 1988, in two separate print runs with Bob McLain as editor of both editions. Its first print run was published by Imagascape Industries between November 1983 and 1985. The first issue was called PBM Universal , with a name change by the second issue. The second edition ran between 1987 and 1988, published by Aftershock Publishing. The magazine received average to positive reviews from other magazine editors and reviewers.
16-482: (Redirected from Galaxy II ) Galaxy 2 or Galaxy II may refer to: Galaxy II (game) , a play-by-mail game published by Brett A. Tondreau Samsung Galaxy S II , an Android smartphone Super Mario Galaxy 2 , a platforming video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii Galaxy 2 (satellite) , a Hughes geostationary communications satellite from
32-486: A "large subscription and advertising base" and created a quality product, but let it go in favor of a non-gaming multi-million dollar business. In an article called "The Rise and Fall of Gaming Universal" in a 1985 issue of Space Gamer , McLain stated that the PBM industry at the time could not support a high-end PBM publication and the venture ended up losing money. He added that the publication enabled various things, such as
48-561: A company which would offer it for play in another country. Many more play-by-mail games existed in nascent, playtest form. Only games which completed playtesting and were published for play are included here. This list includes games which are still active and those no longer available for play. Game durations range from those briefly available for play, such as Quest of Gorr , to those which have been played for decades or longer, such as Alamaze , Diplomacy , Hyborian War , and Chess . Gaming Universal Gaming Universal
64-464: Is between chess and Go . Diplomacy was first played by mail in 1963. In the early 1970s, in the United States, Rick Loomis of Flying Buffalo Inc , began a number of play-by-mail games; this included games such as Nuclear Destruction (1970). This marked the beginning of the professional PBM industry. Other publishers followed suit, with significant expansion across the industry in
80-409: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Galaxy II (game) This is a list of play-by-mail (PBM) games. It includes games played only by postal mail , those played by mail with a play-by-email (PBEM) option, and games played in a turn-based format only by email or other digital format. It is unclear what the earliest play-by mail game
96-520: The 1980s. This supported the publication of a number of newsletters from individual play-by-mail companies as well as independent publications such as Gaming Universal , Paper Mayhem , and Flagship which focused solely on the play-by-mail gaming industry. The sourcing of play-by-mail games in this list largely comes from these magazines, whether from reviews or advertisements, as well as additional magazines such as Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer , Dragon Magazine , and other publications that serviced
112-571: The Galaxy satellite series Los Angeles Galaxy II , a soccer team in LA, CA, US See also [ edit ] [REDACTED] Search for "galaxy 2" , "galaxy ii" , "galaxy two" , "galaxy too" , or "galaxy galaxy" on Misplaced Pages. Galaxy 2 Galaxy , a music collective All pages with titles containing galaxy ii All pages with titles containing galaxy 2 Galaxy (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
128-470: The March/April 1987 issue of Paper Mayhem , the new Gaming Universal had one interim issue and two regular issues averaging 20–32 pages. David Webber, Paper Mayhem's editor in chief, noted that the initial issues were light on content (articles and reviews) because the publisher wanted to ensure publication timeliness, which was a noted issue with the prior version. Webber also observed that some of
144-555: The PBM Mass Mailer "which enabled moderators to reach 10,000 prospective customers". By 1987, a new edition of Gaming Universal was in publication by Aftershock Publishing. The new edition continued to run bi-monthly—or six times per year—but on an off-month schedule (Dec/Jan versus Nov/Dec and Jan/Feb) to provide seamless coverage with the other PBM magazines: Paper Mayhem and the UK-based Flagship . By
160-507: The PBM magazine at the time with an exclusive hold on the market was The Nuts & Bolts of PBM . Flagship magazine began publication in the United Kingdom the month before Gaming Universal's first issue was published. The first issue was called PBM Universal . It became Gaming Universal on the second issue. The magazine began with heavy advertising, known writers, and extensive PBM game analysis. According to Loomis,
176-492: The authors for the new Gaming Universal also wrote for Paper Mayhem and Flagship . Webber recommended his readers pick up Issue #2 of Gaming Universal , the December/Jan 1986/1987 issue, which was the best to date as it contained a listing called The PBM Primer which was a listing of all known US PBM companies and games. In 1988, this edition of the magazine also ended. David Webber announced that Gaming Universal
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#1732771921471192-463: The first three issues were published, albeit all late, before McLain realized that a PBM magazine wouldn't be profitable due to the small gaming base and lack of advertising budgets in PBM companies. In the Spring 1985 issue, Flagship announced that Gaming Universal , their "main rival in the international PBM arena" had collapsed. Flagship' s editor, Nicky Palmer , noted that Bob McLain had built
208-406: The gaming community broadly, resuming with the contemporary online magazine Suspense and Decision , which supported the small but active play-by-mail gaming community into the 2020s. In some cases, more than one publisher can be found for the same game on the list. The rights to play-by-mail games were occasionally sold among publishers. Additionally, a publishing company might license a game to
224-413: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Galaxy 2 . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Galaxy_2&oldid=1236009908 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
240-506: Was a professionally published magazine covering the play-by-mail game field. An "epic poem" by L. Sprague de Camp appeared in the second issue, which was panned by readers due to its non-PBM theme. The magazine was first published in November 1983 by Imagascape Industries. Rick Loomis , of Flying Buffalo, Inc. , noted that this was because Bob McLain had identified the lack of a professional independent PBM magazine. McClain said that
256-529: Was ending publication. He announced that Advent Games Inc "had a few of their partners buyout the others", decide to end publication, and try to sell the magazine. Their unsuccessful efforts officially finished the second publication run of Gaming Universal . Paper Mayhem took over Gaming Universal subscriptions for those not requesting a refund. Michael Gray reviewed Gaming Universal in Space Gamer No. 70. Gray commented that " Gaming Universal
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