Starweb

"Starweb" is a play-by-mail game of strategy and diplomacy invented in 1976 by Rick Loomis. The game has won a number of awards over the years (including the 1984 Charles S. Roberts Award for "Best Play-by-Mail Game", [cite web
title=Charles Roberts Award Winners (1984)
url=http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1984/list-of-winners
publisher=Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design
accessdate=2008-02-18] the 2000 and 2003 Origins Awards for "Best Play-by-Mail Game", [cite web
title=Origins Award Winners (2000)
url=http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/2000/list-of-winners
publisher=Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design
accessdate=2008-02-18] [cite web
title=Origins Award Winners (2003)
url=http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/2003/list-of-winners
publisher=Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design
accessdate=2008-02-18] and the 1997 Origins Award for "Best Ongoing Play-by-Mail Game" [cite web
title=Origins Award Winners (1997)
url=http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1997/list-of-winners
publisher=Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design
accessdate=2008-02-18] ), and is likely the longest lived play-by-mail game that started life in that medium. It remains a popular game at Flying Buffalo.Fact|date=February 2008

Played for points, "Starweb" is primarily a hidden movement wargame, but also includes elements of a role-playing game. Six different types of players (Empire Builder, Merchant, Berserker, Apostle, Pirate, and Artifact Collector) gain points in different ways; nevertheless, most victories come from taking something away from somebody else.

Players write down their orders using an arcane command language, which is then entered into the "Starweb" computer program and the orders calculated simultaneously. The results are then printed and mailed back to the players. In recent years the system has moved to e-mail. Scoring rules differ based on the character class. The game ends when any player reaches a score determined (but not revealed to the players) at the beginning of the game.

One interesting concept in the game is the idea of "artifacts", a number of which are randomly scattered around the game map during setup. The artifacts have certain point values for each class, but the Artifact Collector gains considerably more points for holding collections of them in a single place. One of the artifacts, The Black Box, has a random effect which is not revealed to the players.

"Starweb" uses the term "Berserker" with permission of Fred Saberhagen, Saberhagen returned the favor by using a fictionalized "Starweb" game as a backdrop for his novel "Octagon" (1981).

In 1999 "Pyramid" magazine named "Starweb" as one of the "Millennium's Best Games". Editor Scott Haring said "Starweb" is the king of [play-by-mail games] -- the industry's most popular and longest running. ... Beautifully balanced, with a design so well-polished it gleams." [cite journal
title=Second Sight: The Millennium's Best "Other" Game and The Millennium's Most Influential Person
journal=Pyramid (online)
url=http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/login/article.html?id=1306
date=1999-12-24
last=Haring
first=Scott D.
publisher=Steve Jackson Games
accessdate=2008-02-16]

References

External links

* [http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/ Flying Buffalo (offers "Starweb")]
* [http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/swrules.htm Rules to "Starweb"]
* [http://www.flyingmoose.ca/ Flying Moose] (company offering a "Starweb Analyzer")
* [http://www.madoverlord.com/projects/weblord.t Weblord] A free comprehensive "Starweb" Mapper/Player Assistant for Mac/Windows/Linux