Hyborian War is a play-by-mail game published by Reality Simulations, Inc. It takes place during the Hyborian Age in the world of Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. The game has been continuously available for worldwide play since its inception in 1985 and has changed little in its overall format. It uses a computer program to adjudicate player orders. Although it relies on postal mail or email and has turnaround times which are relatively long for the digital age of video games, Hyborian War has remained active into the 21st century.
The game is set within the heroic fantasy genre, also known as sword and sorcery. The central figure is Conan of Cimmeria, appearing in the game as a wandering hero whom players can employ until fortune takes him elsewhere. Game designer Edward Schoonover wove multiple aspects of Howard's stories into Hyborian War including diverse landscapes and cultures, grand armies, large-scale battles, wizards tipping the scales of power, and stories of courageous and heroic deeds.
Gameplay is multifaceted: play-by-mail commentator Mike Scheid described it as "marvelously complex".Scheid 1987 p. 13 There are 36 kingdoms available to players in small, medium, and large sizes, each with different victory conditions. A central focus of the game is conquest and expansion through military action and diplomacy. Intrigue, magic and other tools of statecraft in a fantasy setting are available to players. They can also collaborate to progress their game goals. A number of fan-based websites support the game with reference material and provide forums for player communication. The game has had an active player base since 1985. Its nadir for ratings and customer service was in the late 1980s and the 1990s, while its high points were in its early years and in the 21st century—periods during which it won multiple awards.
Play-by-mail genre
Play-by-mail (PBM) games feature a number of differences from tabletop games. The typical PBM game involves many more players than an average tabletop game can support.Greenberg 1993 pp. 8–9 PBM game lengths are usually longer, depending on a number of factors. Turnaround time is how long a player has to prepare and submit "orders" (moves and changes to make in the game) and the company has to process them and send back turn results.Paper Mayhem Jan/Feb 1993 p. 1 The average turnaround time in the 1980s was two weeks, but some modern PBM games are play-by-email (PBEM) with shorter turnaround times of twice per week or faster.Flying Buffalo 2020 Open ended games allow players to strengthen their positions without end, with players continually entering and leaving the game. Examples include Heroic Fantasy and Monster Island.Townsend 1987 p. 24; DuBois 1997 p. 4 Conversely, closed end games typically have all players starting on equal terms, with rapid, intense, player vs. player gameplay that ends when a player or group achieves some victory condition or is unopposed.John Kevin Loth III 1986 p. 42; Paper Mayhem Jan/Feb 1993 p. 1 Examples include Hyborian War and It's a Crime.Lindahl 2020 The complexity of PBM games can range from the relatively simple to the PBM game Empyrean Challenge, once described as "the most complex game system on Earth".John Kevin Loth III 1986 p. 42; Townsend 1988 p. 20
Once a player has chosen a game and receives an initial game setup, gameplay begins. This generally involves players filling out order sheets for a game (see example image) and sending them to the gaming company. The company processes the turns and returns the results to the player, who completes a subsequent order sheet. Diplomacy is also frequently an important—sometimes indispensable—part of gameplay.Townsend 1987 p. 29; Mouchet 2017 p. 11 The initial choice of a PBM game requires consideration as there is a wide array of possible roles to play, from pirates to space characters to "previously unknown creatures".John Kevin Loth III 1986 pp. 42–43 Close identification with a role typically increases a player's game satisfaction.
History Some games have long been played by mail, such as chess and Go, and more recently Diplomacy.McLain 1993 The professional PBM industry began in 1970 when Flying Buffalo Inc. launched its first multi-player PBM game, Nuclear Destruction, in the United States. Flying Buffalo dominated the industry from 1970 to 1975, with Schubel & Son and Superior Simulations introducing games later in the decade.Townsend 1988 p. 20; Flying Buffalo 2020; Loomis 2013 p. 38 By 1980, the PBM field was growing but still nascent; there were only two sizable commercial PBM companies, and a few small ones.Popolizio, Leblanc, and Popolizio 1990 p. 8
In the 1980s, the PBM industry grew rapidly. Many small PBM companies opened as there were few barriers to entry, although most of these companies failed. Three independent PBM gaming magazines also began in the early 1980s: Gaming Universal, Paper Mayhem, and the UK-based Flagship.Loomis 1985 p. 36 It was in this environment that Reality Simulations, Inc. (RSI) offered Hyborian War for play in 1985.Reality Simulations, Inc. 1985 p. 22 The game has garnered numerous articles in the specialist PBM and gaming press since its release. In periodic PBM Game Ratings votes in Paper Mayhem, Hyborian War invariably attracted a relatively large number of votes, regardless of its final standing.Paper Mayhem 1989 p. 3
The 1990s brought additional changes to the PBM world. In the early 1990s, email became an option to transmit turn orders and results.Paduch 1993 p. 2 In 1994, David Webber, Paper Mayhem's editor in chief expressed concern about disappointing growth in the PBM community and a reduction in play by established gamers.Webber 1994 p. 2 By the end of the 1990s, the number of PBM publications had also declined. Gaming Universal's final publication run ended in 1988.Webber 1988 p. 2 Paper Mayhem ceased publication unexpectedly in early 1998 after Webber's death.Muir 2013. p. 14 Flagship also later ceased publication.Mosteller 2014 p. 29 In the 21st century, a single PBM magazine exists—Suspense and Decision—which began publication in November 2013. This online magazine is supported by a smaller PBM community than in previous decades.Mosteller 2014 p. 33
Setting
Robert E. Howard created Conan, among other characters, while writing articles for the pulp magazine Weird Tales in the 1920s and 1930s. While doing so, he created what would become the sword and sorcery genre.Dedopulos 2019 It was not until after Howard's death in 1936 that Conan's star would reach its greatest heights. Conan has been published globally and featured in media including cartoons, comic books, role-playing games, toys, and motion pictures.Louinet 2002 p. xix Universal Pictures released the film Conan the Barbarian in 1982 and its sequel Conan the Destroyer in 1984, the latter a year before RSI offered Hyborian War for play.
Hyborian War takes place during the fictional Hyborian Age created by Howard who described it as occurring after the sinking of Atlantis, in "an Age undreamed of".Dedopulos 2019; Schultz 20002 pp. xv, xvi Aspects of this setting that influenced Hyborian War game designer, Edward Schoonover, included its vast, diverse landscapes and its "splendid cultures".Schoonover 1990 p. 39 Another notable feature of Howard's stories that finds echoes in the game are the large-scale battles, with grand armies clashing in massive engagements and the fate of empires hanging in the balance. Howard also narrowed his storytelling focus to battlefield leaders to highlight individual feats of military skill, personal courage, and inspiration; providing a balance between grand, sweeping conflicts and personal battlefield deeds. Magic is also part of the Hyborian Age, with wizards wielding great, but not overwhelming, power.
The central figure of the Hyborian Age is Conan of Cimmeria, one of the northern, barbarian countries. Schoonover described Conan as Howard's "grim, brooding, bloodthirsty, and riveting hero". Conan fights in his first battle at age 15, already strong in stature.Dietsch 2019 Soon after, he began his travels through the Hyborian Age nations as a mercenary, a pirate, "a kozak, a penniless vagabond, [and] a general".Louinet 2005 p. xvii His adventures involved romances with women such as the pirate queen Bêlit and the mercenary Valeria; as well as fights with evil magicians such as Thoth-Amon. Later in life, he seized the throne of the mightiest kingdom of the age, Aquilonia, and ruled as its king.Louinet 2005 pp. xvii–xviii
Gameplay
According to RSI, players in each game of Hyborian War are able to create an "alternate history" of the Hyborian Age.Reality Simulations, Inc. As in Howard's tales, Conan adventures through the lands of the Hyborian Age, but the events that surround him depend on the decisions of the players. To begin, players request a setup package and express kingdom preferences. There are numerous non-player kingdoms (those run by computer) within the game and 36 playable kingdoms available in three sizes—small, medium, and large—each with varying costs per turn.Cote 1994 p. 31; Reality Simulations, Inc. The setup kit includes a game map by Liz DanforthReality Simulations, Inc. 1985; Reality Simulations, Inc. and a set of detailed game rules, while initial kingdom reports come in varying lengths.Road of Kings 2020 Orders are submitted by mail or email for simultaneous processing every 16 or 28 days for regular or slow games, respectively—the latter noted as suitable for international players or those needing more time for turns, as all turn results are sent back by postal mail. Turn results run to dozens of pages, providing detailed descriptions of kingdom facts and events in a narrative fashion.Lloyd 1988 p. 42
Gameplay is multifaceted: PBM commentator Mike Scheid described it as "marvelously complex". Players must account for multiple interrelated factors, including balancing the ambition to expand with the management of their royal courts, diplomacy, economics, and the loyalty of subjects while conscripting troops. The game begins when Conan is sixteen years old and spans a period of about two hundred years.Schoonover 1990 p. 40 Conan appears in the game as a wandering hero whom players can use, when available before fortune takes him elsewhere. Players take an indirect role—that of power behind the throne of one of the playable kingdoms.Reality Simulations, Inc; Sheron 1988 p. 40 The primary elements of gameplay include troops, provinces, and characters; the latter are able to conduct tasks such as adventuring, assassinating or kidnapping characters from other kingdoms, commanding large armies or navies, using magic, spying, and negotiating treaties.Scheid 1987 pp. 11–13
Conquest and expansion to gain provinces and sea zones through military operations and diplomatic activities play a central role in Hyborian War. Military activities such as raids and invasions figure prominently, and there are hundreds of troop types and naval units: from standard infantry, cavalry and archer units, to more unusual unit types such as mammoths, undead, infantry, and mounted flying reptiles.Reality Simulations, Inc. Players can also augment their armies with magic. Invasions result in either open field battles, with large swirling masses of unorganized troops, or in set-piece battles with more options to arrange forces. In set-piece battles, different troop types are optimal for the center, the left and right lines, and the flanks.Reality Simulations, Inc. Terrain types also drive allowable battle configurations. The order for a set-piece battle pictured here shows eight units in columns and represents a battle occurring in the province of Xachotl in open, tundra, or oasis terrain.Reality Simulations, Inc. Only the victor of an invasion battle controls the province or sea zone.Reality Simulations, Inc.