Dark Blades is a computer moderated, fantasy play-by-mail game published by Adventure Simulations Games in the United States and Standard Games in the United Kingdom (UK).
Publication history Dark Blades was published by Standard Games in the UK.Editors 1988. p. 80. It was based on Standard Games' Dark Blades board game.Flagship Editors 1988. p. 44. It was one of the play-by-mail games represented at Origins Game Fair 1990.Costello 1990. p. 15.
Gameplay Dark Blades is a play-by-mail game in which the Isle of Labrynthia is the setting, and players are either human or mon-oger. It was a computer moderated, open-ended fantasy game. There were 100 players per game which occurred on the "island continent of Labrynthia, and around a mammoth race war between the Humans and the Mon-Ogres" a hybrid race of humans and ogres. The game's purpose was to be the first player to complete ten interim and a final task. Players could create characters choosing among ten races and then assigning them as a Trader or Warrior.Games Machine Editors 1988. p. 115. Movement occurs on a hex map.
Reception Stewart Wieck reviewed Dark Blades in White Wolf No. 24 (Dec./Jan., 1990), rating it a 1 out of 5 and stated that "With the color box and map, this game looks nice, but it plays poorly. Because the turnsheets are messy with repetitious messages, I cannot even recommend this game to PBM newcomers despite the simple order structure and interesting setting.."Wieck 1991. p. 58. Wayne reviewed the game in a 1988 issue of Computer and Video Games, praising the quality of the game materials including the cover artwork.Wayne 1988. p. 94.
See also List of play-by-mail games
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