Galaxy #223

The ongoing Saga of Galaxy #223 in Galac-Tac

The turn due date for Turn #1 is Friday, September 12!

A Glimpse At Galac-Tac Galaxy #223 After Game Creation

Player Log: Yonds of Droon
Wednesday: September 10th, 2025

It was on the night of September 9th, 2025 - which was a Tuesday, that I finally managed to get around to getting serious about uploading a set of turn orders for Turn #1, which will get processed by Talisman Games two days from now (it's Wednesday, as I write this portion of this article). As such, I still have time to check and double-check my turn orders, in case my mood changes or I decide to revise my space empire's opening moves. I can't help but to wonder what the other 5 players in this game of Galac-Tac will choose to do on their opening turn.

Will they play it safe? Will they come out of the starting gate hell-bent on war? Are they going to concentrate on growing their respective empires' economies? Or are they gonna arm themselves to the teeth? Honestly, there's just no way to know.

So, I'll just have to play it by ear.

Will alliances form? Will escalation happen early, mid-game, or much later on? How much destruction will be visited upon whichever empire gets attacked first? And will any initial conflicts expand and explode? Or will players back off, after getting bitten or retaliated against?

I don't have the answer to any of these questions that I pose to you, the readers of PBM Chaos. Feel free to write in, as this game proceeds, and offer me advice or just to cheer me of (or to boo me, if that proves to be your preference). I would really prefer to not start writing my empire's obituary, just yet.

Prior to Turn #1 processing, I thought that I might share a few thoughts about Galac-Tac, as they come to me, based upon what I have encountered over the last couple of days since Issue #44 of PBM Chaos published.

Since first piddling around with Galac-Tac and its player assistant program, GTac, a couple of years or so ago, what I'm finding, now, is that it sucks having to refamiliarize myself with GTac and with Galac-Tac's order system, but that can hold true when trying to refamiliarizing myself with any game that I haven't played or experimented with for a while. The reality is that when a game ceases to be a part of your life for a while, retention of its details can begin to fade or evaporate.

That said, it was easier to begin refamiliarizing myself with GTac and Galac-Tac, this time around, compared to when I first tried to gain some degree of familiarity with then however long ago that it was when I first dipped my gaming toes in Galac-Tac's waters.

Unsurprisingly, GTac's lack of any real documentation remains problematic. On the GTac page of Talisman Games website, under the section titled Basic Instructions for GTac, GTac is described as fairly simple to use. That has not been my own first-hand experience with GTac, though. It might seem simple to use, for the individual that designed it, but that's because the person who designed it has great familiarity with it. For the average newcomer to Galac-Tac that has no prior experience with using GTac, at all, there is a considerable learning curve awaiting them.



On that same GTac page of that website, it also says, "well worth the trouble to try it out and get acquainted with its features." I agree with that statement, but it is a qualified agreement. GTac has a lot of capability designed into it. However, due to the wholesale lack of useful documentation for it, it reminds me of a piece of alien technology. You know it does something, you realize that it is capable of doing a great many different things, but it is far from obvious how to use it, much less to master it. Thus, I rate GTac very high on the capability scale, but on the user friendliness and intuitiveness scales, I rate it much lower.



Seeing different things that GTac will allow players to do makes me want to master it, all the more. The flip side of that coin, though, is that when I try to dig into the formulas and actually make it do various things, my frustration meter starts pegging. Maybe bashing it with a hammer might help.



Over on the PBM Forum, I recently posted the first of what I had hoped would be many different sets of step-by-step instructions to explain to newcomers how to use GTac to do various particular things. That first one that I wrote was to explain the GTac formula for coloring a particular star. 



Trying to write step-by-step instructions for each and every last thing that GTac will allow you as a player to do, in-game, will likely prove to be a rather time-consuming and extensive undertaking. In the 8 days since I posted that first instructional, I have come to three conclusion that there is a better - and significantly quicker - way to tackle to challenge that complete lack of familiarity with the GTac player assistant program posses for newcomers to Galac-Tac.
 
And that better and quicker way through this particular thicket of obstacles is for Talisman Games to just post the formulas, themselves, with a brief description of what each one does. There would be vastly less explanation in text for required to accomplish this, and progress in expanding the amount of GTac formulas explain would swiftly begin to take solid form.



What players need are the formulas presented, and not necessarily explained in any real length or detail. A brief description and the formula, itself, already presented so that it can simply be copied from a website page or a forum, and pasted into GTac. Quick and easy. Maybe post an image along with it, to give newcomers to Galac-Tac a visual representation of what any particular formula will yield on the player's end, so that they have an actual idea of what to expect. That's one way, and I believe a solid and meaningful way, to improve the overall player experience for newcomers to Galac-Tac.



The average newcomer to Galac-Tac will not, I believe, have the patience nor the inclination to invest the time and energy and effort into GTac sufficient to retain them as long time players of the Game, with GTac not explained vastly better than it presently is on the Talisman Games website. A viable solution is, I believe, within reach, and once it begins to take form, I think that Talisman Games will swiftly begin to see the value in such.

It's also something that wouldn't have to all be done in a single sitting, either. Rather, it could be started, and gradually expanded as long as it takes, and the end product would, I think, prove to be a real feather in Talisman Games' hat.



When using GTac last night to issue turn orders with, one thing that I encountered that was just plain old annoying was the really short character length limit for naming the Classification and Name of ships - a mere 15 characters.

Why is 15 characters too few? Because it makes it all the more difficult for players to add a greater degree of personalization to their empires. I tried to create a ship called Droon Industries, rather than a more generic-sounding Freighter. The letters add up to 15 characters, but that space between them is a 16th character - which means that it wasn't allowed.

If you want new players to Galac-Tac to take a liking to the game, then a greater ability to add their own personal touches in the games of Galac-Tac that they are playing is one way to accomplish that. Not everyone who games wants minimal ability to put their mark on the game.

If 15 characters, total, was the limit for all of science fiction, the Millennium Falcon would never have able to make the cut in the Star Wars universe.

My empire in this game of Galac-Tac is Yonds of Droon, which is 14 characters in length, counting spaces. If I wanted to play the Romulan Star Empire, no could do, as that would be 19 characters. The point isn't the Romulans, but rather, the hard limit on a player's imagination. It's the equivalent of forcing round pegs through square holes - the square holes being hard limitations, which also limit the extent of one's imagination.

Ironically, the term Unnamed Star System, which weighs in at 19 characters on the report players receive when a new game of Galac-Tac starts is OK, but players have to make do with less room for their individual creativity under a 15 character limit. It's one of those things that I just shake my head at. Could it be remedied without a lot of programming changes? Maybe. Granted, there has to be some character length limit, but does it have to be a measly little 15 characters? It strikes me as something that might be easily fixable.



Now, let's take a look at the various starship designs that all players of Galac-Tac start the game off with. I have edited it and condensed some of the information closer together, for display purposes in PBM Chaos.

Nothing quite like a bunch of dull and boring names for space ships, huh? This is exactly the kind of thing that can imbue a game with a generic feel. Yes, players can design new classes of ships in Galac-Tac via the Classify order. But starting off fresh, it's welcome to Big Generic City. Again, just something that I shake my head off. How about that Carrier, Jeep, huh? Is that a great science fiction name, or what? Is that the kind of thing that newcomers to Galac-Tac are supposed to get excited about?



It could have been a Light Carrier and a Heavy Carrier, but instead, it's a Carrier, Light and a Carrier, Jeep. As the old saying goes, the devil is in the details. Part of the problem that Galac-Tac currently suffers from is in the details - in little, tiny details.



Science fiction, itself, is escapism. Plain Jane names are a stumbling block to escapism. It's set up with players to have some ships to start with, right off the bat, rather than having zero ships and having to spend your first turn building some, before you can start sending them out among the stars. And when you and other players in the same game see the first ships moving between the stars, you all get to see - and experience - the exact, same generic classes names of starships.



Galac-Tac is a game. However, playing Galac-Tac is more than just playing a game. It is also an experience. In the grand scheme of things, experience trumps game. I've played numerous games of Hyborian War down through the years. Same game, yet different experiences. Assassinating that Zamoran character in HW-85 after being backstabbed by the Zamoran player in that game, my first game of Hyborian War, was the most satisfying assassination that I have ever carried out in all of my years of playing the game. That's one kill that I will always savor to the day that I die.



The "uniqueness of experience" is what elevates a PBM game to more than just a game, whether it's played via the postal service or online. "Plain and ordinary" isn't the best sales pitch, whether in advertising or in actual player experience in what is encountered in-game. It's been said that "first impression is the most important one." Personally, I don't count "Carrier, Jeep" as a good first impression for when newcomers to Galac-Tac receive their initial in-game report, following the galaxy that they're playing is being created at game start.



That there may be no "perfect solutions" does not mean that there can't be "better solutions" than what the current status quo provides. Galac-Tac is a game that has been around a while. It used to be the case that hundreds of people would be playing Galac-Tac. They wouldn't have been doing that, if there was nothing to the game's underlying design. Back then, there was a lot of other space warfare type games for PBM gamers to choose from - and even so, many still chose to play Galac-Tac.



Part of what Galac-Tac needs is a fresh coat of paint, and part of that lies in the form of small details and exploring new options. If talisman Games wants me or you or anyone else to get excited about Galac-Tac, then give us reasons to get excited about it. None of us want excuses. What we want is the real deal - but the "real deal" doesn't necessarily have to be expensive nor hyper-time-consuming to achieve. Me? I want to knock the cobwebs off of Galac-Tac, and drag it out into the light of a new day of gaming. The Galac-Tac of today is a direct digital lineal descendant of the Galac-Tac of yesteryear, which was played solely via the postal service, once upon a time ago.



When I start destroying my enemies' empire in this game of Galac-Tac, it's gonna feel as good as it did way back when, when others began destroying their enemies many years back, in games of Galac-Tac that they played. Poker is as good of a game, now, as it was when it was first invented. The same holds true for Chess and a lot of other games of different types and mediums and genres. I suggest to the readers of PBM Chaos that the game that is Galac-Tac isn't obsolete - and neither is the experience of playing Galac-Tac obsolete.



And I think that as Galaxy #223 unfolds, turn by turn and issue by issue (in PBM Chaos), I think that others will begin to realize that. You think that I'm not gonna gloat, when I destroy some other player's starship? You think that I won't agonize and cuss as much as any Galac-Tac player decades ago did, when their empires came under attack in games of Galac-Tac played in the distant past?



The main difference being that readers of PBM Chaos will get to read about it.



Everybody who is a player in Galaxy #223 is gonna attack somebody. It's just a question of who and when and how often. All of us know that, and all of you out there know that. Maybe some alliances will form. Perhaps some will go it alone. If they all gang up on me and kill my empire off too fast (perish the thought!), then they'll end up with less to read. Let me go ahead and hang that Sword of Damocles over their alien heads right now.



And does anyone really believe that they are gonna talk about this game of Galac-Tac more than me? Get real, people! Or prove me wrong, alien species of Galaxy #223.

Talisman Games GM Blurb - Davin

Ok, we have 72 new systems charted, averaging 5.7 PV each. Three of them are 2's and two of them are 10's. Almost all are 5's and 6's this turn.

Player Blurb - Ajwan

Log 3500-02: All ships reporting great discoveries. An entire galaxy spread out for us to stretch our hands and take it all. Rumors of the existence of other empires out there. No matter. We will deal with them. If they don't join us, they can freeze in cold space. Foruna Favi Fortus.

Player Blurb - Brendan

Wyvern Supremacy's blurb ...

Chapter 2

Brendoon looked up at the screens in his office. They displayed a complicated web, his empire’s ships that had spread out from the homeworld had found themselves in many different scenarios, some expected, some not. Some ships found worlds, scanned them and prepared to claim them, other ships had run into other other empires already encroaching on the Wyvern

Supremacy’s space. They would be dealt with.

More orders appeared on different screens, new ship designs being turned out by the empire scientists, attack orders to defend the spreading empire, and new ship orders already beginning to be constructed in the empire's homeworld space docks.

Brendoon also was surprised at reports of the meeting of other worlds in space, most likely they would all need to be destroyed, but perhaps there was an empire or two that could be turned to allies, for as long as they were needed of course…

Player Blurb - Djinny

An eerie silence currently emanates from the Kroji Konfederacy.



* Do scroll back near the beginning of this issue, to read Djinny's PBM Quote, where she was excited about Turn #1 being processed for Galaxy #223.

Player Blurb - Hammer

Hammer, as the Misraw Minister of War, turned his attention away from what he was ordering the Scroids to Build to further their Empire aspirations!



The Incoming Reports from the Charting Explorers were a bit unsettling, but the Misraw Minister of War set his jaw with a renewed determination, in his quest to achieve what was best for the Scroids!



He noted the possibilities for beginning Colonization efforts that may prove to bolster the Misraw Economy, but glaring at the Minister of War from the pages of the Incoming Exploration Reports, was the Unexpected News of Several Cease Fire Encounters!



Hammer had not realized that an Enemy Empire was brazen enough to impose their will in Charting the nearby Star Systems so early in this Galactic Campaign!



A total of five (5) Cease Fire Reports had disrupted the Misraw Charting Explorers' expansion efforts!



It was the Kroji Konfederation that was endeavoring to impose its will against the Economic Development of Misraw; the Kroji Konfederation that had caused all five (5) Cease Fires!



This was not a time for Hammer to become hasty in his response!



He had two weeks to ponder upon what Actions exactly to do, or what Actions not to do!



Misraw would not be taken lightly!



The Fog of War seemed to be slowly lifting!



Preparations were now underway!



This was not a time to be hasty!



This was a time to Prepare a Plan!



Misraw and the Scroids began focusing upon what must be done!



Hammer, Minister of War

Player Blurb - Richard

The empire that is Castle Anthrax basks in a strange silence, these days of late.

Player Blurb - GrimFinger

Heading into Turn #1:



Galaxy #223 has formed. Thus, let the shit talk begin! After all, the shit is about to hit the fan, and the fan is galactic-size. If your space alien species was inflicted with a milder, softer tongue, then let the smack talk begin!

Same-same, either way.

Me? I'll reach for the colorful. Variety is the spice of life, they say. If you don't like it, then don't read it. Entertain yourselves with the player blurbs of these other, lesser species. I'm here to represent the interests of the Yonds of Droon. If you still don't know who Droon is, even after last issue, then that's your loss, my friend.

I begin this player blurb on a Wednesday. By the time that my first set of turn orders process on Friday, September 12th, 2025, I'm sure that I'll have more to chime in about. I don't have any plan to be their sitting duck. Think Spacehawk, not Sitting Duck.

So, what am I up to in my empire's first turn? Building ships. Moving ships. Hell, I'm even designing new ships. In actuality, mine is probably the most peaceful of all empires in this game. Casting my eyes across the vastness of space in different directions, it's hard for me to not take notice of these warmongers and galactic miscreants plotting and scheming and otherwise up to no good. You know it. I know it. And they know it. That ain't exactly the Peace Corps that they're playing.

When they stick their noses into my neck of the galactic woods uninvited, there's a big old can of Ass Whup that I'm gonna open up on 'em. And they'll deserve it, too - every last bit of it!

I've got a little bit of Popeye spirit in me, and more than one can of space spinach that I'm just aching to pop the top on. In fact, I'm listening to that Popeye theme song, right now, in preparation for what's forthcoming.

Honestly, I sometimes wonder if any of these other players in this game know how to talk a little smack. Such modest folk. In space, no one can hear you scream, but surely to galactic goodness, we ought to be able to hear you talk trash from time to time.

Already, I have done a little bit of what you might term "pre-game analysis." Did I mention that I've already drawn up a few star maps, to aid my attempts at analysis all the more? It's a damned crying shame that I've already deleted them, just so that I won't have them to share, when the other players think to ask me for them. One of us is clearly one step ahead of the rest of us.

Djinny is used to that old style Galac-Tac type of play. She had better get up to speed, and I mean fast. Both she and I know that there's no way that our two empires are gonna go the entire game without blasting one another's empires. In her heart of heart, she knows this, the same as I do. Why beat around the bush? This is, after all, a game of Galac-Tac that is likely to never repeat itself. Plus, she's the most experienced Galac-Tac player in this game, and that makes her the equivalent of a Galac-Tac T-Rex. How do any of us off-set her overwhelming experience advantage in this game?



This particular game of Galac-Tac was never envisioned from the very beginning as just a game of Galac-Tac tossed together only for the purpose of playing the game just to be playing Galac-Tac, or just to be having fun with. Rather, this specific Sharing of Information Game of Galac-Tac was created for the express purposes of raising awareness about Galac-Tac and for promoting the PBM game that is Galac-Tac. This game of Galac-Tac isn't just about having fun and playing. It is also about learning how to play Galac-Tac and teaching others how to play Galac-Tac, as well - which goes to the very root of why the premise of this game is that of it being a Sharing of Information Game of Galac-Tac.

Now, that doesn't mean that we're necessarily gonna come out of the gate blasting one another full bore. Like Jerry Clower used to say about John Eubanks - "Give everything a sportin' chance." Even across the vast expanse of space that separates her Kroji Konfederacy (aka the Kroji Cronies) from my Yonds of Droon, Djinny looks more like Granny Goodness to me than Granny Clampett (even though you might know her as a Moses). After all, out of all of the six players currently participating in Galaxy #223, Djinny is the most experienced Galac-Tac player of the bunch, by far. I have vastly less experience with the game, its rules and mechanics, and GTac than she does. I have no reason to believe that she won't try to win, or at the very least, not try to do good in the game with her empire.



But playing a PBM game involves more than knowledge of mere rules and game mechanics, even more than just having first-hand experience playing whatever PBM game is in question. None of those items I listed involve the meta-game aspect of Galac-Tac, which is as real of a thing as is the meta-game aspect of Hyborian War, which I've written about previously on numerous different occasions, going back well before even Suspense and Decision began publishing almost a decade and a half or so ago.



Speaking of Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies, my own Grandma was a Moses. And right now, I'm starting to feel like Amos Moses. And I really don't like playing the role of alligator bait.



Is anyone else in this game of Galac-Tac gonna be in the mood to be a genuine, honest-to-goodness dyed-in-the-wool ally of the Yonds of Droon? Maybe, maybe not. But luck being what it ever is way out in the dark recesses of deep space, I can't count on fortune smiling on me and mine. It's a dirty job, but Droon's gotta do it.



I don't know what Brendan was thinking, naming the leader of his Wyvern Supremacy empire Brendoon. Brendoon ain't Droon. This ain't a rhyme game we're playing. This here be Galac-Tac, and them be Wyverns. They sound like they're wantin' to snack on somebody. Step back, Billy Jack!



Supremacy, huh? Anybody have a clue what that means?



Come on, Brendan, I've been good to ya, son. Do we really need to start laying down orbital fire on one another, right from the get-go? Your empire's homeworld is squeezed right in upon me. I've gotta have some breathing space, son. Go easy on me, now.



Ajwan has been so quiet, is she even still with us? Her empire is out there, but has she already abandoned ship? Has she abdicated her imperial throne, so soon, already? Her empire's name is Saydonia, but we might need to change that to Sayonara. Talk to me, Ajwan! I'm here. I'm listening. It's that Richard you've gotta watch out for.



Speaking of Lockwood, Spaceweed might be what I call him in this game. Richard is more of a role playing kind of guy. Space warfare? Are you sure that you're not out of your league, Spaceweed? Your empire is way out there in the boonies, son. If it's Avon you're after, don't head this way. I ain't got no perfume for you, so don't be sniffing around my sector of space. Just stay over there, and concentrate on bringing your empire out of its current state of imperial infancy.

Who am I forgetting? Oh, yeah. Hammer. The Space Hammer. Did Hammer not just say in the last issue of PBM Chaos that these Scroids of his are identified by their green alligator-like facial features? Like I said, Amos Moses. Alligator bait! The Scroids are warring tribes. This is a warrior race, a warrior species. Hey, it's not my fault that you haven't received a Christmas present, yet, Hammer the Spelljammer. You must be on the Naughty List, so I can't risk turning my back on a bunch of warmongering reptiles. There's other species out there to snack on. I ain't about to be your main meal. I'll go trophy-hunting before that happens. If only I could bag that T-Rex.



And to think, people thought that I wasn't going to be ready for this game - mistakenly thinking that I might have dropped the ball on getting my turn orders in on time. Oh, for sure, for certain, both I and my empire are out here. Heck, somebody's got to lead the way.



I could sure use some lunch, though.





Turn #1:

Turn orders for Turn #1 were due on Friday, September 12th, 2025. The turn was processed on Saturday, September 13th, 2025 at 9:02AM EST. Here is what the message from Talisman Games said that I received in my e-mail in-box, so that you will have an idea what to expect, should you dare to venture forth to give Galac-Tac a try, someday.

Galac-Tac galaxy #223 has processed the current turn and the turn results are ready for your review.



Straightforward and to the point. It's the news that you've been waiting for, though depending on what all players in the game decided to do on Turn #1, the news that you've been waiting for may turn out to be not the actual news that you wanted, in some ways.



Because Galaxy #223 ruins on two week turn intervals, with turn orders processed every other week, this means that PBM Chaos publishes twice, for each turn in this particular game of Galac-Tac that processes. Which, in turn, also means that I need content for each issue of PBM Chaos, and so I shall spread my reporting out from the Yonds of Droon, so that PBM Chaos readers will have something to read each issue, every issue, about Galaxy #223.



For me, personally, this issue of PBM Chaos is about the lead up to Turn #1 being processed. However, I don't want to say nothing at all about how Turn #1 went for the Yonds of Droon, this issue, but I will be keeping it very short.



As GM Davin reported, 72 new star systems were collectively charted, successfully, by all 6 players in Galaxy #223 on Turn #1. Of those 72, the Yonds of Droon successfully charted 17 of them. There were 4 additional charting missions that my empire attempted, but those were cancelled out by virtue of the fact that missions from the Wyvern Supremacy to the same starts interfered with one another, and cease fires happened automatically. So, even on Turn #1, it's possible for empires in Galac-Tac to be bumping into one another. The Yonds of Droon and the Wyvern Supremacy were not the only empires in Galaxy #223 to experience cease fires and charting cancellations on Turn #1.

So, if you want your empire in Galac-Tac to be wealthy, instead of poverty-stricken, the it behooves you to explore the star map and develop new star locations. Otherwise, your empire will quickly begin to fall behind. Let the wise take heed and beware!

Because unexplored stars must be charted before they can be developed, no player starts the game with any colonies under their control. Once you initiate an attempt to colonize a star location, it's a 2-turn process. It's a really simple process, but it's not a quick process (though two turns isn't an enormous amount of time, if you stop and think about it). The colonization process requires that you unload 10 PI onto the star location, with 5 PI unloaded one turn, and the remaining 5 PI unloaded the following turn. If your ship gets destroyed before the colonization process is complete, then you won't end up with a colony world in your empire's possession. War, you see, can directly impact your empire's chances of expanding and developing at will.



Here are the Production Values (PV) for the stars that I charted this turn:



4+5+5+6+6+6+6+6+6+7+7+7+7+7+8+9+9 = 111 PV Total



I don't actually control any of those star locations, yet. Stars that have been charted do not just generate PV every turn, and it grows each turn into big stockpiles. If you want those resources, your empire must figure out a way to get them from Point A to Point B (a Production System). Production Systems, again the most developed star locations, are created by unloading more PI onto those locations (30 PI unloaded - 15 unloaded on one turn with another 15 unloaded the following turn onto a Colony System). You cannot convert a charted star location into a Production System without going through the additional stage of converting it into a Colony System, first. The Develop command is what players use to begin the conversion of a Colony into a Production System.



You need ships with cargo space on them to transport resources in the form of PV from charted or colonized star locations to star locations which are Production Systems. Production Systems are what refine raw resources into more useful resources (PI). You cannot colonize star locations that you have not charted, or which are controlled by other empires. As competition for resources increases, so does the likelihood of war between empires.



Here are a couple of more charts from the Galac-Tac rulebook, to help you remember the processes for creating Colony Systems and Productions Systems:

* All Star Fleet Warlord content and images copyright © Franz Games, LLC.

Information Warfare in PBM Games

What the above map shows are various distances around the different players' homeworlds in Galaxy #223. I couldn't remember how to draw these kinds of distance boxes, as I call them, using GTac.



I could have just asked Galac-Tac GM Davin how to do it, but that would largely defeat my effort to try and teach myself how to do things that I once already knew how to do, previously. After being away from GTac for a while, I discovered that the whole formula end of it was effectively non-usable by me. So, how did I figure out how to do it, again, after a year or two of not fiddling around with GTac?



By scouring the Talisman Games website. Ironically enough, it wasn't located on the GTac page of their website, but on the FAQ page of their site. I scrolled down their FAQ page until I bumped into this little tidbit of a GTac formula: (Coordinate $ MyHome) <= 16.



I couldn't figure it out on my own (not in a hurry, anyway), but once I had the actual formula, I then immediately possessed the ability to build upon it, and I began drawing distance boxes around all of the players' respective homeworlds. Plus, it gave me an excuse - and motivation -

to play around with GTac longer than I otherwise would have. Having access to that one GTac formula enabled me to transform a defeat (not knowing how to do what I wanted to with GTac) into a victory (suddenly knowing how to do a specific thing that I wanted to do - plus more!)



Here is another map example, below, of how such a seemingly small morsel of accessible knowledge about how to utilize GTac more effectively can make a dramatic difference in how a given player of the game will feel empowered or not. Visualization of information directly impacts perception, and perception impacts realities. In Galac-Tac, specifically, how one sees the galaxy matters greatly in the formation of imperial policy at the galactic level. War policy is an extension of imperial policy.

It doesn't matter what any of the GTac formulas are, until and unless one can actually access their respective capability through understanding. You can always just ask the folks at Talisman
Games, but if you have to go that route, then it's not intuitive. And lack of or absence of intuitiveness is a trait that has been shared by many PBM games down through the years. Certainly, some parts of GTac's design are more intuitive than others. Intuitiveness in game design or in game interface design (GTac is one way to interface with Galac-Tac, but not the only way) is a primary mechanism whereby your chances of retaining a player increases.



In years past, I have occasionally talked in different online locations about how Information Warfare is a part of the old PBM game, Hyborian War. Information Warfare tends to be a part of almost every wargame ever designed and played by human beings in any era, including and especially when play by mail gaming was at its height. Granted, it's not always talked about using that particular name/label, but it is a very real thing.

The winner of Hyborian War game number HW-562 was Forrest Lancaster. I knew Forrest just a little bit before that particular game of Hyborian War. Not super-well did I know him, but we had exchange a little bit of communication. One thing that I did for Forest was that I printed a bunch of information from databases of information on Hyborian War that I had created and updated over time in an old computer program called PFS: First Choice.

Why did I do that? To give him an edge. To provide him an advantage. Back in those days, Hyborian War players routinely swapped player kingdom set-up reports for the player kingdoms of Hyborian War. These days, you don't have to swap them, because they're available online as free downloads. There was always a curiosity factor associated with learning what kingdom reports said in reports that you didn't have access to. But curiosity wasn't the only motivating factor that drove the swapping of kingdom set-up reports by and between players of Hyborian War.

Information, you see, in all of its many wondrous forms, is power, and power in the form of information in PBM games often provides PBM players with the ability to influence both other players and in-game events. It's just a fact. It's not something that I invented.

And a lot of times, it's less a question of what information that a PBM player has access to, as it is a question of how specific information out of a whole mass of information is presented.
Information that is critical to PBM players in a particular game, and in a particular turn of said game, has to be both located and accessible in a timely fashion, in order to maximize the value of said information. Information that is found or which arrives late tends to be rather useless, even if it still possesses some innate value, standing alone. If it arrives late, it is often no longer actionable information, especially for a turn already processed and passed by.

Overlapping lines of distance on star maps in Galac-Tac provide players of the game a way to visually process information without having to read a bunch of text. I provide this explanatory text for the very purpose of helping others who are unfamiliar with the idea/concept to be able to grasp the fundamentals of it more quickly and easily.

In the bottom of these two maps, I've drawn more distance lines around homeworlds, particularly my own. Why? Because I hope to avoid the early annihilation of my empire, and because the vote by players allowed the Normal rather than Dense stars to populate the star map, that translates into increased competition for less resources - particularly nearby resources.

On the top map, if memory serves me correctly, the solid red lines at the top around the Wyvern Supremacy empire and the dashed green lines around my Yonds of Droon empire are drawn at distances of 15 and 20 from our respective homeworld star locations. The longest distance that any of our players' ships in this game start with is a distance of 20.

The bottom map provides me with a bigger picture of distance at a glance, with the distance boxes around my empire's homeworld mapped out at distances of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and the thicker white line being 30. It allows me to "look ahead," both at additional potentially viable mining locations and at possible zones of conflict.

When distance lines of different empires in Galac-Tac overlap, those can provide some insight into potential early conflicts that might develop. Sure players can just ignore distance lines, and plot and scheme and plan around them, particularly to strike high value targets, but those sorts of complications can also many times (though not always) require additional time before such strikes are likely to happen.



I had started out looking at particular stars on the game's star map, figuring out which particular stars were a certain distance or less from my empire's homeworld star. Let me tell you, that gets old really fast. This is one area where GTac really shines. If you know the formula to use, GTac can map a lot of particular information for you really, really fast. How fast, you ask? Oh, in but a mere second or two. GTac facilitates faster processing of in-game information by players who use it, and it also facilitates an ability by a player of Galac-Tac to manipulate and to bend information presented visually for their own purposes.



What these distance lines also inform me of is whether my homeworld's starting position on the star map is better or worse than other players. Granted, I don't know what any of the PV mining values for any of thee stars on the map are, other than the PV values of all of the players' homeworld stars, which all start the game equal to my own empire's homeworld star's PV Value.



From the Galac-Tac rulebook, Page #3, we find: PRODUCTION VALUE (PV): PV is the amount of raw material you can remove from any given System each fortnight. Every Star System has a base PV.



For Galac-Tac purposes, a fortnight is equal to a single turn.



Count the number of stars within any particular distance from your empire's homeworld, and compare the total with the number of stars within the same distance from your fellow players' homeworlds, and you can begin to quickly discern who stars the game with a particular advantage or disadvantage, compared to all of the other players in the game.



In a normal/regular game of Galac-Tac, this wouldn't be able to know so early in the game, since you wouldn't know where any other player's homeworld is located at right off the bat. Here, though, we all know where every other empire starts in this game on this star map.



Winning or losing any given PBM game means nothing to me. Rather, it's the experiences of individual PBM games which is where all of the real treasure and value, particularly memory-wise, lie and are generated. Nobody's life hinges on winning or losing a PBM game. No player wins the vast majority of games of Hyborian War, for example. At most, after 40 years or so of ongoing games of Hyborian War being played, the most wins that even the "winningest" player has is but a mere handful. How many players of Hyborian War have won 100 games, or 50 games, or 20 games of Hyborian War? Exactly zero. And that's out of more than 1,000+ games run and played. What I have found matters the most are the memories of particular games of Hyborian War far more so than other games of Hyborian War. I suspect that players of olden days who used to play Galac-Tac way back then probably ended up with some games that they played in being more memorable to them than others.



Where I, myself, am concerned, the vast majority of my first-hand experience playing PBM games was acquired playing games of Hyborian War. That's what I'm the most well-versed in, PBM-wise. And so, my natural inclination as a PBM player now playing a different PBM game is to try and figure out how to adapt my style of play in Hyborian War to Galac-Tac.



On the one hand, both of these PBM games are substantially different from one another. But that doesn't mean that my playing style cannot be adapted to Galac-Tac from Hyborian War. For the most part, it can be.



Now, that doesn't mean that all other players in the game will like it, but what they each like or dislike is largely beside the point, the same as it is when I play with other groups of people in Hyborian War.



Over the last almost 40 years or so, since my involvement with play by mail gaming first started, it has been my experience that the sharing of information is perhaps the single best way to "level the playing field" between newcomers to a PBM game and very experienced veterans of the same PBM game, whatever that particular PBM game might be. It goes to the very root of why I have talked and elaborated on various things associated with particular PBM games that I have been involved with.



Likewise, it is traceable, also, to a new series of articles for Hyborian War that I have begun writing to try and help newcomers to Hyborian War stand a better chance against very experience and very capable foes. A lack of experience in most any PBM game that involves conflict between positions can many times put one at terrible disadvantage, and in ways that the new player can't even begin to conceive.



For experienced players of Galac-Tac, this Sharing of Information requirement and duty for this particular game of Galac-Tac can stand things on their head a bit. It is deliberately intended to bring them out of their "comfort zones" a little. It's one way to change the paradigm that they are already used to. In a sense, it helps to make them all new, again.



In games of Hyborian War, I routinely give information again - even to players who don't always request it. Information always possesses an innate independent value and worth as a "conversation piece." On one level, Galac-Tac is a game that is about "the pursuit of information." When you chart the PV value of stars, it is information that you seek, albeit information of a particular, limited type.



When you try to track down which player controls which star locations, whether for knowledge of information resources or for strategic value purposes, it is information that you seek. One thing that GTac facilitates is the acquisition of information, and the narrowing down of information possibilities. You're not gonna read that in the company's array Galac-Tac documentation. Player documentation often the more informative in any PBM game. Players often value documentation for reasons different than PBM companies and PBM GMs do. What do players do, particularly new players to a PBM game, when the company's or the GM's documentation doesn't cover everything? It's not as if PBM designers or PBM programmers have never gotten beat at their own PBM games, before. How is that even possible? I remember PBMer Bob Dickinson talking about it decades ago regarding Quest of the Great Jewels, during a telephone conversation that I had with that New Yorker.



In games of Hyborian War, why have I many times gone out of my way to goad players, to poke them, to prod them, to become a focal point for them? Well, for one thing, a quiet PBM game is typically far more dull and boring than a really "noisy" PBM game.



What did Raven Zachary say about the particular Lords of the Earth game that he was playing in, until he dropped out of it? "I love this ruleset and game, but I ended up dropping my positions because the player community isn't communicative. It feels like a group of solo wargamers who happen to be playing in the same game world."



He also went on to say, "It’s a great game if you love strategic depth, just don’t expect a party. It’s lonely there."

Simultaneously, he also said about a different game of Lords of the Earth, "The GM for Lords of the Earth 24 is doing a great job, though." Same game, entirely different experiences.



The same can hold true for virtually any PBM game, or board game, or role playing game. The players help to "make the game." Active players, dynamic players, and vocal players add additional dimensions to the overall experience of any particular PBM game. I like to make noise, when I play PBM games. Rile 'em up. Get 'em going. Stoke the game's conversational elements. Light a fire under their asses. Create some memories that otherwise would never exist.



Call 'em out. Confront what they say. Wage massive propaganda campaigns. These all add juicy elements to PBM games. Over the decades, PBM games have been played and visited by a really wide array of colorful personalities, some real, some created out of the whole cloth of fiction. Wars between good and evil tend to feature both heroes and villains. That's where players come in, in PBM games.



In a game of Hyborian War, if a veteran of playing that PBM game is either gullible enough (or just not fully focused) to allow themselves to get bogged down in a war with me (a guy who doesn't care anything about winning per the in-game victory ranking system of Hyborian War), then the odds are pretty good that they're not gonna end up winning the game. It's an obvious attempt at distraction, but many experienced Hyborian War players have fallen for it, down through the years. If you really want to win, then choose your enemies carefully, and stay focused, rather than allowing yourself and your kingdom to fall easy prey to things like goading and baiting tactics. I don't foresee Galac-Tac being any different from Hyborian War, in that regard.

* All Galac-Tac content and images copyright © Talisman Games.

* All Galac-Tac content and images copyright © Talisman Games.

Star Fleet Battles Online (SFBOL) is developed in cooperation with Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc. to be a Star Fleet Battles game service. Subscribers are able to play SFB games over the Internet with other subscribers around the world. SFBOL is designed to allow subscribers to compete in an environment that emulates face to face play. The difference is the computer interface which augments or automates many of the mundane tasks of game play such as energy allocation, moving counters across the map, dice rolling and damage allocation.



Subscribers may play as many games as they like during their subscription period.Throughout the year, Franz Games will host exclusive online Rated Ace Tournaments and subscribers can also compete year round via an online ranking system.



The Star Fleet Battles Online service will provide all required Star Fleet Battles software and server connectivity for the basic subscription price.

* Star Fleet Battles Online is owned by Franz Games, LLC.

* * All Star Fleet Battles Online content and images copyright © Franz Games, LLC.

It's always nice when I begin writing the Until Next Issue column, because it means that I'm almost completely done with another issue of PBM Chaos. I'm ready to hand this one over to our readers. Will it be well-received? I honestly don't know. Gathering feedback is tough - damned tough! Readers don't even like to participate in PBM Polls.

So, let's just not do a PBM Poll for this issue. And maybe not for the next one, as well. Maybe even do away with PBM Polls for all issues. For those few PBM souls that have participated in our past PBM Polls, to date, know that I thank you for your feedback.

Maybe at some point in the future, I'll re-implement PBM Polls as a feature of PBM Chaos. I always look forward to hearing from our readers. You're free to praise, you're free to criticize, and you're free to comment.

You're also free to just read or browse or skim issues of PBM Chaos, any of them or all of them. Feedback from readers simply provides additional things to think about and write about, both for myself and for your fellow PBM Chaos readers. No one is ever gonna make you write in and share your thoughts about PBM gaming or PBM memories with us, just as no one makes me publish issues of PBM Chaos in the first place.

I wonder what our readership thinks about PBM Chaos, since it returned several weeks back? If I counted right, Issue #45 makes 7 new issues of PBM Chaos, since it's return to publication was heralded. It's published every Monday since its return, pretty much like clockwork, though what hour of the day that issues publish can still vary widely within any given Monday.

Content-wise, is it what you enjoy? If you don't tell me, then don't blame me for not knowing, though you can certainly still blame me. Absent feedback, then basically, I just include whatever comes to mind for each and every issue. That works for me, but it may not work for you. Hey, we live in an imperfect world, remember?

As a special bonus for PBM Chaos readers, I'm gonna go ahead and cancel any and all further proofreading for this issue, just to get it in your hands earlier, today, for those of you eagerly awaiting it. And there are some who do eagerly await each new issue of PBM Chaos. If only their names did not elude me.



A couple of new games of Galac-Tac are currently forming. Galaxy #226 will have turns processed once per week (every 7 days), once it fills and starts. Galaxy #227 will have turns processed once every other day (ever 2 days), once it fills and starts. I'm signed up for both of those games, so sign up for one or both and join me among the stars. I extend this personal invitation to each and every one of you to coem forth and destroy my space-faring empires in both of these new galaxies in Galac-Tac.



And on that note, I'm gone until next issue!



Charles Mosteller

Editor of PBM Chaos

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