PBEM Guide

Setup Sequence PBEM

It is recommended that at the beginning of the game players establish a "seating" order. We did this by rolling dice and setting the order by highest die roll. The seating order can be recorded (the Notes window is the easiest place) and will be used to decide order of play.

Crown cards can be dealt to all players by a single player. This is easiest if the "first" player does this. All cards can be drawn one after the other or using the Draw Multiple Cards feature, and dropped in the other player's Crown Card area. After he draws everyone's Crown Cards they should all be flipped face side up. Other players cannot flip over face down cards or counters that belong to others! The first player then allocates his own Crown Cards, returns any unused to the Chancery, and moves his Noble counters to the board. Then the next player at the table will set up his Crown Cards and Nobles, continuing around the table until everyone has setup their Crown Cards and pieces.

Finally, after everyone has completed their setup, select the player who will take their turn first, as specified in the Kingmaker rules, and play will then proceed by the established "seating" order as determined earlier.

Play Sequence PBEM

Generally play will proceed from player to player as determined by the "seating" order. The sequence of steps are exactly as outlined in the Kingmaker rules. During all phases when other players may need to act (for example responding to an Event or Parliament, etc), play should generally proceed around the table in "seating" order contiuously until matters are resolved. Generally, the player whose turn it is right now, should call attention to other players who have to respond and tell them their turn is next. They can respond with a log file of their portion of the move or even decline to take any game action if that choice is open to them. Sometimes if the response is brief, that player might simply dictate his course of action ("remove that Noble counter from play" etc) which the current player can execute. Play can proceed like this until the issue is resolved, and then the current player can proceed to the next phase of his turn.

The important things to remember are to stick to the "seating" order, skipping players where necessary (not all players will be in a position to respond to all issues that arrise), and to resolve each issue in turn. I recommend taking the time to allow each player to respond in full, and not taking any short cuts such as deciding the actions of other players by rule or randomly. If these guidelines are followed a PBEM game can be just as satisfying as a game played online or face to face.

Another useful technique to keep the game moving is the concept of "passing the batton". The current player when completing their turn should nominate the player responding, effectively "passing the batton". This will generally be the next player in "seating" order, but may not be when dealing with issues such as combat or Events etc. Doing this serves as a wake up call to the player who should respond. Remember, you're playing by Email not face to face, so you will need cues like these to help each other focus on the game.