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#1
Hey guys, I wrote this article/ad to be run as part of a Facebook campaign. You guys have all been so great about helping out I would love ya'lls feedback and proofreading abilities. I am excited to say we have been hard at work creating a new training funnel that should go a long way to helping us start training potential players and filling some spots. it starts right on our Landing Page. Please feel free to check it out. Just hit enter on our landing page and it will walk you through the three steps of Alamaze training. https://www.abanak.com/alamaze


Here is the article. Enjoy


Alamaze: An Old Game Gets New Life in a Modern World.
 
Some people remember a time when getting together with friends to game, usually involved books, dice, and an active imagination.
 
But will they remember a play by mail game known as Alamaze?
 
Alamaze has found a resurgence. In this day and age where headphones, game counsels, and a fast internet connection are synonymous with gaming.
 
Alamaze is a multi-player, deep strategy game, that is set in the high fantasy realm of Alamaze, initially released in 1985 as a Play-by Mail (PBM) game.
 
PBM games had a small but very dedicated fan base.
 
What made the PBM game so popular was the depth of strategy the genre allowed, and the time flex ability it gave.
 
Imagine, getting a week or more to be able to study your maps carefully, and to plan your strategy. This was an excellent feature for players with busy lives.
 
PBM games also provided a venue for friends to continue to game together even if life had moved them many miles apart.
 
The PBM concept was simple. People had a period of time to do their turns. Usually a week or more. Then they would mail their turn to a moderator; the moderator subsequently processed all the turns simultaneously and mailed the results back to the players.
 
After the advent of Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) games. A decline was felt in the play-by-mail game genre. Gamers were interested in more instant gratification from their game time.
 
MMOs can be fun, but they do have their drawbacks.  The games still require players to spend large amounts of time in-game, in order to advance. The amount of time they require has been known to cause problems with players' jobs, relationships, and even their health.
 
Also, MMOs have players follow along with the game designers' storylines, giving little opportunity for players' imaginations to influence the storyline.
 
Alamaze is a fantasy-based online wargame or (RPG) that has been adapted to the modern world from its play by mail roots.
 
Turns are no longer sent in by mail.
 
Instead, they are directly inputted into the game's Online Order Input System (OOIS).
 
However, with a game clock that is typically set for 72 hours, players enjoy ample time to study their maps, plan their strategies, and turn in their orders. And all at a time, that is convenient for them.
 
Orders typically can be inputted in about 30 minutes.
 
Once each player has indicated ready, or the turn clock runs out, all orders are processed simultaneously, and results are sent to players via email.
 
Communication between players takes place on the game's forums.
 
Players can negotiate trade deals, diplomatic deals, as well as engage in some good old-fashioned role-playing banter.
 
Each player controls one of 24 unique kingdoms. Each kingdom has its own unique capabilities.
 
Each starting region offers its own unique advantages.
 
Players must take those advantages and abilities into consideration when choosing their strategy.
 
Each player controls a king, mages, diplomats, agents, and armies. That has more than 100 types of individual orders, 100 types of spells, and more than 50 different artifacts.
 
Players must oversee the production of resources while trying to seek a balance between offensive and defensive capabilities.
 
It is no wonder that Alamaze is often referred to as "chess on steroids."
 
However, all these factors allow for styles of play that are as varied as the players themselves.
 
New games are formed, and the rules are posted on the game forums. Players signup for games they are interested in playing based on the rules of that game. When players signup, they pick their draft position on a first-come, first-serve basis.
 
When the game is full, the draft is started.
 
To keep the game balanced a two-round draft system is used.
 
In the first round, each player chooses a kingdom or a region. Starting with the player in the first position and going to the twelfth.
 
In the second round, players choose the opposite of what they decided in the first round. Starting with the twelfth player and working its way back to the beginning.
 
Decisions and strategies often change as players start to see how the game board is filling out.
 
Once each player has made their choices, they then enter them into the game queue.
 
Once all 12 players have entered their choices, the computer sends out their turn zero sheets, and the game is started.
 
At times, the game signup and draft process can take several days, so players who are looking for instant gratification would probably not be a good fit for Alamaze.
 
The game continues until one player can take control of 4 of the 13 starting regions and declare victory.
 
If no one can claim a victory by turn 40, the game ends, and the winner is determined by status points.
 
On average, games can last up to three months, providing exceptional value and much enjoyment to their players.
 
Players who have more time or want more action can choose to play in more games.
 
Alamaze is not a game for the weak of heart. Competition can be fierce. Alamaze attracts many top-level strategy gamers. It also tends to attract very detail-oriented professionals, because of the time flexibility the game offers. 
 
For many of its players, Alamaze has become their private little, "me time," that even their spouse does not resent.
 
Alamaze is not a game that plays well on the phone. Players will want a larger screen to be able to study their maps and plan their strategies.
 
Even if a potential player feels intimidated because of the depth of competition. Alamaze provides a three-step system to help players get the experience they need to become a contender.
 
It starts with a free tutorial game, followed by a free duel against a veteran player/mentor, followed by entry into a full game. 
 
Each step has a video tutorial to guide players.
 
Alamaze is so sure of the quality of their game they offer a money-back guarantee on your first game. Just play the first 20 turns, and if you are not satisfied, your game setup, and monthly subscription fee, will be fully reimbursed.
 
Do you have what it takes? See you on the battlefields of Alamaze.
Live your life so that the fear of death can never enter your heart, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes, they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.

Sing Your Death Song And Die Like A Warrior Going Home.
Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief
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#2
Very nice work and thanks for your effort for the growing of the game!
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#3
Strylian has freedom with how to get the word of Alamaze out there, and the how to get them to be players. 

From my experience, I would come up with something more delicate but to the point, "If you haven't played chess, or Axis & Allies, or even Risk, don't play Alamaze."

I don't see the answer to the problem that you have to spend a few hours to understand what Alamaze is.  The evidence of why you should is you cannot name another computer game that has been around longer.
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#4
(01-13-2020, 10:02 PM)Ry Vor Wrote: Strylian has freedom with how to get the word of Alamaze out there, and the how to get them to be players. 

From my experience, I would come up with something more delicate but to the point, "If you haven't played chess, or Axis & Allies, or even Risk, don't play Alamaze."

I don't see the answer to the problem that you have to spend a few hours to understand what Alamaze is.  The evidence of why you should is you cannot name another computer game that has been around longer.

Noted. However, you cannot use trademarked names on Facebook ads. Also, FB likes engagement and pieces that teach. This is long but it is meant to be an article or a review and not a simple ad copy.
Live your life so that the fear of death can never enter your heart, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes, they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.

Sing Your Death Song And Die Like A Warrior Going Home.
Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief
Reply

#5
My graduate mentor was always harping on me to use active voice, and to this day I still don't know what that means... but, I would suggest, as a similar exercise, that you would not say something like "If you haven't played axis, don't play Alamaze."  Rather, I would say, "If you HAVE played Axis, try Alamaze."  Like, be more positive.

Also, having played all those games (chess at the tournament level), I don't really think they do Alamaze justice.  Alamaze is nothing like chess, axis and allies or risk due to (among many other things) the importance of discovery and of random beginnings, the fog of war factor.  You can't see anything unless you are specifically looking at it.  And if you don't look, you'll miss it.  You might be better to compare it to the earlier kingdom building games like maybe Lords of the Realm (if it had politicals and agents.  Maybe like civilization or Europa Universalis?)  Been a long time and I forget all the names, but I have played computer games that are very similar to Alamaze (although most were single player).

I'll dwell on it a bit.

Sins of a solar Empire comes to mind, or galactic civilizations, both turn based strategy where Military might isn't the only way to win.

Actually these last two might be it... they both have research trees, which in a sense, Alamaze does as well.  You can hire a new Agent but guess what, his ass is useless until you "research" him up a bit.  Same with governors, troops need to be trained and go up in level as well as leaders...  (SOE might be real time strat, don't remember)]

You know I kind of get why its hard to get new players, thinking about the game in this way.  Galactic civilizations sold 5 million copies, but if you asked 15 people to start a game of it that would last 3 months, you'd be hard pressed to do it.
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#6
Wow Strylian, that's some great work. Other than some wording changes that are not all that important,  this looks great. What's really  amazing is where did you got the real life Dwarf to do the introduction video?
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#7
(01-14-2020, 01:01 AM)RELLGAR Wrote: Wow Strylian, that's some great work. Other than some wording changes that are not all that important,  this looks great. What's really  amazing is where did you got the real life Dwarf to do the introduction video?

LOL.. Ohh shit.
Live your life so that the fear of death can never enter your heart, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes, they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.

Sing Your Death Song And Die Like A Warrior Going Home.
Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief
Reply

#8
My wife who is a 6th-grade teacher gave me a D on my paper and is making me rewrite it...lol Damn teachers.

I know there was a reason I skipped most of my classes in high school. I told her she didn't exactly marry Hemmingway but she didn't care...:-)
Live your life so that the fear of death can never enter your heart, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes, they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.

Sing Your Death Song And Die Like A Warrior Going Home.
Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief
Reply

#9
(01-14-2020, 01:13 AM)Strylian Wrote: My wife who is a 6th-grade teacher gave me a D on my paper and is making me rewrite it...lol Damn teachers.

I know there was a reason I skipped most of my classes in high school. I told her she didn't exactly marry Hemmingway but she didn't care...:-)

Didn't want to say anything, but there is this book called Eats, shoots and leaves...   Angel
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#10
Um, Hemingway with one m. I was also an English major, and taught writing at the college level. 
I refrained from assaulting your work, but was working up a polite reply about complete sentences and strong action verbs....
Since you have a more than competent critiquer at home, I will abstain.
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