Stars of the Dark Well
Stars of the Dark Well is a open-ended, mixed-moderated play-by-mail (PBM) game that was published by Mindgate. History and developmentStars of the Dark Well was a PBM space opera published by Mindgate.[1] After multiple years of playtesting, the game launched in 1984.[2] By 1988, the game had about 150 players.[3] The game was mixed-moderated—hand-moderated with computer augmentation.[3] Reviewer Terry Weatherby compared the game to Beyond the Stellar Empire.[3] GameplayThe game was set in the year 2480 in an area called the "Second Dominium" by a black hole called "The Dark Well".[3] Players could join government groups such as the Frontier Guard or private groups such as Delta Force, Forth wing, Merchant's Guild, and others.[3] Various alien races were also available to roleplay.[3] 37 actions were available, including "Move, Jump, Orbit, Dock, Buy, Sell, and Transfer".[4] In 1988, Mindgate announced an ongoing expansion of the available playing field based on demand and a rules update. After the expansion, there were 400 available star systems and 2,000 planets.[5][a] ReceptionTerry Weatherby reviewed the game in two 1988 issues of Flagship. He stated that the game "provides, even with its occasional faults and inconsistencies, a good background and simple game system for those seeking to roam the stars at a reasonable, competitive cost. I've enjoyed the game very much and I'm sure others would enjoy it, too".[6] In the July–August 1993 issue of Paper Mayhem, the game was rated 36 of 81 PBM games with a rating of 6.482 of 9 points.[7] See alsoNotesReferences
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