Play by mail games (also known asPBM games,PBEM games or turn-based games) is a gameplayed via mail, e-mail address or otherdigital media. Correspondence chess and Go were among the first PBM games. Diplomacy hasbeen played by mail since 1963, making PBM games multiplayer. Flying Buffalo Inc. developed the first commercially available PBM game in 1970. A small number of PBM companies followed it in the 1970s, with the explosion of hundreds of start-up PBM companies in the 1980s at the peak of PBM gaming, many of which were small hobby companies - more than 90 percent of which eventually closed. A number of independent PBM magazines also began operations in the 1980s. includingThe Nuts & Bolts of PBM, Gaming Universal, Paper Mayhem, andFlagship magazine. These magazines eventually ceased to be printed, and in the 21st century they were replaced by the online magazine PBM Suspense and Decision.

Email games, known as "turn-based games" in the digital age, have a number of advantages and disadvantages over other game genres. PBM games have a wide range of travel lengths. In some games, the cycle execution time is a day or less. Other games allow for several days or weeks for players to think about moves or moves, and players never run out of opponents. And if you want, you can play various PBM games for years. In addition, the difficulty of PBM games can be much higher than the board game during the day allows, and in these conditions, players face live opponents – a challenge that some players like. In PBM games, the number of opponents or teams can be in the dozens, and in some previous examples, more than a thousand players. PBM games also allow players to interact with other players around the world. And games with a low cost of reversal compare well to expensive board or video games. Some disadvantages include the cost of some PBM games with high installation and/or turning costs, as well as the lack of opportunity for face-to-face role-playing. Also, for some players, certain games may be too complicated, and delays in queue processing may be negative.

Email games are multifaceted. In their earliest form, they involved two players sending each other by mail, such as correspondence chess. Multiplayer games like Diplomacy, or the more complex games available today, involve master games. who receives and processes orders and evaluates the results of the move for the players. These games also introduce an element of diplomacy in which participants can discuss gameplay with each other, develop strategy, and formalliances. In the 1970s and 1980s, in some games, the results of a move were made entirely by humans. Over time, partial or complete judgment by computer became the norm. Games also have options with open and closed ends. Open games usually don't end and players can maximize their positions; in closed games, players abide by the terms of victory until the game is over. Finally, PBM games allow players to explore a wide range of roles, from characters in fantasy or the Middle Ages to space operas, urban gangs, or even more unusual ones, such as taking on the role of microorganisms or monsters.

The earliest games that can be played by mail were developed as a way for geographically separated players to compete against each other usingmail. ChessandGo are among the oldest examples of this type. In these two-player games, players sent moves directly to each other. Later, multiplayer games appeared. Diplomacy is an early example of this type, appearing in 1963, when the maingame mastercontrols the game, makes moves and publishes decisions.

 
According to Shannon Appelkline, "there was a little PBM in the 1960s," but not by much. For example, during this period, some wargamers began playingStalingradby mail. In addition,Diplomacywas first played by mail in 1963.

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