¶ Imagine a game where players can participate for literally decades, building up a Clan of tribes in a barbarian fantasy world.
These clans can hunt, build, trade, fight and grow. They can farm, sail, mine, dance, and ambush other traders. They can explore, scout, spy, brew ale and develop large alliances with other clans. They can build up towns and ports. They can lay siege to enemy towns and ports in order to claim the spoils within. They can choose to run or fight the roaming cannibal tribes or perhaps descend into madness by joining with them and going on to terrorise the land.
¶ TribeNet is that game.
Once a fortnight, players submit orders via email to the GM and receive their results a few days later to learn how they fared.
- Did the new goldmine produce?
- Did the enemy overrun our scouting party?
- Did the attack go our way?
- Did we lose thousands of goats because we forgot to herd them?
- Did we discover vast new areas of land to expand and trade?
- Did the new research complete successfully, opening up new avenues of production and wealth?
- Did the ship building complete, allowing us to cross the ocean to the new trading opportunities available?
- Did the harvest come in?
- Did the refineries produce the metals we needed to build the swords to counter the imminent invasion?
- Did the hospital get built to reduce the casualties if not?
- How are the stone wall defences coming along?
- Will the allies get here in time?
TribeNet is a 4x (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) open-ended Play By Email (PBeM) game which began in the 1990s, following in the footsteps of the Play By Mail (PBM) game boom of the 80s. The game and its rulebook have been in continual development since the start, supporting new players and old alike. Players may submit ideas for game enhancements in the form of ‘research’, ensuring the game can continually offer new skills, avenues to explore and other benefits to players.
New players are always welcome and are thoroughly supported by the existing player base. They are given safe spaces to learn and grow and make their way in the land.
Emphasis in the game is on the management of the clan and its constituent tribes. Where to go, what to do, which skills to develop, whether to fight or trade or build or all of the above. Because you share the world with other players, diplomacy is a part of the game, and this provides some limited opportunity for role-play, but overall, role-play is not a major part of the game.
Many players use the TribeNet Discord to discuss rules and hurl insults and this a great forum to learn the ropes in the early days. It has a great community spirit and is often very entertaining. The players also produce a magazine published every two weeks providing further opportunities to share stories, rumours, jokes, tips, and of course, hurl abuse.
The existing players hope to be playing this game for decades to come.
We hope you’ll join us.
Tribenet Fundamentals ... a starter pack for TribeNet