Forum game
Encyclopedia
A forum game is a text-based multiplayer game played on an Internet forum
. Simple examples include word association
, hangman
, "Count to a Million", "what are you listening to?", "which do you prefer?", and variations of Photoshop contest
s.
Many games take advantage of the linear nature of certain forums. One example is "Person Above You", in which users write about the user that posted before them. A variant is "Person Below You", in which users write about the next poster, who replies with "true" or "false". On the other hand, multiple instances of some games, such as word association, can run concurrently on threaded forum systems. Another forum game is "Image Wars" in which the players have to post an image that is superior to the above image.
More complex forum games may expand into the fields of turn-based strategy
or role-playing
games, or a combination of both, where a player can both lead a group and play a member of that group. These more complex games are usually a separate forum or subforum, and within each forum the players interact with each other given the rules and themes of each game. A moderator or moderators usually preside over and update the status of the game world and each player every turn. In some cases, board software itself may have added features pertaining to the game, ranging from simple granting of "experience points" for posting in threads related to games, to complex systems handling multiple aspects of a game (for example: budgeting, unit management, and map generation in a Civilization
-type game.
Conventional board games like Risk
and Diplomacy
and variations of play-by-mail game
s are also sometimes adapted for play on forums.
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
. Simple examples include word association
Word Association
Word Association is a common word game involving an exchange of words that are associated together. The game is based on the noun phrase word association, meaning "stimulation of an associative pattern by a word" or "the connection and production of other words in response to a given word, done...
, hangman
Hangman (game)
Hangman is a paper and pencil guessing game for two or more players. One player thinks of a word and the other tries to guess it by suggesting letters.-Overview:...
, "Count to a Million", "what are you listening to?", "which do you prefer?", and variations of Photoshop contest
Photoshop contest
A Photoshop contest, or sometimes photochop contest, is an online game, in which a website or user of an Internet forum will post a starting image — usually a photograph — and ask others to manipulate the image using some kind of graphics editing software, such as Photoshop, Corel...
s.
Many games take advantage of the linear nature of certain forums. One example is "Person Above You", in which users write about the user that posted before them. A variant is "Person Below You", in which users write about the next poster, who replies with "true" or "false". On the other hand, multiple instances of some games, such as word association, can run concurrently on threaded forum systems. Another forum game is "Image Wars" in which the players have to post an image that is superior to the above image.
More complex forum games may expand into the fields of turn-based strategy
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
or role-playing
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
games, or a combination of both, where a player can both lead a group and play a member of that group. These more complex games are usually a separate forum or subforum, and within each forum the players interact with each other given the rules and themes of each game. A moderator or moderators usually preside over and update the status of the game world and each player every turn. In some cases, board software itself may have added features pertaining to the game, ranging from simple granting of "experience points" for posting in threads related to games, to complex systems handling multiple aspects of a game (for example: budgeting, unit management, and map generation in a Civilization
Civilization (computer game)
Sid Meier's Civilization is a turn-based strategy "4X"-type strategy video game created by Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley for MicroProse in 1991. The game's objective is to "Build an empire to stand the test of time": it begins in 4000 BC and the players attempt to expand and develop their empires...
-type game.
Conventional board games like Risk
Risk (game)
Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
and Diplomacy
Diplomacy (game)
Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhamer in 1954 and released commercially in 1959. Its main distinctions from most board wargames are its negotiation phases and the absence of dice or other game elements that produce random effects...
and variations of play-by-mail game
Play-by-mail game
Play-by-mail games, sometimes known as "Play-by-post", are games, of any type, played through postal mail or e-mail. One example, chess, has been played by mail for centuries . Another example, Diplomacy, has been played by mail since the 1960s, starting with a printed newsletter written by John...
s are also sometimes adapted for play on forums.
Example forum games
- HangmanHangman (game)Hangman is a paper and pencil guessing game for two or more players. One player thinks of a word and the other tries to guess it by suggesting letters.-Overview:...
- I spyI spyI spy is a guessing game usually played in families with young children, partly to assist in both observation and in alphabet familiarity. I spy is often played as a car game....
(played against a posted image rather than a real-life scene) - Mafia, also known as "Werewolf"
- Photoshop tennis
- Question game
- Three word story - a person begins a story with three words, the next person has to continue the story with another 3 words and so on.
- Word associationWord AssociationWord Association is a common word game involving an exchange of words that are associated together. The game is based on the noun phrase word association, meaning "stimulation of an associative pattern by a word" or "the connection and production of other words in response to a given word, done...
- Green Glass Door
- Mornington CrescentMornington Crescent (game)Mornington Crescent is a spoof game, featured in the BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, which satirises complicated strategy games....
- SurvivorSurvivor (TV series)Survivor is a reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe...
(played with fictional characters rather than with real people) - King of the Hill - Users battle and think of creative ways to get on top of an imaginary hill. This is an infinite game there is no winner (unless it is eventually locked).
- This or That - User picks a choice from the previous poster, possibly with a comment, and then proposes a new two-choices question.
- Count with pictures - Each post must contain a picture actually showing the current number in it or an object showing the number by its meaning. The next user must do the same, but with the next following number.
- I ban you for… - The post must make ban the person above them for any trivial reason.
- Throw Something at the Next Person
- Corrupt A Wish
- Last Person to Post Wins