PBeM Experience?

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(While this is not a D&D specific thread, it seems to fit here better than anywhere else ... so meh)

Does anyone have experience with play by email? What's it like? What seperates it from play by post, specifically? What advantages/disadvantages? Is it hopelessly unsuited/extremely well suited to running certain sorts of games? Er ... anything else you can think of - I want to figure out this mystery

 

Are you talking specifically about Pbem D&D games, D&D computer games, or just any games?

I have a lot of experience playing Steel Panthers World at War, a tactical level WW II turn based combat game available from www.matrixgames.com on email. That worked really well, because one player would get the game file, move and fire all his/her units, then zip the files up and email it to the other. Scenarios typically lasted 10 to 30 turns and might take a week to a month to finish. For games with a similar system it would probably work well. For most D&D games, I can't imagine that it would, because of all the decisions and dice rolls that happen at a fast pace. Unless you want to do a purely texted based, dice-less adventure, like what we're doing in the RP thread here at SP, but for that I think a forum like this is much more suitable than email.

 

I really enjoy PBeM, but you can't run any old game with it. Combat, for example, bogs down a huge amount, so it should be avoided, and you have to spend some time convincing people not to play the brooding bad-asses they like to play in table-top... a character who doesn't talk and just sits there, looking menacing, is dead boring in PBeM.

Where I find PBeM really shines is in a game where there are a lot of factions, and you need to be able to communicate swiftly and privately with other people. Most PBP software will now let you PM someone, so that's not a huge advantage, but I find it easier to stick the GM onto a e-mail rather than a PM.

Between PBP and PBEM I find that its really a matter of personal preference; I like PBeM because it means I'm storing things on my local hard drive, and can check the messages simply by checking my mail. PBP has a site you need to go to, and archives messages for you, but I just find it less convenient.

 

I've heard that e-mail games are nice, but I just can't imagine having the patience to play any.