Vying Games : Wiki : Manual : About

Vying Games is a turn-based, multiplayer strategy games site. There is support for playing against other people, or against computer opponents (bots). Tourneys are run regularly (complete with trophies for the winner). There's a growing wiki full of information about games and forums to discuss games.

Types of Games

But, what kind of games are we talking about? What are turn-based, multiplayer, strategy games? Let's break it down:

First, multiplayer. That's easy, you won't find any solitaire games here. The games here are adversarial.

Secondly, the games are turn-based. Usually, the players take turns moving. But, the system here isn't quite that rigid. The order of the moves isn't necessarily important. Games with simultaneous, sealed moves fit our definition of turn-based. As a general rule, if a game allows a quicker player to have an advantage, it's not turn-based.

Lastly, this is all about strategy. While the games here may be influenced by chance -- that is include some random elements. The roll of a die, perhaps. Nonetheless, the player's skill should determine the outcome more often than not. That is, a player with a superior strategy might lose one game on a bad roll, but should overcome chance to win more often than not.

Turn-Based vs Real-Time

Okay, so the games are turn-based -- what about the server? It's unfortunate, but the words "turn-based" and "real-time" have a couple different meanings in this respect.

A game server is classified as "turn-based" if it supports correspondence-style play. Also known as "play by mail" or "play by email". With this variety of server the players need not be online at the same time. This is great for people who are on the computer frequently but can't sit around playing a single game in real-time for a long stretch of time. You can simply check your games, make a few moves, and go back to work (or, whatever). And, yes, usually people play dozens or even hundreds of games at the same time on a turn-based server. It sounds overwhelming, but some players move very infrequently so a single game may only require that you make a move every couple days.

A game server is classified as "real-time" if most players stay online continuously. Games are usually played serially to completion, with each game usually lasting anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. This is great for people who want to chat and be social.

Vying Games has traditionally been more of a turn-based server. Most players maintain dozens of games and check in several times a day to several times a week. This means you should not expect players to move quickly.

However, Vying Games continues to support more real-time features. It's a stated goal that Vying Games become a kind of hybrid, allowing players to play turn-based or in real-time as the mood strikes.

The Charter

Just a stub. I'll get to this soon -- eki.

Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Again, just a stub, but here's a simple guideline:

Privacy Policy

We at Vying Games are not interested in collecting personal information about you. We'd like to get to know you as a person, not a record in a database. Any info that we do collect we'll keep to ourselves.

Terms of Use

Be nice. Be respectful. Be a good sport. Don't cheat. Failure to comply with these Terms of Use may, uh, result in banning or worse.

Pro Membership

If you'd like to help support Vying Games (and take advantage of a few juicy perks), have a look at our membership plans. Though, you're perfectly welcome to remain on the Free Plan as long as you like.