| Forgotten Realms | |
| Designer: | Paul Brown |
| Publisher: | Reality Simulations, Inc. |
| Years: | ~1994 to current |
| Genre: | Role-playing, heroic fantasy |
| Language: | English |
| Players: | 50 |
| Playing Time: | fixed (30–50 turns) |
| Materials: | Instructions, order sheets, turn results, paper, pencil |
| Media Type: | Play-by-mail or email |
Forgotten Realms, subtitled "War of the Avatars", was a computer-moderated play-by-mail game (PBM) published by Reality Simulations that was set in the Savage Frontier of the Forgotten Realms.[1]
The game was designed by Paul Brown.
50 players per game adventured in a world comprising 5,000 hexagons of varied terrain, where they controlled various characters, military forces, and communities. Diplomacy and combat were important parts of gameplay. The company published a "top-10 chart" every turn to highlight significant realm accomplishments.
Each game lasted until one of the players met the victory conditions, usually 35–50 turns, at a cost of $1.50 per turn plus 50 cents for each move (to a maximum, of $15 per turn.)[2] After twenty turns, players could summon a god's avatar to aid them.
Kuo W. Ping reviewed the game in the July–August 1996 issue of Paper Mayhem magazine and stated it was "one of the best PBM games I have yet played". Ping described the game as "very fun and enjoyable" and rated it with "high marks" while suggesting two areas to improve.[3]
Forgotten Realms won the Origins Award for Best New Play-by-Mail Game of 1994.[4]