Duel2

DUEL2, formerly DuelMasters, is a turn-based, play-by-mail game run by Reality Simulations, Inc. (RSI) out of Tempe, Arizona, where players, called managers, design and run up to five warriors per team against other managers. The game is one of the longest-running play-by-mail games still operating. It has been cited by Greg Lindahl's PBM page as one that is most talked about and has been a standard against which other gladiatorial PBM games have been measured. It is credited with inspiring at least one online gladiator game called Gladiator.

One of the earliest examples of a massively multi-player role playing computer program, Duel2 turns feature fight results, a newsletter with standings, personal ads, and team spotlights. Players contribute to newsletters in the form of musings, insults, and fiction. Gameplay alternates between tournaments, held about every 3 months, and the arena, which fights every two weeks. Usually 2 tournaments a year are held 'Face-to-Face' and include reading aloud of fight printouts for championship matches. Face-to-Face tournaments also incorporate alliances as teams to share strategy, tactics, and intelligence. In the 1980s, managers were primarily based in Arizona and California, though the game grew worldwide by word of mouth and through trial tournaments held at major gaming conventions.

DUEL2 consists of managers sending in individual strategies for their warriors which are matched against each other through a computer program to produce a printed battle which puts the player right with their warrior in the arena. After the fight is over, if the warrior is alive, the warrior improves, if possible, and then the player gets another chance to try their strategy again. asIaxsadaior is dead, then another roll-up is sent to the player to begin a new warrior.

Begun in the early- to mid-80s, the game was known as Duelmasters in those days after the primary goal of gameplay. Set in the land of Alastari, DUEL2 pits managers against each other through their warriors. Initially created when computers with a 300 baud modem were the height of technology, the game continues to provide a play-by-mail format which gives managers something to look forward to in the mail. As people begin exploring a game which has a simple framework they quickly discover infinite dimensions of difficulty.

A player receives a roll-up sheet with five warriors on it. The player will name the warriors, determine their attributes, and select a gender and fighting style [1] for their future gladiators. Once this is done, the sheet will be mailed back to RSI.

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