Here is Battle Plan (1989 originally, this edition from circa 1991), from Flying Buffalo. It’s what I imagine is a fairly typical military strategy play-by-mail game to be — there are rules for industry development, budget management, espionage, diplomacy, propaganda and the usual flavors of combat. The focus is on conquering Europe in a historically vague time period, but there are variants for a simulation of World War II as well as a world-wide version.

I can nearly understand the basic functionality of the mechanics here, though the shorthand for orders is punishing to parse. I can not imagine actually playing this, though — I don’t know how I would parse all the information. I need a board and chits or something, I think? It’s too abstract, I’d be too siloed in my own business and unaware of my opponents until it was too late.

Nice stippled cover art by Steve Crompton.