Introduction
This page describes the usage of commands which are common to all PBeM Server games. Some games may have extra commands or options available. These are described on the help page for each game. The rules and move notation are described there too. Please read the [1]summary page to see what games are available.
Syntax
Words in bold should be replaced with an appropriate value.
For example:
userid should be replaced with a pbmserv userid (usually your own)
password should be replaced with the correct password for the preceding userid
board should be replaced with the number of a game board
The word game at the beginning of most commands should be replaced with the name of
one of the pbmserv games.
Words inside [ brackets ] are optional.
If more than one of something is allowed, it may be indicated in several ways:
as [ ... ellipsis ] inside brackets
a word+ with a plus sign may be listed 1 or more times
a word* with an asterix may be listed 0 or more times
Command Summary
[2] help [ subject [ ...subject ] ]
[3] signup userid password [ e-mail address(es) ]
[4] add userid password [ e-mail address(es) ]
[5] change password userid current-password new-password
[6] change address userid password [ e-mail address(es) ]
[7] signoff userid password
[8] delete userid password
[9] list [ game-type-1 [ ... game-type-N ] ]
[10] message userid password toUserid1 [ ... toUseridN ]
[11] broadcast userid password
[12] multiple
[13] all show userid [ next | active ]
game [14] help
game [15] standings
game [16] ratings
game [17] games userid* [ all | active | inactive | next ]
game [18] show board[#moveno]+
game [19] show userid+ [ all | active | inactive | next ]
game [20] showas userid password [board+|all|active|inactive|next]
game [21] challenge userid1 userid2 [ -options ]
game [22] move board userid password move[#moveno]
game move board userid password [23] pass[#moveno]
game move board userid password [24] swap[#moveno]
game move board userid password [25] propose
game move board userid password [26] undo
game move board userid password [27] accept
game move board userid password [28] reject
game move board userid password [29] resign
game [30] resign board userid password
game [31] chat board userid password
game [32] submit board userid password move[#moveno]
game [33] confirm board userid password
game [34] preview board move+
game [35] preview new numplayers [ -options ] move+
game [36] subscribe userid password board+
game [37] unsubscribe userid password board+
game [38] limit userid password [ number ]
game [39] accept userid password
game [40] reject userid password
game [41] notify userid password
Each command should be put in the subject of a mail message to the PBeM Server pbmserv@gamerz.net. Response time is usually very quick (not much more than roundtrip email time), and you should always get a response (unless something goes wrong). If pbmserv does not respond to a command, you can try the simple command "help" to see if the system is down or not. If pbmserv responds to "help" and you don't have a response from your other command still, something has gone wrong. Try again or ask rrognlie@gamerz.net for help if problems persist.
Command Descriptions
help [ subject [ ... subject ] ]
Send the help for the requested subjects.
If no subjects are requested, the "summary" page is sent.
If you request an invalid subject (e.g. "help me") you will be sent a list of available
help subjects.
Administrative Commands
signup userid password [ e-mail address(es) ] or
add userid password [ e-mail address(es) ]
Adds you to the PBeM server.
You must sign up before you are allowed to participate in any PBeM games.
userid is any sequence of characters not including colons, spaces, or quotes.
The same goes for password.
If you have multiple E-Mail addresses or have a particular favorite account you wish all
PBeM mail sent to, specify it after your password.
Otherwise, the PBeM server will assume the return address of your signup request is
where all PBeM mail should go.
change password userid current-password new-password
This allows you to change your PBeM password.
You may wish to do this periodically.
The PBeM server uses the passwords for its own purposes (it stores them as clear
text, so you probably do *not* want to use the same password as you use for your
login accounts!)
change address userid password [ e-mail address(es) ]
This allows you to change the PBeM servers mail address for you.
Any mail that the PBeM server send will normally go to this address.
If no address(es) is(are) specified, the PBeM server will assume the return address
of the request as the desired address.
signoff userid password or
delete userid password
When you have decided that you have wasted enough of your life playing these
silly games that can last for weeks, delete your user account as a courtesy to the
other players.
Miscellaneous Commands
list [ game type 1 [ ... game type N ] ]
List the status of the game types specified.
If no game types are specified, a list of PBeM users will be displayed.
For privacy reasons, only their PBeM userid will be displayed.
message userid password toUserid1 [ ... toUseridN ]
If you wish to send a message to a PBeM user, but do not have their eMail address,
you may send it via the PBeM server.
broadcast userid password
If you wish to send a message to ALL PBeM users, use this.
Please limit use of broadcast to topics of potential interest to all players.
You may want to use the PBeM Server mailing list (pbmserv-users@gamerz.net) as an
alternate to the broadcast command.
Please include your pbmserv userid in your message so people know to whom they should
address their responses.
multiple
The multiple command will interpret each line of the body of the message as a
pbmserv command.
Indented lines are sent as comments (the messages body) of the preceding pbmserv command.
For example:
To: pbmserv@gamerz.net Subject: multiple tanbo3d move 2734 alibaba sesame 123 Bet you weren't expecting that! Are you ready to resign yet? spangles move 1234 alibaba sesame resign You win some, you lose some...
all show userid [ next | active ]
The all command is used to send the same command to all pbmserv games.
The principle use of the all command is to have the server send you all the boards
in which it is currently your turn ("all show user next"), or all the active boards
in which your are a player ("all show user active").
Informational Commands
game help or
help game
This sends the general help file for the specified game.
game standings or
game ratings
Show the current standings
game games userid* [ all | active | inactive | next ]
List games on the server.
If "active" is used, only games that has not yet come to an end will be listed
if all players are participating.
The opposite is true for "inactive".
"Next" will list games in which one of the players are next to move.
game show board[#moveno]+ [ -t ] or
game show userid+ [all | active | inactive | next ] [ -t ]
Show the board(s).
Specifying one or more board numbers will show those particular boards.
Specifying one or more userids will show all boards in which one of those userids
is a player.
The "active" modifier will only show games which have not yet ended.
"Inactive" will only show games which are finished.
"Next" will only show games for which one of the specified userids is next to move.
If the "-t" or "--time" option is included in the command, the time used by each player
and the total time will be included with the board.
The "-t" or "--time" option may also be used any command which shows the board, such
as "showas", "all show", or "preview".
When used with the "challenge" command, the times will be included with every board.
A move number may optionally be appended to the board number with a # separator.
This will show the state of board at the time of that move.
Note: This may not work with all games!
game showas userid password [board+ | all | active | inactive | next]
Show the board(s) from userid's perspective.
This is useful for games with hidden information, such as DarkChess, or
games which can turn the board to show your pieces at the bottom, such as Chess.
Playing Commands
game challenge userid1 userid2 [-options]
Start a new game between userid1 and userid2.
Some games support more than 2 players, or optional parameters with a leading dash.
The help for the specific game will describe any game-specific functionality.
game move board userid password move[#moveno]
Make a move.
The format for the move string is described on the help page for the specific game.
The move number may optionally be appended to the move string with a # separator.
The move will then be accepted only for the given move number.
This may be useful if your email is flaky and you are worried about messages being
lost or delayed arriving later at the wrong time.
game move board userid password pass[#moveno] or
game move board userid password --[#moveno]
If the game allows it, pass your turn.
Make no move.
game move board userid password swap[#moveno] or
game swap board userid password
If the game support swapping at a certain point during the game, this command
will swap sides.
game move board userid password propose
Propose a draw.
All players must "accept" the proposal.
game move board userid password undo
Request to undo a move.
All players must "accept" the undo.
game move board userid password accept
If a draw has been proposed, accept the draw.
If an undo has been requested, accept the undo.
game move board userid password reject
If a draw has been proposed, reject the draw.
If an undo has been requested, reject the undo.
game move board userid password resign or
game resign board userid password
Resign the current game.
If this is the first action from that player in the game, he leaves play (without
penalty) and if more than one player is left, the game is restarted without
the player.
If it is not the first action from that player, he will leave the game and the
remaining player will continue playing.
If only one player is left, that player will win the game.
game chat board userid password
Sends the message in the body of the mail to all players and subscribers.
game submit board userid password move[#moveno]
Preview a move.
The move will be stored with the board and can be effectuated by using the
move command without supplying a move.
Submitting several different moves will only keep the last one.
game confirm board userid password
Confirm the last submitted move (and make it).
Submit + confirm is equivalent to using move.
game preview board move+ or
game preview new numplayers [-options] move+
Make the move(s) on a given board (or a new one).
The moves are not saved. The resulting board will be sent back.
The "preview new" command will accept any -options which are acceptable to the
game's "challenge" command.
* Games with simultaneous movement (e.g. ToW) or hidden information (e.g. DarkChess)
will not allow submit, confirm, and preview commands.
Subscribing Commands
game subscribe userid password board+
Start subscribing a specific board.
Whenever one of the players issue a valid move, the new board will be sent to
players who subscribe in addition to those players who participate.
game unsubscribe userid password board+
Unsubscribe a board that was previously subscribed.
game limit userid password [ number ]
Limits the number of active games you may have.
If you have the specified number of active games, any additional challenges will
be automatically rejected.
Instead of a number, you may also use the word "reject" to reject all games,
or "accept" to accept all games.
If the number parameter is omitted, your current limit will be reported.
The limits for other players are reported by the [42]standings command.
game accept userid password
Allow other players to challenge you.
game reject userid password
Disallow other players to challenge you.
game notify userid password
Notify is similar to the subscribe command but instead of getting a copy of
the board after each and every move, the boards are shown after the game ends.
Sending a new notify command will stop the notification.
Messages to your opponent
When you use the [43] challenge, [44] move, [45] resign, or [46] chat commands,
any text in the body of your mail message will be sent to your opponent along with
the board summary.
You may also send messages to other PBeM users via the [47] message and [48]
broadcast commands.
References