Anybody remember Trade Wars?

Hey, I'm as capable of a geeky post as the next guy.

In the late '80s and early '90s, I used to log into a couple of BBS (Bulletin Board Systems), pre-Internet by phone, and play a game against others called Trade Wars.

It was text-based, no fancy graphics or anything, but basically, you'd start with the base ship and travel around the known game's galaxy finding things to buy and sell. You'd build up money, then upgrade your ship until you got that one maxed out, then you'd trade it in on the more expensive ship, etc.

You'd develop planets, protect it with mines or, eventually, more sophisticated weapons. And basically attempt to build a gallatic emphire against others in the game. Sometimes you'd blow them up, and sometimes they'd blow you up, and you'd have to start over. There was also a computer generated set of alien enemies known as the Cabal, I believe.

There was a period of a year or so where I was pretty much obsessed and would come home after the bar and play for a couple of hours or so each night before bed.

There was no worse feeling (cyberwise) than wandering into a heavily protected sector and having the ship you'd spent months building to state of the art obliterated within a few minutes and having to start over.

It was all completely anonymous, except for information you'd find out in the communication the game allowed, and the oddest thing that ever happened to me was competing against a guy for months -- and then discovering eventually that he was one of my bosses at the paper.

It's still out there in some form, although obviously, not on dial-up BBSes anymore.

Anybody else ever play this thing, or am I alone in my geekiness?

If so, please let this thread sink mercifully out of sight with a minimum embarrassment to me.

 

I think I played it once, and I died of dysentary.

 

Klingons? Those are the things that dangle from asshairs, right?

 

I never heard of it, but it looks like it would have been fun: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_wars

 

Actually, I don't believe there was any galactic dysentery, and no, no Klingons of any kind in this particular game.

I should have know this would end badly.

 

Were you a 14th-level chaotic evil magic-user?

 

Naw, that was the beauty of it. No weird roll playing or wizards or shit like that.

You just bought your ship and flew around buying and selling fuel, ore and food, making money -- and taking out fellow competitors where appropriate. Finding two planets together that wanted to exchange those things was golden.