Assuming you enjoy anything about MEPBM. 
It’s been a while since the last poll and I figured this would be a good time to toss one in for pure entertainment value.
Feel free to mention your favorite thing about MEPBM if I didn’t list it in the poll options.
The psychological and sociological aspects of the game. What remains of the covert aspects is also appreciated.
Examples: Instead of fighting Bain or Ji Indur, try fighting the man behind Bain and Ji Indur. Instead of fighting an opposing ‘team’ realise this is not a ‘team’ game but an ‘allaince’ game. More on that later. Hence you attempt to fissure the ‘alliance’ facing you.
Somehow people don’t seem to like tricsy Hobbits in this game. UnToliken I suppose. I have seen Old Testiment ruses work in this game. So flexible and ‘realistic’ this game can be—if not ‘dumbed down’.
What I like about MEPBM is its double-blind format (an element of the “fog of war” which is notably absent in most games). I also like its use of leader characters for regulating Army raising and movement.
That’s pretty much it for why I like it.
I like the chics i get playing this game… 
jk
I like the recruitment of neutrals and coordinating massive strikes w/ partners…I have met several of these guys and actually met a couple in person…it’s been a good experience for me for the most part.
JMR
Once every 4 or so years, I like to see multinational/multiplayer plans 1) actually happen without major errors (2319? I thought you meant Teleport to 2913…) AND 2) actually succeed (he’s ONLY an 89 natural you know, those 40 pt’s of artifacts and 25pts of stealth arties don’t factor in to…).
Maximizing resource allocation and outwitting the opposition.
I like the team work, with your allies, the recruiting of netrals and the feeling you get when a plan comes together and you crush the enemy…
To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of the women!
I’m wondering if all of the economic wizards out there (who seem to know just how all the formulas work) are either not on the forum here or maybe that part of the game is a necessary evil that nobody really enjoys. In a few of my recent games I have been amazed at the level of economic coordination, mainly market price manipulation. I just thought that might be more popular. 
Mostly talking crap,
It’s all fun just watching the comapny grow and all of it’s people who play this amazing game. There are a lot of us who were playing this game since it started in Miami, Fl when it was just PBM. So look how we have all grown to e-mail 1 week games and all sorts of different game types. I’m always learning something for someone and i’m just glad to be part of a worldwide games such as this.
the mental gymnastics.thinking in different directions from reallife work.
the team building, where different elements combine for success.
ed mills, the game isn’t true enough for an honest response. if a game has too many issues ( absent allies, allies missing turns, 15-10 split) it becomes like grade school homework.
banter outside game topics with guys on your side. esp europeans/aussies.
a game 15 turns long where neither side has a solid lead, due to excellent gameplay.
sm
Playing with my friends.
I enjoy the rock/paper/scissors type military/recruitment discussions, where you balance the short-term economic and military advantages of army/PC xyz and the cost to try to keep them, as well as the eventual exection of a well thoughtout plan. I think the character game can be fun, but it depends on who is the “doer” and who is the “receiver” of the character game (and thus more one sided).
I really enjoy the underlying concept of Tolkien’s black-and-white good vs evil struggle, and I think ME should emphasize that. Also, I wish artifacts and encounters (as well as characters) had more of a fog-of-war element; when MEPBM first came out, I really enjoyed that part of the game, before the internet and 100+ e-mails per turn became the norm. That’s why I really like to play the GunBoat format. I hope that Kin-Strife, while there is info out there, will feel more like a FA or GunBoat game than a cookie-cutter chess type game. I’m sure the fog-of-war will keep many of us interested for quite awhile, especially if they tweak some of the game mechanics as well.
Oh yes, and the chicks are a nice perk . . . 8)
Mark F.
Watching Fletch bankrupt himself or get chased around the map by a determined enemy…
Cheers
Brendan
ps Sorry Fletch, couldn’t resist.
While I do love reverse-engineering the formulae, that is more of a side benefit for me (albeit it very enjoyable side benefit for me), not what makes the game itself fun for me.
The closest I could come to tying the Economic formulae to the game as an enjoyment factor would be that it gives me an opportunity to write software to extract and crunch the numbers for me.
Once the program’s written, that ceases to be particularly enjoyable, other than the raw love of numbers I oddly possess.
Let me answer the question with a slightly different slant. What I like best about ME-PBM is…the anticipation on the morning of Game Day (I know JB is with me here <g>).
-Checking your email every little whip-stitch, audibly cursing when the turn isn’t up.
-Not being able to concentrate on your boring meeting at work, thinking about the turn to come.
-Actually scheduling RL around the expectation of a turn (“Let’s schedule that appointment tomorrow afternoon as I’ll need to attend to some important email I’m expecting in the morning”).
You catch my drift.
Drew —
you’re a sick puppy.
but then i think i might suffer from the same malady… <grin>
Dave
At least you guys can check your email. I have to wait until my brother can check the email then forward it to my work address. That means I have to be nice to him otherwise he holds the turns up.
Tim
Tim,
John Folz and I have that (GB 2-person team) problem solved. He gets one turn and I get the other. In fact, he gets the nation that I plan and I get the nation that he plans… So… there’s GREAT incentive for us to quickly exchange the turns…
Dave
That would suck. I’d hate to have to be nice to my brother. <g>