KJC Games

KJC Games is a United Kingdom gaming company established by Kevin Cropper in 1981. It became one of the most prominent European publishers of play-by-mail games, a form of asynchronous gaming in which players submitted moves by post, telephone, or later electronic communication and received updated game states in return. The company’s early catalogue combined fantasy, crime, science-fiction, and strategic management settings, and its games were distinguished by persistent worlds, recurring turns, and ongoing interaction among large communities of players. The company’s first game was Crasimoff's World, a hand-moderated title. In a hand-moderated game, staff processed player actions and maintained the game world rather than relying entirely on software. KJC Games later expanded into computer-moderated games, including Earthwood and It's a Crime. This transition allowed the company to process a much larger number of turns and support more complex recurring play. It's a Crime became particularly successful and was described in contemporary material as the most popular play-by-mail game in the world in 1988. By 1988, KJC Games was reported to be the largest play-by-mail company in Europe. During that period it processed approximately 15,000 turns per month using IBM-compatible computers with 20 MB hard drives, illustrating both the scale of its operation and the technical limitations of the era. The company was also considering expansion opportunities as the market for postal strategy games developed. KJC Games continued to work with asynchronous multiplayer formats after the growth of online gaming. In 2001 it published Space Troopers, a science-fiction wargame offered as a free play-by-email title. The company also began playtesting Phoenix: Beyond the Stellar Empire during the same year. These projects represented an adaptation of the company’s established persistent-world model to email rather than relying solely on physical mail. In 2005, industry writer Mica Goldstone identified KJC Games as one of the leading three play-by-mail companies, alongside Harlequin Games and Madhouse. The reference reflects KJC Games’ lasting position within the specialist PBM community. Publicly available reference material provides limited information about its later corporate structure, ownership, current leadership, financial performance, or present operating status. Its documented identity is therefore primarily that of a specialist publisher and operator of long-running asynchronous strategy games.

Kevin Cropper founded KJC Games in the United Kingdom in 1981. The company entered the emerging play-by-mail market, in which participants sent orders for strategic or role-playing games and received results after the operator processed each turn. KJC Games' first known title, Crasimoff's World, used hand moderation. Staff manually interpreted player actions, updated the shared world, and communicated results, a labor-intensive model that nevertheless supported detailed and persistent gameplay. The company subsequently introduced computer-moderated games, including Earthwood and It's a Crime. Computer moderation enabled the operator to manage more turns and maintain game states with greater consistency. It's a Crime became KJC Games' best-known early success and was characterized in 1988 contemporary reporting as the most popular play-by-mail game in the world. Its success helped establish KJC Games as a major operator in a niche that depended on recurring player participation and long-term subscriptions or turn submissions. By 1988, KJC Games was reported to be Europe's largest play-by-mail company. Its systems processed approximately 15,000 turns per month on IBM-compatible clone computers equipped with 20 MB hard drives. These figures indicate the scale of the company's operation in an era when storage and computing resources were modest by modern standards. The company was also investigating expansion, suggesting that it viewed the European PBM market as capable of supporting further growth. KJC Games' catalogue covered several genres. Crasimoff's World represented the hand-moderated fantasy-oriented tradition, while Earthwood and It's a Crime demonstrated the company's move toward computer-supported persistent worlds. The company later broadened its science-fiction output. In 2001 it published Space Troopers as a free play-by-email science-fiction wargame. It also began playtesting Phoenix: Beyond the Stellar Empire that year. Play-by-email adapted the older PBM structure to electronic communication, reducing dependence on physical mail while preserving asynchronous turns, persistent settings, and community interaction. The company remained visible in specialist PBM discussions after the broader games industry had moved toward real-time online services. In 2005, Mica Goldstone described KJC Games as one of the sector's leading three companies, together with Harlequin Games and Madhouse. This assessment indicates that KJC Games retained importance within the dedicated PBM community even as the commercial environment around postal and email gaming changed. Available reference material does not establish KJC Games' current ownership, corporate organization, headquarters beyond its United Kingdom origin, financial results, current leadership, or whether its operations remain active. The documented historical record therefore supports a description of KJC Games as a pioneering and influential British publisher of persistent asynchronous games, but not a definitive account of its present-day status.

• 2005

  KJC Games is named among the PBM sector's leading companies

  [1]KJC Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Mica Goldstone includes KJC Games among the leading three play-by-mail companies, alongside Harlequin Games and Madhouse.

• 2001

  Space Troopers is published

  [1]KJC Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  KJC Games publishes a free science-fiction wargame designed for play by email.

• 2001

  Phoenix: Beyond the Stellar Empire enters playtesting

  [1]KJC Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  The company begins testing another science-fiction persistent-world game.

• 1988

  KJC Games becomes Europe's largest PBM company

  [1]KJC Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Contemporary reporting identifies KJC Games as the largest play-by-mail company in Europe, with about 15,000 turns processed monthly.

• 1981

  KJC Games is founded

  [1]KJC Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Kevin Cropper establishes KJC Games in the United Kingdom as a publisher and operator of play-by-mail games.

• 1981

  Crasimoff's World launches

  [1]KJC Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  The company's first known game begins as a hand-moderated play-by-mail title.

A specialist publisher of persistent, turn-based multiplayer games built around asynchronous play, player communities, and long-running strategic worlds.

• Hand-moderated play-by-mail game · 1981

  Crasimoff's World

  Crasimoff's World was KJC Games' first known title. It used hand moderation, with company staff processing player actions and maintaining the shared game world. The title represents the early operational model of PBM gaming, in which human moderators were central to interpreting turns, resolving events, and communicating outcomes to participants.

• Computer-moderated play-by-mail game

  Earthwood

  Earthwood was one of KJC Games' early computer-moderated games. It followed the company's initial hand-moderated offering and helped demonstrate how software could support persistent, recurring-turn play at a larger scale. Public reference material identifies the title as part of KJC Games' early catalogue but provides limited detail about its mechanics or later availability.

• Computer-moderated crime strategy game

  It's a Crime

  It's a Crime was a computer-moderated KJC Games title and the company's most prominent documented early success. Contemporary coverage described it in 1988 as the most popular play-by-mail game in the world. Its crime setting placed it within KJC Games' broader portfolio of persistent strategic and management-oriented games.

• Play-by-email science-fiction wargame · 2001

  Space Troopers

  Space Troopers was a science-fiction wargame published by KJC Games in 2001. It was offered at no cost to players and used email as the primary medium for asynchronous turns. The title illustrates the company's effort to adapt its PBM model to electronic communication.

• Play-by-email science-fiction game

  Phoenix: Beyond the Stellar Empire

  Phoenix: Beyond the Stellar Empire was a science-fiction game that entered playtesting by KJC Games in 2001. The available record does not establish its full release history, commercial model, or current availability, but its development shows the company's continued interest in persistent electronic multiplayer worlds.

• 2001

  Move into free play-by-email science-fiction gamingProduct launch

  Background

  KJC Games was adapting its established play-by-mail model as electronic communication became more important to asynchronous gaming.

  Action taken

  The company published Space Troopers as a free play-by-email science-fiction wargame and began playtesting Phoenix: Beyond the Stellar Empire.

  Aftermath

  The available sources document the releases and testing activity but do not provide performance figures or longer-term commercial results.

  Source

1. 1KJC Gamesen.wikipedia.org