Catacombs of Chaos

Catacombs of Chaos is a play-by-mail game that was published by Schubel & Son.

Gameplay
Catacombs of Chaos was a turn-based game where each player controls a party of characters exploring the catacombs formerly used by a wizard who has died. It was a dungeon-exploration game with a ratings system for players. The Catacombs held the treasure horde of Clanthor the Magnificent. Players advance though various actions including acquiring treasure. Players could choose from seven "quests": Cleric, Consumers, Hunters, Plunderers, Seekers, Terrors, and Undead, each with different character classes available. John C. Muir described those categories generally as "Magicians, Fighters, and Thieves". Parties could comprise up to ten customizable characters, using 100 points to allocate per party. Dungeons ranged from 160 to 600 rooms per game. Players had 19 actions available per turn, including: "Room Search, Rest, Take Item, Move, Defend, and Melee".

Players input orders on punch cards for scanning by the publisher.

Reception
W. G. Armintrout reviewed Catacombs of Chaos in The Space Gamer No. 57. Armintrout commented that "Catacombs of Chaos is an ill-explained and confusing game. The worst problem lies with the lack of information given to the players about such basics as character design, magic, and combat."

In the April 1983 edition of Dragon (Issue 72), Michael Gray found the game to be very similar to Heroic Fantasy by Flying Buffalo. A reviewer in a 1983 issue of PBM Universal stated that, other than no available special actions, "the game is fine".

John C. Muir reviewed the game in a 1983 issue of Nuts & Bolts of PBM. He characterized gameplay as "dull" due to the slow pace. He recommended playing only after a game revision.