Never played Pbem before, how does it work?

[Ktonos]

I want to put up a challenge to get started with multiplayer. Never played Pbem before though, and I am afraid I will mess up with the mechanics. How does it work? Do I have upload and e-mail savegames to the opponent or is it automated?

Also what should I expect in terms of time per game? Do multiplayer games usually take hours, days or even more to finish?

[jomni]

It's all automated.

A game may last days if you exchange one turn per day. Some players may even skip days depending on their availability. But that's all good as you play several games at the same time.
But if both players are in the same time zone and play many turns a sitting, it will be fast.

[vakarr]

It can take ten minutes to half an hour to play your turn. Then you click Upload. After your opponent has completed his turn, you will receive an email notification saying that a new turn is available. Make sure your account is setup to receive email notifications for this part to work. At the end of each turn you can optionally type a message to your opponent. It's a brilliant system though I have to admit that each game I play is a little like an exam for me! When you setup the challenge, make sure you check the battle size, terrain, and army types.

[Delbruck]

So, after one downloads the game there is nothings else that needs to be done to do multi player?

[Barrold713]

So, after one downloads the game there is nothings else that needs to be done to do multi player?

There are areas in the multiplayer option where you can create and accept challenges. Once you have an accepted challenge the turns appear in an "inbox" essentially. In game, when you complete a turn like in single player, the multiplayer version sends the updated turn to your opponents inbox. It is quite slick and as hassle free a method as I have ever seen.

[Chooper4069]

Make sure your account is setup to receive email notifications for this part to work.

How do I do this?

Nevermind, I found the link to subscribe to email notifications. Don't know why I didn't see it before. User error.