Email strategy game for PC
"Challenge Everyone!"
Designed and developed by
The Pickford Brothers
Published and hosted by
Zee-3
Way of the Rodent
Zee-3 websites:
Getting Started
What is Naked War, how does it work, and how do I start playing for the first time?
If you're new to Naked War you'll find out all you need to know to get started on this page. You may have received a strange email from a friend challenging you to a game, or you might want to know what this game is all about, or maybe you've seen enough already and want to jump straight in and join the Naked War community by subscribing.
Click one of the links below to jump straight to the section explaining what to do next:
» I don't know what Naked War is
» I received an email turn and don't know what to do
» I want to try out this game for myself
» I like what I've seen so far, and I want to buy it!
If you still have questions about the game, read our FAQ.
What is Naked War?
Naked War is a light hearted, turn-based, battle game for two players, played on Windows PCs over email. Its what we call a Community Messaging Game.
Each game is played on an island where two squads of up to four soldiers battle each other for supremacy. The player takes the role of a military officer, issuing strategic commandings to his / her squad, then watching the resulting battle unfold.
How does Naked War work?
Games are started by players sending out Challenges to anybody they know - either exisiting Naked War players in their in-game address book, or real life friends or acquiantences via their email address list.
Each player takes it in turn to plan the movement of their four units. Each unit is allowed up to seven 'moves' per turn, and can move, attack, enter buildings, drive tanks and other vehicles or use items, etc., each move. Once the player has set up all the moves for their four units, he / she clicks the send button, which sends an email to their opponent containing this turn (in the form of an attached file), then plays back the turn on their PC, showing both players the results of the planned moves.
When a player receives a turn in their email Inbox, they simply double click the attachment to launch Naked War, which plays back the turn received then allows the player to set up their own turn in reply.
Each soldier in the game starts with a 'doofer', but looses it to their attacker if the damage inflicted is great enough to 'demob' the soldier, losing their uniform and making them naked! The aim of the game is for one team to defeat the other by gaining control of all the doofers, and the winner is declared at the end of the turn where the last doofer changes hands.
Each turn is played offline at whatever time is convenient to the player. There is no need for both players to be on-line at the same time, or playing at the same time. Turns can be replied to instantly, during lunchtime, or at the end of the day, or they can wait in your Inbox for days until the you are ready to respond.
The average turns take only a few minutes to set up and play back, and a game can take anything from as little as 10 turns, up to 50 or more before there is a winner, depending on the complexity of the map and the relative skill of the players involved.
» Read Quick Play Guide for gameplay tips.
Responding to a Challenge for the first time
OK, you've just received a strange email from a friend entitled Naked War Challenge, with a scary file attached to it and a link to this page. Don't worry - its not spam, and its not a virus!
Your friend has challenged you to a game of Naked War, and the attached file contains the details of the Challenge. Don't do anything with the attachment yet - nothing useful will happen if you do. If you want to accept the Challenge you will need to download and install the Naked War client. This is a small video game for Windows PCs. Its completely free to download and play, and it won't damage your computer or install anything nasty. It does require a reasonably good video card to run fast, as the game is in 3D, but should be playable on all any PC less than 5 or 6 years old.
Follow the instructions below get Naked War, and start playing:
- Download the installer from here (completely free).
- Install the game on your PC.
- Run the game. Try messing about in the Sandbox mode to make sure everything works and the game is compatible with your PC. You may need to fiddle about with the options to get the speed OK on slower or older PCs.
- Exit the game, then double click the attached file which came with the Challenge email. This will automatically launch the game again and show you details of the Challenge. Click on one of the scissors / paper / stone icons to accept the Challenge. An acceptance turn will now be sent to your opponent (you need to be connected to the internet for this to work - if you aren't connected, reconnect and run Naked War again to automatically resend the turn). Depending on the outcome of the scissors / paper / stone game, you may now get the chance to set up the first turn.
- You can play around in Sandbox mode to familiarise yourself with the game mechanics, or just close Naked War and forget about it for now, and wait for the next email turn to arrive in your Inbox from your opponent.
» Read Quick Play Guide for gameplay tips.
Trying out the full game for the first time
OK, maybe you don't want to wait for a friend to Challenge you first - you want to jump right in and try out this game for yourself. That's fine, you can issue a Challenge and start your own game, completely free! Maybe you've already played against a friend, but want to issue your own Challenges and join a team (in that case just skip past 1, 2 and 3). Either way, here's what to do:
- Download the installer from here (completely free).
- Install the game on your PC.
- Run the game. Try messing about in the Sandbox mode to make sure everything works and the game is compatible with your PC. You may need to fiddle about with the options to get the speed OK on slower or older PCs.
- Create a user account on this website - this sets up your unique username and password, stores your email address, gives you full access to the forums, allows you to choose an avatar, and allows us to track your game progress (again, completely free).
- Launch Naked War and 'Register' you copy of the game (type in your username and password) - this upgrades your copy of Naked War; gives access to community features and lets you issue Challenges to start new games. If its your first time, you'll get a free subscription with 1 Challenge Credit, you will be assigned to one of the active teams, and you get to customise the soldiers in your squad.
- Start a game by issuing a new Challenge. You can Challenge either an exisitng Naked War player by adding them to your new in-game address book, or anyone else you know via their email address.
- Sit back and wait for your opponent to accept the Challenge. You'll soon receive an acceptance email, then you can start the game!
» Read Quick Play Guide for gameplay tips.
Subscribing and joining the Naked War community
If you've already tried Naked War, you like it and want to play some more, then you're ready to buy a subscription. If you haven't tried it yet but are so confident in the game that you want to subscribe straight away, well, we're flattered, but we still recommend that you try the game first and register your copy, before you actually buy a subscription.
OK, you've created your Zee-3 user account, downloaded and installed Naked War, maybe even played a game and registered your copy. You're now ready to subscribe and join the Naked War community!
Subscriptions are one-off purchases, giving you permanent access to community based services on this website, and buying you Challenge Credits, Ranks, and User Map slots. There are no recurring fees. We guarantee a minimum play time with each subscription, and offer a 30 day no quibble refund if you are unhappy with your purchase.
Select the subscription you want to buy, then pay for it through our credit card processing partner's secure website.
That's it, you're are all set! You now have loads of Challenge credits and a higher Rank. You can now access the Player's site where you can take part in Community Games, track your position in the charts and enter regular competitions, and view your comprehensive Player Stats page.
The Pickford Brothers
2nd May 2006
Naked War game design, code, graphics, audio, documentation and website copyright © 2005, 2006 The Pickford Brothers.
Naked War and the Naked War logo are trademarks of The Pickford Brothers. Licensed to Zee-3.
Zee-3 and the Zee-3 logo are trademarks of Zee-3. Zee-3 is a trading name of Zee 3 Limited.