 Judith Proctor noted that play-by-mail games have a number of advantages.These include (1) plenty of time—potentially days—to plan a move, (2) never lacking players to face who have "new tactics and ideas", (3) the ability to play an "incredibly complex" game against live opponents, (4) meeting diverse gamers from far-away locations, and (5) relatively low costs.Related to costs, Rick McDowell, designer of "Alamaze", compared PBM costs favorably in 2019 with the high cost of board games at Barnes & Noble, with many going "for around $70", and a top rated game, "Nemesis", costing $189.