Flying Buffalo
Corporate brand
UnclaimedAn American game publisher known for pioneering play-by-mail gaming and publishing Tunnels & Trolls, Nuclear War, and other tabletop games.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Flying Buffalo Inc. is an American game publisher whose history spans play-by-mail gaming, tabletop role-playing games, board games, card games, gaming magazines, accessories, and related fiction. The company was founded in January 1970 by Rick Loomis, initially around Nuclear Destruction, a multiplayer play-by-mail game that Loomis moderated for a growing group of players. The business became one of the earliest professional play-by-mail game operators in the United States and helped establish a model in which a publisher received player orders by mail, processed turns—eventually with computer assistance—and returned updated game results. Loomis developed the company while serving in the military and worked with fellow soldier Steve MacGregor to create computer support for game moderation. The name Flying Buffalo was derived from the imagery of Flying Eagle pennies and Buffalo nickels. After Loomis left the military in 1972, he formally incorporated the company and purchased a Raytheon 704 minicomputer to process play-by-mail turns. The company expanded its catalog beyond Nuclear Destruction to include other correspondence games such as Battle Plan, Board of Directors, Moon Base, and later Starweb and Illuminati. Its play-by-mail operations became an important part of its identity, with some games being run hundreds of times and players participating internationally. Flying Buffalo also became a significant early publisher in the tabletop hobby. In 1972 it acquired and published Nuclear War, a satirical card game that became one of its best-known products. In 1975 it published Tunnels & Trolls, a fantasy role-playing game created by Ken St. Andre. Tunnels & Trolls offered an alternative to the dominant fantasy role-playing systems of the period and became the company's most enduring role-playing property. Flying Buffalo subsequently issued adventures, campaign supplements, settings, fiction, and other supporting material, including the Catalyst line and the Citybook series. Its catalog also included board wargames, science-fiction and fantasy products, game magazines, unusual dice, and the Ace of Aces and Lost Worlds flip-book game systems. The company reached several markers of scale during its early decades. It reported more than 3,000 players worldwide in 1980, reached its largest reported workforce of more than 21 employees in 1983, and assigned its 10,000th customer account number in 1985. It also operated a gaming store in Tempe, Arizona at various locations until 1985 and published Flying Buffalo Quarterly, a company magazine that eventually reached at least its fiftieth issue. Despite its small size, the publisher's games and designers received recognition through Origins and related industry awards, including honors for Ace of Aces, Starweb, Illuminati, Nuclear Escalation, Stormhaven, and other products. In July 2021, Webbed Sphere acquired Flying Buffalo. The transaction did not include the company's play-by-mail games. Those games continued under a separate business, Rick Loomis PBM Games, which operated several titles originally associated with Flying Buffalo. In May 2023, Rebellion Unplugged, the role-playing-game division of Rebellion Developments, acquired Flying Buffalo's role-playing-game products. Rebellion stated that it intended to continue making selected products available in digital form, including Tunnels & Trolls. Flying Buffalo's present legacy therefore exists across two related strands: its role-playing and tabletop catalog under new ownership, and its historic play-by-mail properties operated separately.
History
Flying Buffalo began in January 1970 when Rick Loomis created Nuclear Destruction, a multiplayer play-by-mail game that he personally moderated. The game attracted a substantial player base and became an early example of a commercially operated correspondence game. Loomis and fellow soldier Steve MacGregor introduced computer assistance to help manage game turns, using rented computer time near Fort Shafter. The company name was inspired by Flying Eagle pennies and Buffalo nickels. Loomis began publishing a small company magazine in September 1971. Initially titled The Flying Buffalo's Favorite Magazine, it was later renamed Flying Buffalo Quarterly. After leaving the military in 1972, Loomis incorporated the business as Flying Buffalo Inc. and bought a Raytheon 704 minicomputer to handle play-by-mail processing. During this period the company was running dozens of Nuclear Destruction games and developing additional correspondence titles, including Battle Plan. It also authorized outside moderators to operate licensed Nuclear Destruction games. The company broadened its publishing activities in the early 1970s. In 1972 it acquired and published Nuclear War, a card game that became one of its leading sellers. By 1974, the catalog included the play-by-mail games Board of Directors and Moon Base as well as tabletop products such as Alien Space, Battle of Britain, Battle of Chickamauga, and Imperialism. In 1975, Flying Buffalo published Tunnels & Trolls, Ken St. Andre's fantasy role-playing game. The title became a central part of the company's identity and supported a continuing range of adventures, supplements, settings, and related fiction. Flying Buffalo entered additional formats during the late 1970s. It began operating Starweb, a space exploration and conquest play-by-mail game, in 1976; acquired the board wargame Schutztruppe in 1978; and began publishing Sorcerer's Apprentice magazine in the same year. The company also released fantasy role-playing background material, including the Catalyst series, and continued to issue board games, card games, accessories, and game-related publications. The death of Vice President Dave Slight in 1979 slowed some play-by-mail operations, while the company sought faster computer equipment to improve processing and printing. The business remained small but reached a notable scale for an independent hobby publisher. Flying Buffalo reported more than 3,000 players worldwide in 1980, reached more than 21 employees in 1983, and assigned its 10,000th customer account number in 1985. It operated a gaming store in Tempe, Arizona at various locations until 1985 and had published at least fifty issues of its company magazine by that point. Some of its correspondence games had been played hundreds of times, including Starweb, Battle Plan, and Nuclear Destruction. The company continued to publish role-playing material and related fiction. In 1992 it released Mage's Blood and Old Bones: A Tunnels & Trolls Shared World Anthology. Its products and creators received industry recognition over the years. Ace of Aces received a 1981 Charles Roberts/Origins Gamers' Choice award and later entered the Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame. Other honors recognized Nuclear Escalation, Stormhaven, Illuminati, Starweb, Nuclear Proliferation, Citybook I, and the company's magazine. Flying Buffalo-associated figures including Rick Loomis, Michael Stackpole, Elizabeth T. Danforth, and Ken St. Andre received Origins Hall of Fame recognition. In July 2021, Webbed Sphere acquired Flying Buffalo. The play-by-mail catalog was excluded from the sale and continued through Rick Loomis PBM Games, a separate company operating several former Flying Buffalo titles. In May 2023, Rebellion Unplugged acquired all of Flying Buffalo's role-playing game products. Rebellion announced plans to preserve and extend the catalog through digital releases, including Tunnels & Trolls. A 2026 crowdfunding campaign for Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age subsequently reached its funding goal, with a 2027 release announced. These ownership changes divided the historic catalog between the role-playing and tabletop properties acquired by Rebellion Unplugged and the play-by-mail operations continued separately.
- 2026
Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age crowdfunding campaign
[1]Rebellion launches a crowdfunding campaign for a new Tunnels & Trolls edition and announces a 2027 release after the campaign meets its goals.
- 2023
Rebellion Unplugged acquires role-playing products
[1]Rebellion Unplugged acquires Flying Buffalo's role-playing game products, including the Tunnels & Trolls property.
- 2021
Webbed Sphere acquisition
[1]Webbed Sphere purchases Flying Buffalo, while the play-by-mail games remain outside the transaction.
- 1992
Tunnels & Trolls shared-world anthology published
[1]Flying Buffalo publishes Mage's Blood and Old Bones, a Tunnels & Trolls shared-world fiction anthology.
- 1985
10,000th customer account assigned
[1]Flying Buffalo assigns its 10,000th customer account number and documents the scale of its correspondence-game community.
- 1983
Workforce reaches reported peak
[1]The company reaches its largest reported workforce, at more than 21 employees.
- 1980
Player base exceeds 3,000
[1]Flying Buffalo reports more than 3,000 players worldwide across its gaming activities.
- 1976
Starweb play-by-mail game begins
[1]The company starts operating Starweb, a space exploration and conquest correspondence game.
- 1975
Tunnels & Trolls is published
[1]Flying Buffalo publishes Ken St. Andre's fantasy role-playing game Tunnels & Trolls.
- 1972
Company incorporated and Nuclear War published
[1]After Loomis leaves the military, he incorporates Flying Buffalo and acquires and publishes Nuclear War.
Products and positioning
A pioneering independent game publisher associated with experimental formats, correspondence gaming, alternative tabletop design, and long-running role-playing properties. Its historical differentiation comes from combining computer-moderated play-by-mail operations with physical game publishing well before digital gaming became mainstream.
Play-by-mail game · 1970
Nuclear Destruction
A multiplayer correspondence game created by Rick Loomis in 1970. Players submitted moves by mail while Flying Buffalo moderated and later computer-assisted the processing of turns. The title is regarded as one of the products that helped establish the professional play-by-mail industry in the United States.
Card game · 1972
Nuclear War
A satirical card game acquired and published by Flying Buffalo in 1972. It became one of the company's best-selling early products and helped demonstrate that the publisher's business could extend beyond correspondence gaming into boxed tabletop games.
Role-playing game · 1975
Tunnels & Trolls
Ken St. Andre's fantasy role-playing game, published by Flying Buffalo beginning in 1975. It became the company's principal role-playing property and generated adventures, supplements, setting material, fiction, and later digital and new-edition development under Rebellion Unplugged.
Play-by-mail game · 1976
Starweb
A space exploration and conquest correspondence game introduced by Flying Buffalo in 1976. It became one of the company's most frequently run play-by-mail titles and received multiple industry honors over its history.
Play-by-mail game
Illuminati
A Flying Buffalo play-by-mail title that received repeated Best Play-by-Mail Game recognition during the 1990s and was later inducted into a play-by-mail hall of fame.
Flip-book game system · 1980
Ace of Aces
A two-player flip-book game system associated with Flying Buffalo and recognized with a 1981 Charles Roberts/Origins Gamers' Choice award. The system uses illustrated booklets rather than a conventional board and is part of the company's unusual-format game legacy.
Role-playing game supplement
Citybook
A series of role-playing game reference and adventure products published by Flying Buffalo. Citybook I received industry recognition and represents the company's broader contribution to reusable fantasy campaign material beyond the core Tunnels & Trolls line.
Gaming magazine · 1971
Flying Buffalo Quarterly
The company's periodical, originally launched in 1971 under another title. It served as a communication channel for players and customers and had reached at least its fiftieth issue by the mid-1980s.
Brand decisions
2026
Develop Tunnels & Trolls: A New AgeProduct launchBackground
Following its acquisition of Flying Buffalo's role-playing products, Rebellion launched a crowdfunding campaign for a new Tunnels & Trolls edition.
Action taken
Rebellion used crowdfunding to support development of Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age and announced a 2027 release.
Aftermath
The campaign reached its funding goals, although the product had not yet been released in the supplied material.
2023
Rebellion Unplugged acquires role-playing game productsM&ABackground
Rebellion Unplugged, the role-playing subsidiary of Rebellion Developments, acquired Flying Buffalo's RPG products in May 2023.
Action taken
Rebellion Unplugged took control of the role-playing catalog and stated that it intended to continue digital versions of products including Tunnels & Trolls.
Aftermath
The role-playing properties moved into a larger entertainment group while the play-by-mail titles remained separate.
2021
Separate the play-by-mail catalog from the Webbed Sphere acquisitionM&ABackground
Webbed Sphere purchased Flying Buffalo in July 2021, but the company's play-by-mail games were excluded from the transaction.
Action taken
The excluded games continued through a separate company, Rick Loomis PBM Games, which operated several titles originally published by Flying Buffalo.
Aftermath
The acquisition divided the historic catalog between the acquired company and a separate play-by-mail operator.
Sources2 sources
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