Over at Flying Buffalo, inc. (FBI), they run a lot of Play-by-Mail (PBM) games, including one based upon one of my favorite games of all time, Illuminati. It sounds like a really fun game, and once upon a time I purchased the rules to this PBM game (they prefer that you buy the rules and read them before you start paying for turns in a game). Alas, I was not able to join a game at that time. Then, sometime before I was able to join, the game's page at FBI changed to this:

The Illuminati trademark was licensed from Steve Jackson games. Unfortunately our license expired, and we have not been able to negotiate a satisfactory renewal. I doubt we will be able to start running Illuminati pbm games again, but if you would like to be told ...

...and it stayed that way for a long time (for over two years, at least). I could only assume (and hope) that this meant that SJG was trying to develop their own computer-based Illuminati game. As an aside, it should be noted that SJG appears to be cursed where computer versions of their popular games are concerned. They did, once upon a time, have computer versions of both Car Wars and Ogre on the market (Published by Origin Systems, iirc). However, that was in the 80s, and I do not think they have had a computer version of their games make it to market since the Secret Service affair. There was a site-based version of Car Wars that was announced (that was supposed to have a home computer software version that could connect to the site-based simulator pods, no less) ... but the company went under before producing a product. The computer game Fallout was announced to have been using the GURPS rules "under the hood" ... but was later announced that it wasn't so (even though it still has many GURPS-like elements to it). I am sure that there were others, but after things like this, SJG became wary of announcing such projects before they were ready for market (and none ever were). However, perusing the FBI site recently, I found the following statement:

ILLUMINATI PBM: OK, I admit it. There is a chance we will be offering it again. I can't officially announce it until a contract is signed, but Steve is writing it up now. ...

Of course, if this isn't an announcement, I don't know what is. Yes, it is not an official announcement, but still. It has my heart all a-twitter, merely at the suggestion that this game may be returning. Please, please, please, let it be so! Now if I can just find a way to pay for this and City of Heroes at the same time. Until then... I DO believe in MIBs ... I DO believe in MIBs ... I DO believe in MIBs ...