Rebel Space was the second play-by-email game offered as part of a major commercial online service.
The game was developed by Stormfront Studios, designed by Don Daglow and programmed by Mark Buchignani.
Rebel Space was offered by Prodigy online service in the summer of 1992 as a combination PBEM (play by email) strategy game and posting board system.
The posting boards were populated by thousands of players and many of them were regulars at such virtual hangouts as "Wits End", "Top of the Galaxy", and "Lord Drexion's Wrath".
For several years, groups of friends from Rebel Space had get togethers all over the USA so players could meet.
At some point, generally in the first third of the game, commanders would rebel from the Empire by choosing one of three factions (Environmentalist, Militarist, or Scientist) they preferred.
Later in the game, a commander could also elect to become "Rogue" which meant all other players would be enemy regardless of which faction they belonged to.
This gaming system initially put a big premium on efficiently searching and colonizing planets quickly.
Later groups such as the Destruction Team (DT) carried this predation to ever greater levels of efficiency.
Many players participated in Rebel Space, but most noteworthy were those who reached the top of the ranking lists.