Whooohh…. <drawing deep=“” breath=“”>That’s a big request. I looked for you, for a summary of how to PBF but no one stickied any of those threads to the top (so they’re buried).
Here’s my advice. Start a post in the “Player help” section that says you want to learn to play by forum and someone will probably give you a link to instructions, or a thread that talks about it.
I just learned by doing. Learn some abbreviations (DD = destroyer, e.g.) and some common protocols, and how to roll dice, and you’re pretty much good to go. Oh, and you need to download the Battlemap module (this is the hardest part). Again, post your questions in player help, and someone can track down the info for you.
PBF has been my #1 hobby ever since AA50 came out in November 2008. It looks intimidating at first, but is actually a pretty fast and convenient way to play. Biggest benefit is you don’t have to stay glued to the screen for 6 hours straight (like GTO), you can play for 15-45 minutes at a time. Also, once you find people you like to play with, you can play them repeatedly.</drawing>