Wow! This is a beautifully produced article. It presents the matrix idea clearly in a concise style. The physical production qualities by far surpass anything I have ever done, which in my mind improves the whole product. I take my hat off to Bob. He has definitely taken MGs beyond where I have been. Huzzah! OBSERVATIONS The scenario is very well suited to MG campaigns. The Balkan Wars were all short, to the point, and with unpredictable alliances and outcomes. This is where MGs shine. In addition, interest seems to be on the rise regarding this period. Colonial game rules (covering the French Foreign Legion especially) just beg to be used in the Great War. Consequently, this game could generate fun and playable battle scenarios for rules systems already in the market. Bob has the players of various countries pick out between 5 to 20 cards each turn. This uses the matrix to establish initiative. 5 cards only allows a player to make 1 argument, 20 cards allow for 4 arguments. In other words, 4 actions to 1! I sure wouldn't want to be Montenegro vs Serbia! This is a good use of the matrix, since it ties size of country to ability to act. Of course number of arguments does not ensure successful action. so a luck Montenegran could potentially beat an unlucky Serbian, if the dice gods permit it. Such situations naturally Infuriate Serbian losers. They invariably say, "That's not realistic! They can't beat us!" Well, while it is an unlikely outcome, it can happen. Just look at the actions that happened the Montenegrans moved while for some reason the Serbians sat still and died. In my MGs, I have one player make one argument. I chose to do it this way to speed up the game some. But I do not evenly divide up the players to sides. go, there can be a game where 4 players chose to be Serbians vs 1 player in Montenegro, but it is not preset. My method has problems, since there could miraculously be 4 Montenegrans vs 1 Serbian. The advantage of not tying down the players to one side is that people can drop in and out of the game as it goes on. This is an interesting game development to play in -- the tide of battle can be reversed by the leaving of one player and the addition of another to the other side. Bob has turns resolved by the referee's decision. In a way, this uses the referee in the same way as they are used in free kriegspiels. This works fine with a referee who has enough knowledge and experience to make good judgements but Is troublesome for new referees. My local game group has suggested broadening strong/weak arguments to include "very strong arguments" (that happen on a 5 or less) and "very weak arguments" (that happen on a 1 only). Either way though, for aesthetic reasons, I like to roll dice in games (just like other people like to move little men around). All in all, a very nice game. I am looking forward to hearing how it goes over at English conventions. Back to Experimental Games Group # 17 Table of Contents Back to Experimental Games Group List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1991 by Chris Engle This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com