After I recieved my first copy of How to Play Matrix Games/Campaign in a Day I was itching to play my first matrix game. So I gathered toghether a set of unsuspecting participents to try out the 1494 scenario.
Preparation
I redrew the map on a large sheet of cartridge paper and spent a happy hour letting my artistic urges run riot colouring it in.
I also transferred the orders of battle and victory conditions for each side to postcards and made up some name badges so that players didn't spend the first few moves having to ask who was who. Finally I got one of the players to bring his Italian Wars figures to move around on the map.
How I Dealt with Combat
I decided not to incorporate any miniatures action into the events, for one we only had the evening to game in and I simply don't see it as neccessary because the matrix game format stands out in its own right. A simple set of combat rules were used: Each unit in battle throws a D6, 5,6's eliminate peasants and 6's eliminate other types. Simultaneous rounds of combat are fought until one side decides to retire.
Each turn of siege an investing army throws a D6, the town falls on a 4,5,6. The besieger adds one to his score for each additional turn of siege and 2 to his score if he has an artillery train.
The Players
It always helps a game involving role play if one can match the players to their roles in some way. Not that I am implying that any of my frieds bears more than a passing resemblance to Machiavelli! Therefore I spent a little while on this aspect and did't simply give out the roles blind.
Dramatis Personae
Sforsa, Duke of Milan Richard Madder
Charles VIII of France John Armstrong
The Doge of Venice Pete Duckworth
De Medici of Florence John Cunningham
The King of Naples Garry Ashcroft
Cesare Borgia, heir to the Pope! Pete Smith
Summary of Events
We played 10 moves in about 4 hours. I umpired as well as played, which was heavy going so I would reccomend that the umpire does not play if at all possible.
The Milanese wree sorely pressed and never had any friends except the similarly beleagured King of Naples (sob). A plauge wiped out much of the Milanese army in turn 3, many in Milan blamed the pox-ridden French army for this disaster.
By the later stages of the game it seemed that everybody and his dog were marching across the plains of Lombardy, seeking to destroy the pitiful Milanese army when an earthquake struck! Tragically the Papal army suffered grieviously as their camp was located close to the epicentre.
Charles VIII of France never really got his act together. He marched from France to Genoa, back again, and then back to Genoa. All his plans to sail to Naples (courtesy of the Doge) and then rampage north through Italy came to nought. The final straw came when the monarch was struck by lightening (a very weak argument indeed that succeeded against the odds due to the talents of Garry 'dicemaster' Ashcroft).
The Doge of Venice was a natural, about half his arguments were strong. Having failed to ship the French to Naples to conquer Sicily for him, he sneaked in to Genoa while nobody was looking and then brought our attention to the virulent French pox that reduced the French Army to a rump. The master stroke was to bring down a plauge on his own city of Genoa in the last move which effectively protected it from enemies making a last gasp attempt to wrest it from his protection. The whole business was conducted with a fine Italian accent!
De Medici of Florence lost little time in toadying to the French, but to a surprising cool reception from the King. The Jewish merchant class of the city were disapointed that their rulers seemed set on war and not on business.
The hard pressed King of Naples spent most of his time in diplomacy to deflect the threat of French invasion, by sea, by land and who knows it if Da Vinci had have got his-act together by air! His misfortune was compounded by letting his army run to seed (a Papal argument) and then having it harried by Sicilian bandits (another devil sent by the Borgias). Well at least the King Spanish accent held up and amongst other tirades he did accuse Cesare. Borgia of dyslexia because he once spent a whole evening in a warehouse.
Il Papa, His Holiness the Pope and his heir Cesare Borgia had a fine game. It is said that many prayers concerning tha state of Naples were uttered and answered. The crowning moment was the appearence of the Sicilian bandits as a thorn in the Napalese side, the argument was acted in such a convincing and amusing way that everybody including the Napalese thought it strong and the King of France nearly fell of his chair, sorry throne. There were about a dozen blessings and excommunications during the game dealt out liberally denoting the Popes pleasure or displeasure.
The Result
| Player | Victory Points | Personal Victory |
|---|---|---|
| Milan | 20 | 1 |
| France | 0 | 0 |
| Venice | 20 | 3 |
| Florence | 15 | 1/2 |
| Naples | 10 | 2 |
| Papacy | 15 | 4 |
Some Thoughts About the Play
Players very swiftly caught on to the idea that they could influence other sides plans by arguing an alternative course of action for them. This worked particularly to the detriment of the French who were often the subject of 3 or more arguments in a turn, alas for Charles VIII whose own plans were often laid waste by all this chicanery.
Most of the armies were unable to move with much freedom, I thought that the scenario itself led to this situation because there were no clear cut sides, hence there was an over abundance of spoiling tactics. However the failure of Florence and France to cooperate is probably more likely the source of trouble.
After a few move we found it easiest to make all decisions about the strength of an argument by popular vote, 1 to 6 votes leading to a dice score of 1 to 6 required for the argument to succeed. The system worked well (probably because of the players attitudes to the game) and produced a full range of strengths, there usually being 1 strong and 1 weak argument per turn as well as several run of the mill causes.
A minor point about the matrix was that we allowed 'open battle' to generate a siege too.
Conclusion
What can I say, it was brilliant! Everybody enjoyed the game and another one is on the cards shortly. Two of us are considering writing our own scenarios.
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© Copyright 1992 by Chris Engle
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