We are finally to the last turn of the Viking Raid. 5 turns completed in only 10 months! Well I guess we don't break any speed records. I hope you have all enjoyed following the action. I started "God Save Us from the Fury of the Northmen!" to explain Matrix Games in a first hand way. I'm glad to say that the people who played do appear to have "gotten" it. The ideas behind the game are deceptively simple - you really just say what you want to happen! Nothing more and nothing less. With that, on to the last turn. Turn 1: England is a peace [action) - so nothing happens [result) except that Egbert, thane of Alton, rode to Lindesfarne with ALL of his men [2nd result]. Turn 2: The Vikings land east of Alton at night [action) - They prepare to attack Alton at dawn (result]. Turn 3: The Vikings attack Alton at dawn [action] - the ones who fought back were killed (result] - The Vikings begin to loot: 2nd result]. Turn 4: The Vikings carry off their booty [action] - but the Thane of Alton returns to Alton before they leave so the Vikings and the Saxons battle [result]. So much for the lead up now for the climax! Turn 5 Vince Zahnle sends ACTION: The Vikings load the last of the loot aboard ship and torch Alton, just for laughs, before the Thanes attack. RESULT: The exhausted Thanes arrive In time to succor the remaining townspeople but can not get through the flames to hinder the departing Vikings. REASONS: 1. Vikings are barbarians, 2. Thanes protect peasants, 3. Men who act more than 2 turns in a row are fatugued (particularly those who ride all though the day and through the night, and the next day some more, and then want to fight). Tom Weems sends ACTION: The Thane and his Huscarls have ridden upon the Vikings as they were looting Alton. seeing the pilaging of Alton kind of gets the Thane POed. So the Thane and his men start fighting the Vikings. The Thane and his men are tired from the long ride, but the Vikings are also tired from their plundering. Low and behold out of the nooks and crannies of Alto comes an army of peasants to help the Thane repel the Viking Raiders. RESULT: The Vikings realize the odds are overwhelmingly against them so they run home with their tails between there legs! REASON: 1. Numbers count in battle, 2. Peasants want to protect what they have, 3. Raiders want to return home alive Chris Blair sends ACTION: The Thane Egbert rides into the middle of the Vikings with his closest (and toughest) men. They succeed in killing the Raiders chief, Hagar, before they are themselves cut down. RESULT: The Vikings are thrown back into the sea (their ships) without their loot (or Hagar's body that will be flayed so the skin can be displayed at the local church). REASON: 1. Combat is bloody, 2. Cry havoc let slip the dogs of war!, 3. Battle is a good thing to run from Chris Engle sends ACTION: The Viking Berserks join in battle with Egbert while the rest of the Raiders take the ships out to sea (the berserks can swim out to them later - after all Beowulf did this!). RESULT: Egbert is slain by Kvendulf one leg which causes the Saxons to break and run. REASON: 1. Berserks are strong fighters, 2. Berserks laugh at death, 3. God-save us from the fury of the Northmen! There is no next turn so what happens here will settle the matter. The vikings will either win big or loose their loot. Either way the Saxons have already suffered. Resolution All of the arguments look fine but I do need to rule Tom's argument to be weak, not because of what he did but from the amount of things he crammed into one turn. The others look about normal to me. Argument values come from... Per reason given (max 3) 1 Presenting Argument 0 YES AND Argument 1 YES BUT Argument 0 NO ACTUALLY Argument -1 Strong Argument 1 Weak Argument -1 This turns values come out to ... Vince Zahnle 3 reasons 3 Tom Weems 3 reasons weak argument 2 Chris Blair 3 reasons 3 Chris Engle 3 reasons 3 The first round of rolls ruled out my argument (i.e. I rolled over 3 when rolling, I rolled 3 or less on the other arguments). In the second round of rolling only Vince's argument was not ruled out. So the Vikings WIN!!!!! TURN 5 RESULTS The Vikings load their loot and torch Alton before Egbert attacks [action] - The Thane can not prevent the Vikings from leaving [result]. I want to thank all of the people who played In "God save us" over the last year. Ned Zuparko, Chris Blair, Vince Zahnle, Chuck Hagen, Carl Carlson, Tom Weems, and Geoff McHarg. You have all provided me with a world of entertainment. I hope that each of you will be able to join into any next PBM "Solidarity: the decline and fall of the Soviet Empire!". Back to Experimental Games Group # 6 Table of Contents Back to Experimental Games Group List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1990 by Chris Engle This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com