"Solidarity: The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Empire" is a game that is supposed to replay the events of 1989. Well ... I'm glad history did not do what is happening in this replay. It is safe to say that the hardliners In the Soviet Union have asserted their authority. The tanks are in Eastern Europe. Now it is time for the test of nerves to see which side will flinch first. The events of the first turn were as follows ... May through June 1989 CZECHOSLOVAKIA "The Czechoslovakian government fell on June 1st after two weeks of rioting. The Soviet Army moved in to restore order, following a week of guessing about how they would react. People on the spot report that it is like the Prague Spring all over again." POLAND "Solidarity scored impressive victories In todays parlimentary elections. Initial polling indicates that the recently legalised trade union has won a clear majority." "President Jaruzelski today asked Tadeusz Mazowiecki to become Poland's first non-communist prime minister since WWII." USSR "The central Asian Chukchi national group moves to take advantage of President Gorbachev's move toward openness by opening National Culture Schools, which promote Chukchi language and national identity." This turn probably takes the world a few more seconds to midnight, but take heart, it could have been a lot worse ... July through August 1989 USSR "On Saturday July 16th, the Turkish Soviet Socialist Republic declared its Independence from the Soviet Union. The Islamic Republic of Turkistan is to take its place. The worries of many Soviet experts about the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism appears to have been justified. The regional militia has declared In favor of the republic. Some sporadic fighting has been reported around the capital but for the most part the Soviet Army garrison is neutral if not supportive of the revolution." USA "President Bush's address to the nation spells out a bold new strategy towards freedom in the Soviet block. Repeatedly he stated it is our "moral imperitive to ensure the democratization of Eastern Europe." When asked why he is taking such a move now, the President answered "We let our chance go by in 1956 and once again in 1968. I'm not going to wimp out on those brave Eastern Europeans now!" (Mean while the budget deficit is completely ignored in light of recent events overseas). CZECHOSLOVAKIA "Spectacular feats of courage were today seen in the streets of Prague. After weeks of quit following the Soviet Unions invasion of the country, non-violent demonstrations were held all across the the country. In Prague at least, these demonstrations appeared to be led by reformist members of the communist party. Flower bearing protestors asked Soviet troops why they had come. Reports from the central city report that some protestors were fired apon while in the suburbs Soviet Armored units refused to open fire on unarmed civilians. Military analysts speculate that Soviet Morale has sharply dropped following today's protests." HUNGARY "The National Civic Forum has called for a nationwide general strike to protest the presence of Soviet troops on their soil. (Two weeks later). The Hungarian Government today announced that a free election will be held before the end of the year in which all political parties are welcomed. All issues are now open to debate as a function of the election campaign." POLAND "A Coalition of Priests, Trade Unionists, and Communist Reformers petitioned President Jaruzelski to hold more free elections as promised, despite the recent crack down in Czechoslovakia. President Jar-uselsk agreed to this despite pressure from hardline party members who openly reject the round table agreements of this spring." What's Happening If you are new to Matrix Gaming, then you are probably wondering how I decided what happened this turn. The answer is simple, I didn't. The players did. Each turn the players send In arguments about what they want to happen in this turn. This list of argument provides the referee with all the possible actions for that turn. This turn, the list of possible events was as follows. As you can see, not all the possible events actually happened. But all of them could have happened if the dice had not gone against them. Every argument is made in roughly the same way. The players choose and action, a result, and three reasons. Usually these are suggested by the matrix, but this time, one player decided to agree in countries (Israel and Iraq) that are not even mentioned in the matrix. In this case the player builds the matrix himself by the "reasons" he chooses (The reasons being what should be In a matrix about Israel or Iraq, if I actually had made one). Mainstream games define all the possible actions that can happen during play. They usually allow for a limited number of choises and are thus open to statistical analysis about what is the "best" move. Matrix Games do not restrict what a player can do. You can literally make an argument to do anything. This opens the door for players to make strategies never before seen in gaming. This can be demanding on players since it does require that they "make up" their own strategy, but it is also easy for beginners (who often find that the simple straight forward plans they settle on due to inexperience are in fact the best strategies in a constantly changing Matrix Game). Feel free to jump into the game at any time. If you would like a new copy of the rules and matrix for Solidarity, Just send me a letter and I'll add one to ACTION: Non-Violent Demonstration -- Gononnational TV and public forums for economic refor RESULT: Bulgaria becomes unhappy with Soviet economic management and Communist Party control and now seeks economic reforms. REASONS: always been poor -- the economy is weak for lack of resources, waste & inefficiency -- waste ruins the already weak economy, centrally controlled bureaucrats -- are slow to respond and make things worse with their greed and triplicate paperwork. ACTION: Diplomatic Solution -- Polish reformists and sympathisers put diplomatic pressure on the Communist government for free elect RESULT:The Communist government of Poland allows fair, free re-elections of the government offic REASONS: free elections promised -- The Polish Communists promised the people free elections, Solidarity -- and Solidarity pressures the gov't to follow through on its promise with its political contacts and public announcements, Pope is Polish -- and the Pope with his oratory and influence urge the Communists to allow free elections in his home country. Back to Experimental Games Group # 9 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