I've loved playing Diplomacy and its variants since the 1970's. The elegance of Diplomacy's design was one of my first inspirations as a game maker. Recently I've been toying with a new Matrix Game that looks very Diplomacyesque. This article is an overview of how this game could work. THE MAP The world is divided up into areas, like Diplomacy game maps. Players move their forces from area to area, one area a turn. Combat is not done by movement (as in Diplomacy). So it is possible to have more than one countries men in the same area. The only restriction on movement is that every force must trace a line of supply back to a friendly area. They may not trace it through an area with enemy in it (though you may pull from the area you are in if it is part of your native land). THE FORCES Players control a number of armies and generals. Player can put more than one army and general per area. In fact you can put all your men in a single area if you wish. Armies are all the same. The only thing that counts with them is numbers. Generals on the other hand are rated God like, Winner, Loser, and Major Loser. COMBAT When a battle occurs the outcome is determined by looking at the following table. The first result that fits the situation tells who won the encounter. The side who out numbers the other 10 to 1 wins. The side with a God like general wins. The side with 4 to 1 odds wins. The side with a Winner general wins. The side with 3 to 1 odds wins. The side with a Loser general wins. The side with a Major Loser general wins. The side with more troops wins. In case of ties, roll a die. High roll wins. The loosing side must survive the defeat or retreat out of the area (Surrendering if they can't). [NOTE: This idea comes directly from the Strategic Spectrum Games I have listed on my web page. http://www.io.com/~hamster ] ARGUE TO SURVIVE DEFEAT When a side loses, then the loser must make a Matrix argument about why they don't have to retreat. The players should have a referee to rule on arguments and the player rolls immediately to see if his men flee. ONE MATRIX GAME ARGUMENT A TURN Each turn, the players get to make one argument to make unexpected things happen. This includes movement, battles, building new units (one per argument), or anything else. There would be no set rules about what actions mean in game terms – players will have to say if units are made or destroyed. The more important effect of each argument will be to influence the referee to view certain arguments as stronger or weaker in the future. If might be possible to get the other side so weak by your arguments that they can not reliably move their troops.! WOULD THIS BE A FUN GAME? I don't know. I think it would be interesting. People would have to decide how they wanted to protect their land – or invade another land. And then what to do with it once it was had. The deterministic outcome table means that players can make reasonable estimates of each sides strength. But not 100% estimates. Some weak opponents are expert at surviving defeats. It needs work. Back to Table of Contents -- Matrix Gamer #11 To Matrix Gamer List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 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