I ran a Matrix Game like the game you ran at Nashcon 2000. Brits vs. Pathans. However, it was for 8 people. Sir Halston the British explorer believes he has discovered the location of the Dowry of Roxanne, Alexander the Great's wife, which Alexander conveniently left with her family for safekeeping as he went on to tackle India. Thanks to influence in London, the outpost nearest the supposed village was ordered to provide him an escort. The local Pathans seemed to take offense... Some slight changes: Rather than 1 argument per turn, I gave each player 2 argument chits for the entire game. They could be used at any time. That worked out well. However, the idea of making arguments every time someone was hit ("I don't die because...") turned out to be very repetitious as all 8 fellows used the same arguments over and over, with admittedly the occasional nifty twist (always rewarded). A couple of thoughts: The more players involved in your Battle Game, the fewer arguments should be made. In retrospect, which you only learn by playing, I should have given each of them another argument chit or two, and kept the saving throws as a straight 6, perhaps 5 or 6 in rough terrain. I used a 1.5:1 ration between Pathans to British. That worked out well and the end of the game was quite even. I wasn't quite sure of the morale rules...used a 50% breakpoint, but allowed a roll every turn to see if they return. The British broke away from attacks, but could stop behind any formed unit. Acceptable? Could you explain your thoughts on morale in a future MG? Hand to hand melees: I gave the Pathans a 5-6 (on a d6) chance, same as the British. I didn't give any bonus for attacks from behind or simultaneously from two directions. Thoughts on that? Back to Table of Contents -- Matrix Gamer #20 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