There has been some discussion in the MatrixGamer egroup about whether Matrix Games have a place in tactical actions. The general consensus is that they don't.
I disagree.
The following are two different miniatures games that grow seamlessly out of the Classical Matrix Game.
POLITICS BY OTHER MEANS
This set of miniatures rules is freely available on the Hamster Press web page. It is meant to be a generic set of rules that allows players to use whatever troops they have on hand (regardless of scale) to fight straight forward miniatures battles.
The basic rules are lifted from a hundred different miniatures game. Roll 1d6 to see how many inches your men move. If in range, roll 1d6 to see if you succeed in shooting someone (this happens on a 6, generally). When hits are scored, the Matrix Game kicks in.
Hit players get to make a free argument why they are not killed by a hit. Naturally players arguments are built on the situation they are in. So arguments take away the need for highly detailed rules on shooting.
Once a turn players are allowed to make a special argument to cause something unexpected to happen. Players can literally rewrite the game as it is played!.
Unexpected arguments are just Classical Matrix Game arguments, stuck inside a simple miniatures game. Which allows players, should they wish, to jump from a battle game to a political game seamlessly.
PBOM works well and is easy to teach to kids but it is VERY simple. Which may not be satisfying to more sophisticated players. So why not use another approach?
THE BATTLE MATRIX GAME
People have toyed with the idea of having a mathematical matrix of arguments to run a game with. In other words, a number of tables that give pre-determined argument strengths to some common actions.
For a open, free flowing game (such as Classical Matrix Games cover) I believe that this approach is doomed to failure. BUT for battles (which are notoriously repetitive) this approach promises to work well.
I envision a modern battle game in which players use lots of hidden movement so scouting and planning assume central importance. Combat would look a little like PBOM in that players would roll to hit and to survive hits, but the chance of hitting would be pre-set by a mathematical matrix. Movement itself would become a set rate (to cut out one more die roll – and thus speed things up).
TURNS: Players alternate turns. Each turn players get to 1. Spot 2. Move 3. Shoot. And 4. Attempt a special argument. If shot players get to make saving arguments and morale checks.
HIDDEN MOVEMENT: Each player starts the game with a number of hidden movement counters. Some of these represent real troop concentrations but most are just dummy counters. Players move these counters around on the board and try to spot one another. As enemy troops are spotted they are placed on the board. So players can attempt surprise moves, ambushes and other deceptions.
Movement and ranges are pre-set from the beginning of the game.
- Artillery 5"
Infantry 6"
Cavalry 8"
Vehicles 9"
Short Range 6"
Medium Range 12"
Long Range 24"
SPOTTING ARGUMENTS: Each turn players get to make one free spotting roll. The referee looks at the board and picks out the best spotting chance a side has. He does not tell either side which counters he is looking at (to do so would give away positions). The player rolls and if successful, the referee instructs the unfortunate player to place his men on the board.
The following Matrix tells the chances to spot. They are based on the range to the enemy, what cover they are in and whether they are moving or not.
"I SPOT THE MOST EASILY SEEN HIDDEN ENEMY." This is made once a turn either before or after a side has moved.
WHAT IS THE TARGET DOING? SHORT RANGE 6" MEDIUM RANGE 12" LONG RANGE
24"
Moving in the open: Short 2-6: Medium 3-6: Long 4-6
Not moving, in the open: Short 3-6: Medium 4-6: Long 5-6
Prone in the open: Short 4-6: Medium 5-6: Long 6
Moving in cover: Short 3-6: Medium 4-6: Long 5-6
Not moving, in cover: Short 4-6: Medium 5-6: Long 6
Prone in cover: Short 5-6: Medium 6: Long 7
SHOOTING: A player may shoot at any stand that is revealed or at a hidden movement counter. Shooting with hidden troops gives the enemy a free spotting argument to see if they spot where the fire is coming from.
Players roll one die per stand firing. The chance to score a hit is based on the range, weapon type and what cover the enemy is in.
"I HIT AN ENEMY STAND."
Fire once per stand or twice for artillery or machineguns.
WHAT IS THE TARGET DOING? SHORT 6" MEDIUM 12" LONG 24"
Target is hidden: Short 6: Medium 6: Long 7
Target in cover: Short 5-6: Medium 6: Long 6
Target prone: Short 5-6: Medium 5-6: Long 6
Target in open: Short 4-6: Medium 5-6: Long 6
Artillery/Machinegun: Short 3-6: Medium 4-6: Long 5-6 Melee: Short 4-6
DUCKING: Any stand hit has the chance of walking away unscathed. Players roll for survival based on range and what cover they are in. A player rolls for each hit taken – some hitting people more is better.
"I SURVIVE BEING HIT."
This is made every time a stand is hit.
WHAT IS THE TARGET DOING? SHORT RANGE 6" MEDIUM RANGE 12" LONG RANGE 24"
Standing/Moving in the open: Short 6: Medium 5-6: Long 4-6
Prone in the open: Short 5-6: Medium 4-6: Long 3-6
In soft cover: Short 4-6: Medium 3-6: Long 2-6
In hard cover: Short 3-6: Medium 2-6: Long 2-6
Melee: Short 6
MORALE CHECKS: When a side takes a certain number of hits it faces morale checks. If these are failed then the side becomes broken. By itself this means nothing but the status "Broken" sticks with a unit and makes it much more vulnerable to the other side's "Special Argument".
"I PASS MY MORALE CHECK." Make a check when the following circumstances happen. If you fail then give the unit a "Disordered" status.
CHECK MORALE: UNIT ISOLATED, UNIT WITH A GROUP, UNIT IN COVER, LEADER PRESENT
First time shot: Isolated 4-6: Group 3-6: In cover 2-6: Leader present 2-6
20% casualties: Isolated 5-6: Group 4-6: In cover 3-6: Leader present 2-6
30% casualties: Isolated 6: Group 5-6: In cover 4-6: Leader present 3-6
40% casualties: Isolated 7: Group 6: In cover 5-6: Leader present 4-6
50% casualties: Isolated 7: Group 7: In cover 6: Leader present 5-6
60% casualties: Isolated 7: Group 7: In cover 7: Leader present 6
70% casualties: Isolated 7: Group 7: In cover 7: Leader present 7
SPECIAL ARGUMENTS: Just like with PBOM, players get to make one unexpected event argument a turn. Again this connects the battle game to the Classical Matrix Game and relieves the rules writer of needing to write rules for every situation!
"EACH TURN I MAY MOVE EACH OF MY UNITS." AUTOMATIC NO ROLL NEEDED. Movement can either be variable (roll to see how far you move) or fixed. When doing hidden movement games it is best to use fixed movement since this makes the game go faster.
TYPE OF UNIT MOVING: VARIABLE: FIXED
Infantry: Variable 1d6: Fixed 6"
Artillery: Variable 1d6-1: Fixed 5"
Civilians: Variable 1d6-1: Fixed 5"
Cavalry: Variable 1d6+2: Fixed 8"
Vehicle: Variable 1d6+3: Fixed 9"
TERRAIN EFFECTS
There are no built in terrain effects in the game. Individual scenarios may have places that can not be moved into or through. The only other terrain effects are created by the players in their unexpected event arguments.
WHAT DOES A HIT MEAN?
Players can have hits mean two different things. They can mean that a unit is destroyed and removed from the game. Or they can give the unit a hit marker. If hit markers are used, they show a unit slowly disintegrating. This means nothing to the game until unexpected event arguments. Players can use a units wound status against them in arguments to make them do things the running player does not want them to do (like be destroyed or surrender).
WHAT DOES DISORDERED MEAN?
Disordered status means nothing to the game until unexpected arguments are added in. Once a unit's order is gone, players can use that against them to reduce their combat effectiveness (ie change the combat rules), or make them do things the owning player does not want them to do. Players can end disorder by using an unexpected event argument to "Rally" their men.
CAN THE RULES BE ALTERED AS THE GAME IS BEING PLAYED?
Obviously what Matrix Games do is make the rules of the game open to change as the game is being played. I understand that this will bother some people. I recommend that they not play this game. But I do not accept the argument that this is "Unrealistic". Quite the opposite! Unchanging/rigid rules games are unrealistic because they ignore the highly flexible, subtle ways the world works.
THE THEORY BEHIND THE BATTLE MATRIX
The above game may look like a standard, combat table driven game. It is not. Why? Because it grows out a totally different world view.
Present day battle games allow only the game designer power to decide how the world works. All the players have to live with what the designer thinks is important. The Battle Matrix grows out of the idea that "All the actions of the game are really just like player arguments. So the players could literally write their own mathematical matrices before the game if they wished. In other words the matrix is open to player correction!
Each mathematical matrix table gives ideas how a referee should rule on a given argument in a give set of circumstances. BUT it does not take away the players right to make unstructured arguments as well.
So the battle matrix is a loser format than standard games while being much more structured than Classical Matrix Games.
SO CAN BATTLES BE DONE WITH MATRIX GAMES?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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© Copyright 2000 by Chris Engle.
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