Things never happen as fast as people want them to. Many projects end in failure because people give up on them too soon. So how do things happen? Someone dreams up an idea. The dreaming stage may go on for a long time. Someone makes a plan of action to make the dream real. This may take very little time. Someone gathers what is needed to carry out the plan. This may take a long time but it is vital for a plan to succeed. No one notices that this is going on. Someone acts on the plan. People either notice (the plan works) or ignore it (the plan has not worked yet!) If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Process: Events happen when certain steps are followed - all the steps put together are called a "process". A 30 second process Someone insults me (5 seconds) - I get angry (1 second) - I tense my muscles and say "stop" to myself (5 seconds) - I think about what I'm doing (10 seconds) - I don't overreact. (1 second) - I relax my muscles (5 seconds) - I let go of the insult. (1 second) - I go on with my day... THE GAME: AFRICAN COLONIAL THE EUROPEANS European troops fight to spread western civilization. This includes machineguns, rifles and explosives. They move in squares to avoid being surprised. They win because they have better guns and more ammunition than the savages. They lose if they get disordered. THE AFRICANS The natives fight to defend their way of life against the Europeans. They use spears and shields against rifles and machineguns. If they can get close enough to break the European's square they can win. It is hard to do. Many will die trying. THE ARABS The Arabs are fighting a holy war against western civilization. They are brave and impetuous. They have rifles but prefer to charge with swords. When they do fire, they do so as individual no in groups so their fire is usually ineffective. Back to Table of Contents -- Matrix Gamer #26 To Matrix Gamer List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 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