I'm new to the idea of Matrix Gaming, but I'd like to give it a try with my gaming club. We are first and foremost historical miniatures and board game players, but most of us also have experience with RPGs. Eventually I'd like to use the ideas of Matrix Gaming to run a PBEM game, and/or a military campaign. I've read the rules, and I've been through the MG mags on Magweb, however I've never played in a MG, or even seen one played. So I guess I better start slow. I'd like to introduce some MG ideas into a miniatures game. This seems like a good way to get our feet wet without drowning. It's important that I run a good game the first time so I don't turn everyone off to future MGs. I would appreciate any suggestions, hints, or comments on the idea I cooked up. I've had success running a multi-sided game set in Darkest Africa (Congo). In the past I've used a large deck of events cards to spice up the game. Each player would get 2-3 to play on each other, or themselves. The cards included things like: ambushed by natives, attacked by wild animals, meet Tarzan, free move, lose a turn, etc. The usual stuff. I thought that I could replace these by allowing the players to make MG arguments to influence the game. This would open things up and allow the players to use their own imaginations rather than being limited to a few cards. Here's the idea: Each player controls an expedition consisting of a few characters, two units of Askari, and some bearers. The expeditions would be British, Belgian, Zanzibari, American, German, French, etc. In addition I would have some non-aligned characters which would include bands of natives, wild animals, a big game hunter, Tarzan, Sheena Queen of the Jungle, a Livingstone missionary character, pygmies, etc. Some of them would be on the board and could be activated by arguments like "The warriors in the village go to investigate the gunshots they heard from over there, others would appear if a player made a successful argument like "Tarzan appears and warns us about the native ambush up ahead" or "The Belgians get attacked by crocodiles while crossing the river." Combat and movement would be resolved using The Sword and The Flame. The object of the game could be the fabled elephant graveyard located somewhere near the center of the board. Matrix Elements: 1. Allow the players two arguments before the game to prepare for the expedition. They could use these arguments to give their units a "status," or put one on a rival, or to take control of a non-aligned unit. 2. During the game they can make standard MG arguments to make things happen. I think that one per turn might be too many. Maybe restrict them from using arguments on consecutive turns? What do you think, sirs? Back to Table of Contents -- Matrix Gamer #28 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