Name: Jon Lundberg

Genius: Systems simulations from my background as a AF weather and space sciences officer

Current job (and title): What do you do for a living?

I am the Operations Support Section Chief at the Air Combat Command Inspector General Office. I inspect AF units on how ready to go to war they are. Part of this is the Operational Readiness Inspection. We travel to a base and run the base through a three day simulated war.

Where did you get the inspiration for Matchlocks on the Warpath?

I came across the Wargames Foundry miniatures for early eastern Indians. I could not find any rules sets that I liked and decided to develop a set of charts for playing simple skirmish games. Over several years of running games at the HMGS East conventions, I decided to refine and formalize the rules. I wanted a set of rules that ten people could sit down at a game and pick up the mechanics within a turn or two. I also wanted to write a simulation that approached the role of the small unit leader in a relatively realistic way.

What makes it such a cutting edge game?

It is a game that rewards good tactics and decision making by the player while being picked up in a very short time.

In creating Matchlocks on the Warpath, how did your design philosophy evolve? Did something trigger the proverbial lightbulb to light up over your head during design and testing?

The rules evolved over time. I borrowed mechanisms from many rules sets that I thought had a good approach. I liked the uncertainty of impulse that a card based system gives you. I also wanted to simulate the difficulty of getting small units of troops to actually fight. Numerous reports out of the Paratroops on DDay described these elite troops falling asleep when not directly threatened. I further experienced this on the first day of Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti. We had worked long hours for a month and a half and were exhausted. When we finally got into Port AU Prince, there was nothing that had to be done immediately, so the JTF staff went to sleep.

What do you believe is the greatest success of the design? The most noticeable flaw?

I have run the rules for games of up to 16 players, with up to half the players being teens or preteens, by myself without losing my voice The beginner can pick up the rules without being lost, but there are subtleties within the rules that allow the more experienced gamer to explore.

I think the biggest flaw would be for players that are looking for a rigorous simulation that mirrors specific movement distances and weapons ranges.

What were some other influences as you developed the system?

My favorite wargames rules have been Johnny Reb, Legacy of Glory, The Sword and the Flame, and Knights and Knaves. I also looked at the Games Workshop rules. I know it is heresy within the Historical wargaming community, but the rules are written for people without a lot of gaming experience and explain the rules at each step of the way. I have tried to capture the ease of reading within a historical system.

How long did Matchlocks on the Warpath take from inspiration to final product? Did you get any faster as you continued?

I first started working with the rules prior to Cold Wars 95. I wanted to run a game and came up with the first iteration of the rules. I have accelerated over the past year. I had helped playtest Phil Johnston and Les Benoodt's Knights and Knaves rules and had run games using their rules over several years when we started discussing selling the rules. I had been asked for copies of the tables for years and did not have enough information within the sheets to fully play the game. My wife also got involved an helped with layout and editing. She is a non-gamer and helped me reduce the jargon within the text by having to explain to her what it was I meant.

Why did you print the rules in landscape mode?

I wanted the rules to lay flat on the table with the densest presentation of information that I could come up with.

When in design mode, what's your favorite snack food?

Pepperidge Farm Sausalito chocolate chip macadamia cookies

Do you play computer games?

Yes, when I can get at the computer. My son plays a lot and both my wife and daughter will wrestle me for the computer.

What type of system do you have?

A Gateway Pentium 120 with an added 4GB harddrive and 32MB of Ram.

What piece of hardware--real or imaginary--would you add to it?

I am a performance demon and want a whole new system to up speed.

In general, do you think board wargames make the leap to computer screens effectively? Why or why not?

I don't think the direct conversions have worked well (e.g. Kingmaker). But I think the computer can easily handle more complex calculations that can slow down both board and miniature games. I think the Battleground series has shown that the computer can keep track of casualties to the man without bogging down the interface.

How would you like to see Matchlocks on the Warpath presented on a computer screen, if at all?

I think skirmish games are better on a tabletop than a computer. Many of the mechanisms would have to be tweaked before a computer application would work for Matchlocks on the Warpath.

If you were going to be represented on a computer screen by an icon, what would it be?

A hussar

Computer games are becoming an extension of Hollywood--games based on movies or movie characters. Do you believe the Hollywoodized games to be better, worse, or about equal to ones created from original material? Why?

I cannot recall buying a game based on a movie. They do not tend to interest me.

What was the last movie (theater) you watched? Last videotape rental?

I went to see the Drew Barrymore Cinderella story with my family. I forget the title. I rented X-Files on veteran's day.

Is there a movie you'd like to do a game of?

It is hard to capture warfare on screen. The Hollywood formula requires a personal touch that is hard to game. I think a linked series of skirmishes from Saving Private Ryan could be interesting.

Given unlimited resources but present day technology, what would you design and why would it be cool?

I would place chips in the bases of figures and have a receiver to dynamically determine the locations of all figures on the table. Then use a computer to moderate the effects of the fire and hand to hand combat. This would have the players making decisions and moving the figures while using the computer to do all the bookkeeping.

They say everyone needs a hobby. How do you decompress outside of game designing/playing?

I probably paint figures more than I ever play. I also work in my yard and coach Pop Warner football.

Where was the last place you visited on vacation? What's your next vacation spot?

My whole family visited Bangor, Maine and Acadia National Park. We live in Williamsburg, VA and do our recreation at the various attractions in the area.

If not bound by time or space, where would you go...and why?

I would take a look at the framing of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. I am amazed that the framers could have come up with such a well balanced system as our own.

Excluding your own creations, what three games (of any type) would you take with you to the proverbial desert island? What three books?

I would bring a computer with Steel Panthers, Warlords, and Free Cell. For books it would be the Bible, Hobbit, and anything by Christopher Hibbert.

We see the emergence of online gaming as putting the social aspect (and the smarts of a real-live opponent) into gaming on a world-wide scale. Good or bad? Why?

I have not been interested. For head to head gaming, I think the best solution is across a table. I have not tried online gaming and cannot judge whether it is a good or bad trend.

Do you have a favorite poster or cartoon hanging by your desk? What is it and what makes it your favorite?

I am a fan of Dilbert, but do not have a specific favorite panel. The best part of the Dilbert series is that it exposes to ridicule the overall inanity of decision makers that do not understand things or processes they make decisions about.

What epitath would you want encoded on your (hopefully far in the future) digital tombstone?

He was a good man.

What question did we leave out that you would like to answer?

What can your rules be used for? The early gunpowder era is fascinating since the technology difference is much less than later eras. This period saw combat between Settlers and Indians, Conquistadors and Aztecs/Mayas/Incas, Europeans and Arabs (English vs Arabs in Tangiers)/Tribal Africans (Gold and Ivory Coast)/Chinese (merchants vs warlords)/Japanese Samurai(the Japanese closed off the country to outsiders and tried to exterminate the Christians), Cossacks vs Turks/Europeans/Russians, this is just a quick list of lesser known conflicts.

Any last omniscient thoughts for MagWeb members?

Game design is not hard. Take mechanisms and an understanding of what combat is like. Build a strawman and play through many scenarios with different people. Listen to the complaints and comments of the players.

Short Bio of accomplishments outside game design:

I have degrees in physics ( BA University of Virginia), and the Solar-Terrestrial Environment (MS University of Maryland). In my AF career, I have deployed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with the AF and Haiti with the Army's 10th Mountain Division.

One-Drous Chapter: Matchlocks on the Warpath Introduction and Definitions
News Item: Matchlocks on the Warpath

For More Information

E-mail: drumlund@aol.com
Web site: http://members.aol.com/hisentco/