RE Howard Matrix Game

[derv]

I've had an on again off again interest in matrix games over the years. I first heard about them through John Curry's History of Wargaming Project. To me they hold some similarities to how Braunsteins are run. There are differences too.

Here is another Broken Spoke Production, a Matrix Game Scenario based on RE Howard's Beyond the Black River. I am considering running this as a play by post. Let me know if you'd be interested.

The file includes the scenario, the map as a jpg, and a collection of Howard's stories including Beyond the Black River. Within the scenario you will find a link to Chris Engle's web site. He is the originator of Matrix Games and his site is a wealth of information.

Beyond the Black River file

[Finarvyn]

What exactly is a "matrix game"? Can you give me some details about the play style?

[mgtremaine]

The PDF for Beyond the Black River lists this

sites.google.com/view/free-engle-matrix-games/home

The short of it is

"Most games will involve a referee and from two to twenty players. In it’s simplest form the rules involve:
Starting with a problem. Say what happens next. Anyone can add to or alter what happens. All players may
ask a player to roll if they don’t like what they said. Roll 2d6. On a 7> the action happens and cannot be
altered. On a 6< the action does not happen and cannot happen in the game. Conclude with synopsis of how
events unfolded. The game ends when the problem is solved"

[derv]

Jul 13, 2020 4:40:09 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

What exactly is a "matrix game"? Can you give me some details about the play style?

As Mike said, that's it in a nutshell. Chris Engle was the originator. The games have evolved over time since he first started experimenting in 1988. The term "matrix" can be traced back to it's earliest iterations where key words were used to form a matrix for the game. Now the term is used much looser. The approach has gained acceptance and has proven useful in the therapeutic, academic, business, and military environments.

It's about as minimalist a means of roleplaying that I would still consider a game.

[derv]

Well, I stuck my toe in the water and it's proving a little tepid.

The games methods may be a little out of this forums comfort zone. I thought it fit in nicely with the "we made some s**t up" approach. But admittedly it does have the appearance of leaning heavily towards story telling. Not necessarily everyone's cup of tea.

I'll leave this up for a few days yet.

[crows]

Here is a pdf from a magazine about using matrix in RPGs. Here's the dropbox link:


www.dropbox.com/s/6c6ydeqd9e9n2o8/matrix-games-in-shadis-magazine-06.pdf?dl=0


It's from a magazine called Shadis magazine from 1991. It's an interesting system. I have another rpg pdf called The Argument system that seems to be very similar in nature. It's also free to download and use. I don't want to spam with links to this stuff so if anyone's interested, let me know and I'll add dropbox link to it as well.

Hope this helps.

[derv]

Hi crows, that's a nice article by Engle. Thanks for sharing it. I don't think there is any problem with you sharing links here as long as it's not a matter of copyright infringement and you provide some context for it. This is the "Links & Resources" subforum after all.

The article you shared presented The Three Reasons System. For the Beyond the Black River game I would probably utilize a modified Simple Narrative System.

I was thinking, how could a person pull off a campaign with a Matrix Game, say a Conan epic-from thief to king? The article did offer a few ideas, but seemed to look at Matrix Games as more of a supplement or tack on to your standard rpg. I would more closely categorize Matrix Games to wargames. They are scenario driven. So, you would need to approach a campaign much the same way as you would in a wargame.

[crows]

Jul 16, 2020 16:50:49 GMT -6 derv said:

The article you shared presented The Three Reasons System. For the Beyond the Black River game I would probably utilize a modified Simple Narrative System.

You may be interested in the other pdf I mentioned which has an example of Narrative style play on the bottom left of 'page 15' (dealing with combat). The system is based around rational argument and reminds me a great deal of Matrix system. Anyway, for what it's worth here's the dropbox link:

www.dropbox.com/s/kne4ov0gnp1f1oy/argument-1.pdf?dl=0

Have fun.


Edit: I remember watching some youtube videos of Chris Engle playing a historical wargame using matrix. It may be worth searching youtube for Chris Engle to get some ideas as to how it might play out long term. I could probably find the one I'm thinking of if need be but I'm still wary of linking too much. It should be easy enough to locate if you wanted to take a look anyway. 

Edit no.2: Second thoughts, the youtube vids may not be 'that' pertinent to your pbp campaign, but anyway... :0)

[arkansan]

I'd be interested in playing. Seems like a cool concept.