Recent Matrix Game developments

The man who came up with the original Matrix Game concept is Chris Engle of Hamster Press ... and he is still developing new ways to use it. His most recent games have reverted to the use of Matrix Cards, and by the look of them he seems to have come up with yet another interesting and novel way to produce a 'narrative' wargame (i.e. one in which the players work with and against each other to create a story of what happens).

The two most recent games featured on his blog include a map-based campaign/battle set in East London/Essex ...

... and a Revolution in 1830s Paris.

I am pleased to see that Chris has revisited the use of Matrix Cards. They always seemed to me to be a real antidote to the mechanistic and mathematically-modelled approach to wargame design that is so commonly seen. They also allowed a wargame to incorporate the ‘human in the loop’ element without having to rely upon things like morale throws or reaction tests; these were replaced by something much better ... a real human being!

My only regret is that I never found a way to use Matrix Cards in solo wargames ... but with Chris on the case there is every chance that he may well find a solution to that problem as well.