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Monday 11 November 2013

More about Matrix Games

Chris Engle of Hamster Press has been the driving force behind the development of Matrix Games, and over the years he has published – and continues to publish – books and booklets about them.


This morning I went through my collection of wargames publications and found that I own the following copies of Chris's work:
  • CAMPAIGN IN A DAY (1992): This explained how a Matrix Game worked, and included two examples; Peninsula Campaign and Ancient Sumeria.
  • CAMPAIGN BOOK (1992): This was the companion volume to CAMPAIGN IN A DAY and contained all the information needed to set up and run ten Matrix Game campaigns. Each section contained a description of the historical situation, orders-of-battle, and each player’s briefings and goals.
    • 1066
    • Bannockburn
    • 1494
    • Blenheim
    • Bonnie Prince Charlie
    • Peninsula Campaign (as featured in CAMPAIGN IN A DAY)
    • Russian Campaign 1812
    • March To The Sea
    • Zulu
    • Save Gordon!
  • MINIATURE BATTLES: STUPID SIMPLE RULES (1992): This was the third book in the series and featured rules that could be used to fight any battles that were ‘generated’ by a Matrix Game campaign.
  • THE MATRIX GAME! (1995): This book included a revised (and in some ways simplified) version of the original Matrix Game rules.
  • SCOTLAND THE BRAVE (1995): This book was a complete scenario (including player briefings) for a Matrix game set during the Scottish Wars of Independence (1295 AD – 1314 AD).
  • MATRIX GAME RULES (2000): A revised – and very easy to follow – version of the original Matrix Game rules.
  • SHERLOCK HOLMES CASE BOOK (2005): This book contains and explanation about how Matrix games work and the scenarios and player briefings for six murder-mystery Matrix Games:
    • Sherlock Holmes Mystery
      • The Case of the dead Duke
      • The Case of the Missing Bride
      • The Case of Bad Blood
    • The Fenian Murders
      • The Fox Hunt
      • A Shot in the Dark
      • The Fenian Plot
  • DESERT RATS: A MILITARY CAMPAIGN GAME (2005): This book contains and explanation about how Matrix games work and the scenarios and orders-of-battle for six Matrix Game campaigns:
    • Desert Rats
      • Rommel’s Advance
      • Jihad
      • Rommel in Defeat
    • Dar as Salaam: The 1880 British Invasion of the Land of Peace
      • A Small War for Empire: The Invasion
      • Allah U Akbar! : The Dervish Counter-Attack 1881
      • The Hunt for Ali Baba 1885
I am sure that I also have a copy of Chris’s POLITICS BY OTHER MEANS (PBOM) rules, which are a very simple set of wargames rules for fighting battles with toy soldiers. I think that a synopsis of the rules is available on his website here.

2 comments:

  1. Sad to say I've never played a Matrix Game. Wouldn't know where to start as an introduction, that said the one in the latest WSS could be a good starting point...?

    Cheers,

    Pete.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pete,

    I think that everyone should play a Matrix game at least once ... if only to discover that it is not a game format that they like.

    I did not know that Matrix games had been featured in the latest WSS. I will look out for a copy when I next visit the local newsagent.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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