FAQ
WHAT ARE MATRIX GAMES?
“What do you want to happen next in the game?” That is the question players get to answer each turn of a Matrix Game.
Creativity – that’s what it is. Players are free to try anything they like. This simulates real life because this what we all do every day. Today I act to sell games. Tomorrow I’ll do something else. But also like real life, just because I want it to happen doesn’t mean it will. Life is a game and the dice gods don’t always cooperate.
Events that happen become facts. Stories build up one fact at a time.
Matrix Games share power between the players. One player makes an argument for what happens next but another player decides how likely it is to happen. That sets what the first player has to roll. A simple roll later and you know what succeeded and what failed.
Engle Matrix Games are only one variety of MG. There are other Matrix Games out there. If you are inspired by this idea, make your own! There are many ways to handle arguments and dice rolls. Engle Matrix Games are meant to be simple beginner games. We hope the field grows far beyond our company.
Matrix Games are fun hobby games but they also have a serious side. I’ve used them in psychotherapy. Teachers have used them to teach history and creative writing. They’ve been used for staff training, and management planning. The British and Australians even use them for military planning.
WHAT IS EIN RITTER SPIEL?
Ein Ritter Spiel (A Knights Game) is a dice-less war game that simulates battle from ancient times till the renaissance. It runs quickly (a long battle takes only half an hour) and is highly replayable.
In Ritter, players command armies. At first all their men are in order but that ends when they contact the enemy. Units break up and chaos reigns.
You only get a few attacks each turn so players only commit where they will win (determined by the combat matrix). The losing side then runs away. Units only die when they can’t run. This makes battles about herding more than fighting. Successful generals herd their enemies into killing fields.
Ritter was developed in 1995 as a miniatures game but now comes to you as a board game.
WHERE DO I FIND FREE RULES?
Matrix Games are excessively simple. After playing a few turns players never need to look at the rules again. That is why most of our rules are here for free. Please copy them. Make up your own scenarios. All we ask is that you acknowledge where the rules came from and put a link to our web page.
CAN I RUN A PLAY BY EMAIL GAME?
Matrix Games are perfectly suited for on line play. Each turn players submit written arguments to a central referee. The ref judges argument strength and rolls for outcomes. These are then emailed back to the players. We’ve been playing on line since the late 90’s. Check out the MatrixGame2 yahoo group. Join in one of our free games. http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/MatrixGame2/
