engle matrix game comic

8/7/2019 Engle Matrix Game Comic

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Engle Matrix Game Rulesca. 2003

Matrix Games have been around since 1988 and havegone through many versions. Some people learn best myreading, others do better with pictures. In 2003 I madea cartoon version of the rules.

These rules appeared at the beginning of a book whichincluded several scenarios and maps. If you don’t havesuch a book I’m afraid you will have to make up your owngame before you can play. Here is how to do that: Makea cast of twenty characters (write a one paragraphdescription of each character), get a location map, writea one page description of the situation (This is read atthe start of the game to help players imagine what isabout to happen.) Lastly write a short story opener. Thisscenario opener presents an interesting twist that theplayers will explore during play. Add in one six-sided dieper player and figures or tokens to show where thecharacters are on the map and you’re ready to play.

Hamster Press = Engle Matrix Games7251 West State Road 46Ellettsville, Indiana 47429

[email protected]://www.io.com/~hamster



ScenarioBook

Six SidedDice

Map

One player is thereferee. This player

hosts the game.The Scenario book

includes maps or youcan make your own.Some people use

miniature figures torepresent characters

on the map.

The best way to learn to play anEngle Matrix Game is to play one.

Since you are reading and notplaying, the next best thing is to

see one run in a cartoon.The following is a generic game.

AppendixOne

How to playan EngleMatrixGame

Next the refereereads the scenarioinformation to theplayers. This is astarting point to

the story theplayers will tell.

The referee

introduces theplayers to the game.Try reading the firstsection of each gameto the players. It willhelp set the mood.

The scenario gives the players somebackground information to give them some

ideas that they can use to tell the story. It is just a starting point. The players make upwhat happens next.

It was adark and

stormy nightwhen the

horror storystarted.

It took Johnniethree swings of

the ax to cutoff his right

hand…

Referee



Now to make things happen. Players dothis by making up an “argument” about

what occurs next.

If this were any other game, you were your character, this was the situation and you could do

whatever your wanted, what would you want tohave happen first?

I can doanything?

Cool! I discover Johnnie and dofirst aid.

Some people believethat making it up as

you go along ischeating. It isn’t, it’s

creativity!

Matrix Games are notabout movement. Thatis why you can move sofreely. Decide where

you want your character to be and

move them there. Then get on with the story.

Each turn starts with a free move. Move your character anywhere you want to on the map.

YOUARENOW

READYTO

PLAY!

I’m following Johnnie.

Hey I don’t want to be followed.

Then you will need to hide or put on a disguisebecause right now people can move anywhere

they like and follow whoever they want.

Theplayerspick a

character to

champion.

The players read their character’sdescription to one

another to introducethemselves. This

should give everyone afew more ideas aboutwhat might happen.

I am the doctor.I pick Johnnie.

I’m Johnnie’sEvil Uncle

Dick.



It is the player’s responsibility toremember what their argument isand how strong it is. They might

want to write them down.

Roll thisReally Strong 2,3,4,5,6 Very Strong

PrettyStrong

3,4,5,6 Strong

Okay 4,5,6 Average

Pretty Weak 5,6 Weak

Really Weak 6 Very Weak

Stupid 7 Impossible

As the players maketheir arguments thereferee decideswhat the player

needs to roll on asix sided die for it

to happen.

Doing first aid soundsreally strong. Roll

anything but a one for itto happen. But wait! Weall roll at the same time.

You now know 90% of the rules. Each turnpeople move and make up what they wantto have happen next. Bit by bit the storyunfolds. The players make it happen, not

the referee.

Successfularguments areadded to the

world “Matrix”.Note: Matrix

Games have usedthis term since1988. It did notcome from the

movies.

Theplayersroll for

their ownarguments

at thesametime.

A two! That is part of “anything but a one” so

it happens!!!



Make a second move.Make plans or preparations.

Make up clues.Arrest people.

Hold trials.Conduct a man hunt.Make up false leads.

Recruit other characters (so you can move them).Hide or put on a disguise (a defense barrier).

Make arguments secretly (only the referee knows them).Set up guards and alarms (more defense barriers)

Tail characters.High speed chases.Pin scandal on someone (a negative status).

Make someone sick (a negative status).Try to steal treasures/secrets/people/etc.

Learn what other player’s secret arguments are.Recruit secret agents.

Make friends with characters.Make up or learn what defenses stand between you and your goals.

Set off on missions/quests/etc. (e.g. cross their defenses).Make opposing characters do stupid things.

Strengthen your characters (a positive status).Weaken your opponents (a negative status).

Plan the steps of a plot.Learn about or make up other character’s insidious plots.

Stop plots.Help plots succeed.Move up the social ladder.

Maintain your social status.Get even.

Get revenge.Start fights.

Hold elections.Cause/make up, political/economic/natural disasters (trouble).

Raise armies/mobs/etc.Move from one map to another.

Riot/fight battles/conduct sieges/propaganda campaigns.Make people surrender.

Gain political offices or jobs.Solve political problems.Make up new characters.

Steal away other people’s followers.Or anything else you can think of.

In Matrix Games the rules do not get in the way of your doingwhatever you want to.

So what can a player makehappen with an argument?



Murder mystery “The doctor discovers the game warden dead,murdered by and ax. Could it be Johnnie’s

doing?”

Spy “Uncle Dick recruits the butler to help himkeep an eye on “things.”

Quest “Johnnie finds an old map in the attic.A treasure map!”

Horror “Johnnies severed hand lives still.It slowly crawls off into the dark.”

Politics “Uncle Dick has a secret meeting with theSheriff. (The referee receives a secret notetelling him that Dick forms and alliance with

the Sheriff.)”

Military “The Sheriff calls in National Guard troops tohunt Johnnie down.”

The map with each gamehas a sidebar on the back

with a list of the plotelements you might use inthat game. Mind you, theplayers can do anythingthey like. The rules are

just suggestions. Mixingand matching plots is

perfectly okay.

The sidebar says we need to look for clues. Forget that! We know Johnnie is

guilty, we just need to find him!

Matrix Games allow you to tell a story.Good stories always have a plot.

Different story genres usedifferent plot elements. To tell that kindof story use those plot elements in your

arguments.

Plot



Referees

sometimes worry thatthey will miss

spotting competitionbetween arguments.

Don’t worry, theplayers will catchthem! It’s in theirinterest to do so.

Only one argument can win a competition.If two arguments agree but are in

competition with a third and the third rollsout, then the contest keeps on going. It is

possible that the remaining twoarguments will roll out in the same turn

which would give the competing argumentanother chance to happen.

As the gameis being

played thereferee hasfive tasks.

Task One: Decide what the playersneed to roll for their arguments to happen.Just as the players “make up” their arguments, the referee “makes up” their strength.

Task Two: The referee decideswhich arguments are in competition withone another.

Rolling continues until only

one argument remains. If allthe arguments roll out thenstart a new dice rollingcompetition, with all the

arguments back.

The players

roll for their ownarguments just likebefore.

It is possiblefor several

arguments tobe strung

together inone big dice

rollingcontest.

I rolled a 1.I’m out.Oops!I guess this

means Johnnieis bleeding to

death.

I rolla 6.

I’m stillin.

Well obviously these cannot both happen. We willsettle it by a dice rolling

competition.

No he doesn’t!He had a tourniquet.

I think Johnniebleeds to death.



Task Three: The referee decides if an argument causes another player trouble.Trouble can be anything that hurts or weakensa character.

Hum...Johnnie is bleeding to death.That’s trouble. Johnnie will get to make a

trouble argument to say why he doesn’t die.

The Referee looks at the statuses pinned to characters to decidehow strong arguments are. For instance: If a player argues that a“sick” and “wounded” character fights off a hundred soldiers when

cornered, that would be really weak or even stupid unless thecharacter also had a status like “mythic strength”. There are no hard

and fast rules on how to do this. Just listen to you gut.

The referee rules on the argument and theplayer rolls immediately. If they succeed thenthey dodge the trouble. If their argument failsthen they get a negative status suggested bythe trouble. In this case Johnnie would be deadbut since this seems to be a horror game, death

might not be the end!

The player runningthe effected

character gets tomake a free troubleargument to save

their person.

Referee hint: Playerslike getting a chanceto save themselves.

Johnniecauterizeshis woundwith a slabof metal

heated in afire.

Any one who would cut his hand off would think nothing of doing this

so roll anything but a one.



The Sheriff and his men

haveJohnnie

hold up in abarn. They go in to

arrest him.Guns ablazing!

We burstinto thebarn andopen up

onJohnnie.He goes

downhard.

Okay theSheriff and

Johnnie are inthe fight. UncleDick will arguefor the Sheriff.

Who has theadvantage? The

man with the guns or the

psycho killer? Ithink guns arebetter thanadrenaline.The player

with theadvantage gets thefirst shotat sayinghow the

fight turnsout.

Thereferee

decides who is inthe fight(assigning

uncontrolledcharacters to

various players)and which

character is in thestrongest

position. Theplayer running thischaracter has the

advantage.

Task Four:The referee decides if arguments cause a conflict.

Johnnie is a very importantcharacter so it would be too

fast to have him captured by asingle die roll. The referee can

declare it a conflict whichmeans that the first argument

just started the fight. Asecond conflict round will

determine how it turns out.

The referee decides what the player needsto roll and the player rolls immediately. If the roll succeeds the conflict is over. It is

dangerous to pick fights with peoplestronger than you. They might just win

before you get your first swing in!

If the stronger player fails their roll, the referee decides whoargues next. If that fails then

the next player in the fight goes. Once everyone has had achance and failed, the strongest

player gets a second chance.This keeps up until someone’s

argument succeeds.

Sure you comein guns a

blazing and gunJohnnie downbut his hand isstill crawling

away,unharmed!



Player Hint:Don’t just describe the fight. Say how you win itand what happens to the loser. If you don’t win it then the fight

keeps on going.

Referee Hint:Not all fights need to be resolved with a conflictround. If a fight does not seem important to the story then let thefirst argument settle it. Use conflict rounds to add drama to the

game by highlighting key issues.

Task Five: The referee

helps move the story along to aconclusion. As the game is played,two or three story lines begin toemerge. Once this happens thereferee moves the game along byfocusing play in on these storylines. Do this by ruling argumentsthat advance these lines strong andoff topic arguments weak andeventually stupid.

The story hasbeen following

Johnnie, UncleDick and theSheriff, and alittle aboutthe Doctor.

Referee Hint: If you don’t narrow the storydown then it will never end. That is realistic,

life is like that, but it does not make for goodstories. As Aristotle said, stories have a

beginning, a middle, and an end.

Aunt Mamecomes in

town for avisit.

Wow, that was out of left field. This is the first I’veheard of her. I think that is pretty weak. Roll a five or

six for it to happen.

Yes thatdoes

happen, butthe Doctor

sees it,there will

be a sequelto thismovie!

No, no, no, as the Sheriff gets rid of Johnnie, UncleDick ducks into the woods

to collect the hand. Hepets it and puts it back inits box. It did its job well.

When the gamereaches a climaxthe referee cansuspend regular play and ask allthe players to

make competingarguments aboutwhat happens.

This is verydramatic andends the gamewith a big dicerolling contest.

Okay, Johnnieis dead but hishand is crawling

away. I wanteveryone to

make anargument

telling what

happens next.We will do adice rolling

competition.

As Johnnie laysdying he looks upat the Sheriff and

says “It will beback…” there will

be a sequel tothis movie!



Createsuspense bynot telling

everything allat once. It iswhat is not

told thatcreatestension.

The scene opens in a dark room. A man is setting by thefire. You can’t see who it is. He is reading a book. Thetitle comes into focus. It is the Book of Necromancy!

Do mini role play sessionswhere you act like you are

your character. Don’t worryif your characters are not atthe same place on the map.Role playing is fun. You donot need a game master to

do it!

Once the climax isresolved, give the

players a fewmore argumentsto wrap up anyremaining loose

ends. This bringsthe game to a

solid conclusion.

Players canadd a lot of fun to the

game by doingthe following

things.

Talk to one another whileplaying. Crack jokes,

gossip, form teams, planstrategies. Talking is

fun.

Lets youand me join

forces.

So tell meabout your childhoodJohnnie.

It was horrible!My Uncle wassooooo mean.

No I wasn’t.You’d better stop sayingthat or else!



Use Cheesy movie tricks. Flashbacks, slowmotion, close ups, kung fu action moves

described in arguments makes a game feelmore cinematic.

Don’t limit your arguments to what your character does. You are

telling a story. Itis okay to say what

the other side’s guys do as well.

The Sheriff’sdeputies are

not certain it isa good idea to

work to closelywith Uncle

Dick. They’veheard stories

about him. Theywent to schoolwith Johnnie

and he was okaythen.

Keep on playing even if your character dies. You can never be put out of a Matrix Game.You keep making arguments

whither you have a character or not.

Johnnies ghost appears before the Doctor andtells him everything that happened.

Invite other playersto join in for a turn or two when they walk

by. Matrix Games caneasily feed new

people. Games arenot even ruined if

some of the playersleave early. People

can jump in and out of

a game at will. Noother game is likethis.



Any player can be a referee.It is not hard. The playersmake up arguments. The

referee makes up what their strengths are.

Referee Hint: It is a good ideato start the game off ruling

arguments strong until a few storylines emerge. Then rule divergent

arguments weaker and weaker. Somearguments can get stronger eachturn, others weaker. It is okay to

make this up. You may not control the game but you are the editor.

If the referee wants tomake an argument they

pick another player to betheir referee.

A game takes between two and three hours to play. Anywherebetween two and twelve people can play. You can play them sittingaround a table or while driving on a trip. All you need are a few dice

and an imagination.

The rules toMatrix Games are

simple but with them you can unlock your

creative spirit as never before. Fun is good!

Never let the rulesstand in your way!

engle matrix game comic

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