2019-02-09 Announcing the Matrix Games Wiki

Announcing the Matrix Games Wiki, meant to be a central clearinghouse for information about matrix games.

Matrix games were invented by Chris Engle and live in the space between boardgames and roleplaying games. They are a simple kind of game engine that enables you to play through scenarios not easily simulated by other games. The power and flexibility of Matrix Games come from how turns are resolved. Rather than try to make up rules for every instance, players make arguments for what they want to happen next in the game. Another player sets a "to happen" threshold for each argument, and a die roll later, you know which actions became facts in the game world and which didn’t happen at all. It might sound too simple (or too complicated) to work, but it does.

Matrix Games are a low-tech way to game events that make supercomputers twitch. As Neal Durando says in The Matrix Games Handbook,

Traditional RPG rules support physical confrontation among individuals. The argument mechanism of Matrix Games applies whether the conflict is physical, social, or intellectual. More interestingly, it is also applies regardless of the scale... You might resolve a boxing match using the same mechanism as an intercontinental war.

Matrix games have been used for murder mysteries, science fiction, horror games, literary games, wargames, and political campaigns. They are especially good for solo games. There are even serious games for education, psychotherapy, and planning.

On the Matrix Games Wiki, as on other wikis, such as Wikipedia, you can add and edit pages yourself, including new matrix game rules, links to matrix game resources, and play-by-wiki matrix games.

Looking forward to seeing you there!