MAT by Counter Clockwise

The game Mate (1) was published by Georg Capellen (2) in the publication "Zwei neue Kriegspiele!" in 1915. The game did not initially attract much interest. It fell out of favour at a time when other types of war games were preferred. It only became popular after its rediscovery by game collector Sid Sackson, who included it in his 1969 book "A Gamut of Games." G. Capellen attempted to create a game with limited influence of chance. As in chess, players know the range of their opponents' cards at the beginning. The inspiration from chess is also evident in the name of the game.

The game was designed for a reduced deck of 20 cards commonly used in Germany. Counter Clockwise created its own abstract solution for the game. For simplicity and clarity, the card set is designed in basic colours, clearly inspired by the modern Uno deck. The main graphic motif, which is repeated on the reverse side, is based on the Sierpiński carpet. This basic fractal geometry pattern was described in 1916. The chess-like nature of the game is reinforced by the use of international chess piece symbols, which replace the usual card values.

The cards have corner markings indicating their value (chess pieces) and also show the value of the card for calculating the final score. In addition to the instructions and basic rules cards, the deck includes four extra cards. John McLeod (1) refers to this expanded deck as the Double Mate Deck. The additional cards, along with specific rules, introduce more random elements into the game.

Above: MAT chess card game produced by Counter Clockwise, Czech Republic, 2024. 24 cards + instructions in box.

• See the box

References

1. McLeod, John: Mate ►
2. Wikipedia: Georg Capellen ►