Matt asks… One thing is still a mystery to me - how do you handle time in an MG? During a turn some arguments may take a long time - "We build a bunker and tunnel complex large enough for our infantry company." Others can be completed quickly - "we search the village for contraband." Should each turn be a specified length of time or should it be fluid, perhaps lasting only as long as the shortest argument? If a player makes a successful argument for an action that takes a long time do you just wait a few turns and then tell him he's done? Reply I have always made full use of the "Variable length bound" idea about game time. Some arguments are longer because the actions they describe take longer. The down side of doing long detailed arguments is that if the action of the game is speeding up then those arguments become weaker. At the start of the game though broad free flowing arguments are appropriate - they rush the game through what can be hours of tedious moving closer to the enemy and get to the critical action. So the answer is - no set time length. But the referee needs to be aware of time. Sincerely Chris Engle Matt’s reply So if a player made an argument that takes a long time when others are making short arguments you'd rate the long argument weaker? If that's the case I guess you could tell the player that he'd be better off breaking the argument into shorter pieces. In you "advice for first timers" you explained how you can make a movement argument with a distant destination, then your unit would continue to move towards the destination one area at a time, without further arguments. Would this approach work for other types of arguments - make the argument this turn, but the action continues for a few turns until it is complete, or interrupted by another argument? Back to Table of Contents -- Matrix Gamer #28 To Matrix Gamer List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Chris Engle. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com