Deployment Units are deployed according to the directions given in the Briefing. Hidden Units are placed on the table. Until they are spotted by Argument, they should be assumed to be hidden by the Umpire who should judge the Arguments of Players accordingly. When permitted, the Umpire may require a Player to make a Trouble Argument (see below) to prevent Units being revealed. Sequence of play Play proceeds in Rounds until the Umpire agrees that the End Conditions have been reached. The sequence of play for each Round is as follows: 1 Command phase (if relevant) 2 Movement phase 2a Uncontested movement segment 2b Contested movement segment 3 Argument phase 4 End of Round Player Turns During the command phase, all activities can happen simultaneously. In the Movement and Argument Phases, Players take Turns to move Units or make Arguments. In the Movement and Argument phases, the Players work in strict rotation. The Briefing should state which Player should move first. Where there is more than one Player per side, the Turn will go first to a Player on one side and then to the Player of another side and so on. The order should alternate Turns between sides as evenly as possible. Except for the first Player, the Players of each side propose the order in which they wish to play, and the Umpire combines the proposals into a rotation order. This order remains in force until the end of the game. To mark whose Turn it is next, the players should use a “baton” which they always pass to the same Player after their Turn in any phase or segment. To determine whose Turn it is, merely identify the person holding the “baton” (You can use a proper Field Marshal’s baton if you wish! But something reasonably large and distinctive such as a set of keys or a coloured stone will serve just as well. A hat is good since it leaves the hands free!). It is up to the Umpire to make sure that the Players pass the baton after their Turn if they fail to do so. In the Argument phase, each player can make one Argument before passing the baton. After every Player has made one Argument and passed the baton, the baton passing stops until the next Movement Phase. The procedure in each Segment of the Movement Phase is as follows: The Player holding the baton takes a Turn and can either a) move a number of Units and pass the baton; or b) Move no Units and pass the baton. There can be any number of Turns in a Movement Phase, but no Player may move more Units than the least number of Units moved in a previous Turn in that Segment. This procedure continues until a Player takes option b. After he has received the baton from the Player taking option b, the next Player then starts either the Contested movement Segment or the Argument Phase depending on which Segment has just ended. Command phase Do not use a Command Phase if there are less than two Players per side. In other circumstances, the following rules apply: Both sides should have an equal number of commanders at the bottom of the chain of command. During this phase, the Umpire should allow a reasonable amount of time for both sides to take orders and plan their moves and Arguments during the command phase. There should be no such communications between Players during other phases. During the first command phase, a superior commander nominates which of his subordinates will be in command of Units or Formations under his direct command. The nomination remains in force until the Commander changes it during a subsequent Command Phase. Example If a Player divisional commander has two Player brigadiers under his command neither of which formally controls two batteries of divisional artillery, then he must nominate which of them will move both Units. The Units cannot be split amongst the subordinate Players and will be controlled by one of them until the divisional commander replaces him during the command phase. During the Movement and Argument phase, Players can only move Units they command directly. No other Player may move Units during the Movement Phase. This does not prevent Players making movement Arguments about any Formations or Units they wish during the Argument Phase. Example. The Units of a company Formation that are commanded by a major represented by a Player cannot be moved by his Colonel, or any other battalion also represented by a Player. Nor can another major move them or lower ranked Player on either side. Arguments can only be made by those Players at the lowest level of the command chain, but they can relate to any aspects of the battle whether related to the forces directly under their command or not. Commanders with Player subordinates may not make Arguments. Only their subordinates, at the bottom of the command chain, take part in the process of rotation of the Turn baton. Example: A Multi-player game has the following Players. Napoleon is in command of Marshal Ney and Marshal Grouchy. These commanders have threes subordinate Corps commanders each. Only the corps commanders would make arguments, only the corps commanders would physically move their own units during the movement phase. During the Argument phase, only the corps commanders would make Arguments. This will require Napoleon and his subordinates to work together effectively in order to utilise their Arguments to best effect. Movement Phase In the movement phase, both sides move Units. The resulting positions of Units can be subsequently altered by Arguments. Movements can include any direction and disposition changes, mounting and dismounting from animals or vehicles, launching boats or aircraft. How movements occur should be explained to the Umpire and opponents as they take place. Example: “This cavalry Formation changes from column to line by moving left, wheels to the right and moves up to the bank of the stream”. “My ships turn in succession and steam at full speed to this position”. Units must be physically capable of moving to their intended destinations by climbing, marching, driving, swimming or floating on or below the surface of water or flying. In some cases, this may be difficult (e.g. horses and riders swimming a deep, fast river) but it is allowed if it is physically possible. The consequences of difficult movement are a matter for Player Arguments. Movement may be contested or uncontested. The movement phase is divided into two segments: Segment 1: the Players, moving any Units in Turn, may make all uncontested movements. Segment 2: the Players, moving any Units in Turn, may make all contested moves. Uncontested movement Uncontested movement may be made by any Unit or Formation so that: The movement path of the Unit moving furthest is not longer than the Critical Distance. A Unit stops on reaching the edge of a transition to more difficult going for that Unit or a potential barrier (natural or man made) it was not in contact with at the end of its last movement segment. A Unit stops on reaching the boundary of any feature that prevents its line of sight extending to the end of a full Critical Distance move in the direction of travel. It stops at the point at which it reaches a Critical Distance from visible enemy Units capable of fighting. (Units that start the game with weapons are considered capable of fighting for this purpose.) Units fully or partially in contact with a barrier, terrain transition or line of sight blockage at the beginning of the movement segment are assumed to have already reached the terrain feature and are not restricted by it as a result. Contested movement After making all uncontested moves, the Players may continue in Turn to make contested moves with all their Units or Formations. The conditions for legal movement in the Uncontested movement segment apply for the Contested segment except for the following conditions: Any proposed move must be to a position that is fully visible to the Unit or Formation at the beginning of the Contested Movement Segment. Movement can be within the Critical Distance from enemy Units. A Unit may not be moved into physical contact with enemy Units during movement segments. In addition, a Player in direct command of any enemy fighting Units within the Critical Distance of the proposed movement path may have it stopped at any point along its path provided that one of the following conditions applies: The moving Unit moved at least half the full Critical Distance during the immediately preceding Uncontested Movement Segment. During the immediately preceding Uncontested Movement Segment, the Unit moved into contact with a terrain transition or barrier that would have prevented it moving the full Critical Distance had this been desired. The Umpire agrees that Contesting Units belonging to the other side could reach that point before the moving Unit if they chose to do so. More Table Top Matrix Games: Historical Miniatures Introduction Preparation: The Battle Arena and Critical Distance Scales Ground Formations and Units Players The Battle Rules Arguments and Results Players and Umpires Notes Back to Table of Contents -- Matrix Gamer #30 To Matrix Gamer List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 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