It was my first Franco-Prussian game so my enthusiasm could be to blame for my perceived transgression. The battle was being fought at Keith's house as part of the regular or semi-regular Thursday night games. Keith's prolific painting skills and bachelor status gave the group both the means and the place to wage battles in many time periods. Most scenarios tended to be of the "line-'em up and go" variety and the guys were about as friendly a bunch of wargamers as any that can be found. Emphasis was on good times with few temper tantrums and few egos. Perhaps that's what made what happen so disconcerting.

I was excited and having read a little on the Franco-Prussian war, I knew that as the French player, I had to mow down the Prussians before they could close on me. This night my opponent was Jim, a amiable sort of guy who was famous for one thing- at- tacking. No matter what time period or what army he plays, he always strikes quickly and ferociously. So it was in the first turn that his Prussians shook themselves out of their march columns and launched themselves towards my carefully positioned French. As soon as I saw Jim take his hands off his troops, I begin to measure the range to his lead elements so I could begin my artillery bombardment. " You can't do that," Jim said. "What ?" I asked my tape measure frozen in my hands. "You can't premeasure" he continued. I was shocked, stunned, Jim thought I was violating one of the codes of wargaming. "But I'm not" I protested, "I am getting ready to fire." "But I'm not through" and he indicated another battalion of troops close to the wood line that he had not yet deployed. In my haste to blunt Jim's attack, I had not even noticed that he was still moving! I quickly explained my error and apologized. I would rather lose any game than be accused of cheating (losing is not a big deal when you've done it as open as I have.) I will take back any move that another player finds questionable and I am always willing to compromise on a disputed rules question. Jim quickly forgave the mistake and continued his move, however, the incident gave me cause to reflect and wonder, exactly what is "premeasuring" and why is it such a repugnant act?

I define premeasuring as the determining of the distance from a unit to a potential target or other decision point using some type of measuring device (e.g., ruler, caliper, etc.) in order to decide on a course of action, without committing to that course of ac- tion. Premeasuring most open becomes an issue during charges. A player might be tempted to measure the distance a unit can travel in a charge before committing to a charge. The unit might not have enough movement to complete the charge and find itself trapped in the open before the enemy's guns but through premeasuring, the player can avoid that fate. There in lies the rub and the reason that premeasuring is so repug- nant: because it smacks of cheating or at least of unsportsmanlike conduct. If a com- mander commits a blunder he should have to pay for it, for, you see, the enemy is hop- ing that you do miscalculate! By premeasuring, you deny him the ability to punish you for a gross mistake. Other examples where premeasuring is also a issue is in rules sets where the first volley is all important (after all, you don't want to waste that bonus at a less than optimum distance) or when trying to determine what formation to be in when receiving a charge. Basically, premeasuring is any time a player measures the exact distance in order to gain some kind of an advantage over an opponent that could be considered unfair.

So what can a general do instead of premeasuring? Well, one technique is to learn to gauge distances by sight alone. That's what real soldiers do. Generals and privates alike have been taught to gauge distances by mental comparing them to objects Whose measured distances they are familiar with, for example, football fields. The soldier "guesstimates" how many football fields he can put into the area he is try to judge. He now has an approximation of how many yards are in the distance he is trying to measure and, with a further stretch, the approximate (but less accurate) number of me- ters. Try setting out a ruler and practice identifying 6 inches, or the effective range for the primary weapons of your favorite rule set. Is this cheating? I don't think so, you are just doing what's best for your troops (albeit, tiny little troops). Just as you prac- tice batting with a machine before a ball game, you can practice range estimation before a wargame. Just don't do it on the same table that the game is set up on - that would give you terrain and ground clues that would tell you the exact distances.

Is premeasuring ever acceptable? In my opinion, yes. Some rules sets actually encourage premeasuring, perhaps as a way of rebelling against the taboo. I think that modern games should definitely allow premeasuring. Today's maps and the invention of both global positioning systems and laser range finders have taken a lot of the guesstimation out of range estimation. Even third world armies have laser range finders available to them in one form or another. If one side is on the defense, they will have established Target Reference Points (TRPs) - an emplaced object or recognizable landmark that will be visible to the firers even through night vision devices. Even 19th century armies can count on some form of premeasuring when on the defense. If one side is entrenched, then they can place range markers or establish distances to a certain hill or tree line. In meeting engagements or hasty defenses, the umpire should not be as generous.

Premeasuring is only a taboo when a gamer forgets that in a game, every one de- serves a sporting chance and that a sense of fair play goes a long way.