The Written Word vs. the Spoken Word: Part I

Guidelines for Dice Rolls

1. Before all die rolls, the player must clearly indicate to another player, or the umpire, what event the die roll applies to. Failure to indicate the event means the die roll is not counted. This rule is not based on the assumption that players are liars, but is based on courtesy toward the other players. Additionally, no extra die rolls or warm up rolls should be made during an event, as they accomplish nothing other than to distract the other players.

2. Only dice that stop on the table are counted. If rolling into a box or container, then only dice that land in the box or container are counted. Only the dice that miss the box or table are re-rolled and they cannot affect the results of the dice that were already rolled. All cocked dice are re-rolled. Casinos consider a die cocked unless one side rests solidly on the table surface.

3. If a player discovers that not enough dice were rolled, then the missing dice may be rolled as long as no other action has occurred that was based on the results of the short dice roll (for example, a morale test).

4. If a player discovers that too many dice were rolled, then the dice must be re-rolled unless all opposing players agree to accept the roll as made. In other words, it is the opposing players choice as to whether a re-roll should be made.

Guidelines for Distance & Line-of-Sight Disputes

Obviously, the umpire should try to carefully measure the distance & make a ruling for distance measurements. Rare situations, which are very close, can be resolved by one of two ways, depending on the rules being used.

1.Rules with sequential movement or which allow pre-measurement: Player who last moved his elements in dispute to its current position may declare his intent of being at the closer range or the more distant range.

2. Friendly roll of the dice: For line-of-sight disputes, a piece of string laid between the firer and the target will resolve many situations. Alternately, the umpire should lower his head to the playing surface level to view the situation. Sometimes, viewing the position from both directions helps and if a line-of-sight can be determined from at least one direction, then it exists for both directions. The umpire should keep in mind that line-of-sight is always reciprocal while spotting is not always reciprocal.

Hopes

While these guidelines have not covered all problems, I hope they will help in umpiring miniature events and wargames. If distributed wide enough they may even help raise the quality of umpiring. I believe the concept of categorizing rules problems is particularly helpful to establish set procedures for resolving them. One remaining issue, which I have not specifically tried to address, but is common in the local club, is the case where the umpire/rules author is also one of the participants. I also hope for that case, having written guidelines for the umpire, might reduce the number of ‘unfair’ cries from the opposing side.

Corollary to the Fundamental Principle:

If the rules allow players to profit from ridiculous actions or strategies, then it will only be a short while before a player adopts the ridiculous.