Art De La Guerre

[KevinD]

Not a question but a suggestion. One step that often delays the game is choosing which order to dice for commands. You often need to make sure you move troops in command A before moving command B. For example, troops in A will cut a ZOC so troops in B can do something. Or you want to coordinate Command A hitting the enemy in the flank after those in B hit the other flank. Or you just want to know how changes and evades in a command B will work (will the enemy evade, roll long, etc.). Or command B has to charge enemy skirmishers first so Command A’s impetuous troops don’t have to spend 3 CPs to do anything other than charge. . (In addition to the historically absurdly close cooperation between units in different commands.) Working all of this out before rolling a single die just wastes time. Further it is often futile anyway because the situation changes by the time that command moves anyway and you just have to plot the hole thing over when you finally see the command roll. A rule where a player has to activate commands from right to left (going by the position of the general’s marker, closest to the enemy’s table edge if there’s a tie left to right) would get rid off all this need to plot out the turn before you roll a single die. When your turn starts you just the roll the die for your right most command.

(There is an issue with unreliable allies and flank marching or ambushing commands. I would allow the 2 CPs for a +1 to activate an unreliable to be applied to that leaders’ next roll, regardless of whether that’s this turn or next. Unrevealed ambushes and flank marchers who have not yet entered the table are rolled for first, then go right to left for those on table.)

(The reason to start on the right is because this was generally seen as the more prestigious flank and that’s a simple enough rationale.)

[madaxeman]

I suspect the type of player who agonises over the decision as to which command to roll for first long enough to create a meaningful delay in what is usually a 7ish turn game will also always find enough other decisions to agonise over to slow the game far more in other ways too ..

For the rest of us, it’s not anywhere near significant. 
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www.madaxeman.com

[Ramses II]

You could always try my alternative to dice using cards. Take three decks of identical cards, extract ace to 6 of all the cards, split those into red and black packs giving 36 cards per person.
Whenever a player would normally throw dice instead they draw a card from their deck. The resulting play is faster for various reasons but just try it. There are one or two drawbacks which are minor, but which have caused others to avoid this particular approach.

[lionelrus]

[Hazelbark]

This doesn't help.
I would say to the people who don't get 7-turns done, learn to speed up.

I would add, I have witnessed or as umpire put notoriously slow players on blitz, their game improves and they usually win.

The constant calculation of optimum moves creates analysis paralysis.

My favorite story i think this was a v3 comp. I had my opponent cold. Next move i had his camp which would break his army. He was spending a huge amount of time trying to figure out what to do. I exasperated squawked "You will break next turn the only thing you can do is try to take me with you. Just do ANYTHING!" So he charged along the line at sub optimal odds. The dice were with him and only his last roll failed and i ended one away from breaking. Had that move been done 2 turns earlier the odds were not nearly in my favor and less luck and i would have likely lost the game.

Two pieces of advice:

No Captain can fail in his duty by putting his ship alongside the enemy and exchanging fire.

The fault is not in the order of movement it is in ourselves. Just move.

[MarkK]

Or perhaps we could simply let people play the game they want to play and enjoy it, rather than trying to impose our own preferred way of playing on everyone else.

Sometimes, quite often in fact, a game presents you with several viable options, each requiring you to weigh up the risks and rewards before making a decision. That is surely part of what makes a wargame enjoyable. The last thing you need is someone sitting on the other side of the table tutting impatiently because you are taking the time to consider your options.

I’m sure we have all encountered opponents who, once they realise you have the better of them, suddenly discover an urgent need to take a ‘fag’ break, consult the rules for the hundredth time, or otherwise find ways of running down the clock. If we’re going to talk about sportsmanship and how people should play, perhaps that sort of behaviour is a better place to start than criticising someone for actually thinking about their moves.

[madaxeman]