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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