Treadheads “Time & Action” system to determine activation in a future turn Right now I’m working on a basic version that is easier and more abstracted and a detailed version that uses historic weapons platform values. The goal is an interactive turn system using historical values for turret rotation, reloading and gunner aim time with variables for crew types, tactical advantage and environmental factors. The “Time & Action” to perform an activity plus any “Engagement Delay Time” will determine when in a future turn a unit can fire/move/activate. There is a small chance of a SNAFU. The only way to do this without extensive abstractions is to use turns that are one second in duration. It works out pretty well in play testing so don’t get hung up on it at this point. The player (acting as the tank commander) will choose different activities like moving and/or firing that will take a certain amount of time (turns) to perform before the action can take place or be activated. Hence the “Time & Action”. This system also has the benefit of effectively introducing the timing aspect between opponents rather than a chance to activate, die roll modifier or a player command interrupt. In the detailed version there are more player options and risk/reward trade offs that determine the time to perform an activity. This also increases the fog of war as your opponent does no know exactly what turn you will activate. I’m using the term activate because that’s what players are most familiar with. If a player decides on turn #12 to engage and fire at a target and it will take 7 turns he’ll activate/fire on turn #19. However from turn #12 to turn #18 the crew was performing the duties to get the shot off and the crew does not need to be ordered or activated every turn. During those turns the player does not have to do anything. We are not role playing each crew member or performing skill checks to see if each one was successful or screwed up. They do not need any further activation or orders. However, before firing if there is a more dangerous threat in his LOS he can break off that firing action and engage the new threat.

Engagement Play Aid: The front of the aid is oriented in the direction the turret is pointing, not the hull. The red line is a rubber band which is stretched in the direction of the target. The example shows 15 turns to rotate the turret. In the light blue and green arcs are the Unbuttoned / Buttoned Up Situational Awareness arc factors. When engaged the tank is blind in the rear 270 degree arc (light blue areas). The Engagement Delay = D20 die roll - Situational Awareness factor + modifiers. If result is <= 0 there is no delay. The delay is the number of game turns before the unit notices the threat in his LOS to start a “Time & Action” to respond by moving or firing.

The back side is used if players want more detail and modifiers. They are modifiers to the D20 roll and compared to the unbuttoned or buttoned up aspect factor to determine if there is an Engagement Delay. The front side at the bottom shows color coded terrain types and the maximum speed in kph allowed.

This is the basic version that does not use the Engagement Play Aid

Each tank is assigned an Engagement Speed factor based on the historical turret rotation speed. The Engagement Play Aid uses historic values for turret rotation and reload times. The basic version abstracts them. If engaging a target in your rear 180 degrees use 2x the value. The crew type factors takes into account aim and reload times. Turrets with a better layout and smaller rounds reload more quickly. Vehicles with better gun sights aim more quickly. Both are also determined by crew type. The increase for being buttoned up is determined by the quality and quantity of the cupola and viewing periscopes. The values are somewhat subjective but seem to work well in comparison to each other. If anything I think overall the delay is a little too much compared to historic accounts. There is a D6 die roll for the engagement and

first shot only. Follow-up shots use only the reload/aim time for the crew type. This system works easily and quickly with no need for over watch and opportunity fire rules. Players do not need to “interrupt” his opponents turn or randomly activate. A fog of war is naturally generated because players do not know the turn their opponent will activate/fire. The only record keeping is to write down the turn of action/activate and your target #. Rotate the turret to point at the target, that is important. Consecutive shots at the same target use the “Reload/Aim” values only as the shooter is already engaged and there is no delay or additional turret rotation.

Roll 1D6 + modifiers for engagement speed, buttoned up, crew type, movement and add to current game turn to determine future turn of activation.

If engaged in rear 180 of the current turret orientation use Engagement Speed x2 on 1st shot only Point turret at target when engaged. Engaged vehicles are blind in their rear 270 degree arc.

Panther Engagement Factors for 1st shot KV-1 Factors for 1st shot

Engagement Speed +3, Buttoned Up +3, RF +12 Engagement Speed +2, Buttoned Up +5

1st Shot Aim Time: Ace +3, Vet +4, Train +6, Green +9 1st Shot Aim Time: Ace +4, Vet +5, Train +7, Green +10

Reload/Aim Time: Ace +6, Vet +7, Train +9, Green +11 Reload/Aim Time: Ace +7, Vet +8, Train +10, Green +12

Panther move and/or fire options KV-1 move and/or fire options

Move and fire: D6 +3 Speed +3 Veteran Move and fire: +5 B/U delay + D6 +2 Speed +7 Trained

Move to face KV-1 and fire: Move +5 +D6 +3 Speed +3 Veteran

Move to face Panther and fire: +5 B/U delay + Move +5 + D6 +2 Speed +7 Trained

Halt & Fire: Move +3 +D6 +3 Speed +3 Veteran Static and Fire: +5 B/U delay + D6 +2 Speed +7 Trained

Panther consecutive shot factors KV-1 consecutive shot factors

Reload/Aim: Ace +6, Vet +7, Train +9, Green +11 Reload/Aim: Ace +7, Vet +8, Train +10, Green +12

Other options: +1 accuracy bonus for +1 turn spent aiming or a -1 accuracy for -1 turn spent aiming. Using a range finder is +12 turns but has a good accuracy bonus on the 1st shot only.

This is the detailed version using “Time & Action” and the Engagement Play Aid

The game uses the concept of “Situational Awareness” as an abstraction for 360 degree observing and reacting to threats in their LOS. Sectors are not “scanned” or specific searches made for specific vehicles. There is no spotting phase. Tank commanders are not assigned to specific sectors to search. There are no over watch order or rules. All units are assumed to be observing. Your best chance of responding to the enemy is in the direction your turret/gun is pointing (not the direction the hull points). Any enemy activity such as moving, firing or turret rotatoion that occurs in your LOS can be reacted to by a Situational Awareness Check which may or may not result in an engagement delay to move, fire or fire on the move. Pretty much any action or activity that occurred historically can be assigned a time value to carry out and impact engagement, moving or firing. Engagement speed to fire is mainly determined by any Engagement Delays from poor Situational Awareness (buttoned up, environmental, concealment, approached from flank or rear arcs) combined with weapons platform performance (turret rotation) and crew effectiveness. There are a few options for a risk/reward decision by the player that can enable him to engage more quickly with a decrease in accuracy (snap shot) or take more time to aim and get an accuracy bonus (better range estimation). Range finders increase accuracy but take a long time to use.

In this example I’ll be breaking it down into detail of all of the actions which occur which will make it seem like it takes longer than it really does. Once I do a video and show the different options it will make more sense. We’ll start at turn #10. Vehicles with a movement marker (green arrow on the Panther) are moved every 5 turns. The KV-1 is static and the tank commander is buttoned up. Situational Awareness assumes the tank is observing in 360 degrees with the best chane of respond quickest is to his front. The moving Panther has the same ability. Using the Situational Awareness Check rules eliminates the need for special over watch and opportunity fire rules. Determining the amount of engagement delay + time to perform an action/activate in a future turn eliminates the need for activation’s, phased turns, interrupts or IGOUGO turn sequences. Moving units are physically moved every 5 turns. The Panther will now move for turns #11 to 15.

We are now at turn #15 the Panther has finished movement and both tanks come into LOS and they

both perform a Situational Awareness Check. There is no die roll, skill check or activation needed to

perform the check. All units are assumed to be observing in 360 degrees with the frontal arc having the

most attention and least chance of an Engagement Delay. The Situational Awareness Check will

determine if they become aware of the enemy right away and can take action or if there is an

Engagement Delay which is normally from being flanked buttoned up or poor crew experience. The

Situational Awareness Check replaces over watch and opportunity fire rules and helps determine when

in a future a unit will activate or shoot.

Delays are deadly. Unit activation/shooting in a future turn is determined by the amount of Engagement

Delay plus the “Time & Action” of how long it takes to perform actions the player has chosen which is

normally moving, evading or engaging and firing. That will be covered in detail next.

The Russian player places the Engagement Play Aid over the KV-1 orienting it in the direction the turret is pointing and stretches the red rubber band in the direction of the target. The result of the KV-1 Situational Awareness Check on turn #15 is that the target is in his frontal flank arc with a factor of 12 for being unbuttoned and a 4 for being buttoned up. If he decides to engage it will take 3 turns to rotate his turret to get his gun on the target. This play aid enables the Treadheads system to accurately portray historic turret rotation rates without abstraction or math calculations. It also shows the Situational Awareness arc values. The buttoned up and unbuttoned factors in the six different viewing arcs are customized for each vehicle. The buttoned up values reflect the quality and quantity of external viewing devices, periscopes and cupolas. It is also used to determine the horizontal angle to the target to determine which targeting aspect and armor value should be used. It’s important to remember that when engaged and firing at a target the tank is blind in the rear 270 degrees (light blue arcs). This means that while engaged and firing at a target he can only respond to change targets to threats in the front 90 degree viewing aspect. This eliminates the chance of your unit sneaking up on an opponent’s rear and gaining a clear tactical advantage to get off the first shot only to have the defender magically “activate” and gets the first shot off at you.

Because the KV-1 is buttoned up and the Panther approached from a frontal flank aspect the KV-1 will have a 6 turn delay in engaging the Panther. Since it is turn #15 he will not be able to respond to the Panther until turn #21. So what is happening is the Panther has 6 turns to maneuver or engage without the KV-1 responding. If the D20 die roll was <= 4 there would have been no delay. The delay is an abstraction of the tank commander not observing in the exact area of the threat when it appears. In this case he could have been looking in his 90 degree left area, looking at a map, talking to a crewman, etc. In this example when the Panther came into his LOS he did not notice it for 6 turns because he was not looking in the right area. You can see why being unbuttoned is much more effective. If the Panther was in the KV-1 frontal arc the factor is a 5 so there is a 5 turn engagement delay with a roll of 10 on the D20 and no delay if <= 5. If the KV-1 were unbuttoned the factor is a 12 which is more than the 10 that was rolled so there would have been no engagement delay if the KV-1 commander was unbuttoned. The biggest reason for an engagement delay is from being buttoned up. The second biggest reason is by having the enemy approach on your flanks and rear. The third biggest reason is that poor crews will have an additional modifier for taking longer to respond.

The Panther has other options: * continue to move straight and fire on the move (no turning allowed when firing on the move) * move and evade and not fire (evading vehicles cannot fire) making him a harder target to hit * halt, rotate the turret, aim and fire * move and turn facing the KV-1, rotate the turret (1 turn rather than 5), aim and fire * halt and backup to get out of LOS with the option to rotate the turret towards the target and fire while moving in reverse or engage later The game system allows the player to perform any activity or option that the Panther would have in a real engagement. It is just a matter of figuring the “Time & Action” to determine the future turn to activate/fire/move. BOTH players are determining the Time & Action to activate in a later turn at the same time and do not hold up the game for other players. Since neither player knows the decisions of his opponent a fog of war is created and the player’s decisions directly affect the outcome. When the turn to activate/fire comes there is a 5%-10% for a SNAFU that can delay this shot or a future one, the accuracy of the shot, misfire or a jam. It can also mean a roll on the mechanical breakdown chart. Nothing is 100% guaranteed nor is it completely left to chance. The step to perform the Situational Awareness Check for the initial engagement is the most time consuming and only done when engaging a new target. IT IS NOT DONE EVERY TURN! Follow-up and consecutive shots at the same target use a “Time & Action” reload/aim time determined by crew type with no die roll or modifications. Moving and firing and firing at a moving target does have an additional accuracy modifier.

The KV-1 is at a disadvantage at this point as he does not really notice the Panther until turn #21 because of the 6 turn Engagement Delay from being buttoned up. Determining if there is an engagement delay is essential to determine the timing between units. The delay is somewhat of an abstraction as the player does not control exactly when the tank commander is doing on a turn to turn basis. A delay could mean he was observing in a different direction, communicating with other crew members, etc.

This example of the Engagement Delay goes to the heart of how the system differs from all other games and how better tactics, crews and weapons platform performance really effects combat. It’s mainly about gaining an advantage in time to get the first shot off or maneuver out of the enemy LOS. Randomness and chance play only a small part. When turn #21 comes the KV-1 will be responding to where the Panther is at that time, not where it is on turn #15. Remember, because of the delay the KV-1 does not see the Panther right now. The Engagement Delay rule allows maneuvering units to gain a timing advantage to get into a better firing position and get off the first shot. While things like light mortars and small arms fire will not harm an armored vehicle it can force them to button up giving their maneuvering vehicles the precious seconds needed to gain a tactical advantage. The player has control over the tank commander status and losing him is a severe Situational Awareness penalty.

The Panther has come to a halt at the end of turn #20 and removed his movement arrow since he is now static. Looking on the Panther Engagement Play Aid you’ll see he only needs 1 turn of turret rotation to engage the KV-1. This is better than the 5 turns on turn #15 but he spent 8 turns maneuvering and halting. There are tradeoffs. On turn #21 the KV-1 has noticed the Panther and decides to remain static, rotate his turret, aim and fire. The KV-1 will fire first on turn #25 and if the Panther is still operational he can fire back on turn #28. At this point the KV-1 has several options: * Move and attempt to get out of LOS behind the woods * Move towards the Panther and fire on the move with an accuracy penalty * Stay in place, rotate turret, aim and fire * Start moving and evading to be a harder target to hit but not able to fire or get out of LOS * Pivot and face the Panther, rotate turret (one turn rather than three), aim and fire Any follow-up shots at the same target are determined by the reload/aim time. There is no need to perform a Situational Awareness Check unless you want to attempt to engage a new target. A typical aim/reload time may be 7 turns with an accuracy penalty, 8 turns with no penalty and 9 turns with an accuracy bonus. Your decision is unknown to your opponent.

Summary So lets do a recap of what happened and see if we can simplify it. It’s really a matter of adding up the action times like you would die roll modifiers. The Panther and KV-1 come into LOS on turn #15. When the moving Panther takes his Situational Awareness Check which results in no delay the player decides to spend 5 turns maneuvering and face the KV-1 so he places his movement arrow to show a turn. On turn #20 the vehicle is actually moved (movement is every 5 turns). His “Time & Action” to shoot from turn #20 is 3 turns to halt, 1 turn to get the turret on target and 4 turns aiming no no accuracy penalty or bonus. That’s a total of 8 turns added to turn #20 means he’ll fire at the KV-1 on turn #28. The Panther player writes down turn #28 to fire. The only thing to do now is wait for turn #28 or respond to a new threat. Now lets see what the KV-1 player needs to do. On turn #15 he performs a Situational Awareness Check resulting in a 6 turn delay and cannot respond until turn #21 which is when he actually notices the Panther. By turn #21 he notices the Panther has maneuvered and is facing directly at him. He wants to engage right away and will take 3 turns to get the turret on target. However, seeing the Panther is in a better tactical situation needing only 1 turn of turret rotation he decides to attempt a snap shot using only 1 turn of aim time (aim time is a variable risk/reward decision) and decreasing his accuracy, it’s a chance he feels he needs to take. So from turn #21 we have a 3 turn turret rotation and 1 turn aim time for a total of 4 turns means he’ll fire on turn #25 and beat the Panther to the punch. Since he performed a snap shot with minimum aim time he may miss and the Panther gets his shot off 3 turns later. If the KV-1 had decided on 4 turns of aim time the shots would have been simultaneous on turn #28. Players decisions are crucial but neither player knows of engagement delays or aim times of their opponent. An alternative choice for the Panther would have been to take 3 turns to stop, 5 turns to rotate the turret onto the target and 4 turns to aim firing on turn #27 but exposing his flank. The KV-1 still gets his shot off first. The Panther loses because of the slower turret rotation and stopping to fire. The KV-1 players decision to take a chance with a snap shot is the determining factor for him. The KV-1 also has an advantage being static and observing. All of the above could have been determined by both players on turn #15 and shots taken on turn #25 and #28. Once players get the hang of it the time spent on a sample turn like this is less than a minute and it does not hold up play. Between turn #15 and the turn of firing both tanks are performing activity but there is nothing else the player needs to do except wait. However, if a new threat does show itself you can perform a Situational Awareness Check to respond and cancel your existing order. Keep in mind once you decide to engage a target you are blind in the 270 degree rear area. Since there is no orders phase as soon as one action is performed the player IMMEDIATELY starts to determine his “Time & Action” for his next one. If the KV-1 misses on turn #25 he can decide to reload and fire again or move/evade. The minimum reload and aim time for the KV-1 is 6 turns and he’s pretty sure the Panther will fire before that so he can decide to move making him a harder target to hit. The KV-1 has a Trained crew and has a 4 turn delay for the driver to get started and move out so he’ll be stationery until turn #29 when he’ll place a movement marker/arrow and will be considered a moving target. When the Panther fires on turn #28 the KV-1 will still be a static target. It’s actually a simple and intuitive way to figure out what will happen and when with very few exceptions or special rules.

When performing the Situational Awareness Checks players should not disclose the D20 die roll and any engagement delay or their aim time. This creates a realistic fog of war and during play testing has forced players to shoot with less aim time and miss close shots. Seconds really do count and delays are deadly. players have some decision in their fate so choose wisely.

Pros and Cons of the Treadheads system (and some ramblings)

I feel the biggest advantage is that there is more player interaction and after the players get the hang of how the game works it is easier than traditional IGOUGO and random activation games. Why? Because most games end up having special rules for things like opportunity fire, over watch, defensive fire, command points, order phase, turn interrupts, skill checks, IF-THEN-ELSE exceptions, etc. Treadheads uses “Time & Action” to determine how long an action may take before the unit “activates” by moving or firing. It can be applied to any historical or fictional action. This allows every unit/vehicle on the board to interact with each other without the need for artificial turn or activation constraints. As the umpire or other player calls out the current turn number any unit scheduled to activate on that turn does so. It does create suspense as players do not know exactly when their enemy will activate when each turn is called out. One of the unique features of the game is that it can simulate the timing of an event. This is much different than the “chance” of an event happening or a player triggering an event with some type of a command interrupt or skill check. Once the player understands the “Time & Action” concept of his decisions he’ll see the timing aspects of other units around him and get a better understanding as to what is happening on the battlefield and can somewhat predict other actions that will influence his decisions. In most traditional games the player is more of a spectator waiting for random activation’s and actions to take place before he can respond to players that have moved before him. When something conflicting comes up or a player wants to perform some activity that may not be included in the game the players can work out the Time & Action for it and what effect it may have on shooting, observing or moving. Players are free to create other actions they may come across in historical accounts or create their own historical or “what-if” vehicles. The Treadheads system is not as random or chaotic as some players would prefer but neither is it entirely predictable. Including different crew training types and other Situational Awareness modifiers makes it even less predictable. It’s pretty easy to introduce new players. At conventions I give a 10 minute intro about the concepts, what will be expected of the players and a sample turn and then we get started with the game. No one reads rules because it is generally a waste of time. I’ve had new players command up to 12 tanks and there is no waiting around for your turn or to be activated by drawing dice or cards. We’ve had up to 9 players each commanding two vehicles or combination of infantry squad or vehicle. A new player can easily command four tanks. The infantry rules are even more simplified. To be successful in the game you need to apply real life tactics. This is accomplished by thinking and acting as a tank commander and performing common sense tasks. Point your gun in the expected direction of the enemy so you can engage without delay. Cover gaps so they cannot maneuver on your flanks. Shoot and move. While moving you’ll be reloading. When reloaded halt and fire and move out again. Be unbuttoned when you can. Use reverse slope/shoot and scoot strategy. If cover is dense

enough you may be able to move from cover to cover before the enemy can engage and shoot. This is particularly effective against vehicles with slow turret rotation and/or buttoned up tank commanders. In multi-player games you may have a turn where 2-4 tanks or guns are firing. There is no need to wait for each one to finish so all players can perform their firing at the same time speeding up the game. In almost all cases a player can perform the same actions as their real life counterparts. It’s just a matter of figuring the “Time & Action” to perform the activity and how it will impact movement or accuracy. This is much different than a chance to activate or a random activation mechanic. A hidden/concealed unit that cannot be spotted until it fires can trigger an ambush. After conducting your Situational Awareness Check and it comes to your turn to fire you can withhold firing by writing a “T” for tracking for your turn of firing. Now you can fire in any future turn with no additional delay. That means you can acquire a target at a longer range and track it waiting until it gets closer. You can also wait for a moving target to halt or turn and present its flank armor before you fire with no delay. However, if it moves out of your LOS or gun arc before you fire you lose him. Movement: Any time a unit wants to move he just places a movement marker/arrow with his speed in the direction he desires to move. The detailed rules have a short driver order delay to simulate how difficult it is to get some tanks into gear and start from a standing stop. The Engagement Play Aid has the Driver Order Delay factors. Evading units place an evade marker in addition to a movement arrow. Evading units are harder to hit but cannot fire any of their weapons. You can fire on the move but accumulate aim time only when moving straight. Once the movement marker is placed the vehicle is considered a moving target for all future turns even if it has not physically moved yet. All units with a movement marker are moved every 5 or 10 turns (depends on scale and terrain density). By having a mutual movement phase it speeds up the game immensely, especially in multi-player games. Players must move in the general direction of their movement arrow and can change the direction after moving. If no units are activated or firing in the next 5 turns we go right to the next movement phase again. This speeds up the game too. Players have more latitude in maneuvering and positioning their units to gain advantages. If you come up behind an enemy unit he can’t “magically” activate and shoot you right away. You can use almost any to hit or gunnery system from other games you want. Using variable aim time can be a an additional die roll modifier. The system creates a natural fog of war between the players and the players are always confronted with a risk/reward decision regarding aim time or to move/evade or fire. They make the same decisions as real tank commanders with the same ramifications. The example used is for when units first engage each other and handles reaction/opportunity fire. After the first shot the only thing the player needs to do is choose his reload/aim time or choose to engage a new target. You do not need to reacquire the same target every turn but you will lose him if he moves out of your LOS. This means no time spent deciding what units will activate in a given turn. Once units become engaged and start exchanging shots the action moves even quicker and just a few turns firing or engaging can mean all of the difference in being successful.

I’ve read WWII after action reports where a single tank effectively engaged 3-4 targets in a 60 second period of time. That is almost impossible to recreate in most game systems because of abstractions needed for turn lengths, limited activation’s and rate of fire (some can do it with variable turn lengths and passing skill checks). Because Treadheads uses game time as a second/turn it can recreate the timing needed to engage multiple targets limited only by the tanks turret rotation rate, rate of fire and crew expertise. At close ranges the player can use less aim time to reflect a slightly higher rate of fire as even with an accuracy penalty the chances of a hit are good. The Engagement Play Aids are tailored for each specific vehicle and uses historic turret rotation speed without any abstractions or calculations from the player. The Situational Awareness factors reflect the quality and quantity of periscopes and coupola view ratings and are somewhat subjective since you cannot determine exactly what a tank commander is doing or the direction he is looking on a turn to turn basis. The backside of the Engagement Play Aid has additional environmental, crew and weapon platform modifiers if you want to go into more detail. Everything is set up for Veteran crews so if everyone is Veteran there are fewer modifiers to worry about. The system does not role play each member of the crew. Crews are assigned a single rating (Ace, Veteran, Trained, Green) but if the player desires each crew member can be given a different rating. Tank commanders affect Situational Awareness Checks, Loaders affect reload times, Gunners affect accuracy modifiers. SNAFU Checks can affect any crew member. So what are the challenges for new players? Probably the biggest challenge is that it is a system most players have never seen before. Some people have a hard time wrapping their head around the “Time & Action” concept and Engagement Delays. Most new players will sit and wait for their “turn” after performing an action and I need to remind them to “Think like a tank commander” and decide on your next action and what turn it will occur. The basic version of rules is easier for players to start with because it is

more traditional based on die rolls.

The game is not designed to re-fight battalion and larger engagements. Most games are going to need a table at least 6 feet long. However, you could do a squad versus squad on a 3x3 foot table in 28mm. Playing the game in 28mm with tank and infantry in an urban environment is a little more difficult but we have done it and had fun. I think for some people it takes awhile to understand that they are going to plan an action that will “activate” in a future turn and they have some options about how and when the action will occur. Players seem to be used to being constrained by an IGOUGO turn sequence or waiting to be randomly “activated” and then make their decisions at that time as there is very little planning ahead. With some games you can walk away for 15-20 minutes and not miss any action with your units because there is nothing you can do until your turn comes around. With Treadheads you need to pay attention all of the time because the action is almost in real time and you can attempt to respond to any enemy activity, movement, fire, turret rotation, etc in your LOS at any time. Initially players can be a little confused about “turns” as they may not be shooting and action every turn unless it is time for a unit or vehicle to shoot/activate. When a turn comes and goes and they didn’t fire they think they missed something. Normally tanks and guns will fire at about their historical rate which means 4-6 rounds per 60 turns. Most turns during the game units will not be activated to fire or move so we move on to the next turn until it is time to move. During any one 5 second turn increment normally no more than 25% of the units on the playing surface will be firing. With multi-player games sometimes they can all conduct their firing together.

Some people look at the level of detail and automatically assume it is “too complicated” and have a hard time relating to it. However, guys that have been tank crewman pick up right away because all of the actions you perform are exactly what a real crew performs and they can visualize that in a game. They can relate to the “Time & Action” to engage a target, aim and fire. Just because there is no shooting or moving during a turn does not mean there is no crew activity. Vehicles with a movement arrow are assumed to be moving. A tank shooting/activating in a later turn is actually performing the activities like range estimation, turret rotation and aiming that the player figured for his “Time & Action” after his previous action. All units and vehicles are performing the activity that leads up to the activation turn or observing (Situational Awareness) to respond to a threat. I’m developing the game with different levels of play. Adding detail is mostly about adding additional modifiers and action options for Situational Awareness and shooting. Since each Engagement Play Aid is tailored for a specific vehicle most of what you’ll need to conduct Situational Awareness Checks, move and fire will be in the plam of your hand and not on some other chart you need to locate and check.

The bottom line – playability versus realism Personally I do not like to use the word realism to describe any war game because none of them are real. I’d rather describe the game in terms of the player experience, expectations and results which are ultimately subjective to the individual. Treadheads has the player involved in decision making based on historical weapons platform performance, tactical advantage and crew expertise rather than structured or randomized game mechanics. There is also more interaction between players and less dead time. Replacing randomized activation’s and IGOUGO with a somewhat predictable “Time & Action” system is more intuitive for players and gives some (but not exact) prediction to actions on the battlefield. It attempts to balance the chaos and predictability and give the player a hand in his own fate. If you feel the battlefield is mostly chaos and players should have very little control over what is happening and most actions are left to chance Treadheads will not give you those results or that experience. I do have a SNAFU Chart that can give results like system breakdowns and crew mistakes resulting in delays or accuracy modifiers. With Treadheads there is not a 100% chance an action will occur when the turn comes to activate but it is mostly predictably within limits. Something can always go wrong and normally at the worst possible time. Most players are going to have questions about scale. In games with micro armor or 10mm I find 1” on the table equals 20 or 25 meters. For 15mm scale 1” = 10-15 meters and larger scales would be 1” = 5 meters. A vehicle moving at 20kph is going to move about 30 meters in a 5 second turn. On larger tables and sparse terrain we can perform movement every 10 turns and not have it get out of sync with moving and firing. From my viewpoint war games have evolved from the old IGOUO turn sequence to a randomized and somewhat reactive turn sequence and activation with more player interaction. That is a positive step away from most IGOUGO games. While these new activation systems using cards and command dice are more unpredictable than IGUGO the player still seems more focused on artificial game activation mechanics than decision making and historic weapons platform performance (my opinion). I’ve attended games and conventions where players get immense enjoyment from rolling command dice and determining if Private Snuffy Smith gets activated or not. Many players like the suspense of which card or command dice will be drawn having no idea who will get to move next. Some like the idea a turn can magically end and someone may not get to activate for the turn. Enjoyment and suspense are good! Too much prediction is bad. In Treadheads I’ve taken an entirely different approach as to when units will perform an action to balance prediction and chaos. It is somewhat randomized but more dependent on where the player points his gun, tank

commander exposure and the weapon platform performance and features. Chance plays only a small part and a player’s choices and decisions can be the determining factor. Treadheads enables better crews in an inferior vehicle to out fight a better vehicle with a poor crew. It’s not because of an arbitrary factor or die roll modifier. It is because their situational awareness, reaction time and crew performance is better. That is because using the one second turns to determine “Time & Action” better crews have less of a delay and can accomplish more in the same amount of time. This is similar to getting inside the enemies “Decision Loop”. With all things being equal good crews can accomplish more in the same amount of time than poor crews. The experience Treadheads can give is allowing the player to command up to a reinforced company sized element of 12 vehicles (yes, really) while playing the role of the tank commander to engage and fire at targets. Rather than artificial activation or IGOUGO turns each player concentrates on determining the “Time & Action” for shooting and moving to determine when the action activates in a future turn unknown to your opponent. This is limited by the historical weapons platform performance, crew training/expertise and his risk/reward decision influenced by one die roll to somewhat randomize it. Players create the fog of war by their actions and decisions, not a random card or dice draw. With many games it is mostly (but not always) left to chance and chaos as to when you shoot or get shot at. In Treadheads when you square off against an opponent in a 1:1 shootout you can attempt to outguess your opponent and force him to make mistakes. You can even look across the table and attempt to psyche him out. Chance plays only a small part. Good tactical deployment and maneuvering on your opponents flanks will give you the first shot. Good tactics and better weapon platform performance is not left to chance. There are rules for infantry small arms fire and hand held anti-tank fire that integrate with this system. Engagement Delays in the fire team to engaging the enemy are caused from suppression and will decrease their effectiveness and allow enemy units to move under fire more effectively. Increased aim time for hand held anti-tank weapons will increase accuracy but also increase exposure to defensive fire. Sometimes a snap shot is your only option. Small arms fire is determine by the volume delivered over a 5 or 10 turn segment, not on a figure to figure basis. This speeds up the game and the causality charts are designed to reflect suppression and causalities with a single die roll. For the last two years this system has been continually revised and streamlined to make the rules intuitive as much as possible to the player. The Engagement Play Aid has helped a lot. I’ve received some of the best changes from players with no historical gaming experience. At Pacificon last year the best player was a 14 year old with no WWII gaming experience. He beat the pants off war game vets with 20+ years of experience. The player experience and decisions in Treadheads is completely different from any other game I’m familiar with. Treadheads has the player issuing the same orders a tank commander would. The success and quickness of those orders being carried out (time to perform an action) is determined by the tank commander, crew, tactics and weapons platform performance. However, the overriding factor is the decision the player makes and the amount of risk he is willing to take. The player concentrates on decisions and their variations and the amount of time to perform them. These are real things you can find in the manuals. Traditional games have the player dealing with abstractions, artificial mechanics and activation’s in an attempt to get some interaction between the opponents. In most game units are normally assigned non-historical combat factors because it is unrealistic to use historical values. However, there are designers that have developed enjoyable games that recreate believable outcomes. By playing the Treadheads system you’ll have opposing units interacting, moving and shooting within seconds (game turns not real time) of each other. It’s not unusual to get a killing shot off 1-2 seconds before your opponent; shooting can sometimes be simultaneous without any additional game rules or mechanics. Fast moving units will move into and out of LOS before you can get a shot off. If you trade speed for decreased accuracy and miss you may not get off a second shot. Very little will be left to chance and your decision will decide your fate. If you like that type of result and experience Treadheads may be for you.