I need a reference for what is legal to measure and when.

I know you can't measure with the maneuver templates when deciding movement.

What about barrel roll? If you measure and can barrel roll do you have to? After measuring can you then change your action?

Same for target lock. Also what about measuring firing arcs?

The trouble we ran into was capt Jonus was the active ship measuring for a target lock

Could he also measure his range to the lamda shuttle to see if he was within range 1 so jendon could give him a target lock? Or would the shuttle have to measure that?

I guess what is considered cheating and what is stretching the rules?

Rule of thumb is you measure when you're told you need to.

So if an action requires a target be with in range 1 to X away, you can measure to that Target, and only to that Target to see if it's in range.

In the case of a barrel roll, I believe that if you measure and are allowed to do it, you are supposed to do it. In friendly games it's up to you both to decide how much you want to enforce that.

For some of it, it depends on if you want to play by the Tourney rules or not. In those it says that if you measure a TL you have to take it if able. But in the standard rules you don't, even if a ship is in range.

To the example you listed...

Jonus should either TL or not, and after you decide which then at the start of the combat phase you'd check to see if Jendon is in range or not.

Have a read through the FAQ it covers everything.

Q: At what times is a player allowed to measure range? A: A player may measure with the range ruler at the following times: •Before committing to an action that includes measuring range, such as acquiring a target lock. •As part of declaring the target of an attack, before committing to that target. •As part of resolving an effect that includes measuring range

COMPETITIVE Play addendum This section addresses advanced elements of the game that may be useful as a reference during tournament-level play. Action resolution Players are strongly encouraged to resolve actions in a speedy and sportsmanlike manner. However, if a player is concerned that his opponent is abusing the rules to gain an unfair advantage, he can request that his opponent follow the more strict action resolution described below. •When acquiring a target lock, the player must first declare the intended target. Then, he measures range to the declared target to see if the target is within legal range. If the target is in range, the ship performing the action must acquire a target lock on the target. If the target is not in range, the player may declare a different target, or he may declare a different action. •When performing a barrel roll action, the player must first declare from which side of the ship’s base the action will be performed. Then, he measures to see if the ship is able to perform a barrel roll action from any legal area on the declared side. If the ship can perform the barrel roll action, it must do so. If the ship cannot perform the barrel roll action, the player may declare a different side from which to perform a barrel roll, or he may declare a different action. •When performing a boost action, the player must declare which maneuver template to use. Then, he measures to see if the ship is able to perform a boost action with the declared template. If the ship can perform the boost action, it must do so. If the ship cannot perform the boost action, the player may declare a different maneuver template to use, or he may declare a different action

I believe that many of the restrictions on measuring, especially in a tournament setting, are there to speed up play. If there weren't you may be people measuring everything, twice, before doing anything which really slows play down. The only other minis games I have experience with are the WotC skirmish games and the frustration that can come in them when you have someone who spends all day counting squares to figure out exactly where everyone can go and then what they can see (to shoot at) when they get there.

We don't actually know the reason, and I think it's important not to apply one when we don't know. It's a short hop from "It's to speed up play" to "You can't stop me from measuring a target lock against every ship on the board as long as I do it quickly."

The phases tell you when you interact with a game template. It's assumption and out of the context of the rules to believe you are allowed to handle them outside of any instance not specifically referred to by the rules.

I prefer playing with the tournament rules for all actions, including the stricter ones for Barrel Rolls and Boosts.

We don't actually know the reason, and I think it's important not to apply one when we don't know. It's a short hop from "It's to speed up play" to "You can't stop me from measuring a target lock against every ship on the board as long as I do it quickly."

There were some concerns about players measuring their maneuvers using the range ruler as a proxy, eg range 2 is exactly the length of forward5 (or Uturn4 + small ship base)