During a league game (today), one player (during movement phase) accidentally picked up his opponents dial and looked at it. They were both playing Imps and the ships were near each other.

The player that had his dial looked at was upset. It was a very close game and they were both pretty tense. I did a quick scan of the rules, FAQ, tournament rules and a Google search with no luck.

After a few minutes it was decided to have them continue on and try to be more careful. The player that looked ended up losing the match so there was no change in the outcome.

Are there any rules on this? Has anyone run into this problem?

Thanks in advance,

Harrald

There's not really a way to plan for that in the rules, to be honest. Accidents happen, and the people involved should be aware there is always an element of human error. If the player whose dial was looked at wants to raise issue with it, he/she can bring it up to a TO to see how they should handle it.

I suppose the brutal answer is that it shouldn't happen in the first place. All that needs to be done is for one or both player(s) to put his dials on his ship cards rather than on the table (which is what the Tournament Rules recommend under Mirror Matches) and this situation becomes impossible.

I have accidentally done this in casual games with a friend, but in my case it did not affect how I was going to run or how he was going to run.

Sounds like an unfortunate accident in a tight game, but in a tournament or league game, I would expect people to be more careful to insure that dials don't get mixed up. Since the guy who looked lost - sounds like everything worked out in the end and they should have a laugh over it.

I'd probably offer the player who had his dial looked one of two options: look at a dial belonging to the other player or change the maneuver that was looked at. Neither one is ideal, but they would seem to negate any competitive advantage that had been gained. Changing the dial might not do much good though, especially if he's near the edge and really has no other options.

look at a dial belonging to the other player or change the maneuver that was looked at.

That all depends on what's going on. That's why things like this are left to the TO sort out.

If the player that looked at the wrong dial was in a place where knowing that information could have an impact on the game then steps should be taken. But if not then no harm no foul.

For example, if having seen the dial player A knows where player B's ship will go, and then is able to barrel roll or boost into a spot where they have a shot and/or can't get shot. Then yes changing the dial may be the best idea.

But if there's no way to actually capitalize on it, because no ship can take advantage of it, then I just would do nothing.

I would make the guy that looked at the wrong dial take two crits on his ship... lol bet he doesn't do that again.. No seriously i am surprised I haven't done that!!! I Have placed the wrong dial on a ship.. big DOH...

Honestly, we've always been placing the dials on the ship cards. Got in the habit from the early swarm days where you'd sometimes have sixteen TIE dials on the board at one time.

Honestly, we've always been placing the dials on the ship cards. Got in the habit from the early swarm days where you'd sometimes have sixteen TIE dials on the board at one time.

When I TIE Swarm, I balance the dial on top of the model, like a hat.

Problem was....I was the person they called over to judge the infraction. I had never seen this happen before and I couldn't believe there was nothing written about it. At least it didn't effect the match.

When I played a swarm I would always play my dials on my cards. After a couple of tournaments at other stores, I stopped. I was amazed at how many people opposed this. Now I play my dials on the board.

Thanks for the responses.

To avoid it, you can always place your dial directly on the pilot card. No way to accidentally pick up the wrong dial. This keeps your opponent from looking at yours by mistake, or, imagine this little scenario.

You have two TIEs in very close proximity. You pick up Howlrunner's dial instead of Dark Curse, when you needed them to perform different moves. Uh-oh! If DC does that move, he'll crash into an asteroid and explode because he's got one hull left and you have terrible luck!

Had you placed DC's dial on his card, you'd not be in this situation. It's hard to determine which dial went to whom, because they both just say TIE Fighter on the front. Oh crap!

You have two TIEs in very close proximity. You pick up Howlrunner's dial instead of Dark Curse, when you needed them to perform different moves. Uh-oh! If DC does that move, he'll crash into an asteroid and explode because he's got one hull left and you have terrible luck!

Or just check the dials before you start flipping them over. This is one of the reasons we're allowed to do that.

Or just check the dials before you start flipping them over.

That's why I mark all my dials. Got some gold and sliver paint markers. Color the plastic connector gold for rebels and sliver for imperials, green for S&V. Makes it easy to tell which are mine.