This game interests me a lot. It seems to have a much tighter ruleset than many other miniatures tabletop games which is something I like. While I think the minis don't look as epic as Warhammer or Warmachine units they aren't bad either.

One thing that I have been wondering though is the movement system. I'm sure this has been discussed before but the search didn't work so sorry if I'm beating a dead horse.

This movement system is very smartly designed in my opinion and in a game like X-Wing it makes a lot of sense in a dogfight that movement is a bit fast and thus rigid. It also makes sense in a fleet combat system like Armada since those ships are not very agile and have a lot of momentum.

I understand the File and Rank combat is also somewhat rigid, you are moving a bunch of guys as one unit and they will never be as agile and quick to react as individual combatants. But I saw one combat and the guys where running circles around each others, not being able to charge the flank of the enemy, kind of like a dog trying to bite its own tail. Those where beginners and they were still having fun so there is that.

I understand a part of the game is anticipating what your opponent will do and I like that, but I'm worried that in some cases it will devolve into silliness. Do you feel like that is a problem in the game?

I have never seen it devolve into silliness, and rather like how it keeps the flow of the game intact, opposed to say Armada where it can trip players by creating more decision points.

I can see something like this happening in your first couple games. I kept running my Oathsworn into terrain. Thus taking them out of the fight for half the game.

But not anymore! I've learned to gauge the distance better, plan my moves more effectively. It adds another level of decision. The movement system is one of the factors that sold me on the game.

it also gives more uniqueness to the units having different movement capabilities.

Yeah, it's basically a non-issue. You DO lose the granularity of even a game like warhammer fantasy or kings of war, but the advantage of the dial system so much more than outweighs it. It REALLY forces you to think a turn or two ahead though, because you can't make fine course adjustments while moving.

Don't worry, you and your opponent will be crashing into each other in epic fashion!

Sounds great, I also like the idea of the movement system and the whole dial thing as it gives each unit type its uniqueness, but I was afraid it might get silly sometimes. Glad to hear that it is not your experience.

I guess I will hear how the big tournament goes and invest after that.

19 minutes ago, KronikAlkoholik said:

Sounds great, I also like the idea of the movement system and the whole dial thing as it gives each unit type its uniqueness, but I was afraid it might get silly sometimes. Glad to hear that it is not your experience.

I guess I will hear how the big tournament goes and invest after that.

Put lightly, the dial system is brilliant. The level of double think it can create and the opportunity for bluffing as required is a lot of fun, but also makes the game a whole lot more dynamic overall than its predecessors due to both turn order AND action being completely mutable.

Combined with the command dials and the variable initiative of actions, it's the best part of the game.

Personally, I have zero interest in playing a competitive miniature game that doesn't use templates or hexes of some sort. It seems crazy to me that a game like Warmahordes, for example, where millimeters will matter and gauging distances wrong can have such dire consequences, has people hovering a tape measure over models with one eye open.

IMO I find it fits the midevil fantasy theme.

Troops are setup in blocks and march and wheel in these formations and the template system fits that style and I personally love it.

I played a lot of Warmachine and really prefer the dial and template type movement compared to using a tape measure. Less room for human error.

I agree about the tape measuring, especially when it is individual models being moved like in 40k and Warmachine. I guess the new rules say you measure one and fit the others around him, but still, that can't work well in a competitive environment.

I think the dial system + templated movement is *the* best part of this game. The vast majority of the decision points are made simultaneously with your opponent. You both set dials, picking actions and turn order, along with roughly defining how your units are going to move (the only exception is turn/wheel direction, but there usually isn't 2 viable options). This really helps speed up the game. You are rarely waiting to play the game -- you both did your decision work at the same time already. When the dials start flipping up, you are resolving your plans, and most of the time watching them get utterly foiled, as your opponent did something different.

As for the physical movement itself -- the hardest part of this game is dealing with terrain. You have to be very mindful during deployment to not put yourself into stupid situations. Also you have to realize that your own units are going to block you often (this is not xwing). However, collision in this game is handled very well. The "squaring" up rule really streamlines play. You don't have to be exact when charging into a unit, because you are going to square up anyway. Even better -- when you start destroying opponent trays, he can slide his whole unit away, pull trays and then re-square up again, without moving the positions. It's these little things that really go a long way to keep the game moving, and make it surprisingly *not* that fiddly. I don't bump things nearly as much as I did in X-wing.

The only thing I don't like about movement, is the movement templates themselves -- They could use a bit 'more' structure to their shape to hold against the edge of the templates to make sure they're flush against the side. It's a minor nit-pick, and maybe some thicker acrylic would help with that. Going to have to participate in some tournaments, and hope I can do well enough

I just finished a BattleLore campaign and I must comment on simultaneous decision making. In our game, we were neck-and-neck the whole game and I was behind by 3 points during the campaign. We had a lot of tough decisions and the turn-based nature of BattleLore meant there were many long pauses on both sides during the command steps. It was still a blast, but having simultaneous orders simultaneously increases tension and shortens the game because you do your thinking at the same time. It really is a big selling point to Runewars.

(By the way, we tied on earned victory points at the end of the campaign, but I won because I got 2 bonus points for winning the final scenario.)

I've played 40k and Warhammer fantasy for 25 years I can't even start to remember how many "discussions" have been caused by movement donnybrooks. The 'have you reached melee' or 'is your gun in range' issues a measuring tape cause are immeasurable.

The command dial and templated movement system FFG have put in place solve so many of these problems. As has been mentioned above, the decision making has already taken place, so the analysis paralysis is confined to a small section of each turn, and compressed again by having both players conduct theirs at the same time.

Don't forget the concept of being able to measure at any time in RW. The GW eyeballing things would always be a point of contention.

I still don't understand the measuring restrictions exactly. Can I freely use the range tool however I see fit? Can I put the 5-side on my unit and measure to nothing in particular?

1 hour ago, Glucose98 said:

I still don't understand the measuring restrictions exactly. Can I freely use the range tool however I see fit? Can I put the 5-side on my unit and measure to nothing in particular?

Yes

That's how I would handle it in casual play, because I think otherwise it gets a bit silly. But the official FAQ seems more restrictive:

Measuring Range
Q: Can a player use the range ruler to premeasure by holding the ruler from either end?
A: Yes. A player can select which component to hold the range “1” end of the range ruler over.

Q: Can a player premeasure to a point on the playing area that is not part of a component?
A: Yes. A player can premeasure using the range ruler at any time and can hold the range “1” end of the ruler over the component that is being measured from.

I read that you can't put the 5-end on the unit and measure to an arbitrary point on the playing area. The 1-end must always be over a unit.

Terrain is also a component, so you should be able to measure from that, too. Or objective tokens. But you're right; it seems you can't measure from a non-component to a component.

To get back on topic, I really love the movement system. The limits it creates makes really adds another layer of depth to the game, in comparison to games where you can just move x number of inches in an arbitrary direction. It might not be "realistic" in all its details, but game depth (and consequently fun) really trumps the simulation aspect for me.

I like the templates a lot, so much so that I actually bought a set of range sticks for my mini's games that use tape measures...so now I can play warmahordes with templates lol...but yeah I had to get used to certain models movement at first, as the Lancer always threw me off and in a few videos I posted slurms was just running around in circles doing nothing...but that is now a non-issue...charges fail sometimes still but I think that is just how things fall occasionally, usually this is on turn charges for me though...

Having played many minatures games I can say I like the templates. Every mini game has its own things with movement that make it a bit awkward at times. The templates are no different but overall what they ads by allowing the dial system to work far outweighs what they take away. I do miss being able to slightly adjust my direction at the start of a move but now I just have to think a bit farther a head to get my stuff lined up properly. I also miss charge reactions for Warhammer, lol. But that is off topic.

The biggest complaint I've run into so far has been that friendly units block their own units too easily and that there should be some sort of "pile in" mechanic to get all the units into an engagement. This really comes down to just knowing the restrictions of the game and strategizing accordingly.

I kind of feel like we're beating a dead horse now, but I love the moving templates and the dial system as well. This is actually my first miniatures game, and I have watched the others and I think it's comical at how unorganized 40k has been and how popular it is. I have absolutely dialed in the wrong thing anticipating the obvious and being tricked by my opponent. That makes the game so much more fun though.

Movement is great. The only part about this game's rules that frequently causes contention/confusions among the people I play with is the terrain rules. Terrain is a little bit unintuitive in this game (these forums had plenty of discussions in the early days of the game). It's not frustrating once you know what to expect, but I play with people who don't read the rules like I do. When they ask me about what a certain interaction will be and I tell them, or correct them when they assumed wrong, it always turns into that whole, "well that doesn't make any sense, this is dumb"-thing.

Just make sure you read through the FAQ and the rules reference first, and you'll have a lot of fun!

10 hours ago, Uthoroc said:

That's how I would handle it in casual play, because I think otherwise it gets a bit silly. But the official FAQ seems more restrictive:

Measuring Range
Q: Can a player use the range ruler to premeasure by holding the ruler from either end?
A: Yes. A player can select which component to hold the range “1” end of the range ruler over.

Q: Can a player premeasure to a point on the playing area that is not part of a component?
A: Yes. A player can premeasure using the range ruler at any time and can hold the range “1” end of the ruler over the component that is being measured from.

I read that you can't put the 5-end on the unit and measure to an arbitrary point on the playing area. The 1-end must always be over a unit.

I don't feel like those examples prevent you from measuring in any fashion? They are just listing possibilities from the set?