Musing on Sequence of Play in Tilly’s Very Bad Day

For Version 2 of Tilly’s Very Bad day I’m thinking of making some changes to the sequence of play. Most of these are to make implicit steps explicit. There is one more radical proposal (changing initiative). But much of the sequence of play remains unchanged, even though some steps have changed names. I thought I’d share a few thoughts on why it is the way it is and why I’m changing some things.

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Possible Version 2 Sequence of Play

Here is the sequence of play from Version 1.3 and the current proposal for the sequence of play in version 2. This is definitely draft, not set in stone, and subject to change. I’m toying with ideas.

Pre-game Sequence of Play
Version 1.3	Possible Version 2.0
<implicit> <implicit> <implicit> <implicit> <implicit> <did not exist> <implicit> <did not exist>	Phase 1. Game set-up Step 1.1. Agree Game Size Step 1.2. Recruit army Step 1.3. Determine Attacker Step 1.4. Place Terrain Step 1.5. Scouting Step 1.6. Deployment Step 1.7. Bombardment
Game Turn Sequence of Play
Version 1.3	Possible Version 2.0
<implicit and once pre-game>	Phase 2. Initiative
Phase 1. Attacker Step 1.1. Attacker Move Step 1.2. Defender Shoot	Phase 3. Active Player Step 3.1. Active Player Move Step 3.2. Reactive Player Shoot
Phase 2. Defender Step 2.1. Defender Move Step 2.2. Attacker Shoot	Phase 4. Reactive Player Step 4.1. Reactive Player Move Step 4.2. Active Player Shoot
Phase 3. Close Combat Step 3.1. Declare Charge <implicit> <implicit> Step 3.2. Charge Step 3.3. Point Blank Shooting Step 3.4. Melee Step 3.5. Rally Back	Phase 5. Close Combat Step 5.1. Declare Charge Step 5.2. Cancel Charges Step 5.3. Evade Step 5.4. Charge <deleted> Step 5.5. Melee Step 5.6. Rally Back
Phase 4. Morale <implicit> Step 4.1. Command Morale <did not exist> Step 4.2. Unit Rally Step 4.3. Unit Heroics Step 4.4. Army Morale	Phase 6. Morale Step 6.1. Remove Shooting Markers Step 6.2. Commander Loss Step 6.3. Morale Erosion Step 6.4. Unit Heroics Step 6.5. Commander Rally Step 6.6. Army Morale

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Adding the pre-game phase

Even in version 1.3 the pre-game has a bunch of steps you have to go through. The steps are unchanged in version 2. I have just made it explicit: Agree Game Size; Recruit army; Determine Attacker; Place Terrain; Deployment. I thought it would be clearer for players if I included these steps in the sequence of play. Obviously they only happen once as opposed to every turn.

Scouting and Bombardment are new steps in version 2.

I’ve mentioned scouting in Making Light Horse more effective in Tilly’s Very Bad Day and Making dragoons more effective in Tilly’s Very Bad Day.

Bombardment is basically a free shot for unlimbered Cannon.

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Initiative

My lot are very happy to give the Attacker initiative in every game turn, and this is what version 1.3 does. Some other folk like it to swap between the Attacker and Defender, so I’m thinking of endorsing both approaches.

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I move, you shoot

One of the things my group likes about Tilly’s Very Bad Day, that makes it unique, is the fact that one side moves and the other side gets to shoot at them. Then they swap around.

Clearly this disadvantages the side that moves into shooting range. Usually this is the Attacker. The Attacker is even more likely to be the one moving into shooting range in version 2 because they will be on a time limit.

Some folk think that waiting for the other player to move within shooting range is gamey. I think it is historical.

So we think “I move, you shoot” is one of the distinctive features of the rules.

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Simultaneous Melee

I rejected simultaneous shooting for the reasons above, but I’ve gone for simultaneous melee. Both sides fight in melee at the same time. Where possible I prefer simultaneous activity and I gain nothing in the simulation by splitting melee into two parts.

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That giant “Morale Phase”

Tilly’s Very Bad Day uses a bunch of markers: Shooting Marker, Rout Marker, Commander Casualty Marker and others. One of the main reasons for the separate morale phase is to deal with those markers. For a start the players have to remove the markers at some point.

More importantly the resolve system in Tilly’s Very Bad Day relies on the Morale Phase. I toyed with the idea of immediately actioning when units rout or commanders get killed. THat would drastically reduce the number of markers necessary for the game. However, Adam Landa convinced me the game would play better if we completed the combat (shooting, melee) before looking at the consequences. So I moved all of that – commander loss, morale erosion, unit heroics, and commander rally – to the end of the game turn. And introduced the Rout Marker and Commander Casualty Markers to keep track of things.

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Explicit steps for Remove Shooting Markers, Cancel Charges, and Evade

We do those things – removing markers, cancelling charges and evading – so I thought I may as well call them out in the sequence of play. Mostly to help folk remember them.

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Deleting point blank shooting

We have never used the point blank shooting rule because players have already decided whether the unit will shoot or charge.

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New Morale Erosion step

New in version 2 is morale erosion. We like the resolve rules and how resolve is at the heart of both combat and morale. So to take it further I have introduced morale erosion in version 2. One friendly unit loses resolve even time a unit routs.

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Where to get Tilly’s Very Bad Day

Tilly’s Very Bad Day is available for Download (PDF).