General overview of how a game is played

1. The basic game is played by two players on a square board with terrain pieces added. Each player has an army of 12 stands of figures. The stands are called elements. The types of fighting troops are described in "Troop Definition" section. . The players each select their army from the list at the back of the book; elements are set up as described in "Basing Your Figures and Models."

2. Once players have an army, they start the game. Both players roll a die and add the army aggression factor to the number to determine which is Defender (low score) and which is Invader (high score) as explained in "Deployment" section of "Fighting the Battle".

3. The player who becomes the Defender chooses terrain based on its army's topography (listed for each army in the army lists) and places it on the board as explained in "Creating the Battlefield".

4. The invader numbers 3 of board edges 1 - 2 - 3 (one of which is the side with a Built Up Area, if any) and numbers the side most preferred 4-5-6 (one with no BUA). The invader then rolls a dice and the number that comes up is the Invader's side , the one opposite is the defender's side. Turn the board so each player has the appropriate side in fornt.

5. The Defender places a camp on the board on its side, if needed, and then the invader does the same. The Defender does not need a camp if there is a BUA on the board and neither need a BUA if their army has more than 2 War Wagons.

6. The defender then places elements on the board within the area prescribed in "Deployment" and then the Invader places likewise

7. The defender can then switch the positions of up to 2 pairs of elements on the table as described in the "Deployment" section.

8. The Invader gets the first chance to move. This is the first turn, called a bound, of the game. The player first rolls a die; the number obtained is the number of "PIPs" for tactical moves as explained in the "Player Initiative Point Dicing" section of "Fighting the Battle." PIPs are not needed for shooting or combat and cannot be saved from bound to bound.

9. The invader moves elements or groups of elements as explained in the appropriate sections of "Fighting the Battle."

10. After that movement, both sides carry out shooting as explained in the "Distant Shooting" section. The Invader, since it is the first bound, chooses, in turn, which element of either side is to shoot, but not the targets nor supporting elements. Outcomes occur as explained in the "Resolving Shooting or Close Combat" and Combat Outcome" sections.

11. Both sides then carry out close combat according to the "Close Combat" section and outcomes occur. The Invader chooses the order of combat. The combats are selected one at a time; all need not be specified at the beginning of the combat phase.

12. If game is not over as explained in the "Winning and Losing," the Defender takes a bound and events follow as for Invader, with the defender rolling a die for PIPs, moving, choosing the order of shooting and combat for both sides . If victory conditions are not met, the cycle back and forth between Invader and Defender, until victory conditions are achieved by one player. The game then ends. An equal number of bounds for each player is not required.

13. Players shake hands. Play another game if there is time.