Last week I reworked the turn and action structure, getting rid of the standard turn phases that characterize so many tabletop and cardboard wargames. This system imposes a set structure on the flow of the game, organizing certain types of actions into different parts of the player’s turn, and usually only allowing a limited amount of participation on the part of the opposing player. This you-go-I-go system has recently in many cases been replaced with a we-go system, whereby both sides act at nearly the same time, either through card-driven activations, or by allowing players to issue orders while the gameplay is paused, and then simulating the results of those orders in a chunk of real time, as in the Combat Mission series.

The system I’m using in ArmCom 2 for the moment uses an abstract measure of Time Units (TU). Each platoon has 24 TU at the start of every turn. The order in which platoons get to act is randomized (in the future, recce and veteran units may get the ability to act more quickly) and in each activation the platoon can only perform one action, whether that be a move action or a shooting action. Once the platoon has acted, it’s shuffled to the bottom of the activation order and another platoon, from either player, is activated. If a platoon runs out of TU, they are removed from the list until a new turn begins and everyone’s TUs are replenished. This means that units that use fewer TUs early in the turn might have the chance for an important activation at the end of the turn. It also means that units cannot move around the map without immediately exposing themselves to return fire.

(I was initially going to use Action Points, but the AP short form is already used for AP ammo, so TU it is.)

Right now most of the essential gameplay elements are in place. A few areas need some polish before I can show off a complete proof-of-concept version, which will have a very limited and small-scale scenario to be played.