by Emmanuel Delva

Optional rule 1 : Hidden units.

All units are played on the deployment line hidden and rotated. All units attacking, attacked, going on the middle line, or any cavalry deployed and moving immediately are shown face up. Once turned face up they stay that way (unless moved back to hand).

Optional rule 2 : Activation Points (AP)

Activation Points (AP) are introduced to simulate the control capacity of a general in the antiquity.
The basic cost is 1AP to activate or move each card. Missile and shock combat is free.

The initial amount of AP can be set in different ways:

• the scenario define the AP available
• Use the budget for the game and divide by 100
• Add 1AP for every card

You can use the AP to:

• move one unit except in the manoeuvre phase (1AP)
• rally one unit and remove 1COH (1AP)
• gain a Flank position with a unit that does not have the ability (cost 1+1 for moving so final cost is 2)
• use a unit in the scout phase even if this unit does not have the ability (cost 1)
• use a unit in the encircling phase even if this unit does not have the ability (cost 1)
• interrupt the enemy and start to act after he finished his current action (cost 2).

Optional rule 3: general in chief

Rate the level of the general by "stars". Each cost 100 budget points. Each turn the bonus AP are 1D6+stars value.

Optional rule 4 : Battle plan

Players must think before the turn starts.
Each turn, they secretly bid the AP they gonna use (interruptions included), and the player with the smaller
number starts the turn's actions. With this rule, players raelly need to "plan" their moves rather than just react. They cannot anymore just "push" their cards and wait for an opening to occur.

Optional rule 5 : Art of warfare

The phases of fire, move or whatever disappears. Now there is only a "general action phase".
You need to keep track of the AP with some extra markers.
All optional rules are used. The bid in AP is made in markers. Each time a unit acts one is spent. Once the movement of a unit is done it is turned 90°.

One unit can do the following actions:

• Auto disengagment (1AP)
• Attempt a disengagment (0AP)
• Combat then movement (1AP)
• Fire then movement (1AP)
• Fire alone, or Combat alone (1AP)
• Or movement alone, on the battlefield or when first played on deployment line (1AP).

While this happens the other player has no choice except :

• Attempt at disengagment (0AP)
• Or do a reaction fire on the enemy unit that just moved. This action costs 1 AP and the firing unit will be considered as having acted (players hencs will need to reserve their missiles for important attempts)

If the reaction fire attack scores a hit on the moving unit, then the moving unit's player actions are stopped, he looses 1 AP and it is now his enemy time to act.

The only cases where the player with the initiative can loose it are :

• If a reaction fire hits the moving unit
• If the moving player looses a combat and is scored a hit on him
• If the moving players voluntarily gives the initiative to his opponent
• If the moving player tries to do a normal disengagment (not auto with 1 AP) and fails it

In all cases before the initiative goes to the other player, the moving player that just lost the initiative looses one additional AP thanks to his impetus loss.

If an army uses her last AP (remember: you must bid a finite number of AP)in a victorious way (scoring a hit on the opposite army), then it is given the right to spend a new, not bidded yet AP, still in reserve. If this reserved AP is used in a victorious way too, then the player is given the right to spend a new, not bidded yet AP, still in reserve...and so on.

With this mechanism you can gain the initiative bidding a low AP number and then, using your AP at the best, gaining additional AP to be used in the attack of your adversary.