Rules: Turn Sequence

The course of play in Then Holler is governed by a normal deck of playing cards. Players flip cards one at a time. When a card is flipped, this is what you do--

*Red Number Card--order one Confederate regiment or leader

*Black Number Card--order one Union regiment or leader

*Jack--evaluate leaders

*Queen--regiments rout

*King--regiments take casualties

*Ace--evaluate regiment Fatigue Grade

Occasionally specific cards will have greater significance. In the 9:30 AM scenario, reinforcements will enter the board when 10s are drawn.

Number Cards

When a regiment is ordered it can move once and/or fire once. After an order is completed, evaluate Fatigue points taken by the ordered regiment as well any other affected regiments.

When a leader is ordered he may move up to six inches. Facing, Frontage, etc, do not affect his movement. Leaders don't have Fatigue Grades and don't take Fatigue Points.

When a regiment is ordered to fire it may fire at any regiment within its range and within its facing (that being a cone extending at 45 degree angles from each corner of the regiment). Relevant ranges are measured from the lead company; the lead company is also what determines a regiment's status as in terrain even if it isn't fully on the feature in question.

Jacks

When a Jack is pulled both players go through 3 steps with each leader they control. They will--

*determine quality
*regenerate Fatigue Points
*check for well-being

To determine your leader's Command Quality, roll the indicated die on his unit card and add the modifier. Your leader will extend that to all regiments within his Command Range (four inches in any direction).

The leader regenerates a number of Fatigue Points equal to his Command Quality to all regiments within his Command Range. Note that Command Range is traced from the leader to the lead company of the target regiment.

Finally, if there are any enemy regiments within your leader's Command Range, roll a D6. On a roll of 1 your leader has been killed by enemy fire and is removed from the board immediately.

Queens

When a Queen is pulled both players evaluate their regiments' Fatigue Points. Any regiment above 5 Fatigue Points is in danger of routing.

If a regiment is above 5 Fatigue Points it has two options:

*Become disordered
*Rout

A regiment can become disordered to stave off the effects of battle. Whenever a regiment elects to become disordered in the Queen phase it may ignore a potential rout. It immediately changes formation to have a Frontage of zero, which we represent by breaking apart the companies slightly on the table.

Once a regiment is disordered it must reform and take necessary frontage Fatigue for that redeployment before it can truly be effective. If a regiment is forced to rout or take casualties while already disordered it must take them, a regiment cannot be disordered more than once at a time.

If becoming disordered is not possible or not desired, the regiment must fall back a number of inches equal to its current Fatigue Points minus 5. In other words, the regiment must retreat one inch for every Fatigue Point it takes over 5 (Wavering).

Whenever a regiment retreats it moves back immediately towards its table edge. It maintains its Frontage but does not take Fatigue Points for the rout move.

Also make a mark on the retreating regiment's unit card. If a regiment's retreats ever exceed its Fatigue Grade, that regiment is considered completely broken and is removed from the board.

After all relevant disorders and rout moves have been made, players pull another card.

Kings

Kings call for a casualty check. This goes mostly the same as a Queen's rout check. Regiments can either:

*Become disordered
or
*Take casualties

Becoming disordered functions the same way as it does with Queens. There is no difference between a regiment disordered by a Queen or disordered by a King, and a regiment can never be disordered more than once.

To take casualties, look to any regiments with a Fatigue greater than 5. Those regiments, if not becoming disordered, lose one company. The damaged player can choose which company to remove.

Aces

An ace usually brings a sigh of relief from all players. All regiments immediately regenerate Fatigue Points equal to their Fatigue Grade. Another card is drawn.

- - -

When you come to the end of the deck roughly an hour of game-time has elapsed.

Regiments can be ordered over and over again with successive card draws, but be prepared to pay the price of an ill-timed Fatigue check.

Try to position leaders where they'll do the most good when a Jack is drawn.

Color only matters with number cards. Face cards mean simultaneous evaluation.

* * *

Well, with the rules posted previously on the site and this turn sequence you could probably blunder your way through a game (if "you" exist). That's what we've been doing.

We'll compile this all tomorrow and throw in a quick-reference chart that should clear up any (most) difficulties. We are no longer finding it funny that formatting a quick-reference chart is the hardest part of writing rules.

After that, an objective and an order of battle is all you'll need for the basic game.