Routing, not shown: AS/VII LG h
In Pursuit: AS/XV Ex RC (w/ 4 hits)
First, one leftover action from last move: one of the Phalanxes remained in enemy ZOC after shock combat but didn't take a collapse check as required when a TQ7 unit ends shock with six hits. So: a dieroll '2' reduces its hits to 5, as reflected in the map below (and fixed in last move's map).
There was a fair amount of outcry regarding my decision not to let Socrates attempt to rally the phalanx. I'm sympathetic to your concerns, especially as I made the ruling after you'd already sent your moves in, but I'm sticking to my guns, for a number of reasons. First, I double checked with Richard, and his response was consistent with the ruling. Second, I'd rather keep the rules consistent throughout this replay. Finally, I'm in general rather in favor of tightening up command restrictions rather than loosening them. Sure, Pyrrhus should be able to order around anyone he wants: he's the OC, and everyone knows who he is. But should Philocles, Socrates, Megacles, and Leonatus all get to give orders to the phalanx? I don't buy that as a reflection of reality.
On to this turn's voting:
Option | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| No trump; Socrates pings away again | 13 | |
| Trump with Laevinus, rally the center | 1 | |
Replay Format | Votes | |
| New suggested replay format sounds good | 3 | |
| New format seems generally fun but I have some concerns | 4 | |
| I like the current replay format better | 1 |
The suggestion for the new replay format was generally greeted positively. Concerns that people mentioned include the possible need for participants to have the game set up, the lesser amount of play for any one person to do, and general unwillingness to take a large role. Balanced against this must the lesser workload for me, which would suit me just fine. Several folks contributed interesting suggestions for implementing limited intelligence and solving the above problems.
The next game's still far enough off that there's plenty of time to send in your thoughts.
As for the move, the lack of threat from Socrates, combined with a large penalty for failure to trump, made this vote a blowout. A choice that no one mentioned but that is probably worth considering is moving Socrates over to the Epirote right, where there are still plenty of SK available. But there's obviously merit in inflicting cohesion hits while you can, so:
Routing, not shown: AS/VII LG h
In Pursuit: AS/XV Ex RC (w/ 4 hits)
This time there is no TQ hit, and Socrates fails Momentum with a dieroll of '6'.
Activated so far:
| Epirote: | Pyrrhus (EIO), Milon, Philocles, Socrates | |
| Roman: | Plautius, Rebilus, Magnus, Drusus, Cassius |
Now it's Falco's turn. What should he do?