This is a detailed example of a Mutual Situational Awareness Check to determine who gets the first shot off and how the Observe, Orient, Decide & Action Loop is naturally used by the player. It’s also a good example of overwatch and opportunity fire without the need for additional rules. For this example it is turn 15 and the moving Panther (has a movement arrow showing speed and direction of movement) passes the woods to his right and a Russian KV-1 is now in his line of sight (Observation, over watch). That means the KV-1 is in the Panther LOS too. At this point BOTH players are already sizing up the situation in their mind to determine whether they will fire or move (Orient or evaluate). It’s clear the Panther is in a poor tactical position because the KV-1 has his flank and the KV-1 has the Panther more to his front making over watch more effective (there are no special over watch rules). For this example we’ll use the Engagement Play Aid with just the crew type modifier.

This is an example of the Engagement Play Aid that has customized turret rotation times and Situational Awareness Factors for each viewing aspect for the particular vehicle and model. In the basic version of the game we don’t use the modifiers on the back side to make it easier for new players and at conventions. Looking at the modifiers you can see players can take it to any level of detail or use factors that affected specific battles or environmental factors. All + numbers increase delay.

In our example on turn 15 play halts while the Russian player places the Engagement Play Aid over the KV-1 orienting it to the direction the turret (not the hull) is pointing and stretches red rubber band in the direction the target (it does not need to go all of the way across the table). You can also use a laser pointer too. Starting from the middle of the aid the Panther is in his right front flank arc with a Situational Awareness factor of 12 if unbuttoned and 4 if buttoned up (high numbers are best). The next circle out is the turret rotation time which is 2 seconds to rotate the turret onto the target. The KV-1 decides to fire and determines how long it will take. To determine if there is any Situational Awareness delay (time before the crew notices the threat) roll a D20 and compare it to the buttoned up Situational Awareness factor of 4 + crew modifier on the back side. A modified roll =<4 means no delay in spotting, the tank commander happened to be looking in the right direction when the Panther came into view. The delay amount is equal to the D20 roll + modifiers – 4. To keep it simple we’ll just use the crew modifier for a Trained crew of +2. The KV-1 points it’s turret at the Panther.

During turn 15 while play is stopped and the Russian player is using the play aid to determine his “Time & Action” to fire the Panther player is doing the same thing, they don’t have to wait for each other. This helps speed up the game. The red rubber band shows the Panther’s Situational Awareness factor for the unbuttoned commander a 12 and 5 seconds to rotate the turret to get it on the KV-1. A Veteran crew has no additional delay. At this point it looks like the Panther is in a pretty poor position to get off the first shot. He’ll also have to spend some time to come to a halt or fire while moving. The Panther points his turret towards the KV-1.

For this example and to make it even both sides roll a 14 on the D20 die roll. Here is what both players do on game turn 15 to figure their Time & Action when they’ll fire: The formula to determine when a first shot will be fired is:

Situational Awareness Delay + Turret Rotation Time + Gunner Aim Time KV-1: Die roll 14-4 = +10 Situational Awareness Delay +2 Trained Crew +2 Turret Rotation +5 Gunner Aim time = 19. So 19 is added to turn 15 so firing takes place on turn 34. He writes down 34 which is unknown to the German player. Panther: Die roll 14-12 = +2 Situational Awareness Delay + 0 Veteran Crew +5 Turret Rotation +5 Gunner Aim time +3 coming to a stop = 15. So 15 is added to turn 15 and firing takes place on turn 30. He writes down 30 unknown to the Russian player. Play continues with the GM or any player calling out the current game turn and all players performing their action for that turn doing so and any player reacting to it if able and desired. Both the Panther and KV-1 could abort fire if they detect a more dangerous threat in their front arc they want to respond to. They are blind in their rear 270 degrees while engaged and firing (target fixation). Moving units are moved every 5 turns and your target may leave your LOS before your turn of shooting – too bad. Reviewing the two examples above you see the Panther has a 4 second first shot advantage on the KV-1 but is unaware of it. This despite the Panther taking longer to get his gun on target, come to a stop and a poor tactical position with the enemy in his flank. The KV-1 gives up 8 seconds of Situational Awareness Delay from being buttoned up and an additional 2 second delay for a Trained crew versus the Panther Veteran crew. If the KV-1 was unbuttoned he’d be getting off the first shot on turn 26. You can see delays are deadly and better crews give a few seconds advantage. Let’s examine the other player options the Panther and KV-1 would have had. The Panther could continue to move and evade or fire while moving. After the two second Situational Awareness Delay the Panther could have spent time moving and turning into the KV-1 before firing. After the 10 second engagement delay The KV-1 could have decided to move and fire or move and evade and would have been a moving target for the Panther on turn 30. After the delay he could have moved and turned into the Panther before firing. Both tanks could have traded accuracy for speed using less gunner aim time to get the shot off more quickly but with an accuracy penalty. Both tanks can perform a Situational Awareness against a new enemy threat but only in their front 90 degree arc, they are blind in the rear 270 degrees while engaged and firing. The formula for follow up shots at the same target is: Reload Time + Gunner Aim Time.

Once a target is engaged you do not need to perform a Situational Awareness Check. Determining the first shot using the Situational Awareness takes the most time, follow up shot are easier and quicker. After understanding this example you can see that the game mechanics revolves around the player making pretty much the same decisions tank commanders had to make. They are not basing decisions on abstracted rules, command points, activation mechanisms or determining what sequence units will activate. They are not constrained with an IGOUGO sequence. The player’s decision and determining the “Time & Action” replace traditional game turn sequence and activation rules and creates its own fog of war and fear of the unknown. The Situational Awareness rules and various modifiers and delays encompass over watch and opportunity fire and require no additional rules, exceptions or IF-THEN-ELSE sub routines within the rules. A Situational Awareness delay (by being flanked or buttoned up) plus a poor crew and slow turret rotation will allow fast moving vehicles to out flank and move from one blocking LOS to another without being fired at without additional rules or exceptions. Buttoned up tanks are at a severe disadvantage because of a timing delay that most traditional games cannot duplicate. Poor crews versus better crews generate an additional delay enabling better crews to perform actions more quickly. I tell players to be effective in the game they must think like a tank commander. When you detect a threat just ask yourself, “What do I want to do and how long will it take”. That’s the Orient or evaluate step in the OODA Loop. Normally you are going to move or fire. They then decide and determine the Time & Action when they’ll activate. That encompasses what a player will be doing most of the game other than firing. Using the Situational Awareness rules combined with player decisions and variable Time & Action allows the player to use their natural OODA Loop to play the game. You don’t have to teach them or even mention it to them. It’s something ingrained in the human mind. Let them do what’s natural. However, it cannot overcome poor decisions. To implement house rules or enhancements to a rule set you are normally using die roll modifiers or tweaking the random activation rules. I think Treadheads can be considered an “open rule system” where house rules would involve implementing a new Time & Action to fit player preferences, weapons platform performance, battle field conditions or special scenarios. The back side of the Engagement Play Aid shows most of the normal ones I’ve run across. Having the play aids customized to the vehicle and model makes it easier too. Gunnery includes various modifiers. The game is still a WIP and I want to develop the most detailed version and then cut stuff out for a very simple intro version and a basic version. The detailed version of the game introduces more decisions and modifiers for Time & Action but does not introduce any new concepts and very few rule exceptions.