7.00 One of many: Netplay, ITPOTE and game stopping bug

[Joseignacio]

There have been some bugs in my recent game recently, some were older ones, but this I had never seen. The bug doesnt happen in solo mode.

We are playing with In The Presence Of The Enemy rules, because of this I made an stupid move (didnt remember we were using it) and reached only box 1 with my fleet at the Faroes.

There was a combat and I had to return to base the aborted in combat and then the ones aborted by me after the beating I got.

There was a fleet at the North sea, they tried to intercept, couldnt do in the first case but made it in the second, when I was returning with my 3 remaining CRs, all of them 5-5. I enclose image.

Then I was offered by the game to go up to the 3 box while returning to base. I remembered in my board WIFs I had gone up some levels when I had mobility left, and had been intercepted, so I took 3 box. The game then, instead of fighting through the 3 box, passed immediately to Strat Bomb Cap phase and those ships staid at sea.

I suddenly thought that with 5 movement points maybe you couldnt do that, there would not be enough if you were going for a next sea, because then you`d need to go down the 3 boxes to continue, but I was not going to another sea, so I checked the rules (RaW) and saw that you need to go through the 0 box when aborting or RTB end of turn. So that was a bug, unless a deviation.

We tried several times and could not solve it. Then, in despair, I run it solitaire, the box allowed was only 0 box, and no bug happened.


The capture is taken in the Solo game, I enclose it so that the intervening units can be identified.

Netplay bug.

[Joseignacio]

File

[paulderynck]

That's a strange bug, can't say I've encountered that one. I wonder what would have happened if you just picked the zero box. Maybe picking the higher box made the bug even worse.

Not that it matters for aborting - this is just an observation - one thing about the rule where you get intercepted outbound and choose a higher box: After the combat and if you are able to keep moving, you do not have to count back down, you just go to the next sea zone and enter the zero box. If you have any movement left, you can go to a higher sea box. The rationale is that you've already paid the movement points and will not get nearly as far up in the next sea zone.

Also concerning that rule, in our groups it became a point of disagreement as to whether you could use all your movement to get as high a sea box as possible and then announce you were still going to fight the interception combat. Some said you'd used all movement so must be stopping there and there would be no interception combat. Others said they were just following the wording of the rule which allows you to select a box before fighting the interception combat.

[Joseignacio]

That's a strange bug, can't say I've encountered that one. I wonder what would have happened if you just picked the zero box. Maybe picking the higher box made the bug even worse.

Maybe we will be trying to reproduce it in NP next week

Not that it matters for aborting - this is just an observation - one thing about the rule where you get intercepted outbound and choose a higher box: After the combat and if you are able to keep moving, you do not have to count back down, you just go to the next sea zone and enter the zero box. If you have any movement left, you can go to a higher sea box. The rationale is that you've already paid the movement points and will not get nearly as far up in the next sea zone.

At the light of your comment, you are probably right and my group (and those people we occasionally join or contact, so it is widespread in here) seem to be playing that wrong, in our case for maybe 20 or 25 years.
It's a shame that the policy of Harry is to make the rules unclear and then try to patch it through examples. I usually dont read examples, like many, and many times they spin the rule meaning differently or introduce something new or even explain the cases opposite from the rule itself.

Also concerning that rule, in our groups it became a point of disagreement as to whether you could use all your movement to get as high a sea box as possible and then announce you were still going to fight the interception combat. Some said you'd used all movement so must be stopping there and there would be no interception combat. Others said they were just following the wording of the rule which allows you to select a box before fighting the interception combat.

Well, the rule allows to go up, but then you should have to go on, else you are stopping at that sea. IMO.

[Joseignacio]

We tried today, passing the second group through the 0 box and it happened the same. It immediately passed to the Ground Strike phase.

[paulderynck]

Also concerning that rule, in our groups it became a point of disagreement as to whether you could use all your movement to get as high a sea box as possible and then announce you were still going to fight the interception combat. Some said you'd used all movement so must be stopping there and there would be no interception combat. Others said they were just following the wording of the rule which allows you to select a box before fighting the interception combat.

Well, the rule allows to go up, but then you should have to go on, else you are stopping at that sea. IMO.

Ah, but now it gets interesting with ITPOTE, suppose one adjacent sea zone costs 2 to enter and another without enemy present costs 1 and they are the only possible onward destinations. The moving player does not have to reveal his intentions as to where or even if he will continue onward. So how much must he hold in reserve to accept interception combat? Also I have seen players stop and fight and the outcome makes them reconsider whether they should continue moving at all.