Slitherine

Can a unit that breaks and makes its initial rout move turn 90 then continue to move if the enemy is in their path. If so/not could you give me some examples.
Also to automatically have an enemy unit destroyed, because they can't rout what do you have to do if you can turn 90 in the initial rout.

Rout moves in FOG are like evade moves. The are most definitley nothing like DBM flee moves.

When a BG routs it MUST rout away from the BG that broke it. If it is fighting more than one BG then is routs away from the pair of them. To do this it first turns 180 or 90 and then wheels to face the direction of rout. If it's rout is blocked it can slide one base width or contract a maximum of one base on either side with no sliding.

If it is impossible to avoind enemy as a result of such shifts or contractions then the routing BG is destroyed.

If it is impossible to avoid all obstructions by shifting or contracting (remember one base width max) then the BG must rout directly with no shift or contraction and will burst through any friends in the way. Should it not be possible to avoid all obstructions but there is an enemy BG partially blocking the rout move then the routing BG will again be destroyed.

There is little if any option when it comes to routing and BG can quite easily end up bursting through friends or being wiped out.

rich0101 wrote:Can a unit that breaks and makes its initial rout move turn 90 then continue to move if the enemy is in their path. If so/not could you give me some examples.
Also to automatically have an enemy unit destroyed, because they can't rout what do you have to do if you can turn 90 in the initial rout.

The rules on routs are spread around, but the section on what to do if the rout path is obstructed is the same as if evaders are obstructed on page 67.

A careful reading of page 67 will tell you that you can turn 90 to avoid certain things, but those things DO NOT include enemy (except an enemy camp).

Further up that page it gives the only options for avoiding enemy:

slide the whole BG up to one base sideways;
move obstructed bases up to one base sideways and behind unobstructed bases.

If you can't avoid the enemy by these methods, then routers are destroyed. If you can get a BG behind them, it is not difficult to destroy routers.

hammy wrote: If it's rout is blocked it can slide one base width or contract a maximum of one base on either side with no sliding.

I interpret that section to mean:

If it's rout is blocked it can slide one base width and/or contract a maximum of one base on either or both sides provided the contracting bases don't move more than 1 base sideways.

(for the avoidance of doubt, the contracting here does not obey the normal rules for contraction, you just put the contracted bases entirely behind the adjacent file. The actual rules don't use the word "contract")

lawrenceg wrote:

hammy wrote: If it's rout is blocked it can slide one base width or contract a maximum of one base on either side with no sliding.

I interpret that section to mean:

If it's rout is blocked it can slide one base width and/or contract a maximum of one base on either or both sides provided the contracting bases don't move more than 1 base sideways.

(for the avoidance of doubt, the contracting here does not obey the normal rules for contraction, you just put the contracted bases entirely behind the adjacent file. The actual rules don't use the word "contract")

Lawrence, you are indeed correct. I was trying to make things simple and being a touch lazy with my typing. A BG that is 2 bases wide can indeed shift part of a base sideways and then have other bases fall in beind to get through a one base wide gap. It is all clearly laid out in the rules after all.

The key is that if you can't avoid all obstructions with the limited shifts / contractions allowed then you can't avoid anything. If you encounter enemy routers are destroyed, if you encounter friends then you burst through.

hammy wrote:

lawrenceg wrote:

hammy wrote: If it's rout is blocked it can slide one base width or contract a maximum of one base on either side with no sliding.

I interpret that section to mean:

If it's rout is blocked it can slide one base width and/or contract a maximum of one base on either or both sides provided the contracting bases don't move more than 1 base sideways.

(for the avoidance of doubt, the contracting here does not obey the normal rules for contraction, you just put the contracted bases entirely behind the adjacent file. The actual rules don't use the word "contract")

Lawrence, you are indeed correct. I was trying to make things simple and being a touch lazy with my typing. A BG that is 2 bases wide can indeed shift part of a base sideways and then have other bases fall in beind to get through a one base wide gap. It is all clearly laid out in the rules after all.

The key is that if you can't avoid all obstructions with the limited shifts / contractions allowed then you can't avoid anything. If you encounter enemy routers are destroyed, if you encounter friends then you burst through.

This came up during one of our recent games-- it was a bit unclear to me how the contraction works if a base is limited to moving only one base width sideways. For instance.


XXXX YYYYYY

BBBBAAAAACCCCC
BBBBAAAAACCCCC
ZZZZZZ
ZZZZZZ

BG A routs after from enemy BG Z. If A contracts to two bases in width it can slip between enemy BGs X and Y.
_____AA
XXXX AA YYYYYY
_____AA
_____AA
_____AA

BBBB_____ CCCCC
BBBB_____ CCCCC
ZZZZZZ
ZZZZZZ

Would this be legal? The two right most bases in A would be sliding over more than a base width, or does the fact that they would be dropping behind the base that could slide over one base width take precedence, and thus mean that they aren't 'sliding' but rather dropping behind.

Thanks for clarifying this

daleivan wrote: Would this be legal? The two right most bases in A would be sliding over more than a base width, or does the fact that they would be dropping behind the base that could slide over one base width take precedence, and thus mean that they aren't 'sliding' but rather dropping behind.

Thanks for clarifying this

No, the maximum distance that any single base can slide is one base width.

If you look at the diagram on P165 that shows a move with pretty much the maximum amount of shifting. In practice a BG 4 bases wide can evade through a 2 base wide gap as long as the gap is lined up exactly with the middle of the evading group, the evaaders will end up two bases wide but in a deeper formation aftre the evade.

hammy wrote:
No, the maximum distance that any single base can slide is one base width.

If you look at the diagram on P165 that shows a move with pretty much the maximum amount of shifting. In practice a BG 4 bases wide can evade through a 2 base wide gap as long as the gap is lined up exactly with the middle of the evading group, the evaaders will end up two bases wide but in a deeper formation aftre the evade.

Thanks for clarifying this. That's what I thought, then began to wonder, and so on...

I really appreciate the time you, Nik, Terry, and Richard (along with others) put into answering our questions.