bprobst
Elder Member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2003
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I noticed something that struck me as a bit odd while browsing the latest offering from DftB. The "2 Sniper counters per side" CG rule is marked as "optional". On further investigation I found that's how the rule is written in most "small" CGs issued by MMP as well.
To be more specific, the multiple Sniper counters are mandatory in RB, PB, ABTF, VotG and FB. KGP and BRT use the term "may" which implies it's optional, without specifically saying so. Chapter Z CGs except for PrB and SC (where it's mandatory) and SG and S&B (where it's NA) specifically state that the rule is "optional".
It doesn't specifically seem to be tied to map size (the KGP maps cover a lot more terrain than RB, for instance, and SC is a tiny area) so I have two idle questions: one, why would a CG designer decide that the rule is either in force, not in force, or optional; and two, why would players choose not to use two Sniper counters when they have the option?
One answer to the first question is that the designer of the CG simply copied the CG rules from a previous design without noticing or caring about whether the "optional" should be in force. For instance, the HoB guys explicitly based their original CG design for BRT on the KGP CG rules. Similarly in the Footnotes for OpTurnscrew it's stated that that the CG rules are pretty much a simple copy of the OVHS CG rules. I seem to recall Bill Cirillo stating something similar for FB, in that those CG rules are as much as possible a copy of the RB rules.
To be more specific, the multiple Sniper counters are mandatory in RB, PB, ABTF, VotG and FB. KGP and BRT use the term "may" which implies it's optional, without specifically saying so. Chapter Z CGs except for PrB and SC (where it's mandatory) and SG and S&B (where it's NA) specifically state that the rule is "optional".
It doesn't specifically seem to be tied to map size (the KGP maps cover a lot more terrain than RB, for instance, and SC is a tiny area) so I have two idle questions: one, why would a CG designer decide that the rule is either in force, not in force, or optional; and two, why would players choose not to use two Sniper counters when they have the option?
One answer to the first question is that the designer of the CG simply copied the CG rules from a previous design without noticing or caring about whether the "optional" should be in force. For instance, the HoB guys explicitly based their original CG design for BRT on the KGP CG rules. Similarly in the Footnotes for OpTurnscrew it's stated that that the CG rules are pretty much a simple copy of the OVHS CG rules. I seem to recall Bill Cirillo stating something similar for FB, in that those CG rules are as much as possible a copy of the RB rules.
