Just another update on the documentation.
Having finished the rules, I can say they were well written but they are most definitely not designed to be used for reference because there's literally nothing to assist you in finding what you want when you want it. The Table of Contents is basic and there is no Index as mentioned previously. I do not understand how you are meant to flip to the manual to find a rule.
A clear example of this is 15.0 Airborne Operations. I read this bit last night again (so it's fresh in my head) in preparation for my Leros scenario. In 15.3 Paradrop Unit Placement and specifically 15.34 it mentions paradrop units come under AA fire but there is absolutely NO reference to where the AA rules are in the manual. Unsurprisingly, the Table of Contents has NO mention of the AA procedure either.
Turns out the AA procedure is actually hidden under 11.0 Air Units and more specifically 11.3.
Contrarily, there are mentions, sporadically, of other related rules in other sections. Again, looking at 15.3 Paradrop Unit Placement and specifically 15.31 it mentions paradrop units having Drift and references the rule 15.4...which (if I wanted to be picky) wasn't required because it's on the same page. But - better presented than not.
I held off writing this this morning until I checked the Sequence of Play Player Aid Card, in case the rules references are specifically mentioned in the player aid - and they're not and again, more infuriatingly, some rules are referenced and others are omitted.
All sounds negative. That's because the rules, specifically from a references perspective, are poor. The actual manual itself, in terms of explaining stuff, is great. It's easy to understand and well written and organised. But as a reference, it's going to be a challenge.
But I've got a game to play.
Legion Games - you absolutely need to up your game where manuals are concerned and a sequence of play should try and reference rules to assist the players. Rules should be able to be referenced easily and that could easily be sorted with an index.
Having said all that - I remember a wee game called Fields of Fire that had a gawd awful manual and made a fairly easy game seem like the most complicated thing you've ever come across - and I've heard have put alot of people off buying the game. The rules may as well have been written in binary code. But that turned out to be my first choice Desert Island Game
So - there's hope.
