The problems arise because the victory conditions introduce opposing geometry into the game. Units are all straight line squares and rectantangles but the defining victory condition is based on a circle. This creates measurement difficulties particularly when terrain is introduced (even more so if the centre point is in terrain.
Of all the scenarios this is the one where I see most disagreements/confusion/conflict during and after the game. This is because the centre generally becomes a scrum and accurate measuring is often difficult.
My suggested "fix" is to convert the 24" diameter circle into a 24" box. The box would be in the same place 12" from the centre but because you are not dealing with arcs you can measure the extent of the box from any table edge...on a 72" x 48" table the corner is 12" from the long edge and 24" from side edge.
This fix makes the determination of scoring units logistically far easier.
What are the effects? Well the victory "area" increases from 452 square inches to 572 square inches - a 27% increase. The victory area equates to one sixth of table area.
If you were concerned this was too much you can equalise the area with the current 452 square inches by decreasing the box to 21" square.
What do people think on this fix? Is it needed? Would it work better?
Posted with Blogsy
Box would be better, or just make it so leader point has to be within 8" of the centre instead of a 12" circle?
ReplyDeleteAnother issue with dominate is terrain, you can't really have any impassible in the centre of the table, it just makes thinks awkward.
As a result you can sometimes get that open battlefield in the centre which can suck.
We use a circular template... recommended :)
ReplyDeleteI think Dominate is kind of broken, myself. According to the rules for "Playing A Game", you do the following:
ReplyDelete1. Prepare forces
2. Choose gaming area
3. Determin scenario
--> at this point, let's say we randomly rolled Dominate
4. Place terrain
--> This section says to "recreate a plausible landscape", but what if one player decides that means a big pile of impassible ruins in the middle of the table because he's only got heavy duty, large base units and would really rather play Kill!, so he effectively renders Dominate impossible to play.
I suppose finding a neutral 3rd party to place the terrain, who also has knowledge of the scenario, would work well (as the rules suggest), but I've never seen anyone do that in a pick-up game.
Generally I find most people place terrain first and then roll for mission/scenario. I think that provides generally fairer experience. However it can make determining centrepoint in game difficult
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