In this article, we’ll look at one of the major game mechanics that causes players to make choices in any Men of Iron series game. You might think this would be movement or combat, as in many wargames. But that’s the point. Although players’ choices made involving those two mechanics are important in Men of Iron, they are similar to decisions a player must make in most wargames. Instead, today we’ll examine how the Men of Iron series unique “Battle Activation” mechanics present players with interesting and challenging battlefield decisions.
There are no turns in a Men of Iron game, instead the game relies on an Activation mechanic. Activation is the game mechanic whereby a player chooses which Battle (Battle is a medieval term for command or wing) they will either Activate or attempt to Activate. There are two primary forms of Activation, either a Free Activation or a Continuation. A Free Activation comes either at the start of the game, after your opponent fails a Continuation roll, Passes, or after a player fails a Seizure attempt (more on that in another article). A Free Activation can be used to Activate any Battle without having to roll a die, that is the Free part. A Continuation attempt comes after a Free Activation, a player chooses a Battle and rolls the die, trying to roll equal to or less than the Battle Leader’s Activation Rating (these are a range between one and five, averaging three).
All of the rules explanation leads to why the choice of which Battle to Activate is one of the key decisions a player can make in the game.
When you have a Free Activation, do you start with a Battle Leader with a lower Activation Rating and try to Continue with a higher Activation Rating leader so you have a better chance of Continuing, even if the first Battle is not as engaged with the enemy?
Or do you pick the Battle that is engaged with the enemy with the higher Activation Rating leader and hope to roll well when Continuing with a lower Activation Rating leader?
Or do you Activate a Battle away from the where the current action is occurring to try to force your opponent to react to your actions rather than continuing with their plan?
These choices repeat continuously during the game.
For more information about the series or to pre-order the 2nd Printing of Men of Iron Tri-Pack, you can go to the P500 page here.
