Variable length endings

[Der Kuenstler]

Variable Endings

First let’s start with a direct quote that the manual gives us:

“When the turn limit has been set to ‘variable’ in the parameters, and one or more victory flags changes hands near the end of the battle, the battle may be extended several more turns, out to a maximum of ten extra turns or a 25% increase in the original battle’s length, whichever is less. Essentially this means a battle won’t stop short while active fighting is going on, within limits.” (P.42)

The person I found who appears to know the most about this is Treeburst155 at Battlefront. I will include some of his quotes along with the manual quotes:

1) The manual says extra turns kick in when “one or more victory flags changes hands near the end of the battle” - This is as clear as mud - what is the designers’ definition of “near the end”?

According to Treeburst:
“The variable ending kicks in with flag status changes AT LEAST SIX turns before the scenario end turn. That's why it is so common to go into overtime. Any flag changes in virtually the last quarter of a typical game will trigger it!!”
“I KNOW the variable ending is triggered REAL early. I would have guessed flag changes in the last two or three turns, but it's at least six turns.”

2) Apparently you can extend a game by moving away from a flag located behind your lines - this changes the flag to neutral. “What I know right now is that the game can be extended at will, and with no risk, at least once, by any player who has a flag behind his lines....By [deserting] one of your VLs near the end you could have gone into overtime if you wanted.” - Treeburst155

3) This is the quote I’m inclined to believe (a “die roll” explanation) because it is so consistent with my experience in all of my variable ending games:

“A 40+ game will go at least 40 complete turns, but no more than 50 complete turns (10 extra turns max, or 25% of designer specified game length, whichever is less). This "die roll" is thrown at the end of turn 40, and ONLY at the end of turn 40. The die has 11 sides (in the case of a scenario designed with 40 or more turns), numbered 0-10. The number of extra turns is set by this die. What this means is that the chances of the game ending on any specific turn are equal (9%). So, there is about a 55% chance the 40 turn game will go 5 or more extra turns. There's only a 9% chance of the game ending on the designer specified turn. It's best to think of a 40+ game as 45 +/-5. Odds are over 70% that you will get at least two extra turns.”

If Treeburst155 is correct then there is no use spending hours testing variable endings in the editor - once a flag changes it’s status near the end of the game a random “die roll” decides how much longer it will be. I have sent Treeburst an email to find out where he got his info in order to confirm its validity, and will add updates and corrections here as needed.