Realistic Artillery Management - FOO Rule

[Cross]

A bit of background: My first real reason for looking at the FOO rule was for the simple fact of CB. During a game it was incredibly common to see one on board gun targeted at each of the opponent's on board guns or at each little group of infantry and tanks that you may have spotted. Heck I know it happened because I was doing it too! So the standard practice was to deploy your battery spread over 50 hexes and buy some others and wait for your opponent to shoot. Once he fired each smoke puff would be targeted by as few as a single tube. So 20 on board guns, 20 seperate plots by 20 seperate guns.

Realism was not a factor but what we created was based on fact, albiet loosely. So the FOO rule is more a rule to prevent incredibly gamey play more then anything else.

Don't look at it as trying to put real FOOs into the game as that can never be simulated.

I hear you Chris. And I think you are right...up to a point.

I think maybe your solution is good, but goes a little too far. From 20 plots down to one; unless you buy multiple FOOs.

Perhaps we are looking at this from the wrong direction. Another solution may be to only limit plots based on platoons of mortars or troops of artillery, rather than FOOs. One plot per troop or something simple like that.

Your post also brings up the issue that RERomine raised: The problem of artillery guns, from the same troop, spread all over the map, instead of being in realistically close proximity.

Anyway, sounds like this is all academic. I was aware an update was coming out in the next month or so, but wasn't aware that it would include changes to the artillery process.

Doesn't make sense to move forward with possible rules until we see what's new.