Flag placement for ME games

[Weasel]

Jason and I have been playing with the following flag placement in our campaign and we have found it works very well indeed. This placement prevents one player with faster movement from jumping on the flags and going ground hog, forcing the other into an assault battle.

For smaller maps the flags are placed about 5 hexes from map center, for larger maps we go about 10. An equal number is used for both sides, so if 21 flags only 20 are used.

This placement also adds a new element to the game; now you must defend your flags while attacking his. Note that not all flags have to be placed in a tight area, you can have several bunches spread out if you like. We try to place the flags in terrain that makes sense; the house, the hill etc.

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Not sure why some of the post is missing

[Walrus]

Hi All
Yes, the flag placing is working well for us.

It is interesting to see that your pic has done something to the text.
Hmmm...one for Raz to look at?

[Weasel]

I posted it, just waiting.

[Cross]

I've been using similar Meeting Engagement flag placement for some time, and agree that it creates a much fairer battle.

*Only use 20 flags (put the 21st in the gray map edge)
*Place 10 on each side (in colours of side, so no intel when neutral flag changes)
*Don't place any in the central 'no-mans-land' (At least 10 hexes wide)
*Place some flags 5 hexes from centre some 10 or more (same total distance for both sides)
*Use realistic map features (hill tops, cross roads, bridges etc)

It' a little tougher as you have to cover more ground. So battles are often won with only 2 or 3 flags captured, but as long as you use the Blitz scoring system it works great.

[Ratel]

*Only use 20 flags (put the 21st in the gray map edge)

Why don't you put the 21st one right in the middle? Even if the players both decides to go on the defence on what they have, somebody still needs to take flag 21.
Or doesn't it really make a difference in the bigger scheme of things?

[Cross]

Why don't you put the 21st one right in the middle? Even if the players both decides to go on the defence on what they have, somebody still needs to take flag 21.
Or doesn't it really make a difference in the bigger scheme of things?

Because the player to move first will capture the middle flag before the second player can get there. Giving the first player an advantage.

Which is the reason why we use a 'no-mans-land', so both players only capture 10 each without a fight.

If they want anything but a draw, they'll need to capture a defended enemy flag, which they'll have to fight for.

[Weasel]

Jason and I are using 10 per side but you can easily use less, the key is equal distance apart from the centre. How far from centre, and how many used all depend on the size of the map. Sometimes the 10 are placed close together while other times, like in our current battle, we have 7 together and 3 set off further away. We also try to place the flags across from each other as much as possible just to prevent any terrain benefits for one side.