War In Space (Pt 6): Movement

This one's not so long... how to move in War In Space.

Movement Phase:  Ships move forward a number of 5cm increments equal to their current speed.  Ships may also attempt to turn during this movement.  Energy may be spent to accelerate or decelerate, and to increase the chance of a successful turn.
 
A ship may increase or decrease its current speed by 1 by spending energy points equal to the ship’s Size Class.  There is no limit to a ship’s acceleration or deceleration except energy available.  It is easier to keep track of speed changes by simply announcing them during the energy allocation phase versus the movement phase.  As soon as the dice are rolled and energy is allocated to movement, spend the appropriate amount and announce the speed change.  Then simply replace the ship’s speed counter with a new one reflecting the updated value.  At the beginning of the movement phase the ship’s speed will be correct.

A ship may attempt a normal 60° turn right or left by making a die roll.  Size Class determines the die type as indicated on Table 1.  If the die score rolled exceeds the ship’s speed, the turn is successful.  If the die score is equal to or less than the ship’s speed, the turn fails.  Regardless, after any turn attempt a ship must immediately move forward one 5cm increment.  Thus a ship not able to move any farther forward due to its current speed is ineligible to turn.  Also it should be obvious a ship can make a number of turn attempts equal to its speed.  Turns require no energy, but energy may be spent to increase the chance of executing one.  Ships receive a bonus of 1 to their turn die score by spending energy points equal to the ship’s Size Class.  Bonuses are cumulative and as with acceleration and deceleration, there is no limit to a ship’s turn bonuses except energy available.  As with speed changes, it is easier to keep track of turn bonuses by simply announcing them the during energy allocation phase versus the movement phase.  As soon as the dice are rolled and energy is allocated to movement, spend the appropriate amount and announce the turn bonus.  Then simply place the appropriate turn bonus marker on the table and wait until after the weapons fire phase to resolve the movement.

Ships may attempt hard turns of 120° or 180° at the risk of engine damage.  Simply roll two or three turn dice, for 120° and 180° turns respectively, of the appropriate type.  Turn bonuses apply to all dice rolled, but the scores on all turn dice must indicate a successful turn.  If any  die score (plus applicable bonus) does not exceed the ship’s speed, the hard turn fails.  A failed hard turn results in 1 Engine System box marked out.

Order of ship movement depends on experience level.  The player with the most ships moves his least experienced ship first.  If both sides have equal ships, the ship with the lowest experience level moves first.  Players then alternate moving one ship, the order being lowest experience to highest.  In the event that two or more ships are eligible to move next due to a tie in experience levels, the order is determined by speed; slowest to fastest (among those ships only).  If two or more ships have both the same experience level and same speed, movement order among these ships is determined by size: largest to smallest.  If two or more ships share experience level, speed and size determine order randomly.  Continue until all ships have moved.

Next post: Damage Control!