Trampling Out the Vintage: Designer's clarifications and rebuttal Roberto Chiavini's review of Trampling Out the Vintage raised some points that I, the designer would like to address. 1) The lack of a prison raid table is a glaring error for which I can offer only an apology and no excuses. This will be posted ASAP on the Microgame Co-op's website. In the meantime please refer to the following: Roll Result <1 The Union player gets no victory points and all cavalry units (both sides) do not return. 2-3 The Union player receives 1 VP, or 0 VP's and 1 cavalry unit may return to the game next turn as a reinforcement unit. 4-5 The Union player receives 2 VP's, or 1 VP and 1 cavalry unit may return to the game next turn as a reinforcement unit. 6+ The Union player receives 2 VP's and 1 cavalry unit may return, or 1 VP and all of the Union cavalry units may return to the game as reinforcment units. Notes: +1 for each Union cavalry unit exited off of the south edge of the map. -1 for each Confederate cavalry unit exited off of the south edge of the map. +1 if the Confederate player has entered the 1st Georgia militia unit to the game. Except for the result of 1 or less, all exited Confederate cavalry units return to the game the next turn if the 1st Georgia Militia has not been entered into the game. If the 1st Georgia Militia has been previously introduced then 1 exited Confederate cavalry unit will not return. There is not additional penalty if no Confederate cavalry units were used in pursuit. 2) The reviewer takes to task "a much needed clarification" of the activation and initiative concepts for the game. Here goes: -The initiative level is determined by both players rolling a die, adding thier respective army morale levels and totaling the result. A player may also add the leadership rating of one uncommitted leader and the leadership rating of the Supreme Commander (Sherman or Johnston/Hood) to this sum by announcing this beforehand. The high roller (re-roll any ties) wins the initiative with the DR difference determining the number of initiative points available for use in that turn's operations phase. A straight "doubles" DR will end the phase, regardless of the numbers to be added, if both sides have committed their supreme commanders. This is spelled out in rule 5.2. -Leaders are committed when they are used to do any of the following: A) win the initiative phase DR (rule 7.2) B) influence combat results by using their leadership rating as a DRM (rule 8.2.1). C) are displaced by enemy units that move into their hex (rule 8.1). The activation of units, and the costs to do so, are spelled out on the players' aid chart. Committed leaders command factors are halved (fractions rounded up) as with all other committed units. A leader can activate all subordinate units that it is stacked with/adjacent to, both committed and uncommitted (rule 8.1). The costs to do so are also spelled out on the players' aid chart. Only units that are both disorganized and committed can not be activated in an operations phase. All of these points are expressly stated in the rules and in summary on the players' aid chart. -There are a couple of minor clarifications that I would like to make since the game came out. A) the CRT has an obvious typo. The DR result of 4 in a 1:2 attack should read "1R/--" and not "9R/--." Not a fatal error, but one that should've been caught. B) Optional rule 18.2 Railroad Repair. The 1 VP awarded to the Union player for each station destroyed by the Confederate player is in addition to the VP award the Union player receives for capturing the station as listed in 16.1. I'm not sure how much Mr. Chiavini's review is based upon "one man's poison, another's tea," especially since he did not even play an entire game before he reviewed it. The Microgame Co-op fosters and supports designers who experiment and try to develop new approaches/techniques, as well as topics, for the simulation gaming hobby. As the adverb on Co-op's webpage states, this in definitely not a warmed-over Blue and Gray, but a simulation that challanges players to make crucial decisions each turn. Close attention was payed to develop a game that cast players into the same historical dilemmas faced by the Union and Confederate leaders, while at the same time making a truly competitive game situation that would not replay over and over again according to a rules-written script. I can assure you that Trampling Out the Vintage was extensively playtested. Blind playtesting sessions included 7th and 8th graders, for some of whom this was their first game. The decision to keep the rules short (8 pages), and not have a lot of clarification was mine to make as a designer. This was after much feedback from playtesters and proofreaders on how well the rules were written and easy to understand. It is also this designer's opinion that rules should not intimidate, enable its owners to play, and not tell them how to fight their battles/campaigns. I guess you can't please everyone. Paul Rohrbaugh