Who Goes First? How Turns Work

Activating a Model

In order for a model to do anything at all, it has to "activate". When a model is activated, it must immediately do everything its player intends for it to do that turn. Once this is done, another model is activated. What this means is that you can't move one model, move another, and then shoot with the first model. It's Model A, then Model B, then Model C. 

Game Turns

A “game turn” lasts from the point where no model has activated this turn to the point where the last model has finished activating – in other words, it’s the time it takes for everyone on the table to “have their go”. Unlike chess, draughts or Warhammer, the sides don’t move by player, so it isn’t a case of one player moving all their guys and then the next player moving all of theirs. This keeps the game fluid and means that both players are constantly involved.

A game will usually take somewhere between 6 or 8 game turns - so each model will have the chance to activate between 6 or 8 times

Priority

Priority represents which of the players has the edge this turn where a number of models have the same initiative. It is used to “tie-break” where initiative scores are equal. If you have the turn counter, you can activate a model first.

Every game turn, Priority passes to the other player.

If in doubt, add random clip art.

Order of Activation

Models activate in order of initiative. The models with the highest initiative – usually heroes – move first. A model with Initiative 10 will activate before one with Initiative 9. Where two or more models have the same initiative, the players take it in turn to activate their models. The player with the turn counter gets to move the first model. Then, when one player runs out of models with that initiative, the other player can move all his remaining models with that initiative.

So: I have one model with Initiative 10, and you have three models with Initiative 10. When the turn starts, because 10 is the highest initiative score on the board, the models with that score activate first. You have Priority this turn, and so you can activate a model with Initiative 10 before me. You activate one of your Initiative 10 models. I then activate my model with Initiative 10. You then activate your remaining models with Initiative 10, one after the other.

When neither of us has any models left to activate with Initiative 10, we go on to models with Initiative 9, and so on until we have run out of models. At that point, the game turn ends, Priority goes to the other player, and a new game turn begins.