This option was written during the time when papermail postal play was the only option. It is presented here as an option that can be modified to PBeM if both opponents agree BEFORE play begins.
The mailman just arrived. You rush to discover your latest PBM response mixed in with the other bills and head to your game table, tearing open the envelope as you go. You check out the combat results. GREAT! The 1-1 worked. Visions of a major breakthrough dance in your head until you spot the exchange on your 3-1 surrounded. The losses hurt. Reality sets in.
You make your opponent’s moves. Looks good. Wow, didn’t expect that. Why’d he do that? That’s clever. What? How’d that unit get there? Count that out again. Hmmm. Still too far. Now the dilemma. Do you let it slide, waste another month getting a revision? Or hold him accountable for the unit’s illegal move and disallow the unit’s whole move. If the unit is not allowed to move, it changes a 1-1 DR to a 1-2 AR. Well, he’s been really careful up to this point and nice enough to drop a line with each move. You decide to let it slide with a brief note attached to your move.
The next move comes. You read the letter. What’s this? You miss-moved a unit. He’s not allowing the move. The big attack fizzles because of the mistake. WHAT A TURKEY! Here you go out of your way to give him a mile and he won’t give you an inch. He should owe you one, and you feel cheated. You’ll show him! What was once an exciting, fast, and friendly contest between AHIKS “friends” becomes a no-holds-barred blood feud. Ever happen to you? If so, maybe the Hard Core Option might be for you.
The Hard Core Option is having BOTH players agree BEFORE the match is started that each is to be held 100% accountable for their moves. If a unit is moved illegally, it simply forfeits its move that turn. If attack odds are affected, tough. Whether the move is trivial or game deciding, same rule. Of course, you have to make doubly sure you and your hard core opponent are playing the same game, rules, edition, errata, etc.
Here are a couple arguments for the hard core option:
It is LOGICAL. It’s a natural extension of the old, “once a unit has been moved and the player’s hand taken from the piece…” rule.
It is HISTORICAL. Real commanders didn’t have the luxury of counting out just the right number of strength points to get the needed combat odds. Unforeseen little surprises pop up. Subordinate units didn’t always move as they were supposed to. Good commanders were able to make allowances and overcome the difficulty. Ever think that Napoleon would have liked to re-move Grouchy at Waterloo?
It is FAIR. PBM and PBEM allow a player to check his moves before mailing. A player who fails to check and allows a mistake to slip through the editing process has no one to blame but himself.
It is PROFESSIONAL. Playing hard core will lead to more professional game play. Each player should be careful in making each move. Sloppy play will decrease when the understood alternative is “no move” by affected units.
It is FRIENDLY. Playing hard core will direct your frustrations for mistakes at yourself where they belong. You will have no reason to get upset with your innocent opponent; he is simply doing what you agreed for him to do, He didn’t make the mistake—YOU DID!
It ELIMINATES GUESSWORK! Both players know the rules, so it is easy to know what to do. No more gray areas on what constitutes a goof worthy of correction. What might be trivial to one person might be considered crucial to another.
IT KEEPS THE GAME GOING. You know what to do and can go ahead and make your move. The importance of this last point should not go unnoticed by those waiting a month for their turn. Those that decide to live by the hard core rule should be prepared to die by it if they screw up. The worst death I ever died was in a Wagram game where the illegal move of a single French unit allowed half the Austrian Army to fall back beyond the Rossbach, allowing me to snatch defeat from victory. The key was we had decided to play hard core before we started, so I understood when I died that it was from a self inflicted wound. The experience in no way diminished the level of respect or consideration I felt for my opponent and it taught me a hard lesson.
Consider the Hard Core Option. It might be the answer for improvement to some of your PBM or PBeM opportunities.