Nuts Big Battles Activation confusion

[sgtsteiner]

Hi 

First time trying NutsBB and tad confused by Activation rules.

Both sides have Platoons that are all rated Rep 4

So on Rolling for Activation side A rolls a 5 and B rolls a 3

As I understand rules (page 6) side A has no Platoons of Rep 5+ so cannot activate ?
Does side B then get to Activate all its desired Platoons as all better than roll of 3 ?  

If Side A had rolled 6 and B a 5 would neither side get to activate any units as all Rep 4 ? 

Also if A did have a unit of Rep 5 (rest being Rep 4) would that be only unit it could activate ie only units with Rep equal to or better than Activation roll can be activated nothing lower ? 

Finding this rather odd as lots of times Side winning Activation roll does nothing or only couple of units activate ? Rolling a 2 vs 1 seems to be sweet spot ? 

Cheers

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Apr 13, 2024 15:55:02 GMT sgtsteiner said:

Hi 
Here goes.

First time trying NutsBB and tad confused by Activation rules.

Both sides have Platoons that are all rated Rep 4
Got it.

So on Rolling for Activation side A rolls a 5 and B rolls a 3

As I understand rules (page 6) side A has no Platoons of Rep 5+ so cannot activate ?

To activate you must have a Rep equal or higher than the d6 scored. So I scored a 5 but as I don't have a 5 or higher, I don't activate. 
Does side B then get to Activate all its desired Platoons as all better than roll of 3 ?   Yes, as long as they are equal or higher than the score, so they act.
If Side A had rolled 6 and B a 5 would neither side get to activate any units as all Rep 4 ?  Correct.

Also if A did have a unit of Rep 5 (rest being Rep 4) would that be only unit it could activate ie only units with Rep equal to or better than Activation roll can be activated nothing lower ?  Correct.

Finding this rather odd as lots of times Side winning Activation roll does nothing or only couple of units activate ?   Correct. If you have Rep 3 units, half the time you won't move - score of 4, 5 or 6. Rolling a 2 vs 1 seems to be sweet spot ? No, the sweet spot is 1 vs 6. 1 = all activate. 6, none activate. Where THW is different and more realistic is if you move first, you may not fire first. Most games are my turn I go and shoot, and you do nothing. THW games I may move first; we take an In Sight (page 8) and maybe you fire first. Hope this helps.

Cheers

[sgtsteiner]

Hi 

Thanks for explanation certainly a different way than most sets :-)

One further question re Shooting

An AFV shoots and achieves a hit and the penetration result is a Clank Test which results in target firing back (ie pass 1d6)

If the return fire also results in similar Clank test does original firer fire again and so on until either a unit is missed, destroyed or Carry On only result is achieved ?

Essentially I am asking can units fire multiple times in a turn, I assumed yes as it is reactive fire and one target might also be involved in shooting combat with more than one Platoon due to Activation system.

Cheers

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Correct, firing continues until a miss, destroyed or Carry On result is scored. THW has lots of fire back and forth to a conclusion on the same activation. Easier to track and more realistic according to my play testers. I was very lucky as I had Vietnam vets, tunnel rats, cops, tank commanders during Desert Storm, WW2 vets and bikers.

[sgtsteiner]

Yes thought so but not 100% clear as written (a sentence to state this would be helpful) certainly an interesting system :-)

Cheers

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Thanks for asking and let me know if you have more questions. Big Battle came out 8 years ago and since then the game mechanics have streamlined as gamers want less detail and the same results. Check out Chain Reaction 2023 to get an idea. They are free and CR 2023 has the most recent changes. Big Battles is getting updated as well.