So how do you keep track of your players turns?

[ErnieB]

Just started playing again after about a 20 year break ( lol ). Only able to play my 9 yo son right now ( who loves the xbox game and the tabletop game ). One thing we have trouble with is remembering who has already been flipped over or stood up and has basically already taken their turn. We started turning players around facing the other way to signify who is "done" with their turn but this does seem to add a bit of length to the playing process and may not be an optimal solution. ( rotating each figure after their turn and then rotating them all back to the correct facing before the opponents turn ) So what do you guys do? Or am I the only one with an aging memory...

[juergen]

rotating the players is very common

[ErnieB]

rotating the players is very common

ok, i wasnt sure if there was a better more common practice

[WilburS]

I rotate them, the trick is to not rotate them back the next turn until you have moved them again.

[Don__Vito]

Yep, as long as they're all facing the same way at the start of each turn it doesn't matter if they're forwards or backwards. If you don't tyurnover and everyone has moved, they should all be uniform for the start of the next go. Some like to turn them back forwards every end of the turn, I just play front, back, front, back, etc...

[Tim]

i always turn them 90° to face a sideline after taking atheir action. At the beginning of my opponents turn i move them back to face forward (as i don't like my players to look at my own endzone). It takes only a couple of seconds to turn them back ... seconds my opponent usually thinks how to start his turn.

Flipping over (=unstunning) happens "automatically" (you can't forget it) after the end of your turn. So don't touch those players until your turn is over.

Another method i've seen is placing a token at the player after his action, but i think this is more cumbersome.

[Grumbledook]

I favour turning them all facing forward after your turn ends, the amount of times myself of my opponent forgets which way they were facing at the start of their turn if they do the "forward/back" alternation happens a lot. Then there are those turns that you turnover part way through and half are left facing one way and half another, so putting them all forward at the end of your turn works best so you always know which way they should be. As Tim said it takes no time at all and you can just do it while the opponent thinks for a few seconds.

Bonehead/gazed etc anyone who has lost their tacklezone I turn them to face a sideline until they have regained their tackle zone.

[Smeborg]

I agree with Grum.

What I and my son do is to start each turn with players facing to their front. After each action, rotate that player 90 degrees (to face the sideline). At the end of your turn, rotate all players to face to their front again (this also acts as a handy check that you have taken actions with all your players). I believe this is the best system.

Some coaches rotate their players 180 degrees to face backwards, and leave them like that until their next turn, when they do the same in reverse. I do not recommend this method, as at some point the coach will invariably forget which facing is which. It also does not work for players who do not take actions (because you have to remember to rotate them). With the above recommended system, you do not have these problems.

[Darkson]

I go for the rotate 180, and I've never had any problems, and then rotate back the next turn.
90 degree turn for players that have lost their TZ.

[WilburS]

So I guess the key really is to do what you are happiest with.

[Smeborg]

WilburS - it's just a convention outside of the rules, so whatever works for both coaches is fine.

I have seen very regular mistakes made using the 180 degrees method, that's why I don't recommend it. But if this method can be used by a coach without error (e.g. by Darkson), then obviously it works.

I will, however, admit to a prejudice, which is that I dislike playing (during my turn) against a team of players who are all facing backwards towards their own end zone! Although I suppose you could say this is just a matter of taste, it becomes a real issue if any player types on the teams are similar in appearance (e.g. colour scheme), when there is a risk of confusion. For example, in a tournament I played a game (CD vs. CD) where all 12 Chaos Dwarfs were painted identically. Using the 180 degrees method would have been impracticable. Orcs, Humans, High Elves, Dark Elves, Ghouls, Zombies etc. can often be painted in similar colours. In a nutshell, I like to see the board at the beginning of my turn and know that all players facing towards my end zone belong to my opponent. I find it speeds up play by giving me a quicker sight of the board. I assume the same applies to at least some of my opponents.

Darkson - what do you do with players that don't take any action? Do you give them a 180 degree rotation at the end of the turn (about the same time that you unstun players)? Do you ever forget to do it?

[Darkson]

Although I suppose you could say this is just a matter of taste, it becomes a real issue if any player types on the teams are similar in appearance (e.g. colour scheme), when there is a risk of confusion.

That I agree with, though that was solved here by me suggesting coloured base-rings and numbers front & back (which I find is a help to both coaches, especially when you have figures like the new humans and amazons).

Darkson - what do you do with players that don't take any action? Do you give them a 180 degree rotation at the end of the turn (about the same time that you unstun players)? Do you ever forget to do it?

We do it before unstunning, and it was forgot when we first starting doing it, but soon became habit. Probably helped that we come from a wide-gaming background, so we're used to having to turn models after turns (for games like Mordheim and Necromunda for example).