IGOUGO versus the THW System

Here's an excerpt from 5150: New Beginnings that explains the difference between traditional games and the THW reaction System. As you can see with the Reaction System players are always involved in the game. We use individual figures in the example to make it easier to follow but the mechanics apply to groups and squads as well.

Traditional Games

Traditional games use a turn sequence known as “IGO, UGO”. This means that I move my figures, fire weapons, we do some melee and maybe you do a morale test or two.

THW uses what is called the Reaction System. In THW games your side activates and you move part of your force. That triggers a reaction from parts of my force. I immediately react and this may cause you to react in kind. Here’s an example of both systems using one figure on each side.

IGO UGO

Our figures start on opposite sides of a building and cannot see each other, also known as out of sight of each other.

·         It’s my turn and I move first.

·         I move my figure around the corner and see your figure.

·         I shoot at your figure.

·         You either get hit or not.

·         If you get hit I see how bad the damage is.

·         If you don’t get hit maybe you take a morale test or maybe you don't.  

·         Now it’s your turn.

·         If you stay where you are you shoot at me.

·         You either hit me or not.

·         If you get a hit you see how bad the damage is.

·         If you don’t get a hit maybe I take a morale test or maybe I don’t. 

·         Now it’s my turn again.

The big thing is I get to move and shoot at you and you can’t do anything about it. 

THW Reaction System

Now let's go through the same scenario using the Reaction System. Our figures start on opposite sides of a building and cannot see each other, also known as out of sight of each other.

·         I activate and move first.

·         I move my figure around the corner and your figure can see me.

·         You get a chance to react to me.

·         Maybe you shoot at me.

·         Maybe you don’t.

·         If you do shoot at me either you hit me or you miss.

·         If you hit me you see how bad the damage is.

·         But if you miss me I get a chance to react back.

·         Maybe I shoot back.

·         Maybe I duck back for cover.

·         Or maybe I run away.

·         We continue to fire back and forth until either one of us gets hit, runs out of ammo, ducks back behind cover, or runs away.

·         When all my actions and all reactions that they have caused are finished, it’s your turn.

The big thing is you immediately get to react to what I do, during my turn, just like in real life.

There are a variety of Reaction Tests in 5150: New Beginnings but don’t let that discourage you. You’ll be using only two of them 95% of the time. After a few turns you’ll have them memorized and will rarely refer to the rules. It’s that simple.