Operations
Moving the squad during Operations in Ambush!: paragraph, event, perception and activation checks.
You are in Operations whenever no active German is on the map (rulebook p. 9). Time does not pass: soldiers move one hex at a time, alone or in groups, in any order, and may perform any of the actions below as often as you like.
Paragraph Checks
Each time a soldier or stack enters a hex, cross-reference the hex on the View Sleeve (p. 9):
- None: nothing; continue.
- Black paragraph number: read it in the Paragraph Booklet and do what it says.
- Sighting reference (
s1…): read the paragraph only if that sighting has not occurred yet. - Red numbers: ignore; they move the Germans during Rounds.
A group entering together makes one check. When a paragraph needs a Perception Check and several soldiers share the hex, the soldier with the highest rolls (p. 9). A hex with an Event marker needs no check. A check is made even if the hex holds other soldiers or was entered before; if you already know the paragraph you may skip re-reading it (p. 9).
Stances
A soldier is standing, crouching or prone (p. 9). Standing soldiers run; crouching soldiers crawl; prone soldiers cannot move. Use the counter’s two sides for standing and crouching and a Prone marker for prone. During Operations you may change stance at any time, but a soldier who has just entered a hex waits until its Paragraph Check is done (p. 10).
Actions during Operations
| Action | Who | Rule (p. 9–10) |
|---|---|---|
| Move | Standing or crouching | One adjacent hex, then a Paragraph Check. Soldiers in the same hex and stance may move together with one check. |
| Change stance | Any | After the hex’s Paragraph Check. |
| Pick up or exchange equipment | Standing or crouching | Any portable item in the hex; taking from an inactive soldier requires crouching. |
| Drag an inactive soldier | Standing, with an empty Port Box | One hex at a time. For an incapacitated soldier roll a die per hex: a 0 kills him. Only inactive soldiers may be dragged. |
| Prepare a weapon | Standing or crouching | A machinegun stays prepared until moved; a bazooka or satchel charge until used. Personal weapons need no preparation. |
| Clear a jammed weapon | Standing or crouching | Roll on the Clear Jammed Weapon Table; a B breaks the weapon. |
| Move a captured German | A US soldier in his hex | See Captures. |
Sightings
Most Germans and vehicles, and some objects, have a sighting number. A sighting occurs only when you read a paragraph marked with that sighting; tick it on the Squad Record then. Afterwards, skip every reference preceded by that sighting, including Event results (p. 10).
Conditions
The mission’s narrative advances by changing the Mission Card in the sleeve: a Condition change (p. 10). Every mission starts in Condition 1. When a paragraph or Event tells you to change:
- Finish the paragraph’s instructions.
- Put the new Condition side in the sleeve and tick the Condition track. Conditions only rise and may skip numbers; skipped Conditions never happen.
- Remove every Event marker from the map.
- Note the new Activation Level.
- Make a Paragraph Check for every hex holding an active US soldier, lowest hex number first. Ignore Event results and place Event markers in those hexes instead. If a check activates a German, start Rounds at once and stop checking.
A Condition change during Rounds follows the Rounds procedure instead.
Event Checks
When a Paragraph Check shows Event, roll two dice and read the sum on the RE column of the Mission Card: “None” or a paragraph, possibly with a sighting reference (p. 10). After carrying it out, place an marker in the hex. No further checks are made there until the Condition changes.
Perception Checks
Roll one die; at or below the soldier’s (plus the paragraph’s modifier, if any) is a success (p. 10–11). 0 always succeeds, 9 always fails. Unless the paragraph says every eligible soldier checks, only one soldier per hex checks, the one with the highest PC. Some once-only checks tell you to place an Event marker when they fail, which closes that hex for the rest of the Condition. Perception Checks are also triggered by minefields, boobytraps, grenades landing nearby and by US Awareness during Rounds.
Activation Checks
Germans appear either through an Event or through an Activation Check (p. 11): roll one die against the Activation Level of the current Condition, as written on the Squad Record, plus any modifier in the paragraph. At or below the level, the German is activated: place him and commence Rounds. A group entering together triggers one check.
Random determination
When a paragraph says “at random”, give each option an equal share of the die and roll; reroll a result outside the shares (p. 11).
Leaving the map
A soldier leaves through a hex whose sleeve window shows Exit, or where the briefing allows it. A soldier who has left cannot return (p. 16).