Battles are fought between two opposing sides two armies that will struggle for supremacy using all their armed might and cunning. The warring armies are commanded by kings and generals, wizards and heroes. Their model counterparts are commanded by you – the player.

In a real battle lots of things happen at once and it is very difficult to tell exactly how the battle is progressing at any one moment. The fortunes of each side sway throughout the battle as one side charges and then the other, roaring with fury and bloodlust as they throw themselves upon the enemy. Mighty war engines lob their cargoes of death towards their cowering foes and clouds of arrows darken the turbulent skies.

In Warhammer we represent the howling maelstrom of action in turns, in a similar way to chess or draughts . Each player takes one complete turn. then his opponent takes a turn. The first player then takes another turn, followed by the second player again, and so on: each player taking , turn one after the other until the battle is over.

To decide which side takes the first turn it is usual for both players to roll a DG and the player who rolls highest goes first. See the Scenarios section for more about different ways of setting up a battle and deciding which side has the first turn.

Within the turn, actions are performed in a fixed order - this is called the turn sequence. Each turn is divided up into phases during which the player moves all his units, shoots all his missiles, resolves all close combat, and so on.

When it is your turn, it is up to you to keep track of where you are in the turn sequence. If you forget, your opponent should be able to remind you. Each turn is divided into the following phases. These phases are always completed in the order given below, and all actions in that phase must be resolved before moving onto the next phase.

Which player gets the first turn of the game can be determined in number of different ways. Normally both players roll a D6 and the player with the highest score can decide to move first or second. Sometimes the scenario you are playing will decide it for you. (See Scenarios, p. 196).

1. Start of the Turn. The rules often call upon a player to make tests or actions at the start of a turn. These are mostly psychology tests (as discussed in the Psychology section), or special rules that apply to a specific race such as the Animosity rule for Ores & Goblins.
2. Movement. During the Movement phase you may move your models as defined in the rules for movement.
3. Magic. In the Magic phase your Wizards may cast spells. The full rules for spellcasting and magic are described later in this book (see the Magic section).
4. Shooting. During the Shooting phase you may fire any missile weapons as described in the rules for shooting.
5. Close Combat. During the Close Combat phase all troops in close combat fight. This is an exception to the normal turn sequence in that both sides fight, not just the side whose turn it is.

Warhammer is an involving game, with many different races, weapons, and endless possibilities. In a game of size and level of complexity there are bound to be certain occasions where a particular situation lies outside the rules as they are written. This is inevitable, as it would be impossible to cover every circumstance without writing many hundreds, if not thousands, of pages of dull and pedantic text. Warhammer players should feel free to improvise where necessary, resolving situations in a friendly and mutually agreeable manner, and evolving the game far beyond the published rules if they wish.

When you come across a situation in a battle that is not covered fully by the rulebook, be prepared to interpret a rule or come up with a suitable rule for yourselves.

When a situation of contention arises, players should agree on a fair and reasonable solution and get on with the game as quickly as possible. The most common way of resolving any disputes is for both players to roll, a D6 to see whose interpretation applies in that instance.

After the game has finished, sit down and discuss what happened with your opponent and see if you can both' reach an agreement incase the same situation ever arises again. Remember, you're playing to enjoy a challenging battle with friends, where the spirit of the game is more important than winning at any cost.

There are exceptions to the general turn sequence when things are worked out as they occur rather than in any strict order. Quite often the actions of one player will trigger the sudden appearance of a particular troop type, or activate some special weapon or occurrence. Examples of this are springing a bear trap or sinking into quicksand – consequences resulting from movement which may be conveniently resolved there and then. Inevitably, there will be the odd occasion when events can be worked out in one phase or another with little real difference.