Skirmish Order - Movement - Design Notes

If you've played a fair number of miniature games, you're probably used to seeing units move in nice, predictable chunks. If you've had a few questions about why Skirmish Orders movement rules and their reasoning hopefully this can clear things up for you!

You are probably used to the clean, tidy, six inches per turn.

That number has been around for ages for good reason, because it maps pretty closely to how far a person might walk in six seconds or so, which is how many of these games justify it. Fair enough!

But Skirmish Order doesn’t work that way, and that’s kind of the point. I don't feel I have to do things the same way as every other game. I know some people won't like this but it's my approach to writing rules.

In this system, an average mini moves 4 inches per movement action. But they could have two actions per turn, is that not a bit much!? Yep, they can move up to 8 inches in a single turn. But that doesn’t mean they're sprinting full-tilt across the table every round. It means the game assumes something a bit closer to reality, people don’t all move at once, and they’re not always seen/noticed when they do.

Minis by Pendraken & painted by me.

Skirmish Order leans into that idea: that movement is fluid, sometimes unnoticed, and not always uniform. The four-inch action isn’t just a slower version of what you’re used to. It’s built on the idea that battlefield presence isn’t just about physical distance. It’s about intention, timing, and subtlety. You don’t always catch someone repositioning until they’re already where they want to be. Oh dear!! 

To me that feels right. I like games that deal with the unexpected and is my approach in many areas of writing Skirmish order. It's a storytelling game afterall, and twists are a classic storytelling feature.

In this game movement rewards attention. Noticing, thinking ahead. Because while a mini could cross a good chunk of the board in a single turn, that doesn’t mean they should or will. Maybe they only move once. Maybe they don’t move at all. Or maybe they reposition quietly while something louder is happening across the field.

What you end up with, I hope, is a pacing that feels less rigid and more alive. Less like chess, more like a moment caught mid-motion. The board doesn’t reset each turn; it evolves. You’re watching small adjustments add up over time. Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes it creeps up on you.

That’s the philosophy behind the movement system in Skirmish Order, its not slower or faster. Its grounded in how people actually behave under pressure. Cautious steps, sudden bursts and the occasional surprise when you realise someone’s moved further than you expected.

So yes, it’s typically 4 inches per action. It's a different approach and I hope that players will enjoy this.