Round Structure
Modern CQB uses a fixed round order so both players can feel the pressure building in the same way. The assault side acts first because it is driving the operation. The defenders still begin with the better information, the safer angles, and the stronger thresholds. That tension is the heart of the game.
Every round follows the same sequence:
- Response Move Phase
- Response Fire & Utility Phase
- Hostile Move Phase
- Hostile Fire & Utility Phase
- End Phase
Overwatch can interrupt either move phase.
1. Response Move Phase
This is where the assault team commits to space. Operators enter the site, shift lanes, set up breaches, drag civilians, and expose themselves to anything the defenders prepared.
Each response figure may:
- enter from an off-map entry point
- move up to its Move
- spend 1 movement to open or close an unlocked door
- spend 1 movement to peek a corner or threshold
- carry or drag one civilian or restrained suspect at -2 Move
Movement is rarely neutral in this game. Crossing a doorway, stepping into a long hall, or opening the wrong door may trigger hostile Overwatch immediately.
2. Response Fire & Utility Phase
Once the team is in position, it decides how to spend its moment of initiative. Every response figure that is not Downed chooses one action.
Common actions are:
- Fire
- Overwatch
- Breach
- Use Utility
- Arrest
- Secure
- Recover
Resolve actions one figure at a time in any order chosen by the response player. This means sequencing matters. A mirror check before a breach matters. A flash before an arrest matters. A stabilizer before a second room entry may matter more than another shot.
3. Hostile Move Phase
If the defenders are still alive, they now react to the breach. Some will hold. Some will fall back. Some will rush the objective deeper into the site. Some will decide the only thing left to do is trigger the plan they were buying time for.
During this phase, hostiles may:
- fall back between rooms
- shift to better lanes
- flank through hidden or secondary routes
- reposition civilians or hostages
- begin or complete escape routes
Response Overwatch can trigger here.
4. Hostile Fire & Utility Phase
This phase is the answer to the assault team's opening pressure. Each active hostile chooses one action. That action may be direct violence, a denial play, or a desperate attempt to preserve the real objective.
Common hostile actions are:
- Fire
- Overwatch
- change trap or alarm state
- destroy or move evidence
- move hostages or critical assets
- surrender, if morale and mission allow it
Hostiles do not need to win the firefight cleanly. Many of them only need to survive long enough to close the story, burn the proof, or move the person the raid came for.
5. End Phase
The End Phase closes the immediate exchange and tells both players what the building now looks like after the noise.
Resolve the following in order:
- remove spent Overwatch markers
- tick down smoke and temporary effects
- resolve burning evidence, dead switches, or active alarms
- force Nerve tests caused by severe shock or mission triggers
- check whether objectives have changed state
- mark rooms as Cleared or Unsecured where appropriate
Noise and Escalation
Some missions track Noise, Heat, or a similar escalation clock. Use it when the scenario cares how visible, loud, or prolonged the operation becomes.
Common causes include:
- loud breaches
- failed stealth entries
- civilian screams
- alarms left active
- prolonged firefights
When Noise crosses a threshold, the defenders may gain:
- reinforcements
- extra trap activations
- faster evidence-burn clocks
- a forced escape attempt by the anchor target
This is how the game punishes teams that solve every problem with speed and gunfire. A loud raid may still succeed, but it should change what the next room looks like.
Ending the Mission
A mission ends immediately if one side has completed its objective or can no longer contest the site in a meaningful way.
The most common end states are:
- all response figures are Downed, captured, or forced to withdraw
- the hostile side completes its escape or destruction condition
- the response side secures the site and extracts the required objectives
If none of those conditions are met, begin a new round. The building is still fighting back.