of the designer being asked what the ground scale was, rolling a die and it coming up 'four'. In reality, European village streets are not 40 meters across, for example. Time was said to be two minutes per turn, though the developer admits that this is also inexact and that each game turn should be considered a "module of time, such that the (game's) events can occur and interact with one another." The semi-simultaneous system of play developed in the mid-1970s can be seen in Squad Leader'''s sequence of play. Each turn consists of two player turns, each of which have eight "phases": Rally phase (in which "broken" units attempt to rally and malfunctioning weapons are repaired) Prep fire phase (in which the player whose turn it is may fire on enemy units; any units that prep fire cannot move or fire again for the rest of the player's turn) Movement phase (in which the player may move their units on the board) Defensive fire phase (in which the other player may fire on units that just moved) Advancing fire phase (in which any units that moved may fire, at reduced strength) Rout phase (in which any "broken" units must flee for cover) Advance phase (in which the player whose turn it is may move every unit one hex), and the close combat phase (in which any units from opposite sides that start that phase in the same hex engage in close combat) The name of the game is actually a misnomer, as in most ways the player assumes the role of a company commander (i.e. gives orders to platoons and squads). The squad leaders in Squad Leader are actually "factored in" to the squad counters, and only exceptional leaders - officers and NCOs - are portrayed separately, by their own counters. Leaders can exert a favorable influence on the firing of support weapons, or the morale rolls of squads with whom they are stacked, although if a leader fails a morale check the squads stacked with him must check for morale a second time. Most scenarios give each player, generally speaking, enough simulated men to make up a company, though order of battle is not precise and most scenarios only give a flavor of what the real life battles were like rather than a direct simulation. One aspect of the game that adds greatly to its popularity are the