Imaginations in 42mm (12)

I finally managed to start experimenting with my 42mm soldiers, with the aim of developing a quick and simple ruleset. I still have to come up with names for my imaginations, but let's not worry about that yet.

I usually develop house rules by starting from a  core mechanism I want to explore. Once that core mechanism is solid in place, I start adding additional features in a "add-as-we-need-it" fashion. It might also turn out that the core mechanism I have in mind doesn't work, in which case we go back to square one ;-)
Such an approach to developing rules works quite well. Think about the groundwork first, before getting lost in all sorts of bells and whistles that will rarely get used.

So what are the core principles of the game I have in mind?

• Hex-based.
• Inf = 4 figures, cav = 2 figures, artillery = 1 gun + crew. I'm still pondering whether 2 Inf units can combine in a larger one, since I painted them up as "sister" units (one with a flag, the other with an officer).
• I wantAs the main core mechanism, I want to use the timing mechanism from the Conan boardgame. Each army has a "timetrack", in which the units are lined up. Each player gets a number of command points, which he can use to activate units. If a unit is at the front of the time track, it is cheap to activate a unit,  if a unit is further down the track, it becomes more expensive. Once a unit is activated, it goes to the back of the queue and the entire queue is pushed "forwards". I think this could be a very elegant mechanic, but time will tell.
• I'm also considering of having combat resolution for a unit only when the target unit is activated. Whenever a unit is shot at, place a marker next to the unit. When that unit is activated again, count the number of markers, and roll on a table to determine final effect, thus introducing a little fog of war w.r.t. firing effects.

Setup of the table.

The timetrack for one of the armies. I borrowed the idea from the "Book of Skelos" mechanic from the Conan boardgame.

My quickly scribbled notes for a first playtest.

The green army.

The blue army.