Firstly, in the case of an awkward charge, a charging unit must be able to see its enemy. That is to say, the enemy unit must lie within the 90° arc of vision of at least one model in the unit.

Players are not permitted to measure to their intended target when they declare a charge. A player must use his judgement when declaring a charge, because if the target is too far away he will only be permitted to make a normal move and also loses any opportunity he might otherwise have to shoot with missile weapons. On the whole, a failed charge is bad news for the would be charger; not only might he suffer unnecessary stand & shoot hits but he will be vulnerable to an enemy charge in the next turn.

When he declares a charge a player must be reasonably sure that his unit will reach his target. A player cannot attempt to gain an advantage by declaring a charge if it is immediately obvious his unit cannot reach its target. In most cases this will be disadvantageous, but it is possible that an advantage might be gained in some situations. Where it is blindingly obvious a unit would be unable to reach its target a player is not permitted to declare a charge.

Moving chargers is perfectly straightforward in most cases. However, a battle being what it is, fought over infinitely variable terrain and subject to the strangest of circumstances, charging can sometimes degenerate into a tangle of units scattered all over the countryside. If players bear in mind the following principles they should be able to sort out even the most complex situations.

A charging unit can wheel at any point of its move in order to bring as many of its models in frontal base contact with the enemy as possible. A wheel that reduces the number of models that would otherwise fight is not allowed. Apart from this one wheel, no other manoeuvres are allowed in a charge. Units cannot wheel again, nor may they turn or change their formation.

Once the charging unit has touched its opponent the combat is committed and it only remains to align the antagonists where the charge has been made at an angle. Bear in mind what is really happening. The two units have clashed and some warriors in advance of the rest have struck the enemy first, but the rest will pile in beside them and gradually both sides come together into a wave that ebbs and flows as the troops fight.

For the purposes of the game we simply move the combatants against each other so that a battleline is formed, and for convenience it is easier to move the chargers. Therefore, the charging unit is aligned to its target, but in situations where it would be more convenient (eg, if impassable terrain is in the way) it is entirely possible to move the charged unit to align it with the charger.

This extra 'wheel in' happens automatically and can result in some models moving further than their normal charge distance (see Fig. 8). On the whole this isn't worth worrying about.

Generosity

Having laid down some harsh guidelines about overlong and impeded charges it's only proper to point out that winning because your opponent has misjudged charge by a fraction of an inch is no victory at all!

Players are encouraged to play in a spirit of cooperation, and should be prepared to allow some slight repositioning of units rather than spoil a good game. If in doubt be generous... or roll a dice to decide where things are very close.