Move Order

This article is about the move order between players (who goes first, second, etc.). For information about all phases within a turn, see Turn Phases.

Move Order determines the sequence in which players' orders are executed.

War.app always executes your own orders in the order you arrange them. However, those orders are interleaved with orders from other players according to the game's move order setting.

The current move order system can be found in the game's Settings dialog.

Order Priority

Within your turn, orders execute in the same sequence that they appear in your Orders List.

You can rearrange orders by selecting them and using the up and down buttons in the Orders List.

Sometimes it is advantageous for an important move to happen later in the turn. In these situations, players will often use dummy moves first so that their more important orders execute later.

A dummy move only delays later orders if armies actually move. For example:

• Moving armies between two territories you own will delay subsequent orders.
• A Transfer Only order that cannot transfer any armies will not delay later orders.

Move Order Types

War.app supports three move order systems:

• Random
• Cyclic
• No-Luck Cycle

Random Move Order

At the start of each turn, War.app randomly determines the player order.

For example:

• Turn 1: A B C D
• Turn 2: C A D B
• Turn 3: D C B A

Each player's first order is executed according to that random order.

Once every player has executed their first order, the order reverses and each player's second order is executed. The order then reverses again for the third set of orders, and so on.

In a 1v1 game, this means each player has a 50% chance of moving first on every turn.

Team Games

In team games, War.app first randomizes the teams and then randomizes players within each team.

This ensures that one team cannot receive all of the earliest move positions.

For example, in a 2v2 game, both players on Team A will never move before either player on Team B.

Cyclic Move Order

Cyclic Move Order is the most common system.

Cyclic Move Order begins with a random order on the first turn, but thereafter alternates between that order and its reverse.

For example:

• Turn 1: A B C D
• Turn 2: D C B A
• Turn 3: A B C D
• Turn 4: D C B A

This makes move order predictable once the cycle has been determined.

War.app does not reveal the cycle directly. Players must deduce it by observing the order in which deployments and moves occur.

Manual Distribution

In Manual Distribution games, territory distribution is considered part of the cycle.

For example, in a two-player game:

• If Player A receives the first territory during distribution,
• Player B will receive first move on turn 1.

No-Luck Cycle

No-Luck Cycle is similar to Cyclic Move Order, except the initial cycle is determined by player speed rather than a random draw.

The player who completes their first turn the fastest receives the first position in the cycle. The second-fastest player receives the second position, and so on.

Once established, the cycle alternates exactly as it does in Cyclic Move Order.

Begin Dialog

To ensure fairness, games using No-Luck Cycle begin with the map hidden behind the Begin Dialog.

Your timer starts when you press Begin and stops when you commit your orders or territory picks.

If you later modify those orders before the turn ends, your recorded time is extended to include the additional time.

For example:

• Begin at 1:00 PM
• Commit at 1:10 PM

Initial time: 10 minutes

If you later change your orders at 1:30 PM, your final recorded time becomes 30 minutes.

Transparency

Unlike standard Cyclic Move Order, No-Luck Cycle publicly reveals the move cycle.

The Game → Move Order window displays:

• Each player's first-turn completion time
• Their position in the cycle
• The move order for future turns

This allows all players to know exactly who will move first on upcoming turns.

Team Games

In team games, team ordering is determined by the slowest player on each team.

Within each team, players are then ordered according to their own completion times relative to their teammates.

Order Execution

After the move order has been determined, War.app executes orders one phase at a time.

Within each phase:

1. Every player's first order is executed according to the current move order.
2. The move order is reversed.
3. Every player's second order is executed.
4. The move order reverses again.
5. The process repeats until all orders in that phase have been executed.

Once all orders in a phase are complete, War.app moves on to the next phase.

Strategy

Because move order can have a significant impact on the outcome of battles, players often adjust their order sequence strategically.

Examples include:

• Using dummy moves to delay important attacks.
• Timing transfers to occur before or after enemy attacks.
• Exploiting known cycles in Cyclic and No-Luck Cycle games.

Understanding move order is one of the most important advanced skills in War.app.

See Also

• Turn phases
• Orders List
• Manual Distribution
• Begin dialog