Quote Originally Posted by RJV
Can anyone explain (in very simple terms) the mechanics of how the 3 minute timer works (and the 1 min 30 timer which followed)?
I play with the timer off, but let me see if I've got the mechanics down...

The second that your units and only your units occupy the flagged center of the town, the 3 minute timer starts, showing your standard in the center. As long as you remain the only occupant during the entire 3 minutes, you will win. If even a single enemy soldier runs into that flagged area, routing or not, the timer will be reset, and start again once he leaves. To complicate matters, if the overall timer for the entire battle has less time remaining than the town center timer, you will lose. Ex., you have secured the center with 2:30 left on the battle timer, then you will lose. Try to act surprised.

I believe you can leave the town center to defend it better once it has been secured and the timer started. This is usually a good idea, since this enables you to keep any stray enemy units away from restarting the timer.

A good idea for fixing the irrational timer issues (such as last minute defeats with no opposition) might be to adopt a battle timer like the ones in Sid Meier's Gettysburg and Antetiam. In those games the actions of the armies, and capturing/loosing of victory points will lengthen the battle timer accordingly. I'm thinking a timer lengthening for breaching walls, gates, and the town center would stop the irrational timer issues, while still keeping the timer for pacing.