When Moving Units May Be Intercepted

A unit with an interception order may intercept a moving enemy/neutral unit only if it can engage the moving unit before the moving units reaches the end of its move. (If the moving unit is moving via a waypoint, then its move to the waypoint and its move from the waypoint to the destination are treated as separate moves for this purpose.) This is determined as follows: If the moving unit were to move one tac square towards its destination, then the intercepting unit were to move one tac square towards the interception point, and so forth, then interception is permitted if the intercepting unit can reach the interception point in the same number of steps as the moving unit is taking to its destination, or fewer. If the intercepting unit would require more steps to reach the interception point than the moving unit requires to reach its destination, then interception is not permitted. Exception: tactical moves of one tac square only are never interceptable, even if the intercepting unit could also reach the destination square in one step.

This implies that a unit can never intercept an enemy/neutral unit moving directly away from it. It may be able to intercept a unit moving partly away from it and partly across its front, if it can close the distance before the moving unit completes its move. It may not be able to intercept an enemy unit moving directly towards it, if the moving unit will halt its move less than halfway to the starting square of the intercepting unit.

In all examples below, MX1MC is located at 7-7 and has an intercept box centered at 7-7 with radius 3.

Example: US1IN moves from 5-5 to 5-7. MX1MC can intercept, because US1IN takes two steps to reach 5-7 and MX1MC can also get there in two steps.

Example: US1IN moves from 4-4 to 4-6. MX1MC cannot intercept, because US1IN stops moving after two squares, and MX1MC would have to move three steps to get there.

Example: US1IN moves from 9-7 to 12-7. MX1MC cannot intercept, because US1IN is moving directly away from it - MX1MC can't catch it.

Example: US1IN moves from 9-7 to 10-10. MX1MC can intercept, because even though US1IN moving somewhat away from MX1MC, it's not moving directly away, and MC1MC can reach the interception point in 3 steps, the same number that US1IN requires to reach its destination.

Example: US1IN moves from 6-6 to 6-7. MX1MC cannot intercept, because US1IN is making a one-square tactical move, which is not interceptable even though MX1MC could also reach 6-7 in one step.

Example: US1IN moves from 5-2 to 5-4 as a waypoint, then from 5-4 to 8-4 as a destination. MX1MC cannot intercept the initial move because it is only two steps and MX1MC takes three steps to reach 5-4. It intercepts the second move at 8-4, not 6-4, because it has to intercept after three steps of the move from the waypoint, not after three steps from the starting point.