🛑 Zone of Control

41 units exert28 units ignore15 boards

Zone of control (ZOC) decides which moves enemy units stop you from making. This page shows the rule, which units it applies to, and how it plays out on the board.

Legend your unit, with a white ring on the one moving enemy unit enemy zone for that unit legal step refused step reachable with unlimited moves ⚔ Rout advance after a kill, which ignores zones

The rule

A step is refused only when the tile you leave and the tile you enter are both inside an enemy zone.

Entering a zone costs nothing and does not stop you. Leaving a zone for a free tile is always allowed.

A land military Unit exerts a Zone of Control (ZOC) over all adjacent land Tiles, and a ship exerts ZOC over all adjacent water Tiles. A Unit may not move directly from one Hostile ZOC into an adjacent Tile that is also under a Hostile ZOC, unless the destination Tile lies on the opposite side of a river from the hostile Unit exerting the ZOC. Hold [X] to see Unit ZOCs.

In-game concept text, Zone-of-Control

Who pins whom

Exerts a zone and is pinned by one

Every infantry unit, melee or ranged, tribal or unique, and the three ships.

Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it

Horse, camel and chariot units, which only Polearm infantry holds.

Exerts nothing, pinned by everything

Elephants, siege engines, Settlers, Workers, Caravans and disciples. Civilians also never block (see below).

Ignores every zone

Scouts ignore zones without being Mounted, so nothing pins them.

The Spearman tutorial says "Only Polearm Units can exert a ZOC on Mounted Units." Conscript, Hoplite, Phalangite, Pikeman, Spearman pin Mounted units that ignore every other zone.

Moving through a zone

A land unit controls the six tiles around it.

Stepping into the zone is free, but stepping from one controlled tile to another is refused.

Leaving the zone is always legal, so you can walk in, out and back in on the far side.

Walls

Dots mark every tile you could reach with unlimited movement.

Every route north needs a step from one controlled tile to another, so the line holds.

One free tile between the zones is enough to get through, because you step in, out and in again.

Exceptions

A Horseman ignores the archer's zone, but a Polearm unit still pins it.

Elephants ignore nothing, so an archer pins a War Elephant like any infantry.

Elephants also exert no zone, so a Spearman walks right around one.

An enemy exerts no zone across a river, but you can't cross that river straight into a zone. The dashed tile is one the in-game overlay paints red anyway (see Reading the overlay).

A city tile is never in a zone, so a pinned unit can always step into your city (blue), and an enemy city (red) projects a zone of its own.

A ship controls only the water tiles next to it, so the shore beside it stays free.

A ship also pins land units crossing water under your own ship's control.

An archer hidden in woods under a Tactician leader exerts no zone at all.

Civilians, scouts and blocking

They never block a path. Brahmin, Caravan, Disciple, Explorer, Scout, Settler, Worker don't block, so an enemy unit walks straight through their tile.
But nothing can stop on them. A move can't end on a tile holding any enemy unit. A Worker or Scout parked on a beach lets enemies pass over it but stops them landing there.
They exert no zone, and only the two scouts ignore one.
On water, Explorer (Dynasty of Explorers) and Scout (Exploration) count as water units and can end a turn afloat. A Worker can stop on water inside your own territory, and the Caravan is amphibious. Every other land unit crosses water only under an anchored ship's control and must keep moving.
Afloat, only true water units still ignore zones. A Scout under Exploration passes a ship's zone, but a Scout being ferried is pinned like a Warrior.

You can march through an enemy Worker's tile but never stop on it, so nothing can land there. Dots mark where the move can end; the Worker's beach has none.

Rout and Push

Two combat abilities move units without checking zones, and they are how cavalry gets into and through a spear wall.

Rout advance. After a kill, a unit with Rout (African Elephant, Cataphract, Cataphract Archer, Chariot, Heavy Chariot, Horseman, Kushan Cavalry, Kushan Warlord, Palton Cavalry, Three Man Chariot, Turreted Elephant) advances into the emptied tile when it can attack another enemy from there, and it can attack again. Zones don't stop the advance. Each rout costs the attacker 1 HP.
The wall still holds against spears. Polearm units (Conscript, Hoplite, Phalangite, Pikeman, Spearman) are immune to Rout, so killing one gives no advance. Each further advance needs another kill.
Push. Panic (African Elephant, Armored Elephant, Assault Elephant, Elephant Archer, Javelin Elephant, Turreted Elephant, War Elephant) shoves a surviving defender to one of the three tiles away from the attacker, even into another zone. The Fireship does the same on water.

Kill the unit in the gap and a Rout unit advances into it, a step normal movement would refuse; kill again to advance again. The board assumes each attack kills.

What zones don't affect

Zones matter for two things: moving one step, and swapping two of your units. A swap is refused when both tiles are in a zone. Zones don't affect:

Attacks, or the moves they cause, such as the Rout advance and the Panic push above.
Peace or truce. Only war counts, including war with tribes.

Reading the overlay

Hold X to show every tile in an enemy zone for the selected unit, and press Shift+X to lock the overlay on. The game also tints the zones around each visible enemy while a unit is selected.

The overlay overstates rivers. Both overlays ignore rivers, so a tile across a river from an enemy shows red although you can step onto it. The river board above draws such a tile with a dashed outline.

See it in play

Two owpuzzle puzzles are built on this rule. In The Gatekeeper one arrow on the watchman opens the road, and The Two Fords is a chain of pickets across two river crossings.

Appendix

Every unit

Unit	Traits	Exerts	Ignores	Pinned by Polearm	Medium	Group
Akkadian Archer	Ranged, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Archer	Ranged, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Axeman	Melee, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Beja Archer	Ranged, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Bireme	Ship	yes	—	—	water	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Cimmerian Archer	Ranged, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Clubthrower	Ranged, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Conscript	Melee, Infantry, Polearm	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Crossbowman	Ranged, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
D'mt Warrior	Melee, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Dromon	Ship	yes	—	—	water	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Elite Clubthrower	Ranged, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Elite Gaesata	Melee, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Elite Huscarl	Melee, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Elite Javelineer	Ranged, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Elite Marauder	Melee, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Elite Peltast	Ranged, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Elite Skirmisher	Ranged, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Elite Warlord	Melee, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Gaesata	Melee, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Hastatus	Melee, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Hoplite	Melee, Infantry, Polearm	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Huscarl	Melee, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Javelineer	Ranged, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Legionary	Melee, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Longbowman	Ranged, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Maceman	Melee, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Marauder	Melee, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Medjay Archer	Ranged, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Militia	Melee, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Peltast	Ranged, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Phalangite	Melee, Infantry, Polearm	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Pikeman	Melee, Infantry, Polearm	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Shotelai	Melee, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Skirmisher	Ranged, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Slinger	Ranged, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Spearman	Melee, Infantry, Polearm	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Swordsman	Melee, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Trireme	Ship	yes	—	—	water	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Warlord	Melee, Infantry, Tribal	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Warrior	Melee, Infantry	yes	—	—	land	Exerts a zone and is pinned by one
Explorer	Infantry	—	yes	—	land	Ignores every zone
Scout	Infantry	—	yes	—	land	Ignores every zone
Amazon Cavalry	Ranged, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Camel Archer	Ranged, Mounted, Camel	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Cataphract	Melee, Mounted, Horse	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Cataphract Archer	Ranged, Mounted, Horse	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Chariot	Melee, Mounted, Horse, Chariot	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Elite Amazon Cavalry	Ranged, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Elite Hunnic Cavalry	Ranged, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Elite Libyan Cavalry	Ranged, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Elite Nomad Marauder	Melee, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Elite Nomad Skirmisher	Ranged, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Elite Nomad Warlord	Melee, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Heavy Chariot	Melee, Mounted, Horse, Chariot	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Horse Archer	Ranged, Mounted, Horse	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Horseman	Melee, Mounted, Horse	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Hunnic Cavalry	Ranged, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Kushan Cavalry	Melee, Mounted, Horse	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Kushan Warlord	Melee, Mounted, Horse	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Libyan Cavalry	Ranged, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Light Chariot	Ranged, Mounted, Horse, Chariot	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Mounted Lancer	Ranged, Mounted, Horse	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Nomad Marauder	Melee, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Nomad Skirmisher	Ranged, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Nomad Warlord	Melee, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Palton Cavalry	Ranged, Mounted, Horse	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Steppe Rider	Ranged, Mounted, Horse, Tribal	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
Three Man Chariot	Melee, Mounted, Horse, Chariot	—	yes	yes	land	Ignores zones, but Polearm units still pin it
African Elephant	Melee, Mounted, Elephant	—	—	yes	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Armored Elephant	Melee, Mounted, Elephant	—	—	yes	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Assault Elephant	Melee, Mounted, Elephant	—	—	yes	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Ballista	Ranged, Siege	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Battering Ram	Melee, Siege	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Brahmin	Infantry, Brahmin	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Caravan		—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Disciple	Infantry, Disciple	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Disciple	Infantry, Disciple	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Disciple	Infantry, Disciple	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Disciple	Infantry, Disciple	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Disciple	Infantry, Disciple	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Elephant Archer	Ranged, Mounted, Elephant	—	—	yes	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Javelin Elephant	Ranged, Mounted, Elephant	—	—	yes	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Mangonel	Ranged, Siege	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Onager	Ranged, Siege	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Polybolos	Ranged, Siege	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Settler	Infantry	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Siege Tower	Melee, Siege	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Turreted Elephant	Melee, Mounted, Elephant	—	—	yes	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
War Elephant	Melee, Mounted, Elephant	—	—	yes	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything
Worker	Infantry, Worker	—	—	—	land	Exerts nothing, pinned by everything

Grants

Effect	Does	Valid for	Comes from	Carried by
Maneuvers	ignores zones; +1 fatigue	Ship	Maneuvers, BONUS_UNIT_PROMOTION_MANEUVERS (unreferenced)	—
Polearm	pins Mounted units even if they ignore zones	any	Polearm	Conscript, Hoplite, Phalangite, Pikeman, Spearman
MahoutEmpires of the Indus	exerts a zone	Elephant	Mahout	—

Maneuvers is a promotion for ships only. Mahout is a general trait from Empires of the Indus, and the one thing that gives an elephant a zone. The effects that hide a unit and silence its zone are Stealth (trees, jungle) from Scout, Explorer, The Woodsman's Mask; Tactician Leader (Ranged) (trees, jungle) from Tactician Leader; Ambusher (trees scrub uncut) from Ambusher.

Constants

Enemy zone colour	`#ff000033` (used for the wash on this page)
Hotkeys	`X` hold: Show Zone-of-Control; `Shift+X`: Lock Zone-of-Control Overlay
Loading hint	"Hold [X] to highlight Zones of Control."
Hostile diplomacy states	DIPLOMACY_WAR
AI valuation	exerting 100, ignoring 50, each trait it pins 25