Formation and Location Question

[David Spangler 28]

The rules for placing the location cards are unclear. 

[David Spangler 28]

Sorry, I hit "enter" by mistake before I'd finished the question.  So, the terrain cards are placed x number of positions down from the top or up from the bottom.  According to the definitions on the back page, "Top of Formation" isn't the location card but the "position closest to the current location card."  That mean's that the first position, i.e. the first marine, IS the Top of Formation. So if a terrain card, like a door, has a #1 on it, it should be placed 1 position down from the top or adjacent to the second position.  It's in the 2nd position but in the 1st position down from the top, if you see what I mean.  However, in the diagram on page 27, the door terrain is obviously placed next to the top or first position under the Location card.  This would only happen IF the Location card itself is the Top of Formation. 

So which is it?  Is the Location card the true Top of Formation OR is the first position (the one directly under, i.e. "closest to" the Location card the Top of Formation?  This can significantly affect the game by determining where terrain is placed.

I've been playing that the illustration is correct and that the Location card is the ToF, otherwise, terrain cards tend to bunch up along the same position.

By the way, this same question applies to the Bottom of the formation; I play it that the last position, the rearmost Marine or position, is position 1 counting up from the bottom and not the bottom itself (and thus position 0 if you follow my meaning).

[David Spangler 28]

Sorry, I meant the rules for placing terrain cards are unclear.

[DagobahDave 1,621]

I'm sure the diagram is correct, and that the rules mean "the first position starting from the top (or bottom)."

I can see why you might read the rules another way, but to do so makes the game unnecessarily confusing and less intuitive, and it would mean that the diagram in the rulebook is wrong. And if there were a "0" position in the formation, why are Terrain cards never placed on it?

Think of the numbers next to the terrain icons to mean "Position 2" or "Position 5" or whatever, which should be pretty clear cut.

Also note that the formation only consists of Space Marines. They are your formation. The "top of the formation" doesn't specifically refer to a position. It just means "that end of the formation which is closest to the location card." The first position from the top of the formation is the first position in the formation.

[David Spangler 28]

Thanks. Makes perfect sense, and that's how I've been playing it.  But I admit the wording of the definition was bugging me....