"Grey Areas: How Do You Handle Them?" Topic

After last night's game, I was thinking about ambiguities in rules – the grey areas – and how they're handled. By their nature, wargames rules are complex, and grey areas creep in.

Last night we (again!) played the WW2 Mouen scenario from Rapid Fire Reloaded. The Observation rules are a bit… opaque (couldn't resist), so LOS and spotting weren't always clear.

A few examples:
Could a Firefly fire smoke? (we said no)
Which unit in a built-up area took artillery fire? (we diced)
Exactly what could be seen from where? (varied by interpretation…)

None of this broke the game but it did raise the broader questions:
How do you handle grey areas? Agree a ruling before play?
Dice for it and move on?
Default to "what's worst for the phasing player"?
House rule it permanently?
Or argue it out (politely… or otherwise)?

Have ambiguities ever caused real problems in your games—or are they just part of the hobby we accept?

Could a Firefly fire smoke?

Yes. But I don't know how many smoke rounds they carried.

As for the grey areas, usually we can make a decision and sometimes write it in to the rules. Other times, particularly if it's a product of a unique set of circumstances, we'll roll the dice.

Assuming the author isn't handy?

1) Spotted beforehand--mutual agreement. No agreement, no game.
2) Spotted during the game--mutual agreement if possible. Failing that, die roll decides for that game but without prejudice to any later agreement following research and/or discussion.