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Combat Commander/ Great War Commander

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28 Apr 2018 11:49 - 17 May 2018 21:10 #272143 by JMcL63

Combat Commander

Somewhere in Europe, 1945
Liam and I continued our ongoing series of RSG games last night. Random generation gave us map 1, and I chose the open narrow map edge as my map edge. My thinking was that, knowing Liam's penchant for choosing detachments, I might experiment with a platoon defence. I lucked out with my force, rolling Green Germans; while Liam lucked in, rolling the Free French. We'd seen the Free French in action in a previous game and we knew how dangerous they could be, with their numbers, their quality, and their bonus discard (they can discard one card even if they've performed one or more orders). Their only weakness- and it's a slight one at that- is that they have one fewer order than forces of comparable size. The open objective was double elimination VP.

I obviously wasn't pleased to be defending with a mixed force of Volksgrenadiers and Conscripts, but, seeing the points values of the various OOB choices, I realised that I had no choice but to stick to my guns. So I chose my platoon with its lone LMG. I lucked out with my leader roll (-2 on my DR), generating Corporal Winkler (a puny 6-1), while Liam lucked in, naturally enough, getting an 8-2. I lucked in with my support role, which gave me the HMG I'd been praying for. My fortifications were wire, and a strongpoint- to give me a nice solid bunker for my MG nest.

I set up my strongpoint units deep in my deployment area, with the Conscript squad out left to offer some resistance to an expected end run for exit VP by Liam. Sure enough, Liam set up the bulk of his forces on that left flank under the command of his 8-2 leader. I responded with a spaced double apron of wire covering that flank: his forces could get through, but it would take them a while.

The game hinged on some good luck and tactical blunders on my part; and a brilliant strategic redeployment and psyche-out on Liam's.

My luck was twofold. First, a Hidden Unit, which gave me another HMG. I promptly put this on the left, where it could bring fire down on Liam's units as they worked their way through the wire. Second, a Reinforcements event. My essential blunders were also twofold. First, I played a Rout on a broken French unit in wire in open ground (I did it for card cycle), with the result that it routed away to safety from my HMG. And second, for my reinforcements I chose a third HMG instead of the 120mm radio (11 FP) which was also available. This was a terrible decision since Liam's forces were strung out in the open and in woods just waiting for a good stonk or two to land in amongst them. That third HMG, on the other hand, did nothing at all.

Even with those mistakes I could've held on for victory were it not for Liam's brilliant maneouvres. First, having brought his main force two thirds of the way across the map and across the first curtain of wire, he pulled them all back through the wire, then across into the woods in the centre of the map. From this position Liam's 8-2 leader could command his entire force. Then he made dashes for the two building objectives in middle of the map, and then withdrew. Naturally, with Liam now holding four objectives, I figured that his secret objective was one of the 'x5=YVP' (each of the 5 objectives is worth 1, 2, or 3VP, for those who don't know their CC abbreviations); and further, because he had withdrawn, I figured that I had to recapture one of those objectives in order to win. Long story short: I lost a squad for 4VP as I made a dash for a hidden pillbox in the central building; a Sudden Death roll on Time 4 shortly thereafter ended the game; and Liam won on the tie-break by holding the initiative. And, of course, he hadn't been in front in VP when he withdrew: he had psyched me, and I had fallen right into his trap to give him the crucial VP that he needed.

Still, it was a great game, and absolutely the closest we've ever had (I think it's the first game of CC I've ever had be decided by a tie-break). And I take a certain satisfaction in the fact that, for all my in-game mistakes, I got the pregame strategy and setup absolutely right. That's progress, at least.
Last edit: 17 May 2018 21:10 by JMcL63.
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29 Apr 2018 06:27 #272180 by Msample
Replied by Msample on topic Combat Commander

JMcL63 wrote:


Combat Commander

And second, for my reinforcements I chose a third HMG instead of the 120mm radio (11 FP) which was also available. This was a terrible decision since Liam's forces were strung out in the open and in woods just waiting for a good stonk or two to land in amongst them. That third HMG, on the other hand, did nothing at all.

.


The other reason the radio is often a good choice is that it allows you to more easily get rid of Artillery Request cards, otherwise they clog up your hand. Yes it requires a leader, but you can still use a Fire Action for the unit in the leader hex and still get his mod.

RSG was how Combat Commander was originally designed; there were no pre designed scenarios. It works amazingly well .
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29 Apr 2018 08:35 #272185 by JMcL63
Replied by JMcL63 on topic Combat Commander

Msample wrote:

JMcL63 wrote:


Combat Commander

And second, for my reinforcements I chose a third HMG instead of the 120mm radio (11 FP) which was also available. This was a terrible decision since Liam's forces were strung out in the open and in woods just waiting for a good stonk or two to land in amongst them. That third HMG, on the other hand, did nothing at all.

.


The other reason the radio is often a good choice is that it allows you to more easily get rid of Artillery Request cards, otherwise they clog up your hand. Yes it requires a leader, but you can still use a Fire Action for the unit in the leader hex and still get his mod. .

Yeah, tell me about it. I'm sure only having one leader was a consideration in my poor decision.
.

RSG was how Combat Commander was originally designed; there were no pre designed scenarios. It works amazingly well .

The RSG is great, yes. Liam was initially prejudiced against it after one experience a couple of years ago. Then we ran out of published scenarios a few weeks ago and I persuaded him to give the RSG another go. He's a big fan of it now. My new copy of Great War Commander will be arriving this week I hope, so it'll be back to published scenarios soon.

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29 Apr 2018 09:59 #272189 by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic Combat Commander
Great War Commander sounds like kind of a weird fit for combat commander. Curious to hear how it is.

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29 Apr 2018 10:02 #272190 by Msample
Replied by Msample on topic Combat Commander

Gary Sax wrote: Great War Commander sounds like kind of a weird fit for combat commander. Curious to hear how it is.


Yeah, some of the new rules are wonky from what I've read. The ability of players to call artillery seems to be at odds with my understanding of WWI. It was all pre planned barrages, not fire missions called at the local level.

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29 Apr 2018 15:58 #272197 by Count Orlok
Replied by Count Orlok on topic Combat Commander
I've played Combat Commander some and enjoyed the system, but just don't find myself drawn into it. I'm more interested in the First World War, but I'm not sure squad level really makes a lot of sense for it. I'd be curious to see some reactions to it.

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29 Apr 2018 21:04 #272219 by JMcL63
Replied by JMcL63 on topic Combat Commander
Hitting the perfect sweet spot of subject, complexity and play-time, Combat Commander is my favourite wargame. I've been playing it for eleven years now, and it's basically my boardgaming hobby since, with two regular opponents now, it's all I play these days. So pre-ordering Great War Commander was a no-brainer for me. That said, I shared Count Orlok's scepticism about the scale when I first heard about this project on CSW a few years ago: WW1 tactical just wouldn't work with squads as the basic manoeuvre element. The first point to make then is that the scale is different: the basic unit in GWC is a platoon instead of CC's squad; and the hexes represent some 50m instead of 30. There are also rules for 'chaining orders' from higher-ranking leaders to junior leaders, rules which can effectively allow you to order your entire force with a single order. So I think that issues of scale have been addressed, and addressed well it looks to me (I say this as someone who hasn't played the game yet, but who has been studying the rules since December last year).

Are the rules wonky? With the caveat entered above, I have to say I don't think so. Rules familiar from CC are just copied and pasted across, so they're as solid as you'd expect. The new rules are largely sound too. Sure, there are some errata now, but that's to be expected when a bunch of geeks get their hands on the game in this internet age. The biggest mistake was the missing leader table for the game's RSG. That was quickly resolved by uploading the tables to social media (Hexasim- the publishers- should maybe post that out to their pre-order customers, to catch any who aren't keeping up with GWC on social media). Lack of any real knowledge of WW1 means that I can't really comment on the on-call artillery issue. I'll just have to assume that the designers did their research. Oh, and there are tanks, and there will be cavalry in the first expansion, which is already in development (there are plans to cover pretty much the entire war, on every front, it seems).

Like I said above, I'm hoping to see the game this week, so should have some more hands-on comments soon.

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30 Apr 2018 21:20 #272342 by JMcL63
Replied by JMcL63 on topic Combat Commander

Combat Commander

Scenario 94. The Tonbridge Two
I rounded out April's gaming with a play of this scenario from the Sea Lion Battlepack last night with my new CC opponent Adam. I was the Germans- who deployed strung out along a road in the open centre of map; and Adam was the British- who deployed in woods around the map edges, in positions to cut off my exit routes while bringing down fire on my deployment positions.

Adam took an early lead by picking off my exposed Volkgrenadiers in the centre (the British enjoyed double elimination VP). I was eventually able to get a platoon moving into a position from where they were able to exit the map to redress the VP (I enjoyed double exit VP). The platoon did however get split up by a time trigger that brought most of them on as reinforcements while a straggler was still sitting waiting to exit. Meanwhile, my other platoon was reduced to a single squad and leader as it attempted to head towards the same exit point. Fortunately they were able to join the straggler to sit poised to exit. This was to be significant later on.

Meanwhile, my previously exited units arrived as reinforcements to find themselves hemmed in by the British. They ran for the weaker flank in an effort to get to the exit point, but failed in the end. I lost a leader to Adam's hero, who lobbed a satchel charge to break the leader and his squad, then advanced in with an Ambush to eliminate the broken leader, before dying himself at the hands of my broken squad. My squads themselves ran Adam's forces a merry dance as they headed for the exit point, but succumbed to his firepower in the end.

This whole sequence of play was a bit foolish on my part, given my plan, which I promptly executed. I advanced my lone hero into a suicidal melee with Adam's biggest stack. When he died, I moved my remaining units off for their double exit VP. The game ended because my last unit had exited the map, and I won.

I said my dash for the exit point with my reinforcements was a bit foolish. That was because it'd've been better to attack the British strength in suicidal melees to get my encircled troops eliminated while the British were as far away as possible from my units poised to exit for victory. Instead, what I did was draw the British towards those key forces. Also, it turned out that Adam didn't properly understand the rules for the game ending when one player exits their last units, something which had an effect on his tactics. This took the shine off my victory a bit I'll admit. Still, it was a good game, and satisfying for me to win with a tactic Liam has used against me in the past.
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01 May 2018 11:58 #272380 by the_jake_1973
Replied by the_jake_1973 on topic Combat Commander
Now I have another wargame to purchase. Great session write-up.
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01 May 2018 12:07 #272382 by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic Combat Commander
Combat commander battlepacks are one of the areas that show how hard it is to keep big product lines in stock. It isn't just MMP being lazy about ASL.
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01 May 2018 12:29 #272383 by JMcL63
Replied by JMcL63 on topic Combat Commander

the_jake_1973 wrote: Now I have another wargame to purchase. Great session write-up.

If you like WW2 tactical, and can put up with the chaos and uncertainty of a card-driven game where you can be caught on the hop by not having the right card in your hand at the right time, then I'd say go for it. You might be lucky to find it though, since it's out of stock at GMT and is barely off the mark on the P500 for the next reprint.

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01 May 2018 12:32 #272384 by barrowdown
Replied by barrowdown on topic Combat Commander

JMcL63 wrote:

the_jake_1973 wrote: Now I have another wargame to purchase. Great session write-up.

If you like WW2 tactical, and can put up with the chaos and uncertainty of a card-driven game where you can be caught on the hop by not having the right card in your hand at the right time, then I'd say go for it. You might be lucky to find it though, since it's out of stock at GMT and is barely off the mark on the P500 for the next reprint.


It's also the greatest wargame ever as an added benefit.

My main CC opponent moved away a while ago, but the RSG is still some of the best gaming available. As mentioned earlier, it is an amazingly robust system that kicks out scenarios that feel like they were designed that way instead of randomly generated.

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01 May 2018 12:35 #272385 by the_jake_1973
Replied by the_jake_1973 on topic Combat Commander
I dig M44, so this would seem to hit the same notes, but on a closer scale.

I have to thin my current collection before I bring in something else I barely have time for. LOL

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01 May 2018 12:37 #272386 by JMcL63
Replied by JMcL63 on topic Combat Commander

Gary Sax wrote: Combat commander battlepacks are one of the areas that show how hard it is to keep big product lines in stock. It isn't just MMP being lazy about ASL.

Yep. Only CC Battlepacks 6 and 7 are still in stock according to GMT. The others are all in the P500 queue for a reprint but, unless GMT decide just to go ahead and reprint them regardless, it could be years before they see the light of day. A godd reason- apart from completionism- to buy CC battlepacks as soon as they come out.

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01 May 2018 12:52 #272388 by JMcL63
Replied by JMcL63 on topic Combat Commander

barrowdown wrote:

JMcL63 wrote:

the_jake_1973 wrote: Now I have another wargame to purchase. Great session write-up.

If you like WW2 tactical, and can put up with the chaos and uncertainty of a card-driven game where you can be caught on the hop by not having the right card in your hand at the right time, then I'd say go for it. You might be lucky to find it though, since it's out of stock at GMT and is barely off the mark on the P500 for the next reprint.


It's also the greatest wargame ever as an added benefit.

Well, I'd have to give that plaudit to Up Front , but CC runs it a pretty close second, with the added bonus that I get to play it regularly.

My main CC opponent moved away a while ago, but the RSG is still some of the best gaming available. As mentioned earlier, it is an amazingly robust system that kicks out scenarios that feel like they were designed that way instead of randomly generated.

That's a real bummer about losing your regular opponent. You'll just have to find and train a new one I guess. And yes, it can't be stressed enough how good the RSG is. It's simply the best DIY scenario system I've ever seen. Scenarios take 10-15 minutes to generate, and are always interesting. The one house rule I use is to randomly generate the map. This is because early experience of the RSG led me to the conclusion that picking the map led to us avoiding the really difficult maps, eg. those with lots of open terrain. That rubbed me up the wrong way because I felt that one of the good things about the RSG is getting to use the full variety of maps available in new scenarios.

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