Session Report (Combat Commander)
Ted and I played Combat Commander today. I wrote a detailed Session Report. [I also copied it to BGG. I didn't realize when you post a SR you can now put your group, so I called it "San Antonio Board Gamers" (original, eh?). Can we search on that?Anyway, our scenario used the map shown (poorly) here. The main building is just left (West) of that pond in the middle.
Labels: session report
posted by Brian @ 8:34 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I posted some meandering thoughts as a comment on Brian's blog. If I remember I'll copy them over to BGG.
After one play, I have a generally positive impression. An interesting, playable wargame. Lots of luck, but it comes in many small packages, so it mostly averages out. Plenty of skill. I'm confident a skillful player will regularly trounce a newbie, but handicapping should be easy: drop the handsize on the experienced player. Some thoughts in no particular order.
The underlying mechanic of the cards works pretty well to provide imperfect control over your troops. The term fog of war refers to the confusion on the battlefield. The cards give you control over your guys, but you can't really be sure what or when. You better have some plans or you'll just be wandering lost on the battlefield. Your plans better be pretty flexible, however, because in addition to an opponent, you've got random events and limited options at any one moment. Many of the random event in our scenario were irrelevant, but they still kept popping up all over the map.
All the crazy little counters are a bit intimidating, especially when you stack a small counter for a machine gun on a bigger counter for your unit.
For some reason I had a little trouble w/ the idea that machine guns act separately from the unit. I wanted to replace the unit's firepower w/ the MG's firepower, but instead it's almost like the MG is a separate entity. I think I can correctly execute the rule, but it feels strange.
The scenario was pretty interesting, and the random objectives mean different games will be quite a bit different. The hidden objectives really change things up quite a bit, too. I got the impression the other scenarios add-in a lot of interest and some extra complexity.
Geography is destiny, which in this case means that after a few plays the strategically key points of the maps will become clear. I don't think this is a problem any more than realizing the center is important in chess or the corners are important in go. Some of the "new" will wear off the maps eventually, but the variable VP objectives will keep the scenarios fresh, I think. Plus the card play will force people to make different decisions.
One comparison that's frequently being made is to the card game Up Front. The analogy that struck me today is that Up Front is like radio and CC is like TV. There's no map in Up Front, just an abstract distance. You have to imagine everything, and that can let your fears run wild. By adding a map, CC becomes more concrete and specific, and therefore more immediate, but in some ways more limited. You can see exactly where the enemy is, so you don't have to worry they could be anywhere. This is only based on one play of Up Front, though, so take it with a grain of salt.
Anoter comparison is to the C&C system (Battle Cry, M44, etc). The obvious comparison is that in C&C you are told which unit to activate (sort of), but not what they can do. In CC:E, you are told what can be done, but you pick who does it. Taken together w/ the discard rules and the fact that cards are also events, and the sum is that CC:E gave me a lot more ability to form plans and execute them than C&C.
This is a "real wargame" by anybody's definition, and therefore it won't be everyone's cup of tea. For me, however, it looks like a winner.
sigh.... I've had this game now for over a week, and I can't believe I haven't been able to sit down and read it. One of my most anticipated games of 2006!
Yes... 1:25 am... just came back from work, and would like to just open that manual and...
thanks for the input ted.
Shogun on 1/1 was super sweet btw. We (Jon, Simon, Jordan, Evil Chad, and me) played while Ted and Brian were at it.
Very fun session. I'm really enjoying these eurowargames. Shogun has a highly simplified and sweet battle system (the infamous battle tower) with classic euro style resource management (2 uniqueresources that work differently) and 'empire building' (you get extra vp's for building structures in your controlled regions). Cool theme too. What's not to like.
Rick, Dennis...I ended up second this time, behind Simon. Nope, I didn't get locked out of gold this time.
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