Sable Wyvern
THAC0 Defender
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A search tells me there are no threads here about this awesome series of games.
I only came across them when it was mentioned that ACKS mass battle system was designed with C&C boards in mind as the playing area.
After checking some reviews, I picked up Napoleonics with the Commanders and Tactics expansion, as well as Medieval.
I've played five games of Napoleonics, and have pre-ordered Ancients, various other expansions, and I plan to soon pick up Samurai Battles and more expansions
Napoleonics appears to be the most complex version, but it still plays in two hours (without experience) while doing a pretty good job of making you feel like you're actually commanding Napoleonic forces. It's by no means a detailed tactical sim, but I'm surprised that the card based activation system actually works really well, and doesn't feel extremely gamey. There are a few cards that push the boundaries a little, but they can all be rationalised fairly easily, and the activation system as a whole can be treated as an abstraction of fog of war and imperfect command and control.
I had actually heard of Days of Decision and Memoir 44 some time ago, not realising they were part of an ongoing series of related games. My impression was they were very beer-and-pretzels and I never looked any further. As best I can tell, many of the later versions, starting with the highly regarded Ancients, do a much better job of actually feeling somewhat authentic, despite the level of abstraction. Certainly, my Napoleonics games so far are telling me that is indeed the case.
I also love the blocks used in the GMT games, they're simple, but they look great and are effective, especially when dealing with forces that operate in close formations and extended lines.
For anyone looking for a relatively lightweight, accessible wargame, I highly recommend checking them out.
Anyone else here have experiences with the series?
Series: Commands & Colors
The system of the Command and Colors series is a simplified wargaming system designed by Richard Borg. Common elements of all Command and Colors games are a deck of Command Cards, which can be classified as Section cards and Tactics cards, a hex board (typically 13 X 9 hexes) divided into 3...
boardgamegeek.com
I only came across them when it was mentioned that ACKS mass battle system was designed with C&C boards in mind as the playing area.
After checking some reviews, I picked up Napoleonics with the Commanders and Tactics expansion, as well as Medieval.
I've played five games of Napoleonics, and have pre-ordered Ancients, various other expansions, and I plan to soon pick up Samurai Battles and more expansions
Napoleonics appears to be the most complex version, but it still plays in two hours (without experience) while doing a pretty good job of making you feel like you're actually commanding Napoleonic forces. It's by no means a detailed tactical sim, but I'm surprised that the card based activation system actually works really well, and doesn't feel extremely gamey. There are a few cards that push the boundaries a little, but they can all be rationalised fairly easily, and the activation system as a whole can be treated as an abstraction of fog of war and imperfect command and control.
I had actually heard of Days of Decision and Memoir 44 some time ago, not realising they were part of an ongoing series of related games. My impression was they were very beer-and-pretzels and I never looked any further. As best I can tell, many of the later versions, starting with the highly regarded Ancients, do a much better job of actually feeling somewhat authentic, despite the level of abstraction. Certainly, my Napoleonics games so far are telling me that is indeed the case.
I also love the blocks used in the GMT games, they're simple, but they look great and are effective, especially when dealing with forces that operate in close formations and extended lines.
For anyone looking for a relatively lightweight, accessible wargame, I highly recommend checking them out.
Anyone else here have experiences with the series?