Combat Commander:Europe, A Tactician's Delight
Introduction
I like games. I’m not sure what kind of gamer I am, but I’d probably classify myself as a thinker/AP+ one. I like the strategy of Euros, the flashiness of AmeriTrash and the depth of Wargames.
I’m going skiing this weekend and all I can think about is how I’m going to miss our local Board Gaming Day and the opportunity to play games.
I’ve played CC:E numerous times now, and it’s quickly becoming the GITAMO (Game I Think About Most Often).
Review:
As I often do, I’m actually going to start with Componants, as this is the first thing you get exposed to.
Components:
The Rulebook:
The rulebook for CC:E is colourful and clearly presented. It contains an extended example of play and sections on all actions and events that may come up on the cards, in case there is any ambiguity. I was able to understand the game after one read through, and I find that, as a reference during gameplay it is easily accessible.
The Playbook:
The Scenario booklet contains 12 scenarios and a random scenario generator. For me, this equates to incredible replayability when combined with random objective chits and the ‘chaotic’ gameplay (refer below)
The Maps
The six double-sided maps are made of paper. Neither cardboard nor mounted. I use a piece of plexiglass, but they do sit quite flat without it. The maps are quite colourful, and have wonderful giant hexes, so you can fit your squad and leader in the same hex side by side without having to worry about all that terrible stacking nonsense.
They are quite varied from urbanised settings, hills, French Bocage, and water features. Again, combined with the random scenario generator combine to create a huge amount of replayability
The Player Aids
There are two Player Aids, the Terrain Effect Chart, and the ‘rule summary’. Both are useful, and relatively well presented, but the TEC does take a tiny amount of concentration the first time looking at it until you are used to the difference between hinderance and cover.
There is also the large Display Track, which keeps track of VPs, Time etc which also has additional play aids for fortifications, radios and some ordinance weapons. Very useful and well done.
The Counters
The counters are clearly presented with a nice silhouette of the leader/team/squad. The number of men on the counter determines the stacking limit, so the silhouette is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. 993
There are three sheets of counters.
The Cards
The cards are the main driving factor of CC:E and are clearly presented. They contain the actions, events, orders and dice rolls. They are fairly sturdy, but take a lot of abuse in the course of a game, and their longevity is suspect. When mine get too ratty, I’ll probably need to put them in sleeves, which I’m dreading.
The Peripherals
Tuckboxes – There aren’t any. There are a number of designs to make your own, such as in the picture above, but I would really have liked to have had some included. The cards will take the biggest beating and anything to preserve them would be good.
Componant Summary
When I first cracked open my CC:E, I felt that with the numerous maps, play aids and counters I was getting value for my money.
Gameplay:
Summary of Play :
Game set-up is quite quick following the play book and usually is complete within a few minutes.
CC:E is quite quick to play. Each player gets a hand of 4-6 cards, and on their turn can either play a few orders or discard cards. The number of each is based on nationality and the particular scenario. Downtime is very minimal and play is quick and smooth once you get a hang of flipping the next card for your die roll.
I don’t want to go into depth of how to play CC:E but would rather focus on the Review of Play below.
Review of Play :
As mentioned, Gameplay is quite simple. The meat and potatoes of the game is in the tactical play and order (card) management.
CC:E is more chaotic than most other squad based games I’ve played. You can’t always get the orders to your men that you’d want to, and sometimes you need to pace yourself and get the communication lines clear before proceeding. One order is simply called Command Confusion and is a wasted draw. This may frustrate some players, particularly EuroGamers or ASL players who are used to total control over their pieces/units. 299