I have not written a lot of reviews for games. Frankly, I am not a very talented writer. However, I noticed that among the 40 plus reviews for Combat Commander (CC) the random scenario generator is mostly mentioned in passing. Many of the written reviews focus on game play and rules, but I thought I would make an attempt to write about the random scenario generator (RSG) since it is the most frequent way I play CC.
First, let me say that in my opinion the RSG is gaming genius. I believe the designer (<PERSON>) originally designed CC to be played solely with the RSG, but the publisher (GMT) thought it would be better to include scenarios since the typical war gamer loves the idea of re-creating actual battles. As a seasoned war gamer myself, I can attest to this and when I first started playing CC the scenarios were mostly what I played. As time and game plays rolled on, the RSG became more of the go to than scenarios, especially when CC Mediterranean showed up.
Now the genius part. The RSG allows players to create hundreds if not thousands of battle scenarios among the various factions represented in CC. If your CC collection includes CC Med, then the possibilities will double. Then add in the various battle packs with extra maps and WOW!
A lot of historical scenario based war games can grow stale over time when playing the same ones repeatedly. You learn the best positions, the best tactical approach and then execute the same plan over and over. With the RSG in CC things are different each time. The various forces, the map, troop quality, order of battle, objectives and fortifications are all different every time you play. Will you play on an open terrain map or densely wooded one? Will there be buildings? Hills, hedgerows, fences or walls? Who will defend? Will there be artillery? Which objectives will be important to gain victory? Couple all of this with the fact that each nation has its own nuances and you have a plethora of options.
When we play using the RSG we generally set up using the one outlined in the CC Med play book, with some minor variations. The playbook says to use one of the fate decks for dice rolls to determine randomly the various elements to be included in the scenario. We use actual dice, but to each his own. We select our maps and the orientation via a dice roll system I created. We roll dice to determine the nations involved and what year the battle takes place. Ditto for troop quality.
The nice thing is you can change things if you want. For instance, it is not always advisable to have green Allied troops facing off against elite German SS. 993
I personally like the challenge, but if you feel this is too imbalanced just change it to accommodate. I say it doesn't really matter though because of the point system designed into the RSG. If your troops are really good, you give your opponent more points and thus it indirectly balances things out when the game gets going. Also, selecting your troops can cause some angst. Do you want to go with a platoon, thinking the probability of being defender to be higher? Or are you looking to attack and want the larger numbers of a company? Maybe you can't decide so choose a detachment instead. The map and it's orientation will play a big part in these decisions. After troops are selected then so are leaders via dice roll and objectives are drawn. The player with the victory point marker on their side can obtain additional forces by picking units to add to their pool at a point cost. Then if a point shift to the opponent occurs the other player can do the same.
After this, whoever has victory points on their side will be the defender. The other player will be the attacker. In rare occasions when the point total is zero both sides will set up in a recon posture. The defender in the scenario gets to decide if they want to spend points to gain fortifications (i.e. foxholes, trenches, bunkers, mines, wire). These gain the defender obvious benefits to hinder the attacker.
Then comes set up, defender first. The defender can wait to set up their fortifications until after the attacker sets up. Set up is limited to a number of hexes out from your map edge that depends on the map orientation and whether attacking, defending or recon. Just before the attacker sets up they can try to obtain a radio to call in artillery barrages during the game. Of course, this is done randomly, but if successful the attacker has to give up more victory points. After all of this, the battle is ready to start!
What has generally surprised me the most with the RSG is how balanced each scenario is. You can't say this for some of the historical scenarios. About 90% of the RSG games I have played could have gone either way in the outcome. 449