Combat Commander: Europe
is Chad Jensen's award-winning card-driven board game immersing players
in tactical infantry combat in the European Theater of World War II.
One player takes the role of Germany while another player commands
either America or Russia. These two players will take turns playing one
or more “Fate” cards from their hands in order to activate units on the
mapboard for various military functions.
There is no strict sequence of play to follow in Combat Commander each
measure of game Time is divided into a variable number of player Turns,
each of which may consist of one or more “Orders” conducted by the
active player. “Actions” may generally be conducted by either player at
any time. “Events”—both good and bad—will also occur at random intervals
to add a bit of chaos and uncertainty to each player’s perfect plan.
Orders include: Fire,
Move, Advance, Recover, Rout, and Artillery functions. Each nationality
also has a varying number of Command Confusion Orders which act as duds
while in hand.
An example of some of the 20 different Actions are:
- Smoke – If a unit with boxed Movement is activated to Move, place Smoke in or adjacent to its hex.
- Hand Grenades – Add +2 when firing at an adjacent hex.
- Dig In – Place foxholes in a friendly hex.
An example of some of the 35 different Events are:
- Walking Wounded – Select one eliminated unit. Return that unit to play in a random hex, broken.
- Hero – If not already in play, place your Hero in a friendly hex. Rally one broken unit there.
- Battle Harden – One unit becomes Veteran.
Players attempt to
achieve victory by moving their combat units across the game map to
attack their opponent’s combat units and occupy as many objectives as
possible. The degree to which a player succeeds or fails is measured by a
scenario’s specific Objective chits, the destruction of enemy units,
and the exiting of friendly units off the opponent’s board edge. Command
& Control is extremely important in Combat Commander,
being modeled via the “Command” number on Leader units. Command serves
both to enhance the abilities of Squads and Teams stacked with the
Leader, as well as allowing for multiple activations with a single
Order.
Combat Commander
includes twelve historical scenarios as well as a “roll your own”
scenario system that provides an almost unending variety of map
configurations, combat situations, and historically-based force
structures. Each scenario is played on one of twelve maps, each with a
10x15 hexgrid depicting various terrain at a scale of approximately 100
feet per hex.
Replayability for Combat Commander
is high. And with Chad's brilliant Random Scenario Generator, it
provides unlimited possibilities as far as additional scenarios, maps,
units, weapons, and gaming situations are concerned. Add to that a TON
of additional content. Over the past decade, we have released sequels
and expansions covering the British, French, Italians, the Pacific
Theater, the Resistance, even a "what if" expansion on Operation Sea
Lion. Because of all of this content and unlimited scenario creation
options, Combat Commander is even more than a
wonderfully immersive gaming experience. It is also one of those rare
exceptional values in wargaming: one featuring so much content and
diversity that it can be revisited time and time again, with each game
holding a new tale to tell.
Note on 5th Printing: This is a straight reprint of the previous edition, with any known errata corrected.