Thursday, June 30, 2022

Commands and Colors: Ancients

As a change of pace Stephen and I played C&C Ancients today managing to play 3 Punic Wars scenarios.

These were fun and exciting games which I got so engrossed in that I forgot to take any pics !

Very much a ‘lite’ type of wargame but rather addictive and with enough variation and depth to garner an enjoyable game experience.

The blocks give it a nice tactile feel and I can see why several players use miniatures with the game.



6 comments:

  1. I initially dismissed CCA conditioned as I was by "serious" ancients rules; a look at the online rules confirmed by a brief read through suggested a lack of "realism". It was only when I started to embrace the idea of hexes and grids that I looked at them again.
    Game reports frequently mentioned knife edge games, where it literally came down to the last move, which put me in mind of Fire & Fury and some great games.
    Looking at these rules with fresh eyes and challenging "accepted" notions of ancient troop types it became apparent there were serious design concepts wrapped up in a supposed " beer & pretzels " game. Then discovering all the C&C rules were originally tested as miniatures games changed how I looked at them.
    There cannot be much wrong with rules that allow games to be concluded so fast you can swap sides and replay the game.
    Neil

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    Replies
    1. Indeed, miniatures sets certainly contain more detail and depth of play but as always often at a cost in speed/playability. I was pleasantly surprised that C&C is a decent Punic wars game and whilst simpler it is not simplistic. Wont replace LADG or similar for me but a great alternative when time/space limited or a change of pace wanted. Was not aware it started as a minis set.

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  2. Richard Borg playtests all his sets with miniatures. Some released with figures (Battle cry, original Samurai game from Zvezda). Blocks just due to manufacturer.
    Neil

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  3. This has been my Covid game; for the last year or so, a buddy and I have played a game a week via vassal, working through the expansions, and it's been a blast. Your "simple, but not simplistic" comment above, I think, nails it.

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