TDG: Combat Commander: Europe
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- Опубликовано: 9 сен 2024
- Don't you hate it when you and your squad are pinned down by enemy fire, and you literally don't have any cards to play? Join Cody as he finally takes a look at this card-driven WWII tactical game from GMT Games. Will it advance on all fronts? Or will it just disrupt your good times? Let's watch!
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Glad you finally got to play this one! Apart from a handful of games in 2012 where I could see the potential but it didn't really "click" with me, I didn't really get into Combat Commander: Europe until about two years ago. And then I promptly played about forty games of it in a year and a half - a lot for me given how many different games I play. I continue to play and enjoy new games but part of me is always thinking... "Could have played CC:E instead." Really enjoy all of your reviews. Thank you.
Thank you, sir. Much appreciated.
What I also really like about the deck is how it is linked to the variable advancement of time. You can discard more to speed up time. You can of lots of spoiling attacks to speed up time. It’s beautiful how it all fits together.
Indeed. Very nuanced game.
Yay! My new favourite! Just got into this recently also. Thanks for listening to the fans and giving it a go. 😁
Thank you!
I was very resistant to purchasing this game due to the fact that it is a WW2 game without vehicles....no tanks or other stuff. Predominantly infantry....that's it. Well, having played 3 of the scenarios now, I have purchased all of the Battle Packs as well as 'Pacific'. OMG - I LOVE this game. This game is brilliant - I love the chaos of the battlefield. Thoroughly recommended for any still on the fence.
Indeed. Great game!
Yay!! Playing this game on Vassal with my buddy and face to face at home with my son has been one of the few good things in 2020 for me. Med, Paratrooper, Resistance, and now onto Fall of the West have kept me sane with Normandy, Pacific and New Guinea still on the shelf. The game gets better and better the more you play. C&C is great, but this is a level above.
I agree. Great game.
RIP Chad Jensen. This game sits unplayed but admired. Someday for me
Indeed. Hope you get a chance to play it soon.
TY for your videos - I like them because we seems quite close in games: Loving quality and mostly simple but clever mechanisms!
We share the love of C&C Napoleonics, Star Wars Rebellion, Captain Sonar and I like some games like 1775, Terraforming Mars etc.
About the wargames, they always attracted me but I never felt in love with the combat charts, the stackings of units and the big rule books.
May I just suggest you to have a look on a very new light Wargame serie from Compass Games that started this 2020 year: WWII Commander - Volume One - The Battle of the bulge - (by John H. Butterfield). I felt in love / bought it as my very first "real" wargame and WOW didn't regreat it! It is beautiful / realistic / easy / clever / What else? Not only we learned it in 30 minutes and played it very easily with my friends but we were immediately living the battle day by day, hour by hour while it was quite fast in real time! I can't wait for the next in the serie that may be "Market Garden" - Best regards - GG France
Thank you, sir. I will have to look at that one.
Okay...played..it is officially fun. Want to get the expansions.
Fantastic!
Glad you broke out of your comfort zone. Today, there are many that use unpredictable chaos that adds tons of flavor to Combat. Combat Commander is top three on it list. Enjoy.
Indeed.
This may be the push I need to play my copy! Thanks again for another great review.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks.
Nice Cody. I’m not a C Cmdr fan myself yet....Yet! But glad you enjoyed it. And they definitely have all the other versions and add ons for it now too. I heard (but could be wrong) that this series will now always stay in print! I tried Pacific once, yeah you should get it!! I may have to give this series a 3rd try! Your video, amongst others, are pulling me..... calling me.... to play again! And see what a lot of people love about it.
And sorry to hear about the blow up over Top 10 war themed games! I always respect your input and opinions.
Thank you, sir!
This one is on my radar… I have a lot of Conflict of Heroes stuff by Academy Games, and wish they would get something out on WWII in Europe with the Americans and British… but they move slow… I mean really really slow, even by board game company standards. I think First Men In which should cover airborne has been on the drafting table for more than a decade now. Anyways… this might be just the right level of tactical game I’m looking for to enjoy for WWII in Europe with the Western Allies. Good review as always… not surprised you ran into a lot of crotchety WWII gamers on your other video. Seems to be a lot of those folks around… let’s call it grognards being grognards… grumble grumble lol… glad you put out these videos for the guys who are looking for games with substance but lean towards ease of play and rules digest-ability… this is right up my bowling alley!
Thank you. Happy to help!
Now the masses will demand your review of CC: Med and CC: Pac ;). You're doing the Lord's work Cody, keep it up and don't let those old bengay smelling grognards get under your skin.
Thank you, sir.
Great War Commander next then!
Ha, we'll see!
Who cares what they think. Its what you think. Keep up the good work Cody!!!
Thank you, sir! Much appreciated!
You might have gotten lot of negative comments on your top ten WWII games, but the fact the video has 47 thumbs down and 1100+ thumbs up tell you everything you need to care about.
Andreas Lupieri Quite right. Thank you!
@@TheDiscriminatingGamer Thank you for your videos!
It’s pathetic without constructed decks.
Its a good game indeed! And please keep posting your opinions, not what other people want you to say. I like you channel, the way you give your views freely, so please keep doing so :)
They say haters gonna hate ;)
Indeed. Thank you, sir.
I'm just wondering which you think is the better game, Combat Commander Europe or Heroes of Normandie?
I used to have a copy of HoN, but never got it to the table.
@@TheDiscriminatingGamer Just a thought. Devil Pig Games is coming out with a new core box "The Big Red One". That might be a better entry point or the Heroes of Stalingrad Box if you reach out to Clem. The rules have been tighten up quite a bit over the years from when the original core box released. We love the game in our house and its always been popular with those I have played. I am always excited to hear about any game you try. Thank you from the bottom my heart for sharing your passion with us year after year! Long live "The Discriminating Gamer" and the adventurous souls that call him friend.
@@dustbustus27 Thank you, sir. Much appreciated. I will look into that one.
I’m a HUGE fan of both. They deliver a similar level of fun and are both AMAZING but combat commander is deeper and has more meaningful decisions. But HoN is better for different skill levels. In Cbt Cmdr, the better play will win, in HoN there is enough fun randomness that skill is less of a factor. Love both.
From those pics, as a neat freak (at least when it comes to games) I recommend stacking weapons and effects on the squad and leaders carrying them. I hate stacking counters because of covering info, but the stacking in this game works very well without covering any numbers.
Fantastic!
You all probably dont give a shit but does any of you know a tool to log back into an instagram account..?
I stupidly lost the password. I would love any tips you can give me
@Emerson Konnor instablaster :)
@Simon Hank Thanks for your reply. I found the site thru google and I'm in the hacking process now.
Takes quite some time so I will get back to you later with my results.
@Simon Hank it did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. Im so happy:D
Thanks so much you really help me out !
I bought this on a friend's recommendation some time ago and it has sat on my shelf in the shrink wrap since. After watching your video, I pulled it out, sleeved the cards, corner-rounded the chits (Yes, I am one of THOSE) and sat down to learn the game. I can honestly say that the card mechanics in this game are phenomenal. Your review hit all the high points and I couldn't agree more. My only negative is the lack of availability for the game in the marketplace. Certainly the base Europe and Pacific (to a lesser extent) are usually available somewhere, but the expansions are nigh on impossible to locate. Considering the popularity of the franchise, I wish GMT would have better availability for some of their better known games which are often out-of-print for years at a time. But if my only negative is that it sells out as soon as it is printed, it can't be all that bad, can it?
Thanks for the videos and don't take grognards criticism to heart. They are grizzled, grumpy old todgers who are not satisfied if they don't have to roll on at least 12 tables just to figure out what to order for lunch!
Ha! Thank you, sir. Glad you enjoyed the video.
Had no idea it was card driven- I imagine that hampers it’s solitaire ability. Although I can get by playing Commands and Colors solo but it doesn’t beat squaring off against a live opponent.
The game is not designed for solo, but I assume you could house rule some things.
Saw this video when I went to the You Tube home page, and clicked right away! This looks to be an interesting war game: it has a dice-less mechanic, and the fate decks look like it could help and hurt you at the same time! There does seem to be a chaos and randomness to the proceedings as I was reading the different cards...can you choose what item/items to follow on the card text, or do you have to do everything (event, action, etc.) printed on it? Those hex maps remind me of Battlelore and Battletech, and I love that there are 6 maps to choose from!!! Is there a sort of campaign mode, or is it more of a skirmish game where you choose a scenario and fight? BTW, you should just ignore all of those negative comments...your channel, your content!!! The topic was very specific, so there shouldn't have been any confusion as to what the list was about, or what games were to be included in it. Keep doing your content the way you want to, and we'll keep watching!!! Great review!!!
Thank you, sir. When you use a card, or a card is triggered for a specific event or effect, you must do what it says. The interesting thing is that you never use everything on the card at the same time. You only use the relevant part of the card. This is a chaotic element here, but really no more so than with dice combat. And after all, von Clausewitz said that "war is the realm of chance."
Thanks for the review, this one wasn't really on my radar prior. =)
If you're looking for a Halloween game this year, you may want to consider Cthulhu Death May Die. Our group kind of compared it to like "someone made a 90s stand-up coin-op arcade cabinet ... that was a mythos beat-em-up." It's got some of that CMON shallowness, but it feels more like the game sessions are the right length and it sorta generates an addictive gameloop to where the simpler rules work to its advantage.
Thanks. That’s one I’m interested in for sure.
Good to see all the support here, against the complainers who can't stand the idea of someone having different favourites - a real illustration that some so-called adults just haven't grown up. Hearing why people like a game is the interesting part usually because it makes you aware of qualities that you might have missed. That's one of the many differences between a hobby and a cult.
Indeed. Good point.
I’ve been looking at playing some war games and this is the one that I keep gravitating towards. I’ve played lighter fares like Battlelore and such but I really want to dig deeper. I’m also curious about the pacific version as well.
I think that this is a great step up from Commands & Colors games like Battlelore.
@@TheDiscriminatingGamer thanks for your input! Love your videos. You helped convince me to buy xia! Have a good one!
Once again, great overview!! Value your opinion !
Thank you, sir. Happy to help.
So sad to hear about all negativity! Hope it dident push you into say good stuff just to keep people happy.
CCE is one of my perfect 10s thou. Welcome to the rabbit hole of CCE!
I really enjoyed this game quite a bit. It'd be a cold day in hell before I let someone bully me into a saying something I didn't believe about a game. Thanks.
Like you, I've heard of this game from EVERYBODY! SO, why have I NOT jumped on it so far? First of all, I've invested absolute TONS of $$$$ in DVG's Warfighter... I'm up to two footlockers so far. I also have "Rifles in the Ardennes" and "Rifles in the Pacific". Additionally, I love PanzerBlitz, Panzer Leader, Squad Leader from AH, and Combat infantry (West and East) from Columbia Games. (Let's take a collective breath)... so did I really want to add in yet ANOTHER game, in the same style? WELL... it looks like I might as well give it hell!!!! I DO like the FATE DECK concept and the non-dice options. So... when I can, I hunt up a copy. Always good to check in with you...
Fantastic. You’ll like it a lot
CCE...It is sitting on the shelf....guess I need to finally try it. The rules seemed a bit tedious so have not read them all. Trying to decipher Nevsky at the moment...maybe after that.
Your reviews are great...everyone entitled to an opinion.
Indeed. Thanks!
@@TheDiscriminatingGamer Hooked... have Pacific and Med on order. Doesn’t get boring. Did not think would like but it is fun!
@@wartable Ha! It's a great game! Glad you like it!
It’s the best rule set I have read. It is very easy to find the info you need and everything is clearly laid out. It is also a fantastic game. If you don’t want to read the rules look over Harsh’s RUclips rules explanation, which is fantastic.
And then there's Worthington Games Band of Brothers/Ghost Panzer....the hole is deep and dark. Bring a lot of torches.
Ha!
Cody so funny you did a review of this game. I have thought about buying it off & on for years! Just recently have been thinking about it again. I’m a wargamer but not huge into hex & counter games with lots of rules, rule exceptions that bog a game down. I love C&C & Card driven games in general. How do you compare this to Conflict of Heroes as far as complexity, etc? What about solo play for this one? I often use Stuka Joes system for CDGs (C&C) etc.
I'd say it's about on par with COH as far as complexity. I enjoyed this one more than COH, though.
Way better than CoH. I played about 6 scenarios of CoH, decent enjoyed it but has a “low ceiling” of enjoyment. With combat commander, the sky is the limit! Will never turn down a game. However, needs a few plays to really get into. A little complex at first but the rulebook is a paragon of clarity. Haven’t once had a question that wasn’t answered in the rulebook.
@@ALimbOfGreatTree thanks for your thoughts on this. I still have not pulled the trigger on it yet. What are your thoughts on solo play for combat commander? The bulk of my play with it would probably be solo.
@@petem4122 imagine having bad vision and you see the Mona Lisa without your glasses on. It’s a masterpiece but the best parts I must say are lost in solo. The game would still be fun, and many games give rise to stories- remember that time everything caught fire! Remember that game when my one sergeant won a melee vs two squads! And so on. But I would still encourage you to try the game and vassal opponents are easy to find these days. As a solo player, you can at least enjoy the stories that arise due to random events!
Thanks for the upload :) I hope you will review or take a look at: Company of heroes the board game
I'd like to. Maybe somewhere down the line.
I have been playing SL (77) & ASL (85) and truly enjoy the game and have all the Avalon Hill expansions. It is a life style game if you want to be a good player or not lose when you play one. I play usually to have fun & learn knowing the odds are against me as I am not a life style player. But I never go into any game thinking I am going to lose. By an large I do not humiliate myself and make a good showing. As I love ASL, have a lot of expansions and a whole lot of time invested I have not tried Combat Commander or Conflict if Heroes. Not that I won't play them but no matter how good they are I do not have the time, space or money to start another series. I did look at C&C: Europe 2 things bothered me though 1) No Tanks and 2) I am a Dice man. C&C: Pacific looks fun. There weren't many tank battles in the Pacific. All this being said I am 64 and if I had to learn ASL now instead of 85 I probable not got into it. I do find at my age I like the simpler games more & more ex: the Command & Colors series Napoleon my favorite only by a slight margin because of my fascination of Napoleon. Ancients a close 2nd, Heroes of Normandy and still play Tide of Iron.
Tide of Iron and C&C Napoleonics are great. I hope you get a chance to play Combat Commander. I think you would enjoy it.
@@TheDiscriminatingGamer My wife passed away on Oct 13 2020 so I have not been playing many games. But the week before I played solo the 1st Austrian scenario Wertingen. What was interesting was the French got two flags early on, but the Austrians cleaned clock on their right flank at which point it was a mop up. Interesting scenario and a little Deceiving. Can't wait to play it again.
@@douglaspearson4853 Douglas, I am genuinely sorry to hear about your wife. I hope you are doing well at this time and know that you are in my prayers.
@@TheDiscriminatingGamer Thank you so much. It really means a lot as I have come to look at you as a friend.
@@douglaspearson4853 indeed. I feel the same. Hope you’re doing well.
Have you tried Lock n' Load digital, the PC game? It's available on Steam and I think it could be a way for people to get into hex & counter war games.... maybe. But the Lock n' Load system is very, very detailed. So the game automates a ton of stuff for you, which is both good and bad. I've commented on the forums and elsewhere to try and influence the developer to make the game phases and mechanisms a little more transparent. Still, the presentation, the music, the sound effects, they are great, they somehow retain the look of a hex and counter game (the graphics are all just the counters and chits animated).
I haven't played it.
Khodey karlsun , dear Sir ,. By any chance, haven't u tried Up Front yet ???? Ummm !!!😕😕
I have not. Fun?
Thanks Cody, sorry to hear about your "grognard experience". I'm a wargamer myself but quite open to new experience and critique - there are plenty of games I don't like myself.
Glad you liked CCE - I'm not a big fan, initially liked it but after few more plays started to dislike command limitiations (I'd prefer to be able to do everything with a penalty), plus I love rolling my dice😁
I too love a good dice roll, but for me not every game needs to have that. Thanks!
Over the years I grew my list of likes and dislikes, and somehow the physicality of dice rolling really appeals to me for randomness. I even introduce dice rolling to the games with deterministic combat (GMTs Imperial Struggle, Falling Sky, and FFGs Game of Thrones) - with me rolling D6 for every point gained (1-2=0, 3-4=1, 5-6 = 2). This also makes these games way more solo friendly...
Looks like squad leader
It’s not.
@@TheDiscriminatingGamer you should check out the SPI & GRD games.
Finaly😎😉
Indeed.
Yeah agreed, but Up Front does all this, covered all 5 years of the conflict, ect ect and without a map board, pure Wizard , ✍️🌈👍
Ah
Can it be played solo?
No, I don't think so.
I do all the time.
Re all the flak you got on your video: Many boardgamers possess peculiar psychological profiles. All you gotta do is read a few of the longwinded comments on BGG to see it. They think by being rabid fanboy of a game that they establish a personal relationship with the game design team. They're the kind of people that own cats.
And I’m allergic to cats! Thanks AJ!
Without constructed decks it’s just an exercise in luck.
Having played a ton of this game, that is not the case at all. The game is all about having randomness thrown at you and dealing with it as best you can. Your decisions DO matter, but no scenario is over until it's really over. I've seen crazy events turn the tide, and crazy events give someone (often me haha) a chance to turn the tide only for them to fail due to making the wrong choices. A brief example, walking wounded unit appeared randomly, giving me a chance to infiltrate him off my opponents side of the board as the unit appeared outside of any fields of fire of my dear enemy. I had a chance to rush him off, but instead used the card's to take more powerful shots on enemy units. The shots did some damage, but the walk off was nearly a sure vp. But, the "move" card had a bonus on it that was so tempting, I couldn't resist using it to enhance my firing rather than move my lone straggler. On reflection, this high risk, high reward choice ended up costing me the scenario as I lost by a 1 vp margin! Infiltrating the unit would've netted me 2-3 vp! Love your profile pic btw, red and black!
Bro, give me your address. I’m shipping you some Plexiglas right now. It hurts my eyes!
Ha!
And I agree, GMT is awesome. CCE is one of my top-5 two-player games, with Commands & Colors, Star Wars: Rebellion, 1960, Wir Sind Das Volk, and Sekigahara.