Commands and Colours: Medieval

 

Recently I've played quite a few games using variants of the Commands & Colours rules, and each time we've come away remarking² that they pretty much always work really well for different periods, and tick the box of providing a simple but challenging game that reflects the period well.  Crucially there are enough similarities across the games that we can pick them up quickly (even if inevitably we forget a few rules on the night!).  There's nothing worse than spending half the evening explaining rules, clarifying points, forgetting to explain other rules, fumbling through a few turns and then finding the evenings over!  It's also why we often play Hail Caesar/Pike and Shotte/Black Powder .

Inspired by the C&C games Anthony and I have been playing recently I'd cast my eye on eBay and BGG and spotted a real bargain available with a set of the Medieval version of C&C plus last year's Crusades expansion at a really cheap price.   In fact the seller had helpfully stickered all the blocks in the main set but it was otherwise unplayed, and the Crusades supplement was brand new!

So last week we tried out one of the scenarios from the base game.  The rules suggest starting with the battle of Thannuris so off we went to the dusty plains of the Sassanian border.  In this battle Belisarius has been sent out to deal with the Sassanians who have disrupted some building work.  2 of the Byzantine commanders have been a bit over-enthusiastic and are positioned ahead of the main army, making them a nice target.  In the actual battle th was were overrun and forced Belisarius to retreat.

The rules are mostly the same as C&C Ancients but cavalry are able to ignore some hits from infantry, and heavy troops from medium/lights, medium from lights etc.  This means cavalry become very powerful... both in terms of heavy hitting Cataphracts, but also speedy Light Cavalry who can evade and fire so the the Parthian Shot rule.   Commanders also have a pool of points which can used for some. special 'Inspired Actions' some of which are specific to different armies

I was the unnamed Sassanid general and tried to recreate the historical outcome by concentrating on the exposed troops on my right... my left flank barely moved during the game but did take some pot shots at the Byzantines. I succeeded in battering the isolated units but at quite a cost, meaning we were fairly close all the way through the game.  Anthony the cunningly began to hound a couple of my Light Cavalry, forcing the back.  Light Cavalry are very nimble which is great but it also means that when they retreat, they tend to go a long way back and I kept getting pressed back to the board edge, losing blocks and ultimately enough units to hand a close victory to the Byzantines.

It's an interesting choice of period for the publishers to have gone with... probably not what most people would think of when they are Medieval... but interesting with the focus on cavalry and the clash of light horse versus heavy knights.  Really enjoyed the games and looking forward to trying more of the scenarios and the Crusaders