Final Primary Plans for Command Combat: Civil War

Now that the 1864 expansion is released, I have completed the bulk of what I had planned for Command Combat: Civil War.  But there are a few other major elements yet to finish.

First, I need to put together the hardcover compilation of everything from the 1861 core rulebook through the three main expansions, ’62, ’63, and ’64.  Plus there will be a few added elements from 1865.  There was supposed to be an entire expansion just for that year, but as I got to researching it, I learned that there really wasn’t enough from that year to make an entire expansion.  I had somewhat known this and intended to make it a what if expansion, including things like European troops and the Gatling gun, but it still just wasn’t enough.  So I decided to make it added content to the compilation book.  Thus, 1865.  I had intended on coming out with this expansion on the 150^th anniversary of Lee’s surrender to Grant, but will have to settle for the 151^st anniversary of it, (or near that time.)

I also wanted to release a battle pack of the Battle of the Wilderness, which will include Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg.  This would make it so there was at least one battle pack for each year of the war.  I could just skip this and let Gettysburg be the last one, but it just feels odd to leave 1864 out arbitrarily.  So I’ll be coming out with that next year as well.  The one thing that will be missing from this is the unit pieces.  They take a tremendous amount of time, and if I wait to finish these, it may never end.  Plus, the sizes of the armies in these expansions are so huge that they would make the books way too large.

Finally, as I’ve taken this journey through all these expansions, I’ve found better ways for the game to be played, and even some elements of the game that aren’t very strong.  I’ve been altering them through house rules as I’ve been playing with people more recently, but it would be best to provide these rules to the public so they can have the best experience possible playing.  So I need to create a version 2 of the game.  However, I always hate when a game company requires their players to go out and buy a whole new game after they’ve been loyal, purchasing all the games in the past.  So I’ll be posting all the changes on the website so those people who already had version 1 can simply use these altered rules without having to spend more money.

I also have found a number of typos throughout the other expansions, so I need to go fix those as well.  And once those are all finished, I’ve completed the major elements of Command Combat: Civil War.  I’ll have more things to make over time, including a regimental version, a navy game and individual battles to release.  Plus I want to expand into other periods.  But these elements are the main parts of the game that I had envisioned when I created Command Combat: Civil War.

Command Combat: Civil War - 1862 (Rosecrans v. Hardee)

My Source of Information

When looking up information, I always start with Wikipedia.  Some people criticize that for some reason.  I don’t understand why.  First, they provide a great overview to get you started, and they have everything in one convenient location.  You add to that the fact that not only does it list the various connections, (what battles the unit or general was in, etc.) but they have links!  These links become enormously helpful.

But here’s what’s specifically great about Wikipedia: They list their sources, with links, at the bottom of the page.  That’s right, if I want to learn more about what I’m reading, I can click on those links and find out more, or learn where to buy a book I need, etc.

I also have a small library of Civil War books.  The most useful one, of course, is Shelby Foote’s The Civil War.  Nothing is more complete, and easy to navigate.  As I was making each book, I read through the years of which I was writing in Foote’s book, occasionally picking up something to use I hadn’t gotten out of Wikipedia.  I also had Ken Burn’s documentary running almost on a continuous loop on the specific year of which I was writing.  This provided inspiration and, again, small ideas I hadn’t considered before.

And, as I said, I have a few other books that I went through to find a bit more to put in.  For instance, I knew there was something interesting Forrest had done in ’64 that I wasn’t seeing in my regular sources, so I picked up his biography again and found it, placing it in as one of his special rules.

A more specific example of something that came out of Foote’s book was Longstreet’s special ability to create a flank attack.  I knew he had played an important role in the Battle of the Wilderness, coming in at just the right time to hit the Federals and taking them by surprise; but what I had forgotten was that he split up a brigade, creating a separate one under a temporarily promoted officer.  This way the Federals thought they knew where every Confederate brigade was, and was therefore surprised when a new one appeared on their flank.  As such, his rule allows him to break up a brigade and have a new one appear within a certain distance and attack.

Command Combat: Civil War - 1864 Generals Preview 5

Here's the last preview of Command Combat: Civil War - 1864.  It comes out on Sunday on Wargame Vault and Amazon.

1864 Generals Preview 2

Here are some more samples of generals in the 1864 expansion.

1864 Preview Video

Battle Report - Lee vs. Grant

1864 Unit Preview - "Heavies"

1864 Preview - Barlow

Update to Website

Just as I've been neglecting the blog in recent months, so too have I neglected the website.  I just haven't been on the ball, have I.  Well, I'm working on 1864 now, so it's time to get things updated and moving again.  I've fixed up the website and it's looking better now.  The broken links are repaired, and a lot of typos are fixed.  Most of all, I finally got the 1863 history put up.

I'll be putting more up about 1864 as I develop it.

www.commandcombat.com

Miniature Reenactment - The Battle of Gettysburg, Day 1, Morning

This is a miniature reenactemnt of the morning of the first day from the Battle of Gettysburg.  We use Command Combat: Civil War miniatures to tell the story.  This will be a series, and we'll go through the entire battle... eventually.

The Battle of Fort Donelson Game

Here's a battle report of the Battle of Fort Donelson from our Youtube channel Command Combat Battle Reports.  Our last one done a year or so ago was a battle re-enactment showing what really happened.  This is a play-through of our game.

The Battle of Gettysburg to be played at Orccon

We will be doing the entire battle of Gettysburg at Orccon on Saturday, February 15th starting at 9 am.  Orccon is at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport.  The website is at: http://www.strategicon.net/

What part of the Battle of Gettysburg, you ask?  The whole thing!  We have a long table that will have the entire battlefield stretched out from Little Round Top all the way to Herr Ridge.  We'll basically be doing the fighting from each day in one big battle royale.  So come take the role of your favorite general and play the whole thing to see what would have happened if Lee had attacked on all fronts at once.

Civil War Buildings

Even though I play Command Combat: Civil War in 15 mm, I've often been using 10 mm buildings by the company Buildings in Turmoil.  The reason is two-fold.  First, 15 mm buildings are sometimes too large.  Even though they're supposed to be appropriately scaled to 15 mm figures, the fact is that each figure isn't supposed to be representing 1 person; it represents dozens or even hundreds, so it's actually more appropriate to go one scale down for the buildings.

I met John from Buildings in Turmoil at Historicon, and he let me sell my rules at his table.  I was putting on Gettysburg that day, and was short an important house, the Bryan house, which was essentially the goal of Pickett's charge.  His buildings are all based on real buildings from the battle fields, (he lives at Gettysburg,) so I asked him to paint one up, and his son Jeff had it to me the next morning.  They're a great group of sculptors and painters, and I highly recommend them.

http://www.buildings-in-turmoil.com/

Command Combat Pictures from Kubla Con

Command Combat: Civil War played at Kubla Con earlier this year.  Craig Robertson hosted the Battle of Wilson's Creek.  It was an interesting fight as the Union cavalry went straight after the Confederate supplies right in the center and held there against relentless attacks.  The Confederates at last squeezed them on both sides and at the end, pressed them out.  They used paper minis from Billy Bones, which are available on Wargame Vault.  Below are pictures from the battle:

Command Combat: Civil War at Gamex 2013