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/

Old Glory Miniatures

My favorite miniatures for Civil War figures has always been Old Glory.  There are the obvious things to like about them, such as the quality and the various poses.  But what I like most about them are the pieces that seem like they're merely decorative, but they are so interesting that I had to make them into relevant pieces for the game.

For instance, the signal tower is a piece they constructed.  This has no game value for any other rules set, but I liked it so much that I added it to the 1862 rules.  Players are able to send orders over great distances using this piece.  I've also used the civilians in the Bull Run scenario, their photographer for Matthew Brady, their dead pieces for bodies, and several others.  Most impressive are their generals.  They have packs of figures molded to look like specific generals.  These are perfect for the generals you choose out of the Command Combat books for your armies.  If you have generals they haven't specifically sculpted, many of their non-named generals look close enough to whomever you want to field.

You can find their Civil War figures at:

http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/products.asp?cat=662

1863 and Gettysburg to Premier at Historicon

Next week we will be premiering the 1863 expansion at Historicon, and playing the Battle of Gettysburg.  This event will show off some of the new rules in the expansion, as well as the elements of the recently released Gettysburg battlepack.

This will be my first trip to Historicon, so it should be very exciting.  The convention is held in Fredericksburg, Virginia, which is the sight of two major battles of the Civil War.  I will try to take a tour of the battlefield at some point, but may be gaming too much to have a chance.

If you will be at Historicon, please come visit and join us for our game.

http://www.historicon.org/

Set-up Miniature Shots

These were some set-ups done for some of the books that were created using terrain by Shawn Hendrix.

Battle Report - Withdrawal Scenario

A battle report using the withdrawal scenario from Command Combat: Civil War:

By the way, happy birthday to me! :)

The Battle of Fort Donelson Miniatures reenactment

The Battle of Fort Donelson reenacted in miniature form using the Command Combat: Civil War rules and board:

Bob Ross Paints the Iron Brigade

Bob Ross teaches viewers how to paint the Iron Brigade on the Command Combat Battle Reports site:

Building Gettysburg - Part 1

This video is the first part in a series I will be making as I create the battlefield of Gettysburg for use with the Command Combat: Civil War rules.  We will be premiering the game at Historicon in July.

Command Combat to be at Orccon

I will be at Orccon putting on the Second Battle of Bull Run/Manassas.  This con takes place in Los Angeles near LAX on Presidents Day Weekend.  Here is the website for the convention:

http://www.strategicon.net/

It's one of the Strategicon events, and one of the best, I think.  Come join us!  We will be there at these times:

Friday: 3:00 -9:00
Saturday: Noon - 6:00

We'll probably be doing the second day on Friday and the third day on Saturday.

SoCal Smackdown event.

We were at SoCal Smackdown at the Anaheim Convention Center this past weekend.  In all honesty, it was a bit dead, except for the tournaments that were going on.  This is definitely the convention to go to in order to participate in the biggest tournaments in Southern California.  Malifaux, Flames of War, and Warhammer were in full swing, but the dealer area was pretty quiet.

That all being said, however, I was able to play Brawner's Farm with a really fun player named Doug Thoin, and gave a demonstration to several others.  Plus I got to hang out with the folks from Victory Point Games, whom I highly recommend:

www.victorypointgames.com

Here's what our booth looked like:

And here was the result of our Brawner's Farm game:

The Second Battle of Bull Run - Miniatures reenactment

This is a miniatures reenactment of the Second Battle of Bull Run/Manassas, the second day.

Battle of Fredericksburg fixed

The scenario for the Battle of Fredericksburg went out with a rather large error at the beginning.  I had used an earlier battle pack as the template, and I forgot to take out an early paragraph.  It's been fixed now and is back up on the website for free downloading.

http://www.commandcombat.com


Sorry about the mistake everyone!

Command Combat at Origins

Command Combat: Civil War is on display along with other award nominees at the Origins Game Fair this weekend.  If you, or anyone you know, is going to the fair, be sure to take a look at the game.  It should be in the room Origins has reserved for their nominated games.  After taking a look, be sure to vote for it, as it appears to be decided by the public.

http://www.originsgames.com/

Command Combat: Civil War Nominated for Best Historic Miniatures Game

Command Combat: Civil War has been nominated for best historical miniatures game by the Origins Awards!  This is actually fairly old news, as it was nominated at GAMA in Las Vegas, Nevada.  However, this weekend is the weekend when the fate will be decided, whether it will win the coveted award or not.  It's being looked at and scrutinized at the Origins Game Fair along with the other nominees.

To be completely honest, I don't expect to win.  Despite the huge pride I have in the game, and the fact that I think it's the best system for the Civil War, the others that are nominated are by major companies with many employees, writers, artists, historians, etc.  One of them is one of my all time favorites, Flames of War: Casino.  This is an absolutely amazing miniatures expansion.  The others are games I've been very impressed by as well.

So to be nominated alongside these wonderful games is a huge honor.  This may sound like BS, but to me, I've already won just after being nominated.

Here's the link to the nominations:

http://gama.org/OriginsAwards/tabid/2720/Default.aspx

Going to Kublacon

Command Combat: Civil War will be at Kublacon this Saturday.  Our game is scheduled for 10 am, but there could possibly be a late start.  Keep an eye out for the most recent updates!

http://www.kublacon.com/

The Battle of Bull Run / Manassas a Confederate Victory! (Originally posted July 24, 2011)

We had one player for each general for the Battle of Bull Run / Manassas at Game Empire at Pasadena, and it ended with a Confederate victory.  The Union first division pushed across Manassas Creek at the bridge and at the ford, while the second and third divisions pushed down from the north.  The Confederates lined up on Henry House Hill and challenged the Yankees to come at them, which they did.  Stuart's cavalry rushed past the Union far right flank and threatened some artillery emplacements.  They were chased off by the Union cavalry.  Stuart, leading the Confederate cavalry, fooled some of the Union soldiers to lay down their arms and surrender.  The rest charged and were shot down.  Meanwhile, the Yankee charge at the hill was repulsed by Beauregard's main army.

Above is the first group of people to play.  Everyone seemed to have a great time.  Thanks to all who participated!

 Shawn Hendrix was the first person to buy a copy of the game, seen below.

Command Combat: Civil War - 1861 to Preview at Historicon (Originally posted June 30, 2011)

Thanks to the extraordinary efforts and kindness of Frank Preziosa, who runs Cold Wars (http://www.coldwars.org) Command Combat will be showing at Historicon.  He will be presenting a set-up for the game along with the rules for anyone to try out.  Players who are interested in the rules can then purchase the game The Hobby Bunker, who will be in the vendors area, and can also be found at www.hobbybunker.com