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Review of Commands & Colors: Ancients - Expansion 5 Epic Ancients II
Blurb from the publisher: '12 truly epic battles! Now you are in command!
Commands & Colors: Epic Ancients II allows players the opportunity to fight historical ancient battles on an epic scale. The Command & Colors: Epic Ancients II rules have undergone a slight modification to increase player involvement, providing additional depth without adding complexity. The new 100 card Epic Command deck makes the play of Command cards straightforward, with direction and important information right on each card. This will help new players grasp the game play more quickly while providing experienced players more control and a very challenging competition.
Players now maneuver their armies over a double sized map made by combining the two mounted maps found in Expansions #2 and #3, or purchased separately from GMT Games.
The Commands & Colors: Epic Ancients II game allows up to eight players to experience the competitive fun of a large sized ancients battle, but we know many have enjoyed Epic Ancients as a two-player game, even though the battles last longer than a single map of Commands & Colors game. Try it both ways and see how you like it!
Important: In order to play this expansion, you will need a copy of the basic Commands & Colors Ancients game, one or more C&C:A expansions, and two double-sided C&C:A mounted maps.'
What you get: Your USD 35 or equivalent will buy you Commands & Colors: Ancients - Expansion Nr. 5 - Epic Ancients II, the fifth expansion that got published for the Commands & Colors: Ancients game line. For those not in the know, the Commands & Colors: Ancients basic game is a two-player game of ancient warfare of light to medium complexity that lasts from an hour to an hour and a half. It was first published in 2006 and currently enjoys its 6th printing and a very prestigious placement on BGG's top-120. In contrast to the basic game however, the expansion is playable with either two, three or four players per side (i.e. with 2, 4, 6, or 8 players), the latter being the optimum that the game itself recommends. A battle lasts around two and a half hours, if not more.
In addition to the 8-page rulebook which can be also downloaded from the publisher's website free of charge, the expansion also contains the following: 100 Epic Command Cards, 2 wooden Card Holders, and 12 Epic Ancients battles on six 11' x 17' Battle Cards.
In the interest of full disclosure, I had never tried the previous iteration of Epic Ancients so I cannot meaningfully compare the two. On the other hand, I have owned and played Epic Ancients II for many years. This is not your average playtest.
Gameplay: If you expected more blocks, more terrain tiles and more battles, you are holding the wrong C&C:A expansion. Epic Ancients II takes 12 battles that have already been featured in previous C&C:A expansion like Marathon, Gaugemela, and Hydaspes, and translates them into a multi-player affair. Assuming that eight players participate, two will be the Overall Commanders of each army while the other six players assume command of each armies' three sections.
The game is played on two 13 x 9 hex boards for a total tally of 26 x 9. The enormous board is separated in three sections (left, centre and right). Depending on the battle, the otherwise plain terrain might have features like hills, rivers, forests etc.
The objective of the game is to gain a set number of Victory Banners depending on the scenario (from 7 to 15). A Victory Banner is collected each time you eliminate an opposing unit, in some scenarios however they are also won when capturing terrain hexes or other battlefield objectives.
Depending on the scenario the players start with different units and different map layouts. There are many types of units, namely as many as the basic game and its expansions have introduced. Units are overall abstracted in three different categories: light, medium and heavy. Each category is further divided in two subcategories, one of which is slightly stronger or more resilient than the other. Each unit is comprised of two, three or four blocks, depending on type. Each side starts with a different number of Command cards in its hand. Each scenario designates who starts first.
There are four phases in a player's turn to be executed in order, and the first one involves Playing a Command Card, as well as Ordering Units and Leaders. Only the Overall Commander may play these cards. There are three types of Command Cards: Army Commands (3 cards), Field Commands (81 cards), and Reactions (2 cards). If he plays the first, that's the only card he can play. If he plays the second, he may play up to three cards of that type. Reactions are played during the opponent's turn, and allow first strike in an already declared combat. Fourteen cards are 'dual use', in other words they can be used either as Army or as Field Commands.
Commands may order units in only one section or in more sections of the board. When Field Commands are played, the Overall Commander may consult only with one of his Field Commander without the other Field Commanders listening to them. Thus, the other two Field Commanders will just receive a card about activating a number of units; they are not told which units these are, nor what they are supposed to do. It falls upon them to understand and implement what the Overall Commander has in mind. Under no circumstances is he allowed to explain in any way what should happen, what other cards he holds for future turns, or what his strategy is. Army Command cards work on the premise of how many Army Commands the Overall Commander holds in order to determine the amount of troops that can be ordered. This time he may specify to all his Field Commanders which units he wishes to see ordered in the battlefield. This however does not oblige the Field Commanders to follow his advice; ultimately they can act any way they like.
In phase two the Field Commanders move the units they wish to. All units must complete their move before any battle begins. The rules of standard C&C:A are fully applicable.
Battle also follows standard C&C:A rules. Battles can be conducted simultaneously by opposing Field Commanders in order to speed play, in other words the enemies left section can play out a battle with your right while the inverse also takes place. When it comes to both movement and battle resolution the Overall Commander is a silent observer.
At the end of a turn the Overall Commander draws two new cards irrespective of the number of cards he played, unless that would hand him more cards than he is allowed to hold by the scenario.
The strong points: Taking into account the dual nature of Epic Ancients II, I have to address the strong points of both the two-player experience as well as the multiplayer one. First, however, I want to say this:
Wow! What a game!
The two player experience is a great improvement over the basic game when it comes to the detail that has been put into the battles. The game is still an abstraction, the zoom into the battlefield however is much more pronounced. Seven banners is a medium to large scale battle in the standard game; here it is the absolute minimum. In Beneventum, Pyrrhus commands more than 30 units in order to claim 15 banners against the Romans. If you were ever worried about luck playing too important a role in C&C:A, this battle is the proof that it doesn't. In order to win that many banners you have to play systematically well. You will have to keep formations, anticipate what your opponent will do, and run interference yourself. The Reaction cards are a clever idea, an exception to an exception. With an appearance rate of only 2% in the deck, they are an obvious deterrent if you are thinking of entering into a precarious battle. They do not however dominate the game nor do they turn it into a turtling exercise.
When it comes to multiplayer games, frankly, I had no clue how C&C:A could have translated into a multiplayer. The result is simply outstanding; the twist of a limited information concept used upon the otherwise trusted, well-tried premise of C&C:A is genius. The standard rules keep their ground as if they were created to support a multiplayer experience from the get-go. The new rules work great. Orders are only partial; the Field Commander must put their own touch to the war effort. Sometimes the orders will be easy to interpret. Others they will look totally weird, seeing how the Field Commander does not have access to the additional information the Overall Commander has (namely: the other cards he holds in his hand).
The balance of the Field and Army cards is very good, and I am taking the dual use cards into account. A clever Overall Commander will have to find the right pace of playing them. It's not just the tactical results they produce. Depending on what you play, you get a chance to consult with your Field Commanders. Unless you operate on exactly the same wavelength with all your subordinates, you want to be talking to everybody the most possible, even if they don't always act the way you wish.
The game offers a good selection of battles, with a balanced approach towards both the Greeks and the Romans. There is only one battle where the Greeks turn against one another and even that is a Successors' battle. Even though I heavily tilt towards the Greek side of the theme, I am still satisfied by the battles that the expansion opted for. Were on the other hand, every single battle of Expansion 1 and Expansion 6 to see publication for the Epic Ancients II format, I wouldn't object.
The weak points: At USD 35, C&C:A's cheapest expansion is also the most costly. Why? Because it requires almost all other expansions for it to be played. This is undoubtedly a game that is addressed to people who are gamers and history buffs in one; it is unlikely that somebody will randomly pick it up.
The two and a half hours playing time might not be impossible to arrange, the required eight devoted players however for an optimal game are rather tough to come by. The game plays well with less, admittedly however a full table is what you should be striving for. I admit I have only achieved full count once, even though I have played the game at least half a dozen times. Unless you want to experience Epic Ancients II as a two-player game mostly, don't expect it to hit the gaming table often.
In fact, make sure you have a gaming table that can support it and a room where you can freely walk in. You do realize that you are practically fielding two C&C:A games next to one another. Few people have that much space available, which is why extravaganzas of Epic Ancients II are usually played in gaming clubs, community centers or overall big halls. The players are unlikely to be seated all that time. The Field Commanders will have to get used to a certain back and forth so that the Overall Commander along with this favoured Field Commander for that turn strategize to their heart's desire.
Yet, that last sentence shouldn't be interpreted as a license to kill time. There is a certain expediency in what is going on, seeing how the Overall Commanders will be constantly sending their Field Commanders away from the game. You will have thus to decide fast, communicate your orders fast, and wait for others to execute them while you remain mostly expressionless. You read that right; you can't just explode on a Field Commander who did a mess of job. That is very likely to expose him to information of what you intended to do in the future, and this is not allowed. If you cannot remain composed and keep your calm while others screw up your plans, do not take the role of Overall Commander.
The Field Commander's role is not necessarily what more casual gamers come to a game for. You cannot decide what happens outside your section. You cannot even decide which type of troops to move inside yours. When the order comes, you must have an idea of what the Overall Commander is trying to achieve so that you don't unbalance the army. A lot of ink that has been spilled on one section overextending/collapsing/unbalancing with the others deteriorating as a result; every other battle in ancient history ended for exactly that reason. Now you know why: because, amongst others, the commanders did not have mobile phones or GPSs to talk things through. If you don't like the role of interpreting a sketch of an order, with only limited input towards the overall strategy, this is not the game for you.
Standard C&C:A is not the most difficult of wargames and falls squarely in the light to moderate part of the scale. If you play Epic Ancients II as a two-player game, it is definitely a more nuanced experience, it does not however become substantially more complex than the basic game. Its basic tenets are the same. If you are looking for harder, less abstract ancient battles, you might want to check the Great Battles of History series (GBoH), again from GMT Games. If you want a running start, we examined The Great Battles Of Alexander: Macedonian Art of War - Expanded Deluxe Edition together in the past. That game kicks serious ass.
Just like the standard game, Epic Ancients II is historical and ahistorical at the same time. It uses a number of abstractions, the most prominent being the end game (which even though it fits the theme in theory, can get quirky at times). I wasn't bothered in the basic game, and I am not bothered here either. Again, if you want a tighter historical experience bordering a full simulation, try GBoH.
Conclusion: Epic Ancients II is an unmitigated success of an expansion for C&C:A. It is very demanding in time, previous monetary investment (most previous expansions must be purchased in advance), as well as an understanding of the game. The results it delivers however are stellar, be it because you want to try out known battles under a more focused prism, or because you want to experience the ill communications of ancient warfare in an aptly thematic way. Very, very strongly recommended!
For more info on Commands & Colors: Ancients - Expansion Nr. 5 - Epic Ancients II, and GMT Games overall, take a look at http://www.gmtgames.com.
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