2025Richard Borg, Adrien Martinot
- Videos
- 170
- Creators
- 79
Mainly playthroughs
2 - 4 players30 minLight weight
Commands & Colors: Ancients
2006Richard Borg
- Videos
- 12
- Creators
- 9
Some reviews. Commands & Colors: Ancients is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 4 reviews, 2 how-to-play guides, 2 recorded sessions, 1 unboxings, and 3 other videos.
2 players
60 min
Medium weight: Teach it in one sitting
From BoardGameGeek
From the designer (about his Commands and Colors system, C&C: Ancients, and Memoir' 44): "Commands & Colors: Ancients depicts warfare from the Dawn of Military History (3000 BC) to the opening of the Dark Ages (400 AD). Quite an ambitious undertaking for one game, yet Commands & Colors, by design, is a unique historical wargame system which allows players to effectively portray stylized battles from this time in history. The 15 battles showcased in the scenario booklet, although stylized, focus on important terrain features and the historical deployment of forces in scale with the game system. The battles include Bagradas, Cannae, and Zama. "The scale of the game fluctuates from battle to battle. For some scenarios, an infantry unit may represent a legion of fighters, while in other scenarios a unit may represent just a few brave warriors. But the tactics you need to execute conform remarkably well to the advantages and limitations inherent to the various units, their weapons, terrain and time. "Unlike its older brother, Battle Cry by Avalon Hill, Commands & Colors: Ancients is moderately more complex and contains additional historical details without the battlefield clutter. Most scenarios will still play to a conclusion in less than an hour. "The command card system, drives movement, creates a true fog of war and presents both challenges and opportunities. There are four types of command cards: Leadership cards, Section cards, Troop cards and Tactic cards. "The battle dice system resolves all combat efficiently and quickly. Each battle die has one Light, one Medium, one Heavy, one Leader, one Flag and one Swords symbol. "The game mechanics, although simple, will still require strategic card play, historical tactics, timely dice rolling, and an aggressive, yet flexible battle plan to achieve victory."
Watch first
Which Commands & Colors: Ancients video should I watch?
Commands & Colors: Ancients has 12 videos from 9 creators: 4 reviews, 2 how-to-play guides, 2 playthroughs, 1 unboxing and 3 other videos. They date from 2022 to January 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Tutorial for Commands and Colors: Ancients (GMT Games)" by UVM CLASSICS, which runs 10 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Castelli Reviews: Commands & Colors Ancients" by Castelli Reviews. 3 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "Commands & Colors Ancients: Teach & Play with Joe and Stuart" by Homo Ludens, one of 2 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Star Wars: Battle of Hoth, Memoir '44, Perudo and Commands & Colors: Medieval, also by Richard Borg.
All videos
8 of 9
Creators who cover this
AmassGames
2 videos of this game
Legendary Tactics
2 videos of this game
The Boardgames Chronicle
2 videos of this game
Castelli Reviews
1 video of this game
ChihuahuaPrint3D
1 video of this game
Homo Ludens
1 video of this game
Nerd Workshop
1 video of this game
UVM CLASSICS
1 video of this game
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About Commands & Colors: Ancients
From BoardGameGeek:
From the designer (about his Commands and Colors system, C&C: Ancients, and Memoir' 44): "Commands & Colors: Ancients depicts warfare from the Dawn of Military History (3000 BC) to the opening of the Dark Ages (400 AD). Quite an ambitious undertaking for one game, yet Commands & Colors, by design, is a unique historical wargame system which allows players to effectively portray stylized battles from this time in history. The 15 battles showcased in the scenario booklet, although stylized, focus on important terrain features and the historical deployment of forces in scale with the game system. The battles include Bagradas, Cannae, and Zama. "The scale of the game fluctuates from battle to battle. For some scenarios, an infantry unit may represent a legion of fighters, while in other scenarios a unit may represent just a few brave warriors. But the tactics you need to execute conform remarkably well to the advantages and limitations inherent to the various units, their weapons, terrain and time. "Unlike its older brother, Battle Cry by Avalon Hill, Commands & Colors: Ancients is moderately more complex and contains additional historical details without the battlefield clutter. Most scenarios will still play to a conclusion in less than an hour. "The command card system, drives movement, creates a true fog of war and presents both challenges and opportunities. There are four types of command cards: Leadership cards, Section cards, Troop cards and Tactic cards. "The battle dice system resolves all combat efficiently and quickly. Each battle die has one Light, one Medium, one Heavy, one Leader, one Flag and one Swords symbol. "The game mechanics, although simple, will still require strategic card play, historical tactics, timely dice rolling, and an aggressive, yet flexible battle plan to achieve victory."
Designer
Richard Borg
Artist
Rodger B. MacGowan
Publisher
GMT Games
Categories
AncientWargame
Mechanics
Card-DrivenDice RollingHand ManagementHex Grid