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Game Info
Year
2015
Collection
Mechanic profile
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Vibe profile
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Description
The Great War, the latest adaptation of Richard Borg's Command & Colours system, brings the epic battles of World War 1 to the gaming table, allowing players to portray important engagements throughout WWI history. The battles, included in the scenario booklet, focus on the historical deployment of forces and important terrain features of trench fighting in scale with the game system. The scale of the game is flexible and varies from battle to battle. For some scenarios, a few infantry units may represent an entire wing of a larger battle, while in other scenarios a unit may represent just a few brave soldiers going over the top.
The Command card system drives movement, creates a "fog of war", and presents players with many interesting opportunities, while the battle dice resolve combat quickly and efficiently. The Combat cards add an element of suspense and will challenge players to coordinate their use in a timely manner. Overall, the battlefield tactics players will need to execute to gain victory conform remarkably well to the strengths and limitations of the various types of WWI units, their weapons, battlefield terrain, and written history.
In this core game, the main focus is on a number of WWI trench warfare battles. However, a series of expansions, which will feature early war, Eastern Front scenarios, tanks, airplanes, other national armies, plus more special personnel figures, are already in the planning stage to enhance your WWI gaming experience.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 4
This page: 4
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–4 of 4
Video qonPAfEUnec
Review at 0:36 sentiment: positive
video_pk 67242 · mention_pk 163210
Click to watch at 0:36 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Beautiful art
- Simple and easy to understand rules
- Fantastic adventure
- High quality production value
- Inspiring from deep sea diving and pulp archaeology
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Exploration and mystery
- The Lost Horizon universe
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- RPG mechanics — The transcript mentions 'core mechanics of the game' running about 54 pages, and 'combat in'.
- scenario-based play — The transcript mentions 'really great scenarios in here to kind of get you started'.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- There are a couple companies that I consider the greatest companies on the planet.
- Free League Publishing is working their way up and they just keep on knocking it out of the park.
- The rules are really very very simple.
- Like I said, I've said this a million times and I'm going to say it a million times more.
- Until next time, it's your old pal Rob.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 9-Tfg6Fna_o
Playthrough at 0:27 sentiment: positive
video_pk 67076 · mention_pk 163064
Click to watch at 0:27 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Good Euro deliciousness
- Satisfying strategic depth in action economy and upgrades
- Tense combat resolution
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Vying for dominance over regions
- Mediterranean
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Point Allowance — Players have actions to use, and can gain extra workers.
- Area Control — Players vie for dominance over regions and control of regions is important for gaining points and other benefits.
- Combat — A detailed combat system is described involving ship stats, combat cards, attack, defense, and strength resolution.
- Dice Placement / Action Die — Players 'pip up an action die' which influences the strength of actions and can be used for various purposes.
- engine building — Players upgrade actions and ships to become more efficient.
- Resource management — Players manage resources like wood and coin to build and upgrade.
- set collection — Collecting temple points and upgrading actions based on temple regions.
- Tech Tree — Upgrading ships and forts involves placing components that grant stats, suggesting a form of technological advancement.
- worker placement — Players use workers on different action types.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- We are here to play The Great Sea.
- In The Great Sea, players are vying for dominance over the regions of the Mediterranean looking to cross their temple marker with either their trade or combat marker.
- As soon as a player has their temple and either trade or combat marker meet, they immediately win.
- It's Life of Pi adjacent.
- I'll take a small fort upgrade, especially because it's so expensive right now, right?
- It's a great sea. But, it's small.
- You got your horse, man. We thought it was innocent. You're like, I'm just over here doing something, man.
- Mike left a temple unguarded.
- I didn't even see that coming, man.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video BvgdBmWT3KU
Meeple University Playthrough at 0:51 sentiment: positive
video_pk 60109 · mention_pk 152562
Click to watch at 0:51 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Long-term planning rewards
- Tactical positioning and timing
- Dice management and varied combat
- Economy-focused depth with gradual upgrades
- Rich thematic flavor and setting
Cons
- High complexity; steep learning curve
- Potential downtime during multi-player turns
- Requires more than one session to fully explore
Thematic elements
- Trade supremacy, naval warfare, temple influence
- Ancient Mediterranean maritime city-states from Levant to Carthage
- Instructional, strategic explanation during a gameplay session
Comparison games
- Paladins of the West Kingdom
- Raiders of the North Sea
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Control regions by placing ships, forts, and trade posts; contested by opponents
- area_control — Control regions by placing ships, forts, and trade posts; contested by opponents
- combat_resolution — Combat is resolved via dice cards; attacker advantage in ties; shields and flames influence damage
- engine building — Dial up dice pips to strengthen actions and unlock upgrades
- engine_building — Dial up dice pips to strengthen actions and unlock upgrades
- map_movement — Move fleets and dice-driven actions across a modular map
- mobilize_action — Last action to move, initiate combat, or increase fleet mobility
- Resource management — Gather coins and wood; upgrade ships and forts; manage market costs
- resource_management — Gather coins and wood; upgrade ships and forts; manage market costs
- temple_control — Control temple regions and temple posts for points and bonuses
- upgrades_and_market — Flip used trade posts to gain bonuses and purchase upgrades
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The great sea plays two to four players with mechanics such as engine building, area control, and map movement.
- Love it. Historically accurate.
- Perhaps the great sea reminds you a bit of paladins of the west kingdom, raiders of the North Sea, but they went sailing and brought flamethrowers.
- This ends Sunday morning scenic trip. This is war.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video B3jHxEzKxlY
The Discriminating Gamer Top List at 1:19 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 8314 · mention_pk 24472
Click to watch at 1:19 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- classic Commands & Colors feel applied to WWI
- artillery events add dramatic prelude to engagements
Cons
- plastic components are prone to assembly issues and fragility
- physical quality disappoints relative to other editions
Thematic elements
- industrial-era mechanized warfare
- World War I battlefields
- historical tactical simulation with modular scenarios
Comparison games
- Medieval
- Ancients
- Napoleonics
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- block-based unit representation — Uses the Commands & Colors block system for moves and combats, with offboard artillery elements influencing early turns.
- offboard artillery at scenario start — Artillery fire is resolved from offboard sources at the opening, creating random carnage before main play begins.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- There' s just be some random carnage before the game played out.
- dragon cards... there were like a whole another deck of cards that can throw monkey wrenches into what you know your opponent's trying to do.
- it's such a great system and we ended up playing seven or eight games that night.
- I absolutely love the Napoleonic era, Napoleonic warfare.
- my number one Commands and Colors game of all time. That is Memoir 44 with the Overlord expansion.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–4 of 4