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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.
This page includes videos and mentions from the whole The Great War family. Drill into a specific game below.
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Tannhäuser Board Game Solitaire
- elegant pathfinding system that eliminates LOS complexity
- comprehensive rulebook with explicit coverage for base game and expansions
- strong production values and a robust setup that scales from base to expansion content
- deep tactical options for both solo and two-player formats
- out of print status increases scarcity and may drive up price
- some rules interpretations used by the presenter indicate occasional ambiguities in solo play (house-rule style discussion)
- health-dial mechanism can be fiddly and prone to misread during intense play
- espionage, tactical skirmish, mission-oriented combat between rival factions
- 1949-era alternate history with WWII-inspired factions engaged in covert operations in a fortified castle-like map
- instructional live-play demonstration with emphasis on setup, movement, and objective-based winning
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Points — three action points per turn allowing flexible sequencing of movement and actions
- equipment tokens and packs — character-specific packs provide weapons, gear, and special abilities
- grenades and smoke — grenades have range-based mechanics; smoke can obscure lines of attack and restrict movement
- health indicators — health tokens or dials track damage and deterioration during combat
- objective tokens — primary and secondary objective tokens placed on the map guide scoring and completion
- Overwatch — defensive stance enabling reactive attacks to enemy movements
- pathfinding system — colored-path movement that removes traditional line-of-sight range checks, enabling fluid tactical play
- reinforcements — start-of-turn respawns add new troopers, altering tactical possibilities
- resource and points economy — command points are spent to move, boost stats, or set up OverWatch, adding a resource-management layer
- Resource Management — command points are spent to move, boost stats, or set up OverWatch, adding a resource-management layer
- two-player and solo modes with multiple scenarios — six modes (Death Match, Capture the Flag, Domination, King of the Hill, Objective, Story) that shape setup and victory conditions
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a Miniatures game for ball Gamers which yeah it's what you've been waiting
- the rule book's fabulous and it's got rules for not just the stuff included in the base game but also stuff that comes as expansions
- this pathfinding system is just is just beautiful it's it's made for us all right
- six modes of play for the two player
- the map expansion comes with these 12 Troopers
- we're going to teach you how to play the game solitire all you need is the base game
- the final bit of setup is command points and then we're ready to play
- this pathfinding system is just beautiful
References (from this video)
- classic Commands & Colors feel applied to WWI
- artillery events add dramatic prelude to engagements
- plastic components are prone to assembly issues and fragility
- physical quality disappoints relative to other editions
- industrial-era mechanized warfare
- World War I battlefields
- historical tactical simulation with modular scenarios
- 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
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)
- Hefty production values; collaboration with known designers
- Likely heavy; may have a steep learning curve
- Oceanic exploration and genetic balance of guilds
- Sea exploration, maritime empire building
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- heavy euro / area control — Co-design with SJ McDonald; bite-size heavy game with substantial depth
- weighted resource management — Strategic planning with an emphasis on long-term control
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is big news. Obviously, we now have two studios.
- The logo is a Smurf and that's a Smurfette. Yeah, you're right.
- They’re taking with them oath and arcs.
- A new standalone Wingspan expansion with hummingbirds.