Greetings!
over the years I witnessed as well as played in Command Decision games hosted by game master Vic Gregoire. Vic always runs a fun game and his scenarios tend to be pretty unique. Once again Vic is running another Command Decision game at this year's Huzzah! in Portland, ME on May 4 -6. I recently caught up with Vic and had a brief interview with him.
Me:
for years now I've been enjoying your Command Decision games at HAVOC, held in Shrewsbury, MA and recently as well at Huzzah!, held in Portland, ME. I've been fortunate to be a player in some of those games.
Your enthusiasm for Command Decision is quite apparent. You now host games using Command Decision: Test of Battle, which is the fourth edition. What brought you to Command Decision and what do you like the best about the Command Decision system?
Vic: I have been gaming since 1983 when I literally stumbled into the hobby and soon met, through our wives, my long time gaming buddy Pete Oakley. Originally we used a rule system called "Angriff". I had been a regular follower of a magazine called "Wargamers Digest" and particularly enjoyed articles by the then unknown Frank Chadwick on what he called the "Series 78 Standard Unit". From this kernel of an idea "Command Decision" evolved. Franks basic idea was that most gamers tended to game at a level beyond the capability of the rules they were employing. What I immediately liked about Command Decision was it was intended to be a battalion/regimental game, the aspects of command control and best of all you checked morale after you issued orders! I had not seen that before.
Me: A common feature of your Command Decision games is the fairly obscure scenarios that you present. I've seen France invading Germany in 1940, Poland 1939 eastern front, and East Africa come to mind. I think the most conventional scenario I've seen from you is Stalingrad. What other little known theatres do you draw scenarios from and what motivation do you have to find unusual theatres and scenarios?
Vic:
There is much more to World War II to me than Europe 44'. As I learned more and more about the more obscure scenario's I have enjoyed bringing them to the game table. Several years ago at "Fall-In" I ran a Poland 39' scenario. As people came by and saw Russians on the table they asked "Thought this was Poland 39?". I said it is, it's the other side of the country when the Russians invaded from the East. If you consider the Japanese in China the war for them began in 1932. "Manchukuo-39'" when Zhukov earned his first "Hero of the Soviet Union" medal driving the Japanese from Manchuria. It was a huge conflagration that most never heard of. "Lion of Judah" was fun because it had very primitive troops fighting "modern" Italian armor in restoring Haille Selassie to the throne. Where else could you have a game with Italian L3-33's and dominate the field!
I always try to stage a game that guys will know will be different and unique. It just seems to make it more fun and then people leave motivated to learn more.
Me: Your table tops are spectacular. The buildings look scratch built and fit the scenarios that you host. By now you must have quite a collection of buildings and terrain. Tell us about your collection of buildings and what projects you're working on now?
Vic:
I have acquired quite a sizable collection of just about every theater imaginable from roughly 1932 to 1945. Currently I am working on a 2 period "what if" scenario staging "Sea Lion", the German proposed invasion of England. Sandhurst in England gamed it in 1973 with the actual German Generals flown in to act as advisers. The concensus was no Sea Lion game can work without including the naval/air piece. So I am planning a 2 period con game. In the morning sessions the players, working with a large hex map of the French/English coastlines deploy their naval and transport units and affect the actual crossing. The choices and actual landings will then be translated into a mini's game in the afternoon session.
Me: Along with the buildings and terrain, your collection of miniatures has to be quite varied as well to cover all the different theatres that you game in. Tell us about your WW II figure inventory?
Vic: Pretty much have it all right now. US, USSR, German, Belgian, Romanian, Poles, Japanese, Chinese, Finn's, French, Italians, Partisans, you name it with the bigger the involvement the larger the range of various units. It has grown exponentially over the years.
Me: This year at Huzzah! you're running a repeat of the French invasion of Germany in early 1940. I look forward to playing the game at Huzzah!, as you had a full table at HAVOC and I expect nothing less this time around. Tell us about some of the results on the table top you've seen in your games?
Vic: The most exciting aspect of the hobby is when we replicate the history in spite of ourselves !
I make it a point, especially for the sake of the players not familiar with an actual event, not to begin with a history lesson. The guys put cash money down at our cons to push figures, not listen to me. What is always exciting for me, and I love to see their reactions, is when I get to the end of a game and say to the players " You did exactly what Rommel did!"
Me:
thank you for your time and sharing your insight on the exciting Command Decision game system as well as the games you've hosted. Thank you. I look forward to another full table of Command Decision players at this year's Huzzah!
Mike
Here are a few photos I've snapped from Vic's Command Decision games over the years. Enjoy.
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Here is a link for more: link
