"Blitzkrieg Commander opinions take 2!" Topic

I just saw that Blitzkrieg Commander 3 has come out. (I am new to WW2 miniatures but started gaming the period with Panzerblitz "back in the day"). I had never heard of BK before but it is apparently the same scale that I am interested in. Are there any comments anyone might have as to what they like and don't like about this rule set? Just to give my angle, I am fond of Crossfire and Nordic Weasel's 5Core Company Command. Games that are a little bit less command centric than the TFL games.

So you missed BC1 and BC2.

Lots of info here for BC3.

link

The BC family use a die roll activation system. Similar to Black Powder, Hail Caesar etc. Stands are some what "generic" in that you need to score a certain number of hits to take them out.

I have played the system and I like the command system. It creates a lot of chaos and command problems in a good way. Some don't like the more abstract nature of the stands but I think as a higher ecehlon commander that's how I would think: send in the tanks, not worrying about which exact tanks are in the unit I just ordered.

If you prefer a game without that, try Fistful of TOWs. One stand = 1 platoon, but there are really no command and control rules beyond a unit integrity/command radius requirement. I liek them quite a bit, and they (like BC) contain all your stats and army lists in the book – no supplements to buy!

It has a C&C system that is simple, but very effective in game play. We transitioned to this system years ago and never looked back.

Its very based around taking risks and prioritizing what actions NEED to get done and what things you can hold off on.

I have friends who refuse to play because of the command rolls, others adore that mechanic.

Its not super detailed for tanks which I personally prefer, but treadheads will feel left out.
But if you like 5core and Crossfire that's probably not an issue :)

It's also very easy to learn and you don't have to memorize much at all.

This is all based on the last version, mind, but given your tastes, I think you'd dig.

My personal experience with BKC was unfortunate in that I have a nasty habit of rolling 1's. In a number of games my units did virtually nothing the entire game. As EC says the C&C rules can cause havoc.
As a result, we play Rapid Fire.

Earlier post here:

TMP link

I despise the armored combat system in the game. I'm not a fan of the activation sequence either – but THAT could be from missing two activation rolls in a row while my opponent then made 5 on the first miss and 6 off of the other. (you miss a roll you are done, you make it you can try again and again till you finally miss one – the chance goes down each time)

The command and control rolls can indeed cause a lot of suffering. Ive played in several games where some units only got one activation the entire game.

We always* play with house rule that the first order for each commander works. If you don't roll an actual success, you don't get to reroll for any additional orders for that commander.

As a fan of 1 stand = 1 platoon WW2 games, I'm happy with the abstract armor system and how fast the game plays out for battles with a couple of battalions on each side.


* After the first game when one player kept failing command rolls and we pretty well wasted an evening of gaming with a very unsatisfactory game.

According to Pendraken, the scale has been set at 1 base is 1 platoon.

Some things I really like about BKC others not so much. The command system I really dislike. It feels kind of gamey to me, and then I really hate that you must use a command to order troops to fire. I think something so important would be decided by the officer on the spot, rather than the CinC.

And then removing hits on armor after each turn just feels weird.

I donīt think they are bad rules, they just take some getting used to I reckon.

We've had people just walk away from the table when they saw their hits getting removed from their targets at the end of the turn. You have to understand the effects of suppression results to appreciate the system. It's not just about killing the targets.

These were the first actual wargames I ever played. I had a lot of fun with BKC/CWC, some really memorable battles won and lost, and I'm looking at heading back to CWC in 6mm (got all the gear, just need to finish painting/basing) and maybe some WWII North Africa in 3mm.

Not for everyone, though nothing ever is, right? The activation process with double-moves (snakeyes) and blunders (boxcars) built in really works for me, abstracting out a list of real life C4ISR factors to numerous to take into account but giving 'real-world' fits and starts.

I never personally ran into the issue of 'not being able to do anything all game.' I was renowned for getting three sets of orders off, then rolling a blunder, though I certainly failed my fair share of command rolls. I never even saw anyone 'not being able to do anything all game,' though I did see players use it as an excuse ;)
The only time I really thought it was an issue was when we tried to play games with too few commands, or when we tried to play multi-player games where each guy had only one command. In my opinion, if you have less than three HQ and a CO you're it's very possible to have a few bad rolls really bog you down, but if you've got 5-6 HQs and a CO the dice will average out and you'll be cooking with gas.

And having 5-6 commands doesn't necessarily mean you having millions of minis on the table. I know some guys wed themselves to the Army lists, but that was never a concern of ours, so we'd happily have companies rather than battalions as a command (command consisting of an HQ and four stands, rather than an HQ and ~nine stands). We kept the units rigid though, meaning the HQ can only command his own units.

Having said all that, in order to help keep the peace, we did ultimately end up using the houserule of 'every unit can act once per turn,' and to make things go quicker, we used the optional 'static hits' rule. I didn't mind the hits coming off at the end of the turn (as Coopman says, it's about more than just 'killing' stands), but it sure slows the game down.

V/R,
Jack

I've seen people only remove 1 or a few hits at the end of each turn which feels like a nice middle ground.

If you visit the Pendraken site you'll see that they seem to have pulled BKC-III from sale. This was a new venture for them having purchased them (and the other "commander" rule sets).

BKC-III seem to be terminally broken, despite having the perfectly good BKC-II to start with. The new set contains unworkable rules and numerous errors. The army lists are in a real mess with stat lines that make no sense, missing troops types and troop types that never existed as well as basic historical errors:

- FW190s in 1939
- M3 Satans at El Alamein
- No M4 Shermans at El Alamein
- Unlimited T-34s in 1941
- Only 3 T-34s up to June '44
- Unlimited horse transport for the British Airborne

From what I've read I think nearly every list in the book has this type of error. Overall they're unusable, broken and very disappointing.

I'm a huge fan of BKC-II and will stick with them.