"Chain of Command newbie questions" Topic

Hi, all,

I've had a copy of Chain of Command in my library for a couple of years now, but haven't had much chance to try it out. My gaming time is pretty limited, I can get to the local club night once a month if I'm lucky. I'm very interested in what I have read of the rules, as well what I've read in reviews and from the various Lardy fans online. I'm hoping that I can get some answers to some of the basic questions that have been nagging me:

1. How much time should I allow for a basic game, say one of the scenarios from the rulebook? I'm limited to a 2-3 hour window before I have to get back home to wife and kids, so I need a game that can be played to completion in that time.
2. All the platoons in the rulebook seem to be at ideal "paper" strength, but real platoons would almost never go into battle at full strength. There would be casualties, men on leave or sick, men left out of battle, men assigned to other duties. Is there a way to reflect reduced strength platoons? How many men can be removed from a platoon before the number of command dice needs to be reduced?
3. What does a commissar bring to a platoon to justify him being a list 3 choice? I can't find any info on commissars in the base rulebook.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Will, it might be better to ask on the Facebook group as they are always very helpful there. Like you I own the rules but have not had a game yet.

You might find the answer to question 2 to be something like. Thats the starting point for a Campaign.

Commanders would try to bring their units up to full strength before operations. Sometimes that might mean that they would strip personnel from one unit to bring another up to strength. CoC does have campaign rules that take the last battles casualties into account if you want to go down that road.

You can also use the CoC calculator to basically create an under strength platoon if your really set on that. That said, under strength units are a lot more susceptible to shock and routing.

Thanks for the replies. To be honest, I'm mostly interested in the first question: how long does it take to play a game? If I can't fit in a reasonable game in 3 h, then the other questions are just hypothetical!

cheers,
w

Most games won't last three hours once you know the rules.

Two players who know the rules and who won't suffer from analysis paralysis over every command roll should be able to play a scenario in 2-3 hours, often less. The usual caveats apply – plan your scenario in advance, setup the table and have units ready etc etc.

It's a great system, so give it a try. As for forces at full strength seriously consider the campaigns. CoC shines in this setting. If you want to get a feel for this explore some of the game reports here Chain of Command campaign AARs

Three hours would be the maximum we play, over 30-40 games we are usually between 120 to 150 minutes.

I've only played a few times but have watched many of the online replays. Those games seem to all take under 2 hours, most around 90 mins. That includes games with Richard Clarke, but on all those and others they are also are explaining as they go. My personal experience is around 2 hours, but I was also checking up on rules as I went along.

FYI The replays on YoiTube with Richard Clarke are very good.

As has been said, if you prepare your scenario and platoons in advance and play at a reasonable pace you should complete a Chain of Command game in 2.5-3 hours, quicker as you gain experience.

Full strength platoons are used to facilitate using historical tactics. If you wanted to scale back the numbers you could. A reduction of 6 riflemen (2 per squad say) would reduce your platoon's Force Rating by 1 but it has no effect on the number of Command Dice rolled, that's a function of the units training and Leadership. Once you get involved in campaign games you will find that battlefield attrition will drop the squad sizes naturally.

The Commisar rules vary depending on period of the War and are specified in the relevant army list. You will find one for the rulebook list in the FAQ/Errata you can download from TFL's Lard Island News blog.

Experienced players games any where between an 1 – 1.5 hours. Newbies would fall in the 2 – 3 hour bracket. Most AAR on YouTube are about 1 hour 30 minutes.

If you want the platoon to be reduced then the Pint Sized campaigns are for you.

As far as my knowledge goes the Commissar aids in getting the troops deployed allowing your senior leaders to deploy earlier.

thanks for all the great responses! Looks like it's worth trying on a game night (especially if I start small).

Commissar functions a bit like an adjutant? I'll check out the errata and get the full story.

Cheers!

I really like the CoC rules, but my experience is that the game plays slow. 3 hours and more like 4 have been all my games. I've enjoyed them all, but it takes the whole evening.

are you guys counting the patrol phase?

it's not like we were all messing around either and not playing. I dunno, maybe we're just slower mentally… : )

We never have any problem finishing games on a club night. Three hours is enough time to set up the game, brief the players and then play the game for two hours. The patrol phase takes five minutes at most and means that the game starts at first point of contact, meaning you get straight into the action.

How anyone plays for four hours I have no idea. We must have played dozens of games if not hundreds on club nights and never had a game not reach a conclusion.

As a piece of advice, don't play the 'Patrol' scenario as your first game. 'Probe' gives a good feel for the options available in the game and has a clear objective for both sides.

Seconding that Probe gives a better introductory experience than Patrol.